(Photo Credit: Kristen Loken)

The Merola Opera Program has announced its 2026 Summer Festival season.

The Summer Festival opens with “L’Anima Napoletana,” a vocal and piano recital curated by Merola faculty member Mario Antonio Marra. The program presents Neapolitan songs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, performed in Italian and Neapolitan dialect with English supertitles.

Performance Date: June 25, 2026

Peter Brook’s “La Tragédie de Carmen” follows with conductor Stephanie Rhodes Russell (Merola ’09) and director Mo Zhou (Merola ’15) at the helm. The opera will be performed in French with English supertitles.

Performance Dates: July 9 & July 11, 2026

Next up is Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos.” Conductor Ann-Katrin Stöcker and Director Omer Ben Seadia (Merola ’14) lead the production. The opera will be performed in German with English supertitles.

Performance Dates: July 30 & August 1, 2026

The season ends with the “Merola Grand Finale,” conducted by William Long and directed by Stage Director Claire Choquette. The program features arias, ensembles, and scenes from across the repertoire.

Performance Date: August 15, 2026