When it comes to Opera, there are many misconceptions around the art, the main ones being that you need to be an expert to enjoy it and that opera is only for the wealthy.

Much like any form of art —be it music, painting, literature or any other genre— as long as you are enjoying it, that’s all that really matters.

Opera was created in Florence, Italy more than 400 years ago during the Renaissance by a group of artists, writers, statesmen and musicians called the Florentine Camerata, according to the San Francisco Opera’s website. Jacopo Peri is considered to have composed the first opera in 1597 when he wrote “Dafne.”

By the 1600s, opera had taken Europe by storm and saw the rise of one of the greatest composers of Italian Baroque opera, Georg Frideric Handel, a German who lived most of his life in London.

The first ever opera house opened in 1637 in Venice, Italy and since then, the art has grown in popularity with opera venues opening in countries around the globe.

Opera, Italian for “work,” tells a story through music and singing. However, unlike a musical, opera singers do not use microphones to project their voices, reports the website Eno.org. An orchestra also plays music live during the performance.

Opera singers are separated into different main voice types.

Female singers fall into one of three categories: soprano, mezzo-soprano or contralto/alto.

Soprano singers are the highest voice type while mezzo-sopranos are lower than a traditional soprano singer. Contralto-alto singers have the lowest voices.

On the men’s side of things, you have countertenor, tenor, baritone and bass.

Countertenors are the highest male voices. Tenors are typically the highest voice in an opera while baritone singers are the most common male voice.

Bass, which comes from the Italian word “basso,” are the lowest male singers.

Interestingly, operas are often based off of pre-existing work and people that write the text for operas are called “librettists.”

Poul Ruder wrote the opera, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” based off of the book by Margaret Atwood. Librettists Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer adapted Frank Capra’s popular film, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” into an opera.

While many operas are sung in Italian, French or German, audience members don’t have to be fluent in those languages to follow and enjoy a performance. Productions often provide detailed programs and some performances provide supertitles, opera’s version of movie subtitles, that help audience members follow the story.

Learn more about the art of opera by checking out “The Beginner’s Guide to Opera” at https://bit.ly/3taL35E.

People looking to attend their first opera, as well as dedicated fans of the art, will have the unique opportunity to see an American opera when the Loveland Opera Theatre, LOT, brings “The Ballad of Baby Doe” at the Rialto Theater.

The opera tells the story of Leadville silver tycoon Horace Tabor and “Baby” Doe Tabor’s highly scandalous relationship.

“I had three principal singers that were excited about this project and I’ve always loved this opera. It’s an opera I used to sing when I was a young singer,” explained Dr. Juliana Bishop Hoch, founder of the Loveland Opera Theatre. “I thought it was a really good time to do a story about Colorado history.”

One of Baby Doe’s carriages can be seen in the Loveland Museum and the cast posed for photos with the piece, Hoch said.

Sung in English, the story features lively saloon girls, scandalous Washington politicians and gossiping society ladies surrounded by the backdrop of the majestic Colorado Rocky Mountains.

The performance will also include surtitles to help audience members follow the story.

“Audience members can expect to experience the unfolding of this story in a uniquely modern fashion,” explained Gene Roberts, stage director. “The stage is filled with singers in Victorian era costumes with a western flair, and the scenic concept is a combination lovely period furniture pieces and beautifully mastered HD set images projected using the Rialto’s stage-sized projection screen.”

Amy Maples Wickberg will be portraying Baby Doe while Bradley Thompson steps into the role of Horace Tabor. Marcia Ragonetti will be performing as Augusta Tabor, Horace’s wife.

“I think most sopranos have Baby Doe on their bucket list; her arias are a staple in the soprano repertoire. I learned her aria ‘Willow Song’ as an undergraduate and have been obsessed with the role ever since,” explained Wickberg. “Now having lived in Colorado for over a decade, the opera feels even more personal to me. It’s not performed that often, so when I saw that the Loveland Opera Theatre was holding auditions, I jumped at the opportunity.”

Audience members may be surprised to learn that back in Oshkosh, before Baby Doe came to Colorado, she won a figure skating competition. As the only female competitor, Baby Doe’s participation and the display of her legs caused quite a stir at the event.

“She was quite a risk taker,” Wickberg quipped.

The production will be Ragonetti’s “tenth go around” as August Tabor. Ragonetti has been performing the character for the past 20 years after first being introduced to Augusta Tabor in 1999.

“Portraying a real historical figure allows for such rich research and discovery — letters, diaries, newspaper reports, anecdotes,” Ragonetti explained. “Each time I have found something new and authentic to present about this complex, fascinating pioneer woman. She has often been unjustly characterized as harsh and stingy, a ‘termagant’. Yes, she was definitely all business. Instead of dying penniless like her wayward husband, she shrewdly amassed a small fortune.”

Composed by Douglas Moore, the production’s musical score combines operatic and musical theater styles together for an entertaining and engaging tale.

“It’s gorgeous singing and fabulous music. It’s kind of like a mix between classical and musical theater,” Hoch said. “There’s a lot of Americana themes that go throughout the opera. All of our leads are wonderful and our supporting characters are very, very strong.”

Some of the arias opera fans can expect to hear during the performance include “Willow Song,” “I Knew It Was Wrong,” “Gold is a Fine Thing” and “Warm as the Autumn Light.”

“The Ballad of Baby Doe” is one of the most performed American opera next to “Porgy and Bess.”

The opera premiered at Colorado’s Central City Opera in 1956 and was directed by Hanya Holm and Edwin Levy.

“The Ballad of Baby Doe” made its way back East to the New York City Opera in 1958.

“We’re not just singing the notes, words and rhythms; we’re trying to do it so well that the audience doesn’t notice our work,” Thompson said. “We want them (the audience) to feel the freedom to get lost in the communication, in the storytelling. As an opera singer, I get to help them on that journey, and it’s both a privilege and, let’s face it, a lot of fun.”

Check out a video from behind the scenes of the Loveland Opera Theatre’s production at https://vimeo.com/869429344.

Opera fans will have six chances to see “The Ballad of Baby Doe” with performances at 7 p.m. Friday and at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the weekends of Oct. 13-15 and Oct. 20-22.

The Loveland Opera Theatre will also be celebrating the holiday season with “Dreaming of a White Christmas” at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16.

The performance will feature traditional Christmas tunes as well as Broadway favorites.

The location of the show and ticket prices will be announced closer to the date of the performance.

Hoch founded the Loveland Opera Theatre in 2005 for the purpose of “bringing opera to the hearts and minds of all.”

The theatre is a nonprofit that offers singers across Colorado the chance and place to perform.

The group only performs in English, making the art of opera extremely accessible and enjoyable for all levels of theater and music fans.

Some of the group’s past performances include: “Brigadoon,” “Kismet,” “La Boheme” and “The Mikado.”

The theatre relies on donations and support from businesses, organizations and community members.

Bank of Colorado, the Bohemian Foundation, Embassy Suites by Hilton, Nutrien Ag Solutions and Platte River Power Authority are just a few of the theatre’s partners.

Tickets for “The Ballad of Baby Doe” are $48 for adults, $39 for seniors, $32 for students, $23 for children ages 12 and younger. Group tickets are available at a discounted price.

The show is appropriate for youth age 12 and older.

Tickets can be purchased at the Rialto Theater at Rialtotheatercenter.org, by calling (970) 962-2120 or at the box office at 228 E. Fourth St. in Loveland.

“I would encourage everyone if they can possibly do so to come and enjoy the telling of this story in the way only a stage full of beautiful singers accompanied by a remarkable orchestra can do,” Roberts said.

For more information on the Loveland Opera Theatre, go to lovelandopera.org.

Along with the Loveland Opera Theatre, Colorado features a variety of other opera groups, such as:

Opera Colorado;

Central City Opera;

Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Center for Performing Arts;

Opera Theatre of the Rockies.