Summer Performance Series

Sunday evenings June through August
In the Theater in the Woods outdoor amphitheater
Free, with a $5 per person suggested donation to support the program

The Summer Performance Series is a family-friendly program that features a wide variety of music, theater and dance concerts presented against a backdrop of earthworks and majestic oaks in the Theater in the Woods amphitheater.

The series brings some of the most talented regional and local artists to perform outdoors at Caponi Art Park. Bring the whole family and join us for an exciting season celebrating art and nature at Caponi Art Park.

Bring lawn chairs or a blanket to spread on the grassy slopes for an enjoyable evening at the Art Park.

All groups, including childcare centers, schools, scout troops, and service groups, must call ahead for space availability, fees, and parking information.

Parking
In addition to our main parking lot at 1220 Diffley Road, performance parking is available at the Lexington-Diffley Athletic fields. Banners and signs will be posted. Walking distance to amphitheater is a hilly 5-minute hike from either entrance. Golf carts will be available to transport guests with mobility needs.

Minnesota Sinfonia
Sunday, June 23, 7 p.m.
Rain date: June 21 at 7:30 p.m.

The Minnesota Sinfonia's summer family pops concert presents a wide variety of music from the movies, Broadway, marches, waltzes, and light classics. Characterized by their elegant strings, this fine-tuned professional chamber orchestra boasts some of the very best musicians in the Twin Cities committed to providing free access to music.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
Sunday, June 30, 6:30 p.m.
Rain location: Easter Lutheran Church, 4545 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan

Three guys in tights will take on The Bard in an unprecedented attempt to perform all 37 of Shakespeare's Immortal Works in just 97 minutes! As much a weight loss program as a piece of theater, this rollicking, madcap, romp through the entire Cannon of the greatest of all dead, English, playwrights who lived in Stratford but worked mostly in London before catching a cold and shuffling off this mortal coil leaving behind a very angry wife in a second hand bed will have you screaming with laughter and begging for more!!

The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged) has been delighting audiences of all ages for over 20 years so grab the kids, pack a picnic, spread a blanket and enjoy Shakespeare as he was originally performed: outside, by sweaty men, in women's clothing! Be to not! Or be to!

Sound and Place: Minnesota by Hugh Livingston, McKnight Visiting Composer with the American Composers Forum
Sunday, July 7, 6:30 p.m.

California composer Hugh Livingston presents a sonically animated summer evening stroll through the rolling hillsides of the Caponi Art Park. Musicians will flit in and out of the woods, a low clarinet trilling responding to rapid-fire marimba in the distance. The musical ideas are a counterpoint to the natural sounds of the park, responding to the birdsong that surrounds us, the rush of the wind in the trees, the trickling of water in streams. Birdcages hanging from trees provide a visual element, with unusual sounds emanating from them, supplementing the live performance with a multichannel sound installation covering several acres.

Visitors are free to explore the site in a new way, kids can participate in playing percussion, and everyone can view nature and music-making in a different light.

Dakota Valley Summer Pops Orchestra and Chorale
Sunday, July 14, 6:30 p.m.
Rain date: June 21 at 7:30 p.m.

The organization was created in1986to provide an opportunity for skilled volunteer musicians to join together to perform and promote diverse symphonic musical experiences of all periods and styles for residents of the south suburban Twin Cities area. The group also provides a forum for aspiring local composers to premiere their work. The symphony is comprised of a 90-member Summer Pops orchestra and chorus, all under the direction of founder and music director Stephen J. Ramsey.

Bailes y Musica de Mariachi de Mexico by Los Alegres Bailadores and Mariachi Flor Y Canto
Sunday, August 4, 6:30 p.m.
Rain location: Easter Lutheran Church, 4545 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan

Los Alegres Bailadores is a Mexican folkloric dance group that has been delivering colorful and truly authentic dance performances all over the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota for over thirty years. It is Los Alegres Bailadores' mission is to preserve Mexican folkloric traditions as a bridge to link the younger generations with their Mexican heritage and educate the community about the Mexican culture. This rich culture shines through the lively repertoire of dances performed by Los Alegres Bailadores, honoring the arts and traditions of this beautiful country.

The music of Mariachi Flor Y Canto is a traditional blend of three violins, two trumpets, a vihuela, two Guitarras, and a guitarron. The styles range from a classical waltz, rhythmic polkas, cumbias and the traditional "sones" that make the Mariachi what it is: the heart and soul of Mexico.

Mixed Precipitation's Agent Fidelio: A Picnic Operetta
Sunday, August 18, 6:30 p.m.
Rain location: Easter Lutheran Church, 4545 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan

It's Beethoven's opera of revolution and liberation retold with secret agents, covert operations and undercover antics--all mashed-up with many musical surprises and served with a sampling menu of locally-sourced bites!

Under the corrupt rule of governor Don Pizzario, an idealistic revolutionary has been jailed for treason, hidden away in a secret cell. Meanwhile, his lover Leonore, goes undercover with a secret mission to liberate the jail and ignite revolution! Performed in German and English with subtitles. Beethoven's soaring arias and choruses are woven with the pulse of Jimmy Cliff's inspiring reggae! This opera will bring laughs and thrills to audiences of all ages.

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