Call it opera on demand - on wheels.

Taking a cue from Portland's wildly popular food carts, Portland Opera has inaugurated an "opera cart" that is traveling to selected community sites and events this summer. At each stop, the cart - actually a converted truck that carries a foldout stage as well as set pieces - offers a "menu" of arias, duets and ensemble pieces. When a selection is "ordered," a cast of three singers and a pianist gives a short performance.

The cart, officially known as the Opera a la Cart mobile performance venue, is an effort to "make opera more accessible," said Clare Burovac, Portland Opera's director of artistic operations.

"Many people either are stymied by the barriers of actually going downtown," where the opera performs, "or they think that opera maybe is elitist or it's not for them," Burovac said. To counter those notions, "we thought we'd model an outreach project after the food cart culture."

The offerings will be of the "greatest hits" variety, such as music from "The Barber of Seville," which will be familiar to anyone who's watched Bugs Bunny cartoons, and the aria "O Mio Babbino Caro," which has appeared in commercials and on the soundtrack of the Merchant Ivory film "A Room With a View."

"That's part of the effort - to remind everyone that they may not think they know opera, but it's so much a part of our pop culture that people know a lot more than they think they do," Burovac said.

Response from the opera's singers has been enthusiastic, she said, with some cast members of the opera's current productions performing with the cart on their days off.

After several eastside stops, here's the Opera a la Cart schedule for the rest of the summer:

July 30: Noon-3 p.m., Director Park, 815 S.W. Park Ave.

July 31: 10 a.m.-noon, Hillsboro Farmers Market, Orenco Station, 232 N.E. Lincoln St.

Aug. 4: 6-8 p.m., First Thursday, Ecotrust parking lot, Northwest 10th Avenue and Northwest Johnson Street

Aug. 13: Time to be determined, Providence Health and Wellness Expo (part of the Providence Bridge Pedal), Providence Park, 1844 S.W. Morrison St.

Aug. 20: Noon-4 p.m., Multnomah Days, on Southwest Capitol Highway between Southwest 31st and 36th avenues

The cart will make several pop-up appearances as well, Burovac said.

"We're hopeful that it will continue for years to come," she said.

Portland Opera worked with architecture students at Portland State University to create the cart design, which was manufactured locally. The opera secured local and national grants to pay for the Opera a la Cart program, as well as for the 21 Portland Opera chorus members, resident artists and guest artists and four pianists who are performing this summer.

-- Amy Wang

awang@oregonian.com

503-294-5914

@ORAmyW