4th Annual Opera in the Amphitheater

This memorable annual event is designed to showcase the magical Hamilton Amphitheater Park and to share our foundation's charter. It is really "Fun for the Whole Family!" This is a free admission event in a celebration of the love for opera and its ability to truly share the incredible acoustic design of the historic Hamilton Amphitheater. The program is structured around famous arias and songs of the opera. A bonus, attendees enjoy community activities nurturing opera education for children, including face painting, mask making, coloring, trivia games, and more. This event is in collaboration with the Hamilton Field History Museum, Novato Park and Recreation, The j-B Piano Company, and many contributors and donors.

"This is an inspiring and magical event. I plan to be here every year" ~ MaryAnn

A Little Opera History

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. WHY THIS MATTERS: The Hamilton Arts Foundation was founded with the vision to save the historic Hamilton Theater, restoring this classic 1930s 320 seat Spanish Revival gem to its original splendor. The restored Hamilton Theater will become home to live music, live theater, as well as cinema and is the centerpiece of a new music & arts center vision. We plan to expand our efforts by rebuilding the historic Hamilton NCO building as well to create a new place to share artistic ideas and history as building an experiential music museum. The ground floor will be a music showcase and coffee shop, gift shop, sound booths, and hall of fame dedicated to Marin’s long history of musical innovation. The second story may include archival storage, recording studios, meeting rooms, and offices. In the tradition of the old NCO Club, this will be a great place for music and art appreciation, education and collaboration. In order to help our community see the importance and invest in renovating our historic theater, we will continue to showcase the beauty of this location as a hub for music and arts in Novato, Marin County, California

Featured Artists

Richard Alexandre Rittelmann, a Parisian baritone – concert, recital and opera singer, belongs to the new promising generation of opera singers, laureate of many international competitions: Marmande 96-97, Voix Nouvelles 98, Clermont-Ferrand 99, Giuseppe Giacomantonio 2000, Toulouse 2001, Armel 2014/2016. Ambassadeur lyrique de la Ville de Grasse – Administrateur du CIRM, Artistic Advisor of the Provence Classical Music Summer Festival from 2017 concerts promoter. Rittelmann belongs to the new promising generation of opera singers, laureate of many international competitions, from Paris, France. He began his career at the age of 22 at the National Opera of Lyon in the new production of Doktor Faust under the Baton of Kent Nagano and directed by Pierre Strosser. He has also been a prizewinner at various international competitions such as the Voix d’Or, Touloiuse, Marmande, Eurpottega and Voix Nouvelles in Paris. This proved to be an important launch pad for his career. His most memorable interpretations of roles include Idomeneo (Ivan Fisher) at the Opera Garnier de Paris, in Ariadne auf Naxos (Ivan Fischer) at the Opera de Nice (Schnitzler/Reiber), in Werther (Alain Guingal) at the Regio Torino, in Cyrano de Bergerac from Alfano in Montpellier/Garnier Monte Carlo and la Maestranza (Guidarini/Alagna), in Manon at Hong Kong Opera (Nicola Colabianchi – Nadine Duffault), in Dialogues des Carmelites at the Opera de Nice (Michel Plasson-Carsen).

Critically acclaimed soprano, Shawnette Sulker, has recently sung the roles of Mary Jane Bowser (Intelligence by Heggie) for a workshop with Houston Grand Opera, Ariel in the world premiere of Prospero’s Island by Shearer, and Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea) with West Edge Opera. International highlights include an orchestra concert of operatic repertoire at the Teatro di San Carlo in Napoli, touring Die Fledermaus as Adele in Holland and Belgium, and orchestra concerts in Leipzig’s Gewandhaus and Prague’s Smetana Hall. She has been a soloist with companies such as the San Francisco Opera, American Bach Soloists, Mark Morris Dance Group, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Opera Memphis, Opera Fairbanks, Opera Idaho, Opera Naples, Union Avenue Opera, and the Symphonies of Eugene, Oakland, and Berkeley. Upcoming engagements include singing Poppea with Intermountain Opera Bozeman, a workshop for the new opera Bulrusher (Stookey) as Bulrusher in Cincinnati, a concert of Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and Die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte) with Livermore Valley Opera.

Raeeka Shehabi-Yaghmai is a Persian lyric soprano noted for her versatile, strong, and sensitive vocal presence. She has transitioned from a successful mezzo-soprano career to lyric soprano roles like Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly) and Violetta (La Traviata). She is acclaimed for interpreting Persian folksongs and her work with orchestras and opera companies.

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.

Lyric Tenor, pending

Pianist / music director, pending