Virginia Opera, The Official Opera Company of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and presenting sponsor Wells Fargo Private Bank, announce that the Opera will present its annual Opera in the Park concert in two of its homes this year.  As in previous years, Opera in the Park will take place at Norfolk’s Town Point Park on Saturday, Sep. 7 in conjunction with Festevents 2013 Season. And, for the first time, the concert will also be presented in Richmond, Va., at the Dogwood Dell Amphitheatre as part of the City’s 57th Festival of Arts, on Saturday, Aug. 31.

The Virginia Opera opened its rousing, energetic spring production of Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s classic musical “Carousel” last weekend at Norfolk’s Harrison Opera House. Running through May 19, the current performances, presented in conjunction with the 2013 Virginia Arts Festival, mark the revival of the company’s well-received 1996 production.

A few days before New Yorker Greg Ganakas headed to Norfolk to direct the classic musical "Carousel," he visited a carousel in Central Park, just to remember what it's like. "It reminded me of when I was a child and when I first stepped onto it, and how fast it went," Ganakas said earlier this week. "And you can choose which horse you're going to get on. And they go up and they go down." "It's turning and it's motion and there's magic to it."