Stained glass windows at the Charlene Larsen Center for the Performing Arts in Astoria.

On warm Sunday afternoons, Puccini’s “Musetta’s Waltz” may be sweeping through the auditorium of the Charlene Larsen Center for the Performing Arts and drift from the building’s lofty stained glass windows.

Passersby may think they’ve been transported out of their quiet coastal Oregon town into a bustling 1850s Paris marketplace. But they’ll soon realize that the opera they’re hearing is not in French, but in modern English — and the faces they see through the open windows look familiar — maybe a neighbor or a local teacher.

Choral members of the Cascadia Chamber Opera, a small Northwest opera company, have been rehearsing opera classics and favorites all summer to kick off the inaugural Cascadia Chamber Opera Festival, which will offer several opera-related events throughout Astoria from Sunday through Sept. 3.

For some, an opera festival may bring to mind the buxom Brunhilda in Viking horns and a golden chest plate shattering a wine glass with her high C.

But don’t worry, there is no need to dig out that old tuxedo or gown from the back of the closet. Cascadia Chamber Opera’s programming seeks to challenge assumptions by making opera more accessible and affordable.

One festival highlight will be a pair of performances of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” on Sept. 1 and Sept. 3. The opera follows the story of the legendary eponymous casanova and a hedonistic lifestyle that leads to his ultimate fate.

“Don Giovanni” is traditionally performed in Italian, but Cascadia Chamber Opera opts for English in all of its performances as a way to give its audience the opportunity to understand the lyrics and follow a dramatic tale.

Cascadia Chamber Opera strives to feature local talent. Erik Hundtoft, bass-baritone of the Portland Opera Chorus, will star as Don Giovanni, performing alongside a talent-filled cast, including Doremus Scudder, Robert Anthony Mack, Stacey Murdock, Misook Yun, Saori DeBruyn, and Astoria locals Bereniece Jones-Centeno and Deac Guidi.

Leading the production will be director Brendan Hartnett and conductor Vincent Centeno.

While opera is often reserved for large concert halls, “Don Giovanni will be hosted by The Charlene Larsen Center for the Performing Arts — a space that offers a chance to enjoy the ruckus production in an intimate setting, where performers and audience members practically rub elbows.

On the weekend of Aug. 26 and Aug. 27, festivalgoers will have a chance to catch a fully-staged double feature of two contemporary one-act operas, written by Eugene linguist Ashley Hastings.

Each opera explores the idea of what one will do for love. In “Freemen,” Hastings pairs two gay men, both withdrawn from society in the post-civil war South, who discover joy amid a time of pain and disorder.

The second opera, “The Dream,” forces the audience to take a step out of reality and watch as an author debates with her main character on the eve of her deadline over how the novel should end. Both operas invite the audience to ponder the passion of justice and the pursuit of truth.

Those new to opera may prefer to pair the experience with a side of fries. Part of making opera approachable is holding events in nontraditional places where people gather, like local pubs around Astoria.

Ease into the genre at pint-sized opera, a free event at Fort George Brewery at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Attendees can grab a beer and a burger then raise a glass to arias, duets, and ensembles by the cast of “Don Giovanni.”

Other free events include a screening of “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” an opera written for the film by Gordon Getty, at the Liberty Theatre and a book reading and presentation at the Astoria Library of the novel “The Opera Sisters” by local author Marianne Monson.

Cascadia Chamber Opera Festival

Sunday through Sept. 3.

“Free Men” and “The Dream” performances at 7 p.m. Aug. 26 and 3 p.m. Aug. 27, “Don Giovanni” performances at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 and 3 p.m. Sept. 3, Charlene Larsen Center for the Performing Arts, 588 16th St., Astoria. Admission is $10 to $50.

Cascadia Chamber Opera Chorus concert, 3 p.m. Sunday, Charlene Larsen Center for the Performing Arts, 588 16th St., Astoria. Admission is $15 or free for those 18 and under.

Pint-sized opera, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Fort George Brewery, 1483 Duane St., Astoria

“Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” an opera made for film, 7 p.m. Aug. 25, Liberty Theatre, 1203 Commercial St., Astoria

Presentation by author Marianne Monson on “The Opera Sisters,” 11 a.m. Sept. 2, Astoria Library, 450 10th St., Astoria

www.cascadiachamberopera.org

www.cascadiachamberopera.org.