Ludington to host ‘North Country Opera’ screening

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Image for Ludington to host North Country Opera screening is a scene from Jay Stielstra's opera. The setting is the fictional Buckhorn Bar in northern Michigan with a wooden bar with a Budweiser sign over it, a few wooden stools in front of it, a table with a red and white checked tablecloth and three cast members. All are singing with their hands in the air. One customer, a woman wearing a sweater over her flowered dress is seated at a barstool and in one of her hands raised over her head is a beer can. The other customer with one raised hand is wearing a white shirt and a tie beneath a black business suit coat and slacks. He is standing and his shirttail is hanging out over the front of one pant leg. The third person in the bar is the bartender. There is a fourth person with raised arms but that person cannot be seen readily behind the woman seated at the bar.

Photo of a scene from “North Country Opera” courtesy of JayStielstra.com.

Edited from a press release

The “North Country Opera: Live at The Ark” is coming to the Ludington Area Center for the Arts (LACA), 107 S. Harrison St.,  on Friday, Nov. 15, for a 7:30 p.m. screening.

“North Country Opera” has delighted its many fans since it was first produced for the stage in 1982. Written by Ludington songwriter, musician, poet and playwright Jay Stielstra, the opera was  performed live for years and toured around northern Michigan. LACA hosted one of the sold-out performances in 2022, during the opera’s 40th anniversary. (Read F.R. contributing writer Gordon Berg’s 2021 story, “A Timeless Waltz with the Manistee River”, about Stielstra.)

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That same year, the opera was recorded live at The Ark, a renowned, nonprofit music club located in Ann Arbor.

Though Stielstra died in March, his popular, feel-good folk musical about life and love in northern Michigan lives on in the recording, which premiered at the historic Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor in late 2023.

The change in format, from live theater to the big screen, allows viewers to see details they may have missed during live performances, thanks to different angles recorded by five cameras. The sound has been engineered, mixed and mastered so that every note is crystal clear.  The recording captures “every musical note, comedic line, and bar-stool wise crack in high fidelity,” according to a statement in LACA’s press release.

Set in the Buckhorn Bar in northern Michigan, Stielstra’s opera is the north country’s own version of a timeless love story: A young man falls in love with the beauty of the northern woods and rivers ⸺ and the woman he meets there. After leaving for the city to pursue bigger and better things, he realizes how much he misses the two loves he left behind.

It is a loving tribute to the people and culture of northern Michigan: fishing for trout in the cold rivers, hunting for birds in the autumn woods and snowmobiling in winter. And, of course, the camaraderie and wit of local characters found in a favorite tavern.

The opera features some of Stielstra’s most memorable folk songs, including “I Love Two Rivers”, “Heaven for Me”, “The Boats Came in to Ludington” and more. The songs are performed by a cast of Michigan musicians and theater actors, including Rochelle Clark and Brad Phillips with Chris Buhalis, Kristi Davis, Peter Knox, Christina McMullen, David Menefee, and Italy-based artist Aaron Stielstra. The Buckhorn Bar Band features Music Director Judy Banker with Michigan music favorites David Roof, Grant Flick and Charlie Reischl.

Of all the plays he wrote, Stielstra’s “North Country Opera” was the most produced.

Tickets to the event cost $15 in advance or $20 at the door. They can be purchased at LACA or online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1072163382539?aff=oddtdtcreator. Those wearing plaid to the performance will receive a $5 discount on tickets purchased at the door or a $5 ticket voucher to be used at an upcoming LACA performance.

As part of a new promotion with Jamesport Brewing Company and Ludington Bay Brewing, all tickets purchased at LACA will include a coupon for $2 off one pint of brew at either establishment. The offer is good for 30 days from the concert date on the front of the ticket.

North Country Opera Productions is donating all profits from the screenings (such as ticket or DVD sales) to organizations that support performing arts or environmental conservation in Michigan.

LACA is a nonprofit arts center offering monthly art exhibits as well as an assortment of performances and workshops. Learn more at ludingtonartscenter.org .

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