By Kayla Griffin

You don’t need to go to Milan, Paris, or New York to enjoy the arias and ariosos of Opera. On October 27, in celebration of National Opera Week, VoicExperience will be bringing some of the best of American Opera to Savannah.The event, An American Songbook Concert, will include music from everything from Broadway to opera and feature composer Carlisle Floyd. Concert goers will enjoy scenes from some of his most famous works such as Susanna, Of Mice and Men and Wuthering Heights, introduced and directed by the 86-year-old composer himself.

All pieces will be sung by national rising stars of opera in English and will be accompanied by the Savannah Philharmonic. The concert will be hosted by three time Grammy® winner and 2008 Opera News Award winner, Sherrill Milnes, who is also the founder of VoicExperience.

To learn more about opera and National Opera Week, visit Opera America at  www.operaamerica.org. More information about VoicExperience, an organization that perpetuates the vocal arts through assisting singers and outreach, can be found at www.voicexperiencefoundation.com.

Music enthusiasts can also look forward to The Savannah Voice Experience, coming to Savannah August 13 – 17, 2013. Also presented by VoicExperience, this will be a summer celebration of singing featuring vocal artists of all ages through concerts, workshops and more.  For more information about this event visit www.savannahvoicefestival.org

Opera Week Events (October 26th – November 4th)

FLOYD ON FLOYD: A Composer’s Symposium

Friday, October 26, 5:30 p.m. – A FREE EVENT

Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center Neises Auditorium

AN AMERICAN SONGBOOK CONCERT

with legendary American Opera Composer Carlisle Floyd

October 27, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

Telfair Academy Rotunda

Tickets for Saturday’s events are available at the door one hour prior

to showtime. Tickets are $35 general admission, $20 for Savannah

Friends of Music, Savannah Philharmonic and Telfair Museum Members and

$10 for students with ID.

A YOUNG ARTIST MASTER CLASS with Sherrill Milnes

October 29, 2012, 5:30 p.m.

Telfair Academy Rotunda