Making of an Opera at Gagnon Museum!

Local composer Robert Gardner will present a preview of his original opera about nature and the environment on Aug. 27 in Rochester. The abbreviated showing of “Here In This Garden,” is part of the Concerts in the Garden series being staged at the Charles E, Gagnon Museum & Sculpture Garden this summer and fall.
The preview will feature a “reading” of excerpts from the opera’s score and lyrics, much like a concert. A company of five instrumentalists and four singers will perform music but will not play out any action as in a complete opera. The first-time showing will include narration by Gardner about his work.
“Here In This Garden” is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, in the Sculpture Garden at the museum. It will be held indoors if weather interferes.
Admission is $12 for adults and $7 for students. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.gagnonmuseum.org/team-1 or at the door. The non-profit Gagnon Museum is located at 2500 4th St. SW in Rochester. Street parking is available, and the museum has a driveway for dropping off guests.
Gardner is fine arts chair and a religion teacher at Lourdes High School. He holds a master’s degree in fine arts education. Musically, Gardner plays the bass. Among other accomplishments, he has composed, arranged, or produced numerous concerts for the Rochester Chamber Music Society.
Future performances in the Concerts in the Garden series will focus on young musicians. The next event on Saturday, Sept. 24, features Luke Kim, who plays the flute.
More information about the series is available from the museum’s Web site, www.gagnonmuseum.org, or by phone at (507) 282-5202.