The Natchez Opera Festival. (Southern Scrapbook).

May 2002 boasts the 12th season of the Natchez Opera Festival under the leadership of Executive/Artistic Director, Dr. David Blackburn. Under his eye, the Festival has gained worldwide recognition, along with the Governor's Award for the Outstanding Arts Organization in Mississippi, and One of the Top Twenty Events in the Southeastern United States. Top operatic professionals from all over the country and as far away as the Czech Republic and Japan will be performing in the four opera selections and other musical events, many of them free to the public. Possible through financial gifts and donations from the public, the festival is presently housed in the renovated Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center, which Natchez proudly presents to entertain the world. The first performance of the season is Saturday, May 4. Come see The Merry Widow by Franz Lehar delight audiences with romantic intrigues, intricate misunderstandings, and of course, a happy ending. May 11 will be a night of two one-act operas. Suor Angel ica by Giacomo Puccini tells the sad story of a woman's desire to find her child, and Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo is the work that turned him into an instant celebrity in Milan. Songs of the River will premiere May 18, as George and Penny Hogan perform an evening of songs celebrating the river. And last in the season's full operas, is Madama Butterfly. Based on the play by David Belasco, Giacomo Puccini set the story to music for a 1904 performance in Milan. Puccini called this tale his favorite work. All show times are 8 p.m. in the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center and ticket prices range from $20 to $45. The four week festival includes other performances and afternoon concerts ranging from Plantation Recitals to a Musical Remembrance of the Holocaust. For more information on the Natchez Opera Festival or performance times and scheduling, call 601/466-6345 or 800/647-6724, visit www.alcorn.edu/opera, or e-mail [e-mail].