Cincinnati Opera's Beginnings

Join Evans Mirageas for Cincinnati Opera's Beginnings, a one-hour retrospective on the century of exquisite productions, extraordinary guest performers, and zoo animals that encompass the story of our Cincinnati Opera.

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Elektra by Richard Strauss

Saturday June 27, 2020 at 2 p.m.

Based on the tragedy by Sophocles, Strauss's Elektra traces the emotional struggles of its title character, a young woman whose father has been killed by her mother and her mother's paramour. Elektra obsessively plots to avenge her father's death, but upon its achievement is herself destroyed. The 2002 presentation marked the company's first-ever production of the work and featured a star-studded cast.

Hugo von Hofmannsthal, libretto
Deborah Polaski
Anja Silja
Inga Nielsen
Robert Hale
Kenneth Garrison

La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini

Saturday July 4, 2020 at 1 p.m.

For more than a century, Puccini's most celebrated opera, La Bohème, has moved audiences to tears with its sweeping score of gorgeous melodies and timeless tale of young lovers in Paris. Cincinnati Opera presented this co-production with English National Opera. Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Music Director Louis Langrée conducted, becoming only the third sitting CSO music director to conduct his orchestra for Cincinnati Opera.

Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, libretto
Nicole Cabell
Jessica Rivera
Sean Panikkar
Rodion Pogossov
Nathan Stark
Edward Nelson
Marco Nisticò

The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach

Saturday July 11, 2020 at 1 p.m.

Offenbach's one true opera, first performed in 1881, vaulted him into the realms of great operatic composers. A fantastic tale about a poet and the fates of his three true loves, The Tales of Hoffmann is, in many ways, a dark comedy, though it is flavored with an abundance of gorgeous musical moments.

Jules Barbier, libretto
Vinson Cole
Philippe Rouillon
Sarah Coburn
Milena Kitic
Nathalie Paulin
Ruxandra Donose

Fellow Travelers by Gregory Spears

Saturday July 18, 2020 at 1 p.m.

At the height of the McCarthy era, young Timothy Laughlin is eager to join the crusade against Communism. A chance encounter with a handsome, profligate State Department official, Hawkins Fuller, leads to Tim's first job in D.C., and his first love affair. Drawn into a maelstrom of deceit and intrigue, Tim struggles to reconcile his political convictions, his love for God, and his love for Fuller-an entanglement that will end in a stunning act of betrayal.

Greg Pierce, libretto
Aaron Blake
Joseph Lattanzi
Devon Guthrie
Alexandra Schoeny
Marcus DeLoach

Aida by Giuseppe Verdi

Saturday July 25, 2020 at 1 p.m.

Rebellion is brewing at Egypt's borders. Aida, an Ethiopian princess and prisoner of war, finds herself in love with her captor, and he with her. When he is commissioned to lead a battle against her people, Aida is torn between her love for him and for her country. The grandest of all operatic masterpieces, Verdi's beloved Aida is infused with gorgeous melodies, bringing ancient Egypt to life through music such as the iconic "Triumphal March."

Antonio Ghislanzoni, libretto
Latonia Moore
Michelle DeYoung
Antonello Palombi
Gordon Hawkins
Morris Robinson