During a special live Zoom meeting with current New Orleans Opera subscribers on May 3, Clare Burovac, general director of the New Orleans opera announced, “The Opera is returning to the theater for the 2021-22 season!”
“This season captures so much of what we love about opera: it is bookended by the works of two great operatic composers, Wagner and Puccini. Between those productions, we have an exceptional evening of opera and dance, which honors an American icon, as well as a celebratory concert featuring some of the greatest music ever composed.” said Burovac. “As we take steps towards recovering from the effects of this pandemic, this season feels like a breath of fresh air—like the sun rising after a long winter.”
The season opens at the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts on November 12, 2021 with Act One of Wagner’s Die Walküre, in collaboration with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by LPO Music Director Carlos Miguel Prieto. The unique semi-staged, multimedia production will feature projected images conceived and created by local filmmaker Samantha Aldana.
In keeping with its mission to introduce new works to New Orleans audiences, the company is presenting the Gulf Coast premiere of Josephine, by the popular American composer Tom Cipullo. The opera celebrates the life of the iconic American singer, dancer, and activist Josephine Baker, and has been hailed as “theatrically riveting” by the Washington Post.
The production premieres on January 6, 2022 at the Marigny Opera House and is a unique collaboration with local New Orleans artists. The opera will be directed by Lauren Turner, artistic director of the New Orleans theater company No Dream Deferred. The second half of the evening will feature the Marigny Opera Ballet company who will present a new work, choreographed by Lauren Ashlee Messina and inspired by the dances of Josephine Baker.
The Opera returns to the Mahalia Jackson Theater on February 11, 2022, with a Gala Concert featuring the New Orleans Opera Chorus and guest star soloists in a festive evening of opera’s “greatest hits,” conducted by Robert Lyall.
The final opera of the 2021-22 season is one of the most beloved and popular of all time: Puccini’s La bohème. It opens on April 1, 2022 and will be conducted by Metropolitan Opera conductor Joseph Colaneri, making his New Orleans Opera debut.
Subscription packages are on sale now and for the second year in a row, there are “early bird” discounts available to everyone until July 1, 2021. Early-bird pricing offers the best seats for the best price with a 30-percent discount off of the single ticket price. There are flex packages and installment plans available.
Single tickets will go on sale July 1, 2021. For more information, visit here or call the box office at (504) 529-3000.
