The Opera Festival of Chicago will present its inaugural season this summer. Created by Music Director Emanuele Andrizzi, the festival is dedicated to presenting world-class standard productions of Italian opera masterpieces in Chicago that rarely grace the stage in the United States.

The festival opens with performances of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s whimsical one-act opera, “Il segreto di Susanna” (Susanna’s Secret), at 7 and 9 p.m. on July 24 at the Athenaeum Theatre in Chicago. “Dante 700” will be presented “Dante 700” at 8 p.m. on July 28 and 29 at Artifact Events in Chicago. The program will celebrate impact of Dante and his “Divine Comedy” on the operatic repertoire.