Guitar icon Tommy Emmanuel is no stranger to iconic stages, from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to London’s Royal Festival Hall and Paris’ L’Olympia. On Wednesday, July 23, this virtuoso arrives to perform in the historic Opera House in Boothbay Harbor.

Emmanuel has a Grammy Award, multiple ARIA Awards and countless accolades, but nothing means more to him than the three letters Chet Atkins designated at the end of Emmanuel’s name: C.G.P. The title of Certified Guitar Player was the highest honor Atkins could bestow on another player — a signifier that the recipient had not only mastered the instrument but taken it to new vistas and become a guiding light for the next generation of pickers. Like Emmanuel, Atkins had never gone to a university, and the C.G.P. was his version of a doctorate of the guitar. He gave the honor to Emmanuel and only five other handpicked players.

As a songwriter and a performer, Emmanuel is a melting pot of influences across genres, from pop to bluegrass and jazz to rock n’ roll. To him, music is rhythm and emotion, all other distinctions are meaningless. Anyone who has seen Emmanuel play will tell you the vocalist is there, as is the drummer, the bass player and the rhythm and lead guitarists.

Emmanuel’s last performance at the Boothbay Harbor Opera House “remains one of the most talked about concerts we’ve ever presented,” shared venue director Cathy Sherrill said in a prepared release.

“It sounds as though he is an entire orchestra at times,” she said. “Tommy Emmanuel is the reason descriptive words like ‘jaw-dropping’ were put in to use. He’s simply the best.”

Advance discounted tickets are $45 and available directly from the box office at 86 Townsend Ave. or by calling 633-5159. Regular tickets are $50 and available at boothbayoperahouse.com. All seating is general admission. Doors for seating open at 7 p.m., and Tommy Emmanuel goes on stage at 7:30 p.m. The Opera House bar opens at 6:30 p.m. for ticket holders that night.