WORLD PREMIERE
HERSHEY FELDER
PUCCINI
LIVE from FLORENCE
Virtual Live Performance from Italy with
Nathan Gunn, Gianna Corbisiero, Ekaterina Siurina and Charles Castronovo
Sun, March 14, 7 pm*
Tickets* | CLICK HERE
*Tickets include extended on-demand viewing access of the recording through Sunday, March 21!
Filmed, performed and streamed live on location in Lucca Italy, in the home where Giacomo Puccini was born, this world premiere features Hershey Felder and three world-renowned opera stars, including University of Illinois' Nathan Gunn, promises to be a very special event.
Hershey Felder, PUCCINI is the story of a young musician in love with the world of opera, and in particular Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. When, through a series of unusual circumstances, the young musician meets the musical master himself, secrets are revealed that send the young man soaring.
With special guests, Baritone Nathan Gunn, who recently performed live at Peoria Riverfront Museum during an interview with Ed Sutkowski, as well as Soprano Gianna Corbisiero, Soprano Ekaterina Siurina and Tenor Charles Castronovo, this new Hershey Felder creation, will spur the imagination and move the musical soul.
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
HERSEY FELDER
Hershey Felder (Writer & Performer). Named to TIME magazine’s 2016 Top 10 Plays and Musicals, Hershey Felder has played over 6,000 performances of his self-created solo productions at some of the world’s most prestigious theatres, consistently breaking box office records. American Theatre magazine has said, “Hershey Felder is in a category all his own.” His shows include: George Gershwin Alone (Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre, West End’s Duchess Theatre); Monsieur Chopin; Beethoven; Maestro (Leonard Bernstein); Franz Liszt in Musik; Lincoln: An American Story; Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin; Our Great Tchaikovsky; and A Paris Love Story. His compositions and recordings include Aliyah, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra; Fairytale, a musical; Les Anges de Paris, Suite for Violin and Piano; Song Settings; Saltimbanques for Piano and Orchestra; Etudes Thematiques for Piano; and An American Story for Actor and Orchestra. Hershey is the adaptor, director and designer for the internationally performed play-with-music The Pianist of Willesden Lane with Steinway artist Mona Golabek; producer and designer for the musical Louis and Keely: ‘Live’ at the Sahara, directed by Taylor Hackford; and writer and director for Flying Solo, featuring opera legend Nathan Gunn.
Hershey has operated a full-service production company since 2001, and in 2020 created a new brand, Live from Florence, that operates a “theatre at home broadcast company,” based in Florence, Italy. Previous broadcasts have included Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin; Hershey Felder, Beethoven; Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone; Hershey Felder as Claude Debussy in A Paris Love Story; Hershey Felder, Tchaikovsky; Hershey Felder as Sholem Aleichem in Before Fiddler; Hershey Felder, Backstory – The Story Behind the Creation of Berlin, Gershwin & Bernstein; and Cooking French in Florence with Jeff Thickman & Hershey Felder. The Hershey Felder Presents - Live from Florence 2020-21 Season of broadcasts will also include Hershey Felder as Sergei Rachmaninoff in Anna & Sergei. Hershey has been a scholar-in-residence at Harvard University’s Department of Music and is married to Kim Campbell, the first female Prime Minister of Canada.
NATHAN GUNN
South Bend, Indiana native Nathan Gunn is a professor and Swandlund Chair at the University of Illinois where he is co-director of Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, a comprehensive program embracing a broad continuum of opera and musical theatre, as well as the development of new works. At the Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, Gunn developed and founded the first ever Bachelor of Musical Arts in Lyric Theatre curriculum in the nation. The program is part of the School of Music at the University of Illinois and housed in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Gunn recently performed live with his wife, fellow professor and opera singer Julie Jordan Gunn, at the Peoria Riverfront Museum during a virtual live interview hosted by Interesting People's Ed Sutkowski.
Gunn has performed many of opera and musical theatre’s greatest roles on the world’s most prestigious stages, including the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Royal Opera in London, Paris Opéra, Bavarian State Opera Munich, Theater an der Wien Vienna, Teatro Real Madrid, and Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie Brussels. He has been seen and heard on television, radio, video, and live simulcast performances, including the first ever Met in HD broadcast (The Magic Flute), in which he sang Papageno, one of his signature roles. Nathan has reinterpreted other classic roles such as Billy Budd, Figaro, and Don Giovanni, garnering awards including the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording (Billy Budd) and the Metropolitan Opera’s first ever Beverly Sills Award. Gunn has also been widely acclaimed for his ability to cross over into musical theatre, including performances with the New York Philharmonic in Carousel and Camelot, the televised celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday, and collaborations with musical theatre stars including Mandy Patinkin, Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald, and Kristin Chenoweth. Gunn’s one-man autobiographical show Flying Solo, produced and written by Hershey Felder, has been lauded as a “riveting autobiographical musical [that] is a stunner both with its touching, relatable, family-centric narrative and Gunn’s entertaining, charismatic performing style.” (Broadway World).
In addition to life as a performer, educator and arts advocate, Gunn is an avid patron of the arts. Nathan and Julie Gunn consistently support pre-college music education and sponsor local cultural events in order to secure the future of the art form. The family resides in Champaign, Illinois.
GIANNA CORBISIERO
Declared “luminous” by Opera News, Gianna Corbisiero has performed the title roles in Tosca, La bohème, La traviata, Pagliacci, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, Carmen, Il barbiere di Siviglia and Falstaff at major opera houses throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, under the baton of conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, and Charles Dutoit. She has performed with Bryn Terfel, Renee Fleming, and Marcelo Alvarez. For Bravo Canada she recorded episodes of television’s “Opera Easy,” performing excerpts from La bohème, La traviata, Tosca and Norma, and made her cinema debut singing “O mio babbino caro” in the film Elephant Song, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Corbisiero’s many honors and awards include a special prize from the Luciano Pavarotti International Vocal Competition, Top Prize in the Canadian Music Competition, and First Prize from the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation.
CHARLES CASTRONOVO
Charles Castronovo has been acclaimed internationally as one of the finest lyric tenors of his generation. Castronovo has sung at most of the world’s leading opera houses, including San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera. Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, Berlin State Opera, Paris Opera, Bavarian State Opera Munich, Theatre Royale de la Monnaie Brussels, and many others. He starred in the title role of Daniel Catan’s Il Postino opposite Placido Domingo in the work’s World Premiere in Los Angeles, as well as in Paris and Santiago. His repertoire spans from the great Mozart tenor roles in Don Giovanni, Cosí fan tutte and Die Zauberflöte, to Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore and Alfredo in La traviata. In recent seasons, Castronovo won wide acclaim for his performances as the title role in Faust, Romeo in Roméo et Juliette, the Duke in Rigoletto, Rodolfo in La bohème and Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress.
Tickets* | CLICK HERE
*Tickets include extended on-demand viewing access of the recording through Sunday, March 21!
PLANET PASSPORT SERIES
Join our planet passport series! Each month, come to the planetarium for a show focused on one planet or place in space. Shows will be included in museum admission, and free for museum members. Non-Members can purchase admission to the museum or a planetarium show ticket to attend. These shows are great for all ages.
New for 2026: Participants should sign up for a Peoria Riverfront Museum Achievement Passport.
For each planet show you attend, you will earn a stamp in your passport and 25 points. Every three stamps you earn, you will gain a little extra prize! At the end of the year, we will host a telescope observing night to celebrate all we have learned. Everyone who participated in the planet passport program will be invited.
Shows will be on the second Thursday (5:30 PM) and second Saturday (10:30 AM) of each month. Each show will be about 45 minutes in length.
Planet Passport Series - Cycle Three!
March 12 (5:30 PM) and 14 (10:30 AM) – Mercury
April 9 (5:30 PM) and 11 (10:30 AM) – Venus
May 9 (10:30 AM) and 14 (5:30 PM) – Earth and Moon
June 11 (5:30 PM) and 13 (10:30 AM) – Mars
July 9 (5:30 PM) and 11 (10:30 AM) – Ceres and the Asteroid Belt
August 8 (10:30 AM) and 13 (5:30 PM) – Jupiter
September 10 (5:30 PM) and 12 (10:30 AM) – Saturn
October 8 (5:30 PM) and 10 (10:30 AM) – Uranus
November 12 (5:30 PM) and 14 (10:30 AM) – Neptune
December 10 (5:30 PM) 12 (10:30 AM) – Pluto and Kuiper Belt
Join us for a special member exclusive tour through the first exhibition in our suite of exhibitions celebrating America's 250th anniversary: Joyful Resistance.
This tour will be lead by author and historian A'Lelia Bundles, who generously loaned objects from her ancestor, A'Lelia Walker, the daughter of famed haircare mogul Madam C.J. Walker to Joyful Resistance.
Joyful Resistance is the largest and most significant grouping of Black art in the museum's history, and has recently undergone a refresh with new objects and artworks to tell the full story of Black art, culture, and impact on the American story.
Get tickets for the tour HERE
Members are also free to visit all museum galleries. Light refreshments will be available starting at 12:30 p.m.
Members enjoy sneak peeks and special perks, every second Saturday of the month!
Not a member? Join on our website today,
get details at the ticket counter, or call (309) 686-7000.
Member Saturday sponsored by Visionary Society
Sunday, August 9, 2026 | 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. | Museum-wide
Thanks to the generous support of Art Bridges Foundation, every second Sunday at the Peoria Riverfront Museum is FREE to the public!
Join us Sunday, August 9, 2026 from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. as we celebrate Access for All day at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, featuring special guest, biographer and direct descendent of both Madam C.J. Walker and A'lelia Walker, A'Lelia Bundles.
Bundles will be sharing her new book, Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance, as well as a tour of Joyful Resistance, which holds objects from her ancestor, A'Lelia Walker's life.
This Access for All day at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, enjoy a special weekend themed to current exhibition Joyful Resistance with tours, crafts, and a special conversation with Thames in the Giant Screen Theater.SCHEDULE
Museum Conversations: A'Lelia Bundles | 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. | 100 pointsJoin us for a book talk by A’Lelia Bundles for Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance.
ACTIVITIES | 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.
CREATE Fashionista Paper Dolls | Lobby | 25 points
Create your own Paper Doll inspired by the fashions displayed in Joyful Resistance.
Pet Rock vs Mr. Potato Head | Lobby | 25 Points
Create a pet rock OR Mr. Potato Head in conjunction with current exhibition TOYTOPIA.
PARTY like a millionaire | Lobby | 50 Points
Work with Peoria Public Library to build your dream celebration ...but on a budget! Small prizes for working your imagination!
EXPLORE TOYTOPIA | Gallery | 25 Points
With a photo scavenger hunt, explore current exhibition TOYTOPIA. Collect 25 points at the Ticket Desk.
TOURS | Tours start outside of the designated gallery.
The Promise of Liberty
| 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. | 100 Points
Join gallery guides in The Promise of Liberty for a spotlight tour of the gallery.
Joyful Resistance with special guest A'Lelia Bundles | 2:30 p.m. | 100 points Join great-great-granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker for a tour of Joyful Resistance.
DOME PLANETARIUM | Each Dome Planetarium show is worth 10 Points.
Learn more about the museum's Achievement Passport, and how to earn points HERE
Re-member, members get double points! Earn 100 points and receive a FREE prize!
Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation's Access for All program
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | Doors open at 5:30 p.m., Discussion at 6 p.m., Reception and Book Signing at 7 p.m.
Peoria, Illinois has a long history of producing incredible entertainers, but perhaps none so famous as comedian and cinematic legend Richard Pryor. Now, celebrating his legacy, the Peoria Riverfront Museum is honored to welcome his daughter, Dr. Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor for a conversation on her father, her new book, and her own lived experience as a Black Jewish woman in academia.
In this visit, Dr. Pryor will be signing and discussing her new book: Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me. Copies will be available for purchase in the museum store or available as part of your ticket purchase.
Dr. Pryor will also be sharing further in a Museum Conversation moderated by Strictly Hip-Hop's Marc Supreme. She will sit down to discuss not only her father's work and enduring legacy, as well as his history in Peoria, but also her own work. Currently a professor of history at Smith College, Dr. Pryor teaches courses on race and slavery, and in addition to her newest work, is the award-winning author of the article "The Etymology of [N-Word]: Resistance, Language and the Politics of Freedom in the Antebellum North," as well as the 2016 book Colored Travelers: Mobility and the Fight for Citizenship Before the Civil War.
Tickets
Non Member Adult (No Book): $10 | Member Adult (No Book): $5
Non-Member Adult (With Book): $35 | Member Adult (With Book): $27
Youth (No Book): $5 | Member Youth attend free of charge
Get tickets HERE
Joyful Resistance sponsored by Art Bridges Foundation, Ron and Carrie Givens and Family, Darlene Violet, Sharlyn Munns, America 250 supporters, Visionary Society, Illinois Arts Council, Friends of Bronzeville to Harlem
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 | 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence at the Peoria Riverfront Museum!
This full symphony orchestra will be playing true-blue American music against the beautiful riverfront setting.
Get tickets HERE
See a 1776 broadside of the Declaration of Independence, the same that our ancestors would have seen in the earliest days of our nation on exhibition in The Promise of Liberty .
Sponsored by America 250 donors, Visionary Society, Friends of Performance
Thursday, August 13, 2026 at 6:30 p.m., 7:45 p.m. and 9 p.m. | SOLD OUT!
Newly Added: Friday Shows!
Friday, August 14, 2026 at 6 p.m., 7:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
See the debut of Phoebe Bridgers' latest album before it goes live worldwide!
Ahead of its worldwide release on August 14th via Dead Oceans, Lost Weekend will debut in full inside planetariums around the globe.
Shows will last approximately one hour, and will be phone free.
Tickets
Non-Member Adult: $20 | Member Adult: $15
Get tickets HERE
For nearly five decades, Laser Fantasy has been captivating audiences in planetariums across America, combining artistic creativity with cutting-edge laser technology to transform domes into vibrant, concert-like environments.
Experience Lost Weekend for the first time in an immersive light spectacular from Laser Fantasy. This custom show fills the dome with dazzling animations, kaleidoscopic abstract imagery, and immersive aerial beam effects that surround you in light. Paired with each planetarium's powerful surround sound system, the experience creates a stunning fusion of music and visuals that you can see, hear, and feel.
This will be a phone and camera free event.
Please note:
Presented in partnership with Spotify.
Laser Light Nights are back at the DOME featuring an all new experience!
Sit back, relax and rock out with our new laser light system from "the worldwide leader in planetarium laser light shows," Laser Fantasy! Experience the full 3D excitement! The system features a graphics laser projector with special effects, a haze machine & a new beam projector, plus a fresh playlist of 20+ performances, from Beyoncé to The Beatles! Pick up show-enhancing spectrum glasses and refreshments at concessions!
SHOW SCHEDULE
$5 Visionary Society Members | $7 Members | $10 Public
Buy tickets online now
click here.
Tickets & more info also available at the Museum or by phone at 309.686.7000.
(Note: These shows contain lyrics to popular songs and some may not be suitable for all ages.)
August 27 | 9:30-11:15 PM | On the Peoria Riverfront Museum's Sun Plaza
Join other sky enthusiasts in watching the Moon turn a deep red-orange color as it slips into the Earth’s shadow. Astronomy educators Renae and Nick will be on hand to answer questions, share information about the Moon and the eclipse, and share views of the Moon through our telescope.
Come and go as you please in this open house style event. The museum’s concessions stand will be open until 10 PM and the lobby will be open for restroom access until the event concludes.
PLANET PASSPORT SERIES
Join our planet passport series! Each month, come to the planetarium for a show focused on one planet or place in space. Shows will be included in museum admission, and free for museum members. Non-Members can purchase admission to the museum or a planetarium show ticket to attend. These shows are great for all ages.
New for 2026: Participants should sign up for a Peoria Riverfront Museum Achievement Passport.
For each planet show you attend, you will earn a stamp in your passport and 25 points. Every three stamps you earn, you will gain a little extra prize! At the end of the year, we will host a telescope observing night to celebrate all we have learned. Everyone who participated in the planet passport program will be invited.
Shows will be on the second Thursday (5:30 PM) and second Saturday (10:30 AM) of each month. Each show will be about 45 minutes in length.
Planet Passport Series - Cycle Three!
March 12 (5:30 PM) and 14 (10:30 AM) – Mercury
April 9 (5:30 PM) and 11 (10:30 AM) – Venus
May 9 (10:30 AM) and 14 (5:30 PM) – Earth and Moon
June 11 (5:30 PM) and 13 (10:30 AM) – Mars
July 9 (5:30 PM) and 11 (10:30 AM) – Ceres and the Asteroid Belt
August 8 (10:30 AM) and 13 (5:30 PM) – Jupiter
September 10 (5:30 PM) and 12 (10:30 AM) – Saturn
October 8 (5:30 PM) and 10 (10:30 AM) – Uranus
November 12 (5:30 PM) and 14 (10:30 AM) – Neptune
December 10 (5:30 PM) 12 (10:30 AM) – Pluto and Kuiper Belt
Sit back, relax and rock out with our new laser light system from "the worldwide leader in planetarium laser light shows," Laser Fantasy! Experience the full 3D excitement! The system features a graphics laser projector with special effects, a haze machine & a new beam projector, plus a fresh playlist of 20+ performances, from Beyoncé to The Beatles! Pick up show-enhancing spectrum glasses and refreshments at concessions!
SHOW SCHEDULE
September 26
6:00 – That 80’s Laser Show
7:15 – Laser Aerosmith
8:30 – Laser Led Zeppelin Whole Lotta Led
$5 Visionary Society Members | $7 Members | $10 Public
Buy tickets online now - Click on the date to purchase tickets.
Tickets & more info also available at the Museum or by phone at 309.686.7000.
(Note: These shows contain lyrics to popular songs and some may not be suitable for all ages.)
