A full orchestra, a nine-member cast, and Verdi's four-act "Don Carlo" will fill the 309-seat John & Nancy Hughes Theater at Gorton Center on Friday, August 7, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, August 9, at 2 p.m. when the Concert Opera of Greater Chicago stages the opera for two performances only.

The production is sung in Italian with English supertitles projected above the stage, according to the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce event listing.

Maestro Philip Bauman conducts the COGC orchestra and ensemble chorus. The cast features tenor Alain Arvelo in the title role, soprano Vera Bowser as Elisabeth of Valois, mezzo-soprano Paula Schaefgen as Princess Eboli, baritone Tom Hall as Rodrigo, and bass Álvaro Ramírez as King Philip II. Andrew Boisvert sings the Grand Inquisitor, Elliot Kovitz takes the role of A Friar, Mary Buckingham performs as Tebaldo, and Jonathon Larson rounds out the ensemble as the Royal Herald.

COGC is renting the Hughes Theater for the production; it is not a Gorton-produced show. The company, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that focuses on bringing professional opera to suburban Chicago venues, performed at Central United Methodist Church in Skokie in December 2025. According to the company's website, COGC pays all soloists and choral positions a stipend.

What you need to know

Tickets are $35 for general admission and $25 for seniors (age 60 and older) or groups of six or more. Seating is general admission, and every ticket includes complimentary intermission refreshments, according to the Chamber listing.

Tickets are available at chicagoconcertopera.com, through gortoncenter.org, by email at [email protected], or by phone at (847) 421-4287.

Gorton Center is at 400 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest, one block south of Deer Path Road and steps from the Lake Forest Union Pacific North Metra station. Free parking is available in the Gorton lot on the west side of the building. The theater offers hearing assistive listening devices and a hearing loop.

The 309-seat theater places the front row within feet of the stage, putting audiences far closer to the singers than a typical opera house would.