LAKEPORT, Calif. – Opera has come to Lake County.

The Lake County Symphony’s Fall Concert opens its 41st season with “An Afternoon at the Opera” on Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport.

Conductor John Parkinson has chosen a concert performance of opera overtures and arias featuring dramatic mezzo-soprano Heather McFadden, who has been a prominent singer throughout California for more than a decade.

Bringing a lush voice and dramatic presence to the operatic stage, she has established herself as a compelling performer of the lyric and dramatic mezzo repertoire.

The program features an overture played by the orchestra followed by an aria, from each of three well-known operas: “La Favorita,” “Un Ballo in Maschera” and “Carmen.”

“La Favorita” by Gaetano Donizetti is based on a love triangle involving the King of Castile Alfonso XI, his mistress (“the favorite”) Leonora, and her lover Fernando. McFadden will be singing the aria of Leonora, “O Mio Fernando.”

“Un Ballo in Maschera” (“A Masked Ball”) is an opera by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. The plot is based on the assassination in 1792 of King Gustav III of Sweden who was killed as the result of a political conspiracy against him. He was shot while attending a masked ball.

In the opera, Riccardo (Gustavo) investigates Ulrica, a fortune teller accused of witchcraft, and goes to her house. The opening of the second scene finds Ulrica summoning her magical powers in the aria Re dell’ abisso, affrettati (King of the abyss, make haste), performed by McFadden.

“Carmen,” by Georges Bizet, endures as one of the greatest operas ever written. “Les Toreadors,” the theme from Act I, and Habanera, Carmen’s aria featuring McFadden, are among the best known in all operatic repertoire.

The final number in the program will feature the orchestra, playing Bizet’s familiar “Symphony in C,” his first and only symphony before he continued concentrating on opera composition.

It was written when he was a student at the Paris Conservatoire and reveals an extraordinary talent for a young composer in melodic invention, thematic handling and orchestration.

He started it four days after he turned 17, completing it about a month later. It was never played during his lifetime, but was discovered in the conservatory library in 1933. It was first performed in 1935 and quickly became part of the standard Romantic repertoire.

Reserve tickets now for the opening season fall concert set for Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Soper Reese Theatre. General admission for the 2 p.m. concert is $25 or $30 for premium seating. Lake County Symphony Association members receive a $5 discount.

Open rehearsal starts at 11 a.m. The cost is $5 for adults and is free for those under 18.

The November concert is dedicated to the memory of Chris Hansom, longtime horn player in the Lake County Symphony who passed away recently.