National Opera Week is off to to BIG start in Baltimore! With a promotion for first-time opera attendees, Baltimore Concert Opera is offering free tickets for tonight’s performance of Don Pasquale. And joining the fun is Opera Vivente who is inviting the public to get a free backstage glimpse of the audition process by attending their auditions this Friday through Sunday. More information about both of these events in conjunction with National Opera Week is available on their Web site (make sure you choose "Maryland").

As I mentioned, Baltimore Concert Opera’s Don Pasquale opens tonight and tickets are still available. If you can’t make it tonight, a second performance will be held on Saturday evening. The Engineers Club is a beautiful venue to experience opera. Make it an evening by making reservations for dinner at the Club when you buy your tickets (Note: dinner reservations end Friday, so don’t delay). And listen to BCO’s interview on WYPR’s Maryland Morning this week.

Perhaps the biggest news of the week is the much anticipated opening of Baltimore Opera Theatre’s season with Il Barbiere Di Siviglia at the Hippodrome. Tickets are still available, so I encourage you to attend and welcome this new opera company to Baltimore. You can also check out their interview on WYPR’s Midday.

Check out all of the upcoming opera events at www.BaltimoreOpera.com. I received much feedback since my last e-mail and have added events from other companies as well as included the opera simulcasts at The Charles.

As always, I welcome your comments.