Ben Beckman has two free events on the calendar for Park City neighbors this week, and neither requires a tuxedo or a ticket.

Beckman, artistic director of Park City Opera, leads the nonprofit's "Opera Around the World" concert at 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 27, at City Park Bandstand. Singers will perform pieces focused on Peru, the latest stop in a seven-week series that showcases opera from a different region each Monday evening.

Two days later, Beckman takes the stage at the Park City Museum's Education and Collections Center, 2079 Sidewinder Drive, for a free lecture titled "Shakespeare's Legacy: From the Globe to Grand Opera" at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 29. The talk builds toward Park City Opera's August production of Charles Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette," scheduled for August 21 and 23 with 12 principal singers, a chorus, an orchestra and dancers from Ballet West.

The Monday concerts are drop-in by design. Co-founder Lisl Wangermann told KPCW in May that neighbors can treat the series like a casual hangout: "You can just show up and come for 30 minutes, come for the whole hour, or just swing by and say hi to your neighbors. We think that it's just a really great casual way to interact and to experience classical music."

Park City Opera, a nonprofit founded in 2024 by Wangermann, Lena Goldstein and Beckman, is now in its third summer season. Beckman was named the 2026 Outstanding Graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music, where he earned his master's degree. The company counts more than 200 member families, according to its website, and sold out its 2025 mainstage production of "The Barber of Seville," also according to the company's site.

The August "Roméo et Juliette" will mark Park City Opera's first collaboration with Ballet West.

Both this week's events are free and open to the public. Details are at parkcityopera.org.

More this week

Swaner Preserve Wetland Climbing Wall — Open 1:15–3:15 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at the Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter, 1258 Center Drive, Kimball Junction. Climbers of all ages move through the preserve's ecosystem from bedrock to uplands. Pre-registration is recommended; information and sign-up at extension.usu.edu/swaner/calendar.