Webster University is proud to join nearly 100 other opera organizations nationwide to celebrate National Opera Week (October 29 – November 7), organized by OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, with support of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Webster voice faculty and students will present a program of operatic arias in the common area at Plaza Frontenac Center Court, 1701 S. Lindbergh, 63131 on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 2 and 3 p.m. For more information, call 968-7032. This event is free and open to the public.

National Opera Week celebrates the vitality of opera in America today and brings the inventiveness and excitement of opera to a broader national audience. The strength and diversity of established opera companies, community opera ensembles and opera training programs across the United States will be shared through a variety of free and accessible activities for opera lovers and newcomers to the art form.

“National Opera Week is an opportunity to highlight the astounding diversity and creativity of opera activity across the United States today,” stated Marc A. Scorca, president & CEO of OPERA America. “There is something for everyone during National Opera Week, providing both the seasoned attendee and newcomer a chance to learn about, experience and enjoy the art form in an informal setting.”

Coinciding with the presentation of the NEA Opera Honors in Washington, D.C., National Opera Week honors the careers of the outstanding artists chosen each year for this award. The recipients of the 2010 NEA Opera Honors are Soprano Martina Arroyo, General Director David DiChiera, Composer Philip Glass and Music Director Eve Queler. Previous honorees include Composer John Adams, Composer Carlisle Floyd, Mezzo-Soprano Marilyn Horne, Conductor James Levine and Soprano Leontyne Price. The 2010 NEA Opera Honors will take place on Friday, October 22 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. (www.neaoperahonors.org).

For more information about National Opera Week events around the country, please visit www.operaamerica.org/now. Follow the National Opera Week conversation on Twitter with #operaweek.

Additional press contacts:

For OPERA America: Patricia Kiernan Johnson, 212-796-8620, ext. 217, PKJohnson@operaamerica.org

For NEA: Victoria Hutter, 202-682-5692

###