The Tacoma Opera will perform selections from the Georges Bizet masterpiece, Carmen on November 17, 7 p.m., at the Liberty Theater, 1203 Commercial St., Astoria. Tickets are $25 general admission.

Tacoma Opera was founded in 1968 as the Tacoma Opera Society and presented its first production, Die Fledermaus at the Eastvold Auditorium on the Pacific Lutheran University campus. In 1981, with the help of Dr. Hans Wolf, then director of community outreach for Seattle Opera, the company turned professional and changed its name to the Tacoma Opera Association.

In the 50 years of its existence, Tacoma Opera has grown from a small, amateur based company, little-known outside the city of Tacoma, into a vibrant regional opera company attracting audiences from all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The company has solidified its position as a cultural icon for the South Puget Sound region and has exciting plans for the future. The company has discovered over the years that there is great value in presenting opera in an intimate performance environment so that audiences can connect more directly with the music, the story and the performers.