SEPT 12, 2026: Opera in the Amphitheater

Opera anyone? Fun for the Whole Family! Free admission event: a celebration of our love for opera with an emphasis on outdoor performances of famous arias and songs of the opera, with community activities nurturing opera education. This event is in collaboration with Golden Gate Opera. Download flyer | 2025 Press Release | Social Media Post

WHEN: 4 pm to 6 pm, Saturday, Sept 12, 2026 
WHERE: Hamilton Amphitheater located at 500-598 Hamilton Pkwy, Novato, CA 94949.

TICKETING: This is a FREE event; $20 donation tickets are available or feel free to RSVP to reserve your spot. Become a member and give.

MUSIC: 2026 Digital Program (Coming Soon)
WHO'S INVITED: The event will have opera Italian food, entertainment, opera trivia prizes & games, and the performance will be freely open to the all.

3:00 PM - Arrival at Hamilton Amphitheater. Parking on at the Hamilton Theater parking lot.) There will be fun for the kids with opera education, trivia games and face painting.

3:30 PM - Grab your favortie seat or bring a picnic basket and blanket and sit in the grass area, "or" bring your favorite picnic chair to place in the amphitheater terraced seating are. We will have chairs for those who forget their chairs or are unable to tote chairs. Cheers!
4:00 PM - Iniziare lo spettacolo! Opera introduction and live performances.
4:50 PM - After the first 45 minute set, we will convene for a raffle and a complimentary snack.
6:00 Close out second set with encore.

This event is sponsored by Hamilton Arts Foundation. Many thanks to the generous funding by the Fenwick Foundation in 2023 & 2024 and the Golden Gate Opera's partial contribution in 2023, 2024, & 2025. Thank you to Novato Park & Recreation for their generous community sponsorship and the Hamilton Field Museum for chairs and tables.

​The Hamilton Theater was built and opened on April 7, 1938, where top-flight talent and famous artists visiting the Base like Abbott and Costello (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello), entertained the troops and their families through a live performing arts show or film, offering a reprieve from the stresses of wartime life.

For more info, please contact: Laura van Galen Email: hamiltonartsfoundation@gmail.com | tel: (415) 717-4466

Special thanks to Novato Parks & Recreation for allowing this event to happen as a Community Sponsored event at the Hamilton Amphitheater.

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Also a special thanks to:

- Hamilton Field Museum (for chairs and tables)

- Traders Joe's Market Novato (for flowers)

- Safeway Hamilton (for flowers)

- San Francisco Ballet (for raffle tickets)

- San Francisco Opera (for raffle tickets & ticketing volunteers)

- and ALL the volunteers to walk flyers, volunteering their time to promote and host this event this event.

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PARKING

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Please park at the Hamilton Theater parking lot “or” the parking lot near the old Hamilton Gym at 503 Palmer Drive "or" the Hamilton Landing Hangers. Please do not park in any of the grass or unmarked areas which is not permitted as it damages the turf and irrigation. Parking Handout THANK YOU!

Opera was born at the end of the 16th century, as an initiative of a circle of scholars (the Florentine Camerata) who, discovering that Ancient Greek theater was sung, had the idea of setting dramatic texts to music. Thus, Jacopo Peri created Dafne (1597), followed by Euridice (1600), by the same composer.

Complimentary snack will possibly include Italian sweets and a bubbly beverage for all to enjoy! Fun Fact: The first biscotti, often referred to as Biscotti di Prato, were created in 14th-century Tuscany in the city of Prato and were made from almonds, which were abundant in the region. Because the second baking drew moisture out of the biscuit, it rendered the biscotti hard, sturdy and, importantly, resistant to mold.​

Shawnette Sulker, colotura soprano,has been described as a singer “…displaying a bright, superbly controlled soprano with perfectly placed coloratura.” Video >

Lila Khazoum, hailed as “an artist of impressive talent” with “soaring high notes” (Piedmont Post), Lila Khazoum is an emerging coloratura soprano based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In July, 2021 she performed Un Raggio di Speme – A Ray of Hope with pianist Alexander Katsman as part of Festival Opera's Artist Recital Series. Videos >

Deborah Rosengaus, (replacing Courtny Miller), mezzo soprano, is known for creating unforgettable characters and delivering high-energy, emotionally resonant performances. She has graced renowned stages across the globe.

Rachel Walters Steiner, Mezzo-Soprano. Ms. Steiner is a Sonoma County native, she has performed as a Soprano soloist with various companies and venues around the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, including The Lamplighters, Ukiah Symphony, Jarvis Conservatory, The Green Music Center, River Opera, and the Dominican Chorale.. More >

Richard Alexandre Rittelmann, baritone, from Paris, France, belongs to the new promising generation of opera singers, laureate of many international competitions. He is a charming and exuberant performer, and leaves audiences addicted to his flare. Video >

Claudio Santome, tenor, born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, specializes in Belcanto repertoire singing from Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, and Puccini. In the symphonic repertoire, he sung Carmina Burana, as tenor and baritone, Gustav Mahler's Ruckert and Des Knaben Wunderhorn. After immigrating to the US in 1997, he performed Ariel Ramirez's Misa Criolla in California, Michigan, Switzerland, Italy, and Argentina.

Jerry Kuderna, accomplished pianist, performs widely in the Bay Area and is a favorite soloist with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra (BSO). Video >

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Many Thanks! Last year, 2023, Joseph Raymond Meyers, a.k.a. ”Joe”, tenor, Aléxa Anderson, soprano and in 2024, Eric Levintow, tenor and Loris Willis are highly sought after West Coast singers with projects ranging from Verdi to Weill with many other stops along the way.

SF Opera: Matinee 2PM showing for 2: $244 value

SF Ballet: 2 tickets for 2024 Repertory Season in January – April 2027 valued at $200.

SF Musuem of Modern Art: 2 guest passes valued at $60.

And more coming...

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Please note: Tickets the day of the event, pending DOJ approval, will be $5 for 1, $10 for 2 and $20 for 5.

IMPORTANT: There are no chairs available; just spaces to place chairs.

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Going North: Take Hwy 101 north to the Nave Drive exit in Hamilton, Novato CA 94949. Turn right onto Main Gate Rd.  Continue to the Hamilton Theater parking lot across the street from the MOCA. Please park here. If the parking lot is full, overflow parking is at Hamilton Landing at the end of S Palm Drive. Walk along S Palm Drive to Hamilton Parkway, Turn right on Hamilton Parkway. The Hamilton Amphitheater is a short walk on your right.

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Going South: Take Hwy 101 south to exit 459A from US-101 Ignacio Blvd in Hamilton, Novato CA 94949, turn left at overpass light, then the first right onto Nave Dr. Turn left onto Main Gate Rd. Continue to the Hamilton Theater parking lot across the street from the MOCA. Please park here. If the parking lot is full, overflow parking is at Hamilton Landing at the end of S Palm Drive. Walk along S Palm Drive to Hamilton Parkway, Turn right on Hamilton Parkway. The Hamilton Amphitheater is a short walk on your right.

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Handicap: There are limited handicap parking spots at the Hamilton Amphitheater and we ask that you use these spots ONLY if you have a handicap placard.

Videos from 2023, 2024 and 2025. Click here >