The Wilmington Concert Opera presents a free concert of French songs this weekend.
Taking a break from its usual concert presentations of opera, the company performs an array of songs in French by several performers in a concert designed to introduce new listeners to art songs and cabaret songs from France, Cabaret Français.
Artistic Director Kirsten Kunkle, who is also performing, says she hopes to introduce listeners to something new.
“We're trying to make sure that people hear a variety of things, because if they've never come out to a French concert - especially younger people - they may not know who Edith Piaf is. They may not know who Maurice Chevalier is," she says.
Kunkle says the concert was designed to be accessible to listeners, and help new listeners become classical music fans.
“We love opera and we love classical music so much that we want to share that with everybody," she says. "So if we can be that gateway for someone to go to, say, opera Delaware or Opera Philadelphia or any of the other companies, that's exactly what we want.”
The concert is free, something Kunkle says is important to the concert opera’s mission.
“We have the privilege that we are able to still give people, in this time where it's difficult to find ways to pay for entertainment, this free option for the entire family to say, ‘hey, let's go hear some great music,'" she says.
The Wilmington Concert Opera’s season is centered on French music. Later this year, they’ll present The Tales of Hoffman.
The Wilmington Concert Opera performs Friday night at 8:00 and Sunday at 4:00 at Wilmington’s Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. Admission is free.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
