Enjoy the golden age of operetta at free concert March 2 in St. Charles

Before the Broadway musical, America experienced a golden age of operetta during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The songs of Sigmund Romberg, Franz Lehar, Johann Strauss II, and other operetta composers dominated American musical culture for decades, and provided an evolutionary foundation for the rise of the Broadway musical.

For the next "Wednesdays @ One" program, Jeorge Holmes and Diva Montell will present "Before Broadway, There Was Operetta."

This program, hosted by the Norris Cultural Arts Center, will be 1 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, at Baker Community Center, 101 S. Second St. in St. Charles.

The program is free but register online at norrisculturalarts.com for guaranteed seating.

Jeorge Holmes's repertoire ranges from Elvis to Pavarotti, blues to Broadway, pop to opera, and Christian gospel to Big Band.

Diva Montell is a popular Chicago area singer and entertainer, classically trained in opera and vocal performance at DePaul University School of Music and the American Conservatory of Music.

In April, Wednesdays @ One continues with singer-songwriter, storyteller, and chemistry teacher Michael Offutt. He will tell stories about discoveries and inventions that were made by accident and ultimately changed our lives. Lyrics will be projected and singing along required. You may even see a science demo or two.