No excuses. If you can’t find opera this June, you just ain’t looking hard enough. We found several companies across the continent that have some hot new ideas to share with you.
That’s right, summer opera is just heating up. Make sure you know where to go this month!
Stay alert, we’ll probably see you there.
Summer Opera Festivals (June)
Spoleto Festival USA
May 22nd – June 7th, 2015
Held in Charleston, South Carolina, the Spoleto Festival includes the world premiere of the opera Paradise Interrupted composed by Huang Ruo and designed and directed by visual artist Jennifer Wen Ma, the American premiere and first performances in over 350 years of Francesco Cavalli’s baroque opera Veremonda, l’amazzone di Aragona.
Opera Theatre of St. Louis
May 23rd – June 28th, 2015
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis celebrates its 40th anniversary season in 2015, with high comedy, romance, heartbreak, adventure, and powerful tragedy. The season includes Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Puccini’s La rondine, the American premiere of Handel’s Richard the Lionheart, and a new production of Tobias Picker’s saga Emmeline, as well as a new addition to the OTSL season: a concert highlighting the talents of the singers in the company’s renowned Gerdine Young Artist Program, accompanied on stage by members of the St. Louis Symphony.
Des Moines Metro Opera
For the 43rd Summer Festival Season, three full-scale operas will be presented from June 26 and July 19, 2015, presented at the Blank Performing Arts Center in Indianola, IA. This season continues Michael Egel’s (General and Artistic Director) vision of producing one or more company premieres every summer. The following operas will be offered for the 2015 Summer Festival Season: The Abduction from the Seraglio, The Girl of the Golden West, and Jenůfa.
Cincinnati Opera
Il Trovatore – June 18th and 20th
The company’s 95th anniversary season will feature four operas, including the world premiere of Morning Star, with music by Ricky Ian Gordon and a libretto by William M. Hoffman. The 2015 Summer Festival, which runs from June 18 to July 31, will open with Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore. Next, Cincinnati Opera presents the world premiere of Morning Star with seven performances in the Corbett Theater at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. The season continues at Music Hall with Gaetano Donizetti’s delightful comedy Don Pasquale, and will close with a stunning new-to-Cincinnati production of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot.
Ohio Light Opera
June 13th – August 8th, 2015
The Ohio Light Opera is a summer-in-residence company in Wooster, Ohio, located in north central Ohio. 2015 marks their 37th season which consists of: Cole Porter’s Can-Can, Brigadoon, Kurt Weill’s One Touch of Venus, Lehar’s Friederike, Gershwin’s Oh, Kay!, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Yeomen of the Guard, as well as, Ruddigore.
Opera in the Ozarks
June 19th – July 17th, 2015
“The 2015 season’s operas are certain to dazzle with astounding vocal artistry, exuberant chorus scenes and poignant musical story telling. The theme of the 2015 season might as well be ‘Tales of tragedy, comedy and fantasy.’ La Traviata, ‘the one who strayed,’ is a tragic romance, while La Cenerentola — Cinderella — is a comedic take on a well-known fairy tale. The Tales of Hoffmann is fantasy inspired by stories by the German Romantic storyteller E.T.A. Hoffman.” – Thomas Cockrell, Artistic Director
Opera Performances in June 2015
Boston Early Music Festival
Boston, MA: The Monteverdi Trilogy – Ulisse | Poppea | Orfeo – June 7-21, 2015
On Site Opera
New York, NY: Paisiello’s The Barber of Seville – June 9 – 13, 2015
Opera Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA: Charlie Parker’s Yardbird – June 5 – 14, 2015 – SOLD OUT
Portland Opera
Portland, OR: The Rake’s Progress – June 11, 12, 14, 2015
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco, CA: Berlioz’s The Trojans, Tutino Two Women and The Marriage of Figaro – June 7 – 30, 2105
Opera Circle
Cleveland, OH: Madama Butterfly – June 13, 2015
Nickel City Opera
Buffalo, NY: The Marriage of Figaro – June 26th and 28th, 2015