VSU Presents Opera After Dark in Downtown Valdosta Sept. 20

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University Opera will present Opera After Dark at Bas Bleu Brasserie in Downtown Valdosta at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20. Tickets are $50 for adults and $40 for students.

Guests will enjoy fine cuisine, featuring Cornish hen catered by Covington’s, and fine entertainment, featuring performances by VSU Opera and community students and professional singers. Dr. Tamara Hardesty, an adjunct professor of voice in the VSU Department of Music, will serve as stage director.

“All the music,” noted Dr. Carol M. Mikkelsen, director of VSU Opera, “is from famous operettas and folk operas by composers Johann Strauss, the British duo W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, and George Gershwin. The arias and ensemble numbers are woven together into a comic pastiche.”

Opera After Dark, which is part of Downtown Valdosta’s September Art After Dark celebration, will run 90 minutes to two hours.

Tickets are not available online but may be purchased by calling the VSU College of the Arts Outreach Office at (229) 333-2163. Mikkelsen noted that $20 of each adult ticket sold and $10 of each student ticket sold will benefit VSU Opera.

Seating is limited. The deadline to purchase tickets is 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16.

Bas Bleu Brasserie is located at 121 N. Patterson St.

Valdosta State University’s 2013-2019 Strategic Plan represents a renewal of energy and commitment to the foundational principles for comprehensive institutions.

Implementation of the plan’s five goals, along with their accompanying objectives and strategies, supports VSU’s institutional mission and the University System of Georgia’s mission for comprehensive universities.

The story above demonstrates VSU's commitment to meeting the following goals:

Goal 1: Recruit, retain, and graduate a quality, diverse student population and prepare students for roles as leaders in a global society.

Goal 3: Promote student, employee, alumni, retiree, and community engagement in our mission.

Goal 4: Foster an environment of creativity and scholarship.

Visit http://www.valdosta.edu/administration/planning/strategic-plan.php to learn more.