BASIC Berkshires

Met Opera Live in HD: Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier”
2025-12-13 13:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
Giordano’s passionate tragedy stars tenor Piotr Beczała as the virtuous poet who falls victim to the intrigue and violence of the French Revolution. Following their celebrated recent partnership in Giordano’s Fedora in the 2022–23 Live in HD season, Beczała reunites with soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Chénier’s aristocratic lover, Maddalena di Coigny, with baritone Igor Golovatenko as Carlo Gérard, the agent of the Reign of Terror who seals their fates. Met Principal Guest Conductor Daniele Rustioni takes the podium to lead Nicolas Joël’s gripping staging, which will be transmitted live from the Met stage to cinemas on December 13. This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe.

Berkshire Opera Festival's Community Sing-Along
2026-01-10 14:00 - 16:00 | St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 67 East Street, Pittsfield, 01201
Berkshire Opera Festival is excited to invite you to our third annual Community Sing-Along!
​This free, fun-filled event brings everyone together to sing beloved opera choruses by composers like Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner—alongside BOF choristers and members of our wider Berkshire singing community.
​Singers of all experience levels are encouraged to join in. Whether you’re a seasoned vocalist or just love to sing for fun, you’ll fit right in. For ages 13+.
The event is free, but registration is required. We’ll send you the music and helpful details ahead of time—no preparation needed, just come ready to sing and enjoy a joyful afternoon of music-making.

Met Opera Live in HD: Bellini’s “I Puritani”
2026-01-11 13:00 - 16:00 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
For gorgeous melody, spellbinding coloratura, and virtuoso vocal fireworks, ‘I Puritani’ has few equals. The first new Met production of Bellini’s final masterpiece in nearly 50 years is a striking staging by Charles Edwards, who makes his company directorial debut after many successes as a set designer. The Met has assembled a world-beating quartet of stars, conducted by Marco Armiliato, for the demanding principal roles. Soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Lawrence Brownlee are Elvira and Arturo, brought together by love and torn apart by the political rifts of the English Civil War, with baritone Artur Ruciński as Riccardo, betrothed to Elvira against her will, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Elvira’s sympathetic uncle, Giorgio.

Chrissi Poland – Forever Muscle Shoals
2026-02-21 20:00 - 22:00 | Indigo Room, 20 Castle Street, Great Barrington, 01230
With special guest Matt Cusson
Acclaimed vocalist and songwriter Chrissi Poland brings Forever Muscle Shoals to the Indigo Room! Forever Muscle Shoals celebrates the songs and sounds recorded in Muscle Shoals, AL, in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, where soul, blues, rock and country converged to create some of the most important recordings in American music. Deeply inspired by sharing the stage with Muscle Shoals icons like Mavis Staples, Ronnie Wood and more, Chrissi Poland is bringing her vocal power, interpretation and stories to songs from Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Wilson Pickett, Cher, Bob Dylan, and beyond. With the album due out in March 2026, don’t miss the chance to witness Chrissi Poland and this soul-stirring catalogue of music.

Black Violin
2026-02-27 20:00 - 22:00 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
Step into Black Violin’s Full Circle Tour, where Grammy-nominated duo Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus redefine the possibilities of music by merging classical depth with hip-hop’s pulse. This tour captures the essence of returning to where it all began—transformed and reimagined. Each powerful performance invites audiences to reflect on their own journeys, discovering that even as we evolve, we’re often drawn back to our roots with renewed purpose.

Berkshire Opera Festival's Winterreise
2026-03-07 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-03-07 14:00 - 15:30 | Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning, Tanglewood, 3 West Hawthorne Road, Lenox, MA, 01240
A rejected lover. A frozen landscape. A profound loneliness. Hailed as the greatest song cycle ever written, Schubert’s Winterreise follows a wandering protagonist on his quest for comfort on a winter’s night. But this is not merely a trek through snow and ice—it is an intimate odyssey into the depths of the soul. Join internationally acclaimed baritone Jarrett Porter and Artistic Director Brian Garman as they take you on this deeply moving and cathartic journey.
For information on discounted tickets, contact Sarah Prouty at sprouty@berkshireoperafestival.org.
This program is funded in part by a grant from the Lenox Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Discounted tickets to BOF’s production of Winterreise are generously sponsored by Adrian & Christine Slywotzky.

Better Than Ezra
2026-03-27 19:30 - 21:00 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
Songs, albums, live performances — some are simply timeless. From their early roots, circa 1988, playing house parties at Louisiana State University, Better Than Ezra have made their mark on the music world in a major way. Yes, the New Orleans quartet, founded by Kevin Griffin (lead vocals, guitar, piano) and Tom Drummond (bass, backing vocals), who unleash hummable melodies, unshakable guitar riffs, and confessional lyrics, have stood the test of time — from 1995’s number one hit “Good” all the way to Taylor Swift’s famous 2010 cover of the Better Than Ezra classic “Breathless.” And they’re still going strong: in May 2024, the band released their long-anticipated tenth studio album “Super Magick” via Round Hill Records. Named one of the “100 Greatest Alternative Artists of All Time” by “Billboard,” with a legacy that includes inspiring a classic “Saturday Night Live” skit, Better Than Ezra spent 2024 on the road touring their headline “Live a Little Tour” in the spring and continuing through the year, recently wrapping their “Legends of the Fall: Tokyo Drift Tour.”
