The Highlands Performing Arts Center is set to become a cultural hub with a rich lineup of events that capture the spirit of artistic expression. From the sophisticated tunes of the Fabulous Equinox Orchestra to the operatic grandeur of MET's productions, each event promises an immersive experience that celebrates the diversity of art and music. Whether you're a fan of classical opera, modern musical arrangements, or the timeless beauty of the Renaissance, there's something for every art lover to cherish and indulge in.

Highlands Performing Arts Center: A Symphony of Art and Music Celebrations

The Highlands Performing Arts Center is all set to bring an eclectic mix of world-class operatic performances and insightful art documentaries to audiences this spring. With a line-up that features Beethoven’s gripping Fidelio, Mozart’s witty Le Nozze di Figaro, and an exploration of Edvard Munch’s profound legacy, there is something for every art enthusiast. This season not only entertains but also enlightens with a series of cinematic transmissions and art tours, offering a deep dive into cultural treasures and timeless narratives.

A Cultural Feast: Opera Masterpieces and Art Chronicles at the Highlands Performing Arts Center

The Highlands Performing Arts Center is set to host a kaleidoscope of cultural events from March to June 2025, showcasing some of the finest operatic performances and artistic screenings. This season's lineup includes captivating operas transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera, such as 'Fidelio,' 'Le Nozze di Figaro,' 'Salome,' and 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia,' alongside insightful art documentaries featuring Edvard Munch and Perugino. Whether you are an opera aficionado or an art enthusiast, these events promise a vibrant journey through sound, sight, and history, offering something for every cultural taste.

A Season of Operatic Excellence and Artistic Discovery at the Highlands Performing Arts Center

The Highlands Performing Arts Center is set to host an array of captivating events that blend classical opera with immersive art experiences. From Mozart's comedic 'Le Nozze di Figaro' to the visually stunning 'Florence & The Uffizi Gallery,' audiences will be treated to world-class performances and artistic journeys. Join us as we explore the details and highlights of these extraordinary events, celebrating artistic genius from Edvard Munch to Perugino, and operatic tales from 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' to 'Salome.'

A Symphony of Art and Opera at Highlands Performing Arts Center

The Highlands Performing Arts Center is set to be a cultural hotspot in 2025, offering a diverse lineup of events that cater to both music and art enthusiasts. From Mozart's comedic opera 'Le Nozze di Figaro' to the visual exploration of Munch's profound legacy in 'Love, Ghosts, and Lady Vampires,' and the dramatic opera 'Salome' by Strauss, to the artistic journey through Perugino's masterpieces, there is something for everyone. The season finishes in a flourish with the comic 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' and an immersive dive into the Italian Renaissance with 'Florence & The Uffizi Gallery.'

Highlands Performing Arts Center: A Symphony of Opera and Art

Florence and the Uffizi Gallery is a journey into the Italian Renaissance through the most beautiful, representative works of art of the period. It is a totally immersive and unique experience and allows the audience t0 see, listen, feel and savor the most outstanding and celebrated breeding ground of creativity in the history of art.

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Great Art On Screen: Florence & The Uffizi Gallery

Highlands Performing Arts Center

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2024–25 Live in HD season comes to a close with a live transmission of Rossini’s effervescent comedy on May 31. Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina headlines a winning ensemble as the feisty heroine, Rosina, alongside American tenor Jack Swanson, in his Met debut, as her secret beloved, Count Almaviva. Moldovan baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky stars as Figaro, the ingenious barber of Seville, with Hungarian bass-baritone Peter Ka´lma´n as Dr. Bartolo and Russian bass Alexander Vinogradov as Don Basilio rounding out the principal cast. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts Bartlett Sher’s madcap production.

MET: Il Barbiere di Siviglia

Perugino: Eternal Renaissance is a journey to discover Perugino, one of the most revered artists of the 15th Century and to celebrate the 500th Anniversary of his death. 

Journey through Italy to discover his great masterpieces, from the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel to the two rooms entirely dedicated to him in the National Gallery of Umbria. Spectators will be led on a guided discovery of the artist’s harmonious work: a perfect balance between man and nature, realism and idealism, as seen in paintings such as “The Delivery of the Keys” in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, “Lamentation over the Dead Christ” in the Galleria Palatina in Florence, the “Pietà” and “Agony in the Garden” in the Uffizi Gallery.

Great Art On Screen: Perugino: Eternal Renaissance

Met Music Director Yannick Ne´zet-Se´guin takes the podium to conduct Strauss’s one-act tragedy, which will be transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera stage to cinemas worldwide. Leading the company’s first new production of the work in 20 years, Claus Guth, one of Europe’s leading opera directors, gives the biblical story a psychologically perceptive Victorian-era setting. South African soprano Elza van den Heever leads a celebrated cast as the abused and unhinged antiheroine, with Swedish baritone Peter Mattei as the imprisoned prophet Jochanaan; German tenor Gerhard Siegel as Salome’s lecherous stepfather, King Herod; American mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as his wife, Herodias; and Polish tenor Piotr Buszewski as Narraboth.

MET: Salome

Munch: Love, Ghosts and Lady Vampires strives to shed new light on Edvard Munch, a profoundly mysterious, fascinating man, a trailblazer and a master for everyone who came after him. Now marks a turning point in our knowledge of the artist: the new MUNCH museum which opened in October 2021 in Oslo houses the immense legacy the artist left to his city: 28,000 works of art including paintings, prints, drawings, notebooks, sketches, photographs and his experiments with film. This extraordinary legacy gives us an exceptional insight into the mind, the passions and the art of this genius.

Great Art On Screen: Munch: Love, Ghosts, and Lady Vampires

Mozart’s timeless comedy returns to cinemas worldwide with a live transmission from the Metropolitan Opera. Conductor Joana Mallwitz, in her Met debut, takes the podium to conduct a stellar ensemble cast including American bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as the clever valet Figaro, Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska as the wily maid Susanna, Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins as the skirt-chasing Count, Italian soprano Federica Lombardi as his anguished wife, and French mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa as the adolescent page Cherubino.

MET: Le Nozze di Figaro

Following a string of awe-inspiring Live in HD performances, Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Leonore, the faithful wife who risks everything to save her husband from the clutches of tyranny in Beethoven’s Fidelio. Completing the distinguished cast is British tenor David Butt Philip as the political prisoner Florestan, Polish bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny as the villainous Don Pizarro, veteran German bass Rene´ Pape as the jailer Rocco, Chinese soprano Ying Fang and German tenor Magnus Dietrich as the young Marzelline and Jaquino, and Danish bass Stephen Milling as the principled Don Fernando. Susanna Ma¨lkki conducts the March 15 performance, which will be transmitted live from the Met stage to cinemas worldwide.

MET: Fidelio

American soprano Angel Blue headlines as the Ethiopian princess torn between love and country in a new production of Verdi’s Aida by Michael Mayer that brings audiences inside the towering pyramids and gilded tombs of ancient Egypt with intricate projections and dazzling animations. Romanian-Hungarian mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi also stars as Aida’s rival, Amneris, alongside Polish tenor Piotr Beczala as the soldier Radame`s—completing opera’s greatest love triangle. Met Music Director Yannick Ne´zet-Se´guin takes the podium to conduct the January 25 performance, which will be transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera stage to cinemas worldwide.

MET: Aida

All across America and around the world, audiences have fallen in love with these two sophisticated Southern gentlemen and the high-energy show featuring the Fabulous Equinox Orchestra. Along with the greatest songs, the best original arrangements and phenomenal musicianship, these two bring their rich camaraderie and charm to the stage. Inspired by the style and swagger of legendary entertainers like Frank and Dean and Sammy, Davis & Johnson are making their own revisions to the Great American songbook. This recipe for 100% audience approval includes the favorite melodies from recent history–a dash of Motown, a shot of Country, some folk and rock sprinkled on top–and the stories behind them, serving up a musical banquet that feeds every soul.

Fabulous Equinox Orchestra

"Mark and Maggie O’Connor: American Classics identifies the cornerstones of repertoire, style and wonderful diversity of A New American School of String Playing. Mining a huge body of repertoire that has made its impact on American music, the selected tunes and arrangements by Mr. O'Connor represent stylistic importance, pedagogical value and have timeless appeal. The program offers a broad and interconnecting collection of American music through violin/fiddle solos and duos, with additional original music by Mr. O'Connor on violin, guitar and mandolin and augmented by Americana vocal song treatments. Audiences will find themselves inspired by the songbook of America as they have never heard it before.

Mark O’Connor’s Appalachian Christmas Featuring Maggie O’Connor

A GRAMMY nominee and winner of 13 International Bluegrass Music Association awards, Darren Nicholson has taken his own brand of mountain music around the world. A regular for years on the Grand Ole Opry out of Nashville Tennessee, and a founding member of acclaimed bluegrass group Balsam Range, Darren now spends his time recording, writing new songs, and performing. You can catch Darren almost every week sharing the music he loves somewhere, traveling both nationally and internationally - as a solo artist, with his own Darren Nicholson Band, or in collaboration with other musicians.

Darren Nicholson

Extraordinary Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen stars as the passionate title diva in David McVicar’s thrilling production, transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera stage to cinemas on November 23. British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso makes his eagerly anticipated company debut as Tosca’s revolutionary lover, Cavaradossi, and powerhouse American baritone Quinn Kelsey is the sadistic chief of police Scarpia. Maestro Xian Zhang conducts the electrifying score, which features some of Puccini’s most memorable melodies.

MET: Tosca

Jeanine Tesori / Libretto by George Brant Grounded Tony Award–winning composer Jeanine Tesori’s powerful new opera Grounded premieres at the Metropolitan Opera, wrestling with often-overlooked issues created by 21st-century warmaking: the ethical conflicts created by the use of modern military technology and the psychological and emotional toll supposedly safe remote technology takes on our servicepersons. Canadian mezzosoprano Emily D’Angelo stars as the hot-shot fighter pilot whose unplanned pregnancy takes her out of the cockpit and lands her in Las Vegas, operating a Reaper drone halfway around the world. American tenor Ben Bliss costars as the Wyoming rancher Eric in a production by Michael Mayer that brings this story to life in a high-tech staging which presents a variety of perspectives on the action. Met Music Director Yannick Ne´zet-Se´guin takes the podium to conduct Tesori’s kaleidoscopic opera.

MET: Grounded

 End of the Line is the premiere Allman Brothers tribute band. Having carved up the southeast with sold out shows in Georgia & Tennessee, End of the Line is making a name for themselves with a sound as classic & heavy as the original brothers themselves. From the authentic, raspy vocal approach of Justin Smith to the chugging drum/percussion train of Chase Bader, Dave Czuba, and Ryan McClanahan, the band both pays homage while pushing the boundaries of the timeless & extensive catalog. Carrying the electric weight of Duane Allman is Conor Kelly & his counterpart dickey is Adam Gorman, who is the band’s lone maconite. Last, but certainly not least, the low-end duties are vastly covered by Casey Conway, who is a perfect bottom end sandwich of Berry, Allen, and Oteil. With endorsements from the official Allman Brothers museum The Big House, End of the Line carries on the legacy of the Allman Brothers with poise & power.

End of the Line

Chi-Town Transit Authority is an 8-piece Chicago Tribute band based out of Atlanta, Ga. established in 2017 and dedicated in reproducing the “Chicago” Concert experience. Chi-Town performs all of the familiar and famous songs covering over 4 decades of steady hits from Chicago. These songs are guaranteed to bring back memories. Chi-Town’s emphasis is on the kind of live show that brings down the house and leaves the crowd calling for more!... If it’s excitement you are looking for, Chi-Town Transit Authority is the band who can bring it!

Chi-Town

Don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to view 3 exquisitely decorated homes in Cullusaja Club. Nationally renowned designer and local Highlands resident, Darren Whatley, was recognized in New York for his designs, and has spread his design talents on two of the homes. One home boasts a private art gallery. 

PAC Home Tour at Cullasaja Club

The Texas Tenors are the most successful music group and third highest selling artist in the history of America’s Got Talent! These classically trained, versatile tenors were recently honored to be included among the top 50 acts in the world and the only vocal group from the United States invited to appear on NBC’s America’s Got Talent: The Champions and are filled with pride to be inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.

The Texas Tenors invite you to celebrate a huge milestone with them.. 15 years together!  On TTT’s 15th Anniversary Tour you will hear new music along with rousing patriotic favorites and everything from Country to Classical!

The Texas Tenors

"Neil Berg's 50 Years of Rock & Roll is not only a highly entertaining look at the history of iconic music, using the best musicians and authentic Broadway/Rock & Roll artists in the world, but also tells the story of America since the 1930s, and all the incredible influences and cultures that make up our "melting pot," which is poured into the fabric of our music, which influenced generations around the world.

Neil Berg: 50 Years of Rock & Roll

Join us for an unforgettable evening of Bourbon & Bluegrass featuring Bourbon Revival, Kentucky's number one rockin' bluegrass band!

 

Starting at 6pm, indulge in a delectable buffet dinner and sip on fine bourbon as you mingle with fellow supporters and music enthusiasts. Then at 7pm, get ready to be swept away by the energetic tunes and infectious rhythms of Bourbon Revival, known for their electrifying performances and soulful bluegrass melodies.

 

This special event is dedicated to benefiting REACH of Macon County, whose mission is to eradicate domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking crimes in Macon County through prevention, intervention, and educational services.

REACH Bourbon & Bluegrass

Three extraordinary sopranos—Aleksandra Kurzak, Eleonora Buratto, and Asmik Grigorian (in her highly anticipated Met debut)—tackle the demanding role of Cio-Cio-San, the loyal geisha at the heart of Puccini’s devastating tragedy. Tenors Matthew Polenzani and Jonathan Tetelman co-star as the callous American naval officer Pinkerton, whose betrayal destroys her. Mezzo-sopranos Elizabeth DeShong and Eve Gigliotti share the role of the steadfast maid Suzuki, and baritone Davide Luciano and Lucas Meachem are the American consul Sharpless. Acclaimed maestro Xian Zhang makes her Met debut conducting Anthony Minghella’s vivid production.

MET: Madama Butterfly

Mojo & The Bayou Gypsies is a vibrant musical ensemble hailing from the cultural heartland of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. At the helm is Mojo, a charismatic and talented musician deeply rooted in the rich musical traditions of the region. The band's sonic tapestry is a captivating fusion of zydeco, Cajun, and their unique musical flair, which Mojo aptly dubs "Red Hot Mojo Music.

Mojo & The Bayou Gypsies

Oliver is a young orphan living in Victorian England. After escaping a workhouse and an abusive apprenticeship, he finds himself amongst a group of petty thieves and pickpockets lead by the enigmatic Fagin, and a memorable cast of characters that include the Artful Dodger, Nancy, and Bill Sykes and others. So begin Oliver's whirlwind adventures and his search to find the true love of a family. Lionel Bart's Tony® and Olivier Award®-winning musical interpretation of Charles Dickens' classic novel has been regarded as a masterpiece among audiences for seven decades.

PAC EDU: Oliver!

Opening is a special day in a productions existence. On Friday April 26th @6pm, PAC Educational Theatre will have its first opening night ever for its All Community Production of OLIVER! With that there will be an Opening Night Reception and Silent Auction Fundraiser to celebrate all the hard work the community has done to make this production happen. Please join us for this wonderful evening as PAC Educational Theatre begins its journey, and be there to be the first to find out all the Upcoming Productions for next years Educational Theatre lineup. The Gala begins @6pm and the performance will begin @7pm on PAC's Mainstage.

PAC EDU: Oliver! GALA

Puccini’s bittersweet love story makes a rare Met appearance, with soprano Angel Blue starring as the French courtesan Magda, opposite tenor Jonathan Tetelman in his highly anticipated company debut as Ruggero, an idealistic young man who offers her an alternative to her life of excess. Maestro Speranza Scappucci conducts Nicolas Joël’s Art Deco–inspired staging, which transports audiences from the heart of Parisian nightlife to a dreamy vision of the French Riviera.

MET: La Rondine

In the final hours of April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, collided with an iceberg and ‘the unsinkable ship’ slowly sank.  It was one of the most tragic disasters of the 20th Century.  Fifteen hundred seventeen men, women, and children lost their lives.  

Based on real people aboard the most legendary ship in the world, Titanic: The Musical is ‘breathtaking’ (the Guardian) and ‘magnificent’ (the Telegraph), a stunning and stirring production focusing on the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of her passengers who each boarded with stories and personal ambitions of their own.  All innocently unaware of the fate awaiting them, the Third-Class immigrants dream of a better life in America, the Second Class imagine they too can join the lifestyles of the rich and famous, whilst the millionaire Barons of the First Class anticipate legacies lasting forever.  

TITANIC The Musical

Winning over popes and emperors with his iconic, revolutionary works Titian succeeded in becoming one of the artists that symbolized the entire Renaissance. Titian was an extraordinary master of color and a brilliant entrepreneur, innovative both in a painting’s composition but also in how to sell it. In only a few years, Tiziano Vecellio became the official painter of Venice and the utmost artist sought after by the richest and most influential Courts in Europe.

GAOS: TITIAN: The Empire of Color

Two singers at the height of their powers — radiant soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor sensation Benjamin Bernheim — come together as the star-crossed lovers in Gounod's sumptuous Shakespeare adaptation, with Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium to conduct one of the repertoire's most romantic scores.

MET: Romeo Et Juliette

Charlie Brown and the entire Peanuts bunch explore life's great questions as they play baseball, struggle with homework, sing songs, swoon over their crushes, and celebrate the joy of friendship. The whole gang is here: bossy Lucy is hopelessly in love with piano prodigy Schroeder who doesn’t give her the time of day, perfectionist Sally is still mocking blanket-toting Linus, Snoopy is in the doghouse, and “blockhead,” himself, Charlie Brown, is in rare form. Brief vignettes span the months from Valentine’s Day to Beethoven Day.


You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown

Kha, architect and builder of tombs for the pharaohs, must undertake the journey to the Underworld. Telling us the story of his voyage is Jeremy Irons, in the guise of a narrator. His words take us inside the secret world of Egyptian mythology, religion and funerary culture, interweaving the story with the history of the oldest museum in the world, the Museo Egizio in Turin, founded in 1824 and will soon be celebrating its 200th anniversary. In fact, the Kha’s own Tomb is to be found in Turin along with the most complete and most valuable private collection of grave goods outside of Egypt.

MET: La Forza Del Destino

GAOS: The Immortals: The Wonder of the Museo Egizio

Highlands Elementary School Students Present Disney’s Aristocats Kids. Based on the beloved Disney animated film, and featuring a jazzy, upbeat score. 



Disney’s The Aristocats KIDS is a non-stop thrill ride of feline fun, complete with unbelievable twists and turns. In the heart of Paris, a kind and eccentric millionairess wills her entire estate to Duchess, her high-society cat, and her three little kittens. Laughs and adventure ensue as the greedy, bumbling butler pulls off the ultimate catnap caper. Now it's up to the rough-and-tumble alley cat, Thomas O'Malley, and his band of swingin' jazz cats to save the day.

Disney's "The Aristocats Kids"

A journey into the great beauty of Baroque Rome, when the city was the centre of western art and where every ambitious painter, sculptor and architect had to be.
 
This is the story of the most famous artistic rivalry of all time, the one between Borromini and Bernini, but also the story of Borromini’s rivalry with himself: a genius so absorbed by his art that he turns it into a demon that devours him from the inside forcing him to choose death to reach eternity.

GAOS: Borromini and Bernini: The Challenge For Perfection

An America’s Got Talent finalist from Season 8, Catapult features incredible dancers who work behind a screen to create magical shadow silhouettes of shapes from the world around us. Be amazed as you watch their bodies transform into a mountain, an elephant, a dragon, even a helicopter! You’ll never figure out how they do it, and you won’t know what they will create next – you’ll be surprised and delighted again and again. Packed with hundreds of shape transformation, the show is full of humor, emotion and engaging stories.

Catapult

Acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell makes her Met debut, reinvigorating the classic story with a staging that moves the action to the modern day and finds at the heart of the drama issues that could not be more relevant today: gendered violence, abusive labor structures, and the desire to break through societal boundaries. Dazzling young mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leads a powerhouse quartet of stars in the complex and volatile title role, alongside tenor Piotr Beczala as Carmen’s troubled lover Don José, soprano Angel Blue as the loyal Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo.

MET: Carmen (Bizet)

Ancient Babylon comes to life in a classic Met staging of biblical proportions. Baritone George Gagnidze makes his Met role debut as the imperious king Nabucco, alongside soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska reprising her thrilling turn as his vengeful daughter Abigaille. 

Highlands Performing Arts Center

Jun 19, 2025

Great Art On Screen: Florence & The Uffizi Gallery

May 31, 2025

MET: Il Barbiere di Siviglia

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Highlands Performing Arts Center