For many years, locals in Schuyler dumped trash into an abandoned quarry surrounded by 600 acres of wooded land, but in 1991 the Nelson County property was sold to a culture and nature-loving couple who began restoring it. Today, Miriam Gordon-Stewart says it’s a fine place for her opera company to perform.
“It’s kind of shaped like a beautiful auditorium, and it is full of water, and the sound really travels across the surface of the water.”
Singers and instrumentalists make music from the edges of the quarry, and inevitably, Gordon-Stewart says, nature joins in.
“Cicadas and the insect world really respond to these percussion instruments. Bull frogs particularly respond to French horns.”
The birds, she says, are inclined to chime in when the soprano sings. This year’s shows are set for June 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th with rain dates from the 3rd to the 9th. Only 85 tickets are available for each show. They go on sale April 6th through Victory Hall Opera’s website, and the company warns they sell out quickly.