LEWISBURG — The Bucknell Opera Company will mark its 20th anniversary with a gala concert on Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Rooke Recital Hall of the Weis Music Building.

The program, which is free and open to the public, is directed by Catherine Payn, associate professor of music at Bucknell.

The concert includes music from a wide range of favorite operas including “Les Contes d’Hoffmann,” “Merry Wives of Windsor,” “Lakme,” “La Cenerentola” and “Don Pasquale” as well as works from several contemporary American operas including “The Ballad of Baby Doe,” “Susannah” and “Tartuffe” as well as “Trouble in Tahiti” by Leonard Bernstein and “Wuthering Heights” by Bernard Herrmann.

Payn established the Bucknell Opera Company in 1989. The company roster includes undergraduate students whose fields of study represent many of the curricular areas of the University. As continuing members of this ensemble, students sing roles each semester that support their vocal and musical development and allow them to explore both traditional and contemporary operatic literature.

The Bucknell Opera Company performances both on and off campus have gained particular acclaim for innovative productions of significant contemporary American works. The Opera Outreach aspect of the Bucknell Opera Company takes opera into the community and local schools and draws students of various ages into performances on campus.

Students in the Bucknell Opera Company have the opportunity to interact with composers, directors, and singers in residencies, masterclasses and workshops on a regular basis.

Recent opportunities include a masterclass with Metropolitan Opera soprano Heidi Grant Murphy and pianist Kevin Murphy, actor Curt Branom, and composers Jake Heggie, Lee Hoiby, Tom Johnson and Milton Granger.

The Opera Company’s spring concert on April 17 will include company alumni performing in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts. For more information or to view slideshows from previous performances, visit Bucknell Opera Company.