• August 23, special event: “Summer Twilight” Aria Party, 6:30-9pm, Valerie Castellana and Bow Pfeifer Hosts, 150 Mt. Whitney Court, San Rafael, CA 94901 Delicious hors d’oeuvres and wines, plus auction prices include Conductor’s Box Seats to SF Symphony donated by MTT, art works by BronzeGoddess, See’s Candies, Gold Circle Preferred seats to GGO’s Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci at Marin Center ONE NIGHT ONLY Thur Oct 30, 2008, 7:30pm. Tickets suggested tax-deductible donation $50
• Sunday August 31: GGO at Sausalito Art Festival, 11am-12 noon. "Opera's Greatest Hits!" Whirlwind one hour of your favorites. With Soprano Olga Chernisheva, Mezzo Lisa Houston, Tenors Benjamin Bongers and Monti Zanetti, Svetlana Gorzhevskaya pianist. Madama Butterfly, La Traviata, Tosca, Carmen, favorite Neopolitan songs. Location: The Artists' Stage at the festival. Admission to the concert is free with your admission to the Art Festival.
• September 3 through October 15: SIGN UP NOW FOR THIS FALL’s EXCITING OPERA COURSE BY GOLDEN GATE OPERA "An Afternoon at the Opera" at College of Marin! Call 415.485.9305. The signup deadline is near!
  Golden Gate Opera of Sausalito, CA presents an exciting new opera course this fall at the College of Marin. What better way to learn more, increase your enjoyment of opera and prepare yourself for GGO’s exclusive one-night-only performance of Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci coming to Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium on October 30th? Love Shakespeare, do you? This class is for you! Students will enjoy Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, then Merry Wives of Windsor, Fallstaff and Romeo et Juliette, identifying favorite selections and learning about the composers and their approach to adapting Shakespearian masterpieces to the operatic medium. No opera lover should be without the experience of the doubleheader Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci (Sept. 3 and 10 leading off the 7-week series at College of Marin). And once the Death scenes are over...it’s time for Comedy and Love! Both Nicolai’s Merry Wives of Windsor and Verdi’s Falstaff are based on Shakespeare! The course will compare these two operas based on the same story--and show how they work within the composition, and how and why the composers created these memorable works. Then--go to the opera at Marin Center with the new friends you meet at this class! Optional texts will be discussed in class. Instructor Roberta Becker is an international Mezzo-soprano and has led Golden Gate Opera since 1994. 7 Wednesdays, 2:10-4pm
  
  Kentfield Campus, College of Marin
  Learning Resources Center 53
  Fee $68 (Includes $4 materials fee)
  Course #85095 EC
  
  Interested students should register NOW by going to www.marincommunityed.org or go to either campus to register in person at the Admissions Office, or to register through the mail a registration form is available at the center of the printed schedule book. For assisttance, call 415-485-9305.
  
• Thursday October 30, 2008 7:30PM, Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci: Marin Center’s Marin Veterans’ Memoriial Auditorium, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael, CA 94903. Sung in original Italian with English Supertitles. A production by Teatro Lirico d’Europa, the European opera touring company, starring Russian soprano Olga Chernisheva as Santuzza/ Nedda, with Metropolitan Opera baritone Theodore Lambrinos as Alfio/Canio, and stars from Russia, Bulgaria and America. Golden Gate Opera presents a production by Teatro Lirico d’Europa, the European opera touring company. With Sofia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of Bulgaria. Tickets range from $30-75, Call and ask about discounts for class groups, full time students, seniors, and groups.

Reservations and information: Call Marin Center Box Office at 415-499-6800 or visit ticketmaster.com. For Information: call 415-339-9546, or email info@goldengateopera.org.