SEPT 7: Opera in the Amphitheater

Opera anyone? Fun for the Whole Family! Free admission event: a celebration of our love for opera an emphasis on outdoor performances of famous arias and song of the opera with community activities nurturing opera education. This event is in collaboration with Golden Gate Opera. Download Draft flyer | Draft Press Release | 2023 Download Draft Program | Social Media Post

WHEN: 2 pm to 5 pm, Saturday, Sept 7 2024 
WHERE: Hamilton Amphitheater located at 500-598 Hamilton Pkwy, Novato, CA 94949.

TICKETING: This is a FREE event; donation tickets are available for $20. 

MUSIC: 2023 Digital Program
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.

Dress up in your Italian or Opera wear 

2:00 PM - Arrival at Hamilton Amphitheater. Parking on at the Hamilton Theater parking lot.) There will be pre-opera performance trivia games and scavenger hunt for all.

2:30 PM - Grab your favortie seat or bring a picnic basket and blanket and sit in the grass area. We hope to rent cushions for those who do not want to sit on the rocky seats.
3:00 PM - Iniziare lo spettacolo! Opera Arias introduction and live performances.
4:00 PM - After several arias and sets, we will convene for biscotti and bubbly beverage along with more games & more educational opera fun.
5:00 Close out with raffle drawing hosted by Hamilton Arts Foundation Inc.

This event is co-sponsored by Hamilton Arts Foundation and Golden Gate Opera, and generously partially funded by the Fenwick Foundation. Thank you to Novato Park & Recreation for their generous community sponsorship.

​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.

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 author.

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.

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C'era Una Volta will be serving Opera Italian delights. Menu >

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

Aléxa Anderson, née Sessler, is a soprano with a voice described by Joshua Kosman (San Francisco Chronicle) as a "magical gift," and "glorious," based in the San Francisco Bay Area. 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 >

Lori Willis made her opera debut in 2006 as Malcolm X’s half-sister Ella in the “Life & Times Of Malcolm X” in Oakland Opera. She now participates as a mezzo-soprano in San Francisco Opera; following “The Trojans” in June, she will be performing in “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” in November. More >

Richard Alexandre Rittelmann belongs to the new promising generation of opera singers, laureate of many international competitions, from Paris, France. Video >

Joseph Raymond Meyers, a.k.a. ”Joe” is a highly sought after West Coast tenor with projects ranging from Verdi to Weill with many other stops along the way. Video >

Claudio Santome, born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, specializes in Belcanto repertoire singing from Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, to Puccini. Video >

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

Sara Usher, violinist, began as a founding member of the New England Chamber Orchestra in 1975, and playing with the New Haven Symphony for two seasons before arriving in the SF Bay Area. Since then she has played with or been a member of Marin Symphony, SF Ballet, San Francisco Symphony, SF Opera, Philharmonia Baroque and New Century Chamber Orchestras, as Concert Master for the Vallejo Symphony, the Santa Cruz Symphony, the Tassajara Symphony, and Principal Second for the SF Chamber Symphony and Oakland East Bay Symphonies.

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

SF Ballet: 2 tickets for 2024 Repertory Season in January – April 2025 valued at $200.

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

And more coming...click here to buy pre-raffle tickets >

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Please note: Pre-raffle tickets are discounted. Tickets the day of the event will be $5 for 1, $10 for 3 and $20 for 7.

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.