Opera! Pike! Opera! is part of the community fabric

Opera! Pike! Park! has now reached its sixth year, and more than 650 people came to enjoy it at Ann Street Park on the grass and under the tent in chairs.

“It’s a wonderful experience for everyone,” said Jim Pedranti, Pike Opera Board Chair. “It’s an event where you can come and be with your friends and neighbors and watch some great music for a couple of hours. People have told me that it’s one of the greatest afternoons of all in Milford for the whole year.”

Many in the audience had probably never been to a full-length opera, but being there on a beautiful summer’s day, listening to different arias featuring amazing voices and being able to talk to them is an incredible experience – and one that has become an important part of the regular rhythm of Pike County life.

“The arts are a bridge to finding a greater understanding of our common humanity,” said Javier Morales, founder and Artistic Director of the opera. “In this moment, our differences are not as important as the fact that we are all here, right now, with friends and family, sharing a cultural experience that elevates, enlightens, and nourishes our souls. On this lawn and under this tent, that is more important to me than anything which might divide us.”

Jamie Harris, a well-known part of New York’s theater and dance community, hosted the event. The 90-year-old American Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia created the program and provided the artists, as they have been doing since the first Pike Opera in 2019.

This was a first time visit for Dr. Diane Cole Ahl who said, “I had to come. I’ve been hearing about it for years.” Why is Pike Opera different from other performances of AVA? Dr. Ahl said it was because it is both community oriented and supported.

Jose Melendez, Musical Director and pianist, is the lynch pin of the group, having worked with Morales since the very first opera.

Soprano Emily Margevich returned to the Pike Opera stage for the third time and sang “Ave Maria” and duets with the other singers with exquisite beauty. With the children, she performed a rendition of “Do Re Mi” from the “Sound of Music” – a performance that can change children’s lives confidence-wise and in the way they look at music. Her fiancée, Dylan Gregg, a bass-baritone who is also an AVA graduate, was in the audience and the two sang a duet.

Luke Norvell, award-winning tenor, was back for a second time. He sang a heartfelt version of Puccini’s “Donna non vidi mai” and took the hand of his wife, Abbey, as he walked into the audience.

Mezzo-soprano Alla Yarosh, a native of Ukraine, gave a rousing performance of Bizet’s “Habanera” from “Carmen” and bass Cumhur Gorgun – a native Turk who returned for a second year – performed “If a Were a Rich Man” with such dramatic authenticity that he could have been reincarnated from the original performer in “Fiddler on the Roof” Zero Mostel.

Baritone Geoffrey Schmelzer, a newcomer to the ensemble, opened the concert by coming from off stage and delivering “Largo al factotum” from “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” in a really resonant and powerful voice, surprising the audience as he approached the stage.

The opera ended with a standing ovation, capped by an intimate dinner at the Fauchere for sponsors and supporters. The singers happily and literally sang for their supper.

Pedranti said this was the best ever, and many would agree with him.

But just wait until next year.