World-renowned singers will headline the outdoor program at an all-new gala event being produced later this month by Opera Coeur d'Alene.

Opera on the Point will take place Aug. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at The Estate at Elk Point, situated on a mountain plateau overlooking Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Dinner, wine and music will be served with the sunset sky as a backdrop.

"The voices are the finest we've had at a gala event and the new fresh air setting is stunning," said Opera Coeur d'Alene General Director Aaron Nickolson. "The price of $110 is a bargain for an intimate experience with artists of this level. There are not many places in the world where this would even be possible. Some people thought it was great last year, well this year we're going to sing your socks off."

Metropolitan Opera lead tenor Ral Melo is a frequent guest singer on Prairie Home Companion. Audrey Babcock will come fresh from singing the lead role of Carmen at Lyrique-en-MerFestival in France. Opera News declared Mark Walter's, bassbaritone voice a force to be reckoned with. Dawn Wolski's soprano voice was labeled ravishing, all the way up to a crystal clear high D by Classics Today, and bassbaritone Derick Parker has a bio that reads like a who's who of the world's great opera houses.

The vocalists will be accompanied by local pianist Cynthia Munson on a studio grand piano.

The program will include previews of Opera Coeur d'Alene's upcoming performance of by Giuseppe Verdi's opera in three acts, "Rigoletto," which will be fully staged at North Idaho College's Schuller Auditorium Sept. 11 and 13.

The gala has been named "Opera on the Point" to call attention to its new location and new time in the year.

Guests may bid on a skeet shooting adventure, a fabulous opera dinner for eight, a walk-on (supernumerary) role in Rigoletto, or any number of other unusual prizes.

The gala event will raise funds, not only for opera productions, but also for live operas presented free each year to more than 7,000 North Idaho children and youth.

Tickets for Opera on the Point cost $110 and for "Rigoletto" range from $15 to $59. All are available online at operacda.com or by phoning (800) 418-1485.