Best Reason to Drive to Central City

Last summer, the Central City Opera featured L'Italiana en Algeri, Gabriel's Daughter -- an original production based on the life of the first female freed slave in gold rush Colorado -- and an evening that combined the famed and familiar I Pagliacci and the rarely performed Goyescas. L'Italiana was laugh-out-loud funny, Gabriel's Daughter poignant, and all three evenings featured magnificent music. This summer, Central City will present The Tales of Hoffman, The Student Prince and The Juggler of Notre Dame. You don't need to be an opera aficionado to enjoy sitting in this gem of a theater while some of the finest voices in the country flow around you -- unmiked and undistorted. But, please, leave the cell phones and crinkly candy wrappers at home.