Samantha Smith

thebacon@pnj.com

Not sure if you’d be interested in an opera, maybe never seeing one before to know for sure? Well, if you weren’t aware, you can catch a glimpse of free performances popping up around town through Saturday.

Amanda Cook, director of Education and Community Engagement at Pensacola Opera, said the pop-up performances are a way of bringing opera to everyday places for people to enjoy. The performances are popular opera melodies or songs heard on the radio or media, carried out by four Artists in Residence, in which they serenade patrons at special events or a particular business.

Lasting about 10 minutes, the artists will perform a few pieces of opera, acapella and announce upcoming events. The short performances are a way of grabbing peoples’ attention and creating awareness of the opera, upcoming events, and encourage them to want to see and hear more.

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Here is what’s popping up:

Friday

•7:15 p.m., Pensacola State College-Ashmore Fine Arts Auditorium, 1000 College Blvd.

•7:30 p.m., Dharma Blue, 300 S. Alcaniz St.

Saturday

•6 p.m., Barnes and Noble, 200 Airport Blvd.

•7 p.m., Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St.

The Artist in Residence singers came to Pensacola for 19 weeks, and by the time they leave later this month, they will have completed about 63 pop-up performances.

“While they are here, they are basically the face of Pensacola Opera, performing in the community many times by starring in our children’s opera tour to schools, outreach performances, and of course, mainstage performances such as ‘Aida’ and ‘Dead Man Walking,’” said Cook.

If you are interested in attending a full-length opera, be sure to visit www.pensacolaopera.com for event details.

Interested in bringing free opera to your community space? Contact Cook at amanda@pensacolaopera.com or 433-6737.

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