Second act

With September Serenede: A Collection of Scenes, Arias and Songs from Grand Opera, Operetta and Musical Theater, Village Opera Theater reclaims its place as Sacramento's premier amateur operatic and musical theater company. Jennifer and Steve Estabrook, the company's founders, will direct this season-opening production that'll be its first since a hiatus that began in 2009. Drawing from the greatest, including Verdi's La Traviata, the company's first production in 1995, September Serenede includes works from more than two centuries, several countries and at least two continents. Where else would “The Country's in the Very Best of Hands” from Li'l Abner, based on Al Capp's satirical comic strip be performed in the same show as “My Dear Marquis” from Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus and “Three Little Maids From School We Are” from the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Mikado?

Saturday, September 21, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, September 22, at 2:30 p.m.; $5-$10. Trinity Lutheran Church, 1500 27th Street; www.facebook.com/villageoperatheater.