Hit those high notes (unless you’re a baritone and go low, of course): Sunday is World Opera Day.

In Central Florida, the celebration of the art form is being marked by a day of online performances from Opera del Sol and a special in-person collaboration between Opera Orlando and Russian Ballet Orlando.

Beyond emphasizing the power of the arts, the day will serve as a reminder that opera performers are our friends and neighbors, according to Theresa Smith-Levin, executive director of Opera del Sol’s parent organization, Central Florida Vocal Arts.

“They are not these Brünnhildes wearing horns from days gone by that you imagine,” she said. “They are waiters and waitresses, cashiers at Wawa. There is this kind of misconception about who an opera singer is and what they look like.”

World Opera Day is celebrated annually on Oct. 25, the birthday of both Georges Bizet and Johann Strauss II, composers of some of the most beloved operas and operettas. Bizet composed the music for “Carmen,” which is the basis of the Opera Orlando-Russian Ballet show. Opera del Sol’s “Arias on the Hour” will also feature his music.

But 2020 marks 250 years since Beethoven was born, so the international organizers are saluting that great composer by streaming different versions of his only opera, “Fidelio,” and hosting a discussion about its meaning in the world today.

Started in 2018, World Opera Day grew from discussions among Opera America, Ópera Latinoamérica and Opera Europa to promote the value of the art form.

“Opera, as well as the arts, contributes to developing tolerance and understanding, opening minds, and getting people in touch with strong universal emotions,” states the official website, worldoperaday.com. “Just as much as sport shapes a healthy body, the arts shape a healthy mind.”

The world team, which includes the international Opera for Peace consortium, also will present a special online concert across six continents in four acts. Act One starts in Tokyo, so night owls in Central Florida can catch it live at 2 a.m. Oct. 25 Eastern time. Act Two, from Moscow, follows at 8 a.m.; Act Three, from South Africa, at 11 a.m.; and Act Four at 3 p.m. from U.S. locations.

Get all the details at worldoperaday.com.

Nicholas Payne, director of Opera Europa, thinks the 2020 commemoration will have a special resonance.

“This year, when everyone’s lives have been affected by the global pandemic, and the world’s social injustices have gained visibility and touched wider communities, the healing power of music and art is needed more than ever,” he says on the website.

Smith-Levin agrees.

“This is raising the awareness of the impact that opera has in our community, but also of the arts in general,” said Smith-Levin. “There are a lot of people in our community who make a living performing — but they’re not right now.”

Performers in the Opera del Sol “Aria on the Hours” series will sing works such as “Habanera” from “Carmen,” Mozart’s “S’altro che lacrime” and Verdi’s “O tu Palermo.” Some of the performances have been recorded, but other singers will pop up on location around downtown Orlando and perform live. All will stream at Facebook.com/operadelsol.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shutdown have hit local arts group’s finances, but Central Florida Vocal Arts beat a recent fundraising goal, collecting $12,100 through United Arts’s Empower the Arts campaign.

“I have been enthralled by how wonderful the community has been in lifting us up in these times,” Smith-Levin said. “We’re very excited and very thankful.”

Opera del Sol’s next production will be “Nightwear on Elm Street,” an opera-burlesque hybrid presented with Orlando Fringe. The online show, which will be presented on Friday, Nov. 13 — yes, Friday the 13th — will feature burlesquers Tymisha Harris, Miss Foxy and Cabana Macabre, along with pianist Julian Bond. Tickets to the “glamour and gore”-filled show, celebrating “villains and voices,” are $10; go to operadelsol.org.

Opera Orlando also has good fundraising news to report according to executive director Gabriel Preisser. Through the Empower the Arts campaign, its fifth-anniversary party and other online programming, the group raised more than $115,000.

Preisser said performing the music of Bizet’s “Carmen” — a story set in Spain, sung in French, and danced by Russian Ballet Orlando — shows that opera crosses all cultures. The World Opera Day performances will be at 3 and 6 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Athens Theatre, 124 N. Florida Ave. in DeLand. Tickets are $30-$45; go to athensdeland.org.

The next big in-person performance from Opera Orlando is by Strauss, the other composer whose birthday is Sunday. “Die Fledermaus,” or “The Revenge of the Bat,” is a comedy of errors that takes place at a fancy-dress party — perfect for these socially distanced times.

“It’s appropriate,” Preisser said. “It’s a masked ball so the audience can come in their own masks.”

Performances will be Dec. 17 and 19 at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando. Tickets are $19-$129; go to drphillipscenter.org or call 844-513-2014.

“We feel very fortunate we have found a way to keep the arts going in a safe way,” Pressier said.

Find me on Twitter @matt_on_arts or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Want more news of theater and other arts? Go to OrlandoSentinel.com/arts

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