St. Petersburg Opera and Cage Brewing present an original POPera series and the release of a new limited small-batch brew.
Press Release: Artistic Director Mark Sforzini has put together a unique operatic presentation titled POPera: Tavern Songs. This exceptional music program highlights drinking songs from the world of opera and musical theater. Guests will experience boisterous operatic excerpts set in taverns, drinking songs and toasting songs, plots about going a drink-too-far, and sometimes, the consequences thereof. Aficionados and those new to opera will be delighted by St. Petersburg Opera’s world-class singers, with a piano accompaniment, performing some of the most spirited pieces from Carmen, La Traviata, Les Misérables, Die Fledermaus, Sweeney Todd, and more.
All four POPera performances will be held in the spacious covered beer garden at Cage Brewing, 2001 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33712 with shows on Thursday, April 21st at 7pm; Friday, April 22nd at 7pm; Saturday, April 23rd at 3pm; and Sunday, April 24th at 3pm. Individual tickets for $35 are available online at www.stpeteopera.org or by phone at (727)823-2040.
This production is sponsored by Dr. Paul Schilling and Dr. Jay Dutton and supported in part by the Florida Department of State Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the City of St. Petersburg.
In addition to the spectacular music program, POPera-goers will enjoy a specially crafted beer named, The Phantom of the HOPera, which is described as an “Old School IPA,” combining Citra and Cascade hops to create a crisp palate-pleasing citrusy flavor. Phantom of the HOPera will clock in at 7.1% ABV and 50 IBUs. A portion of all proceeds from the sale of this limited-edition brew will go to the St. Petersburg Opera to help the non-profit fund its artistic and educational endeavors.
About the St. Petersburg Opera Company
Founded in 2007 by Maestro Mark Sforzini, the mission of the St. Petersburg Opera Company – a not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation – is to enrich the cultural lives of the residents of and visitors to the Tampa Bay area, by presenting fully staged professional opera productions of the highest quality, and to make opera accessible to present and future audiences through community outreach, educational initiatives, and collaboration with other arts organizations.
About Cage Brewing
Cage Brewing began our journey in the back of a small restaurant in Treasure Island, Florida. One of our cooks who is now our head brewer Eric Richardson was a home brewer boiling his wort on top of the restaurants gas stove when I asked him “What are you doing? You are supposed to be cooking. He told me he was making beer so I asked him to give me a sample when it was finished. Well, that finished product was an awesome IPA, so as an owner I came up with the idea of starting a brewpub. In the back of a tiny kitchen, we put together a 20-gallon brewstand and a makeshift fermentor.
We could not keep up with the demand, so we decided to build a larger brewery off-site and found this great property in St. Pete’s Grand Central District. So since we began our journey in a Cage in the back of the restaurant we decided to call the brewery Cage Brewing, and to this day we still cannot keep up with production, but that’s a good thing! Our vision is not to become millionaires but to make the best beer possible for our guests and still make a good living and be comfortable.