Club Critics' Picks Opera on the Mountain

Here in Nashville, the hills are alive with the sound of chirping. The rhythmic clicking of the cicada's mating song swells in the air without ceasing. It may ring in our ears forever. But the Nashville Opera has defiantly thrown down the gauntlet against insect noise pollution by agreeing to perform outdoors at the Dyer Observatory. Nestled into our city's rolling southern hills, the observatory sits atop one of the tallest peaks in Nashville. This 1953 architectural gem provides a romantic setting for a performance of favorites from musicals such as My Fair Lady and Camelot. Operatic selections from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro will echo through the hills. A brief respite from the bug invasion, tonight's performance is bigger than the music. It's a moment of human triumph. — Deborah Walden