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Arts roundup for August 2026: Boston Summer Opera; Wellesley Symphony Orchestra; and more

August 3, 2026 by Deborah Brown

Wellesley is fortunate to have a lively arts scene, with various opportunities to engage with or make art at any given time. Check out a concert, theater performance, or art reception this month. Here are just a few events happening around town.

Boston Summer Opera to perform at Wellesley Hills Congregational Church

Boston Summer OperaEVENT: Performance, Barber of Seville, by Gioachino Rossini
DATE/TIME: Saturday August 22, 7:30pm
LOCATION: Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, 207 Washington St, Wellesley, MA 02481

EXTRA SPECIAL: You are invited sing in Barber of Seville! Adult singers from across MetroWest are invited to rehearse and perform alongside the company’s cast of emerging professional artists in the new Wellesley Community Chorus. The Wellesley Community Chorus requires no audition, no prior opera experience, and no participation fee.

DESCRIPTION: The Barber of Seville is one of the most popular operas—if not pieces—of classical music, ever written, and you probably already know it! This music shows up everywhere, from Looney Tunes to Mrs. Doubtfire to opera houses around the world. The production will be performed in Italian with English supertitles. The run time will be approximately two hours, with one 15-minute intermission.

TICKETS: Tickets are affordable, vibes are welcoming, and Boston Summer Opera guarantee sthat this show will make you fall in love with opera.

This production is kindly supported in part by the Community Fund for Wellesley, a Fund of the Community Foundation for MetroWest.


Polly in the Colony, theatre productionBeyond Wellesley, theater production, Polly In The Colony

DATES: Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, 2026 — 7pm, 2pm.
LOCATION: Boston College High School, Bulger Performing Arts Center, 150 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02125
AGES: Recommended for grades 3–6, teachers and families
Tickets $10 kids, $15 adults, teachers get in free. https://friendsofpolly.com/tickets

DESCRIPTION: A 250-YEAR-OLD DOLL WHO WITNESSED THE BOSTON TEA PARTY TAKES THE STAGE. “Polly in the Colony: A True Revolutionary Tale” — a new play for young audiences — makes its world premiere at Boston College High School Aug. 8 and 9, timed to America’s 250th anniversary.

She arrived in Boston on a tea ship in 1773 and was purchased off a shop counter on the very day colonists dumped the tea into the harbor. For more than a century since, she has sat behind glass at Boston’s Old State House, receiving handwritten fan mail from generations of children. Now Polly Sumner — a real, 250-year-old fashion doll — is stepping into the spotlight to tell her own story.


Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, Wellesley Choral Group, and the Wellesley Town Band—have all announced their 2026-27 line-up. Here’s a preview.

Wellesley Symphony Orchestra in action

WSO will open its season on Sept. 27  with “Musical Tales,” an afternoon of great stories, which will include  Pinar Toprak’s powerful composition of the theme music for the 2019 film Captain Marvel. The program will end with one of the most evocative classical stories, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Rimsky-Korsakov’s dazzling, colorful orchestration and melodies are based on the tales of One Thousand and One Nights.

Wellesley Symphony Orchestra
Photo by Andres Levia

Tickets and entire 2026-27 schedule here.


Wellesley Choral Society

If you love to sing, Wellesley Choral Society would love to meet you. The group is a non-audition chorus, and will hold Open Rehearsals on Sept. 14, 21, and 28, at 7pm, at UU Wellesley Hills, 309 Washington St.

The first concert of the season will take place on Nov. 22. “Music for Chorus and Brass” will feature works by Cruger, Purcell, Pachelbel, Pinkham, Whalen, and Gilbert & Sullivan.


Wellesley Town Band

If you have ever played a brass, woodwind, or percussion instrument, there’s a chair, music, a music stand, and a warm welcome waiting for you in the Wellesley Town Band. Players of all ages (grade 8 upwards) are welcome, no auditions are required.
Rehearsals are held at Wellesley High School starting Monday, September 14. The Band is conducted and directed by Pam Choinski.

The season opener will be the Winter Concert on Dec. 6, ant Wellesley High School.

For more information, contact info@wellesleytownband.org.


wfl, august exhibits: https://www.wellesleyfreelibrary.org/discover-borrow/in-library/exhibits/


Beyond Wellesley, Lyric Stage in Boston announces season line-up

VENUE: Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon Street, 2nd floor (accessible), Boston
PERFORMANCES: 
All My Sons—Sept. 18 – Oct 18
Peter Pan Goes Wrong— Nov. 13 – Dec. 31
Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d — Feb. 5 – Feb. 28, 2027
King James — March 19 – Apr. 11, 2027
Les Misérables— Apr. 30 – June 20, 2027


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