JACKSON – The Mississippi Opera, now celebrating 70 years of operatic excellence in Mississippi, announces their upcoming event: A Cavalleria Rusticana Gala!

    “We are celebrating our historic 70th season with Cavalleria Rusticana on Nov. 21, 2015, at Belhaven University Center for the Arts,” said artistic director Jay Dean. “This was the company’s very first production in 1945.”

    The first part of this 70th Anniversary Gala will be a retrospective on Mississippi Opera’s history since 1945. Belhaven University president, Dr. Roger Parrott is the emcee for the evening. Longtime fine arts patron and Mississippi Opera Historian Richard B. “Dick” Wilson Jr. wrote and will narrate the history. Dr. Stephen Sachs, Belhaven’s Dean of Fine Arts, will also be one of the speakers.

    “The Mississippi Opera Chorus and Belhaven University Chorus will round out this impressive ensemble,” Dean noted.

    “Our artists will present selected arias that emphasize some of the high points in the company’s history on the first half of our exciting gala. During the second half of the evening we will present a semi?staged version of Mascagni’s dramatic and powerful, “real?life” opera, Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry),” noted Tippy Garner, executive director of the Mississippi Opera.

    The cast for the production is stellar: Kristin Johnson-Gunn as Santuzza, Viola Dacus as Lola, John Christopher Adams as Turridu, J. Taylor Hightower as Alfio and Rachel Alexander as Mama Lucia.

    Tickets are Platinum $60, Gold $45, and Silver $30. For more information about Mississippi Opera’s 70th Anniversary Season, call 601-960-2300 or visit www.msopera.org