Nashville Opera Announces 2021/22 Season

Nashville Opera returns to the theater in 2022 with a world premiere, a new take on a beloved classic, and the first fully staged production of Wagner's DAS RHEINGOLD in Music City.

The season opens in January 2022 at the Noah Liff Opera Center with the world premiere of FAVORITE SON, composed by GRAMMY-winning songwriter Marcus Hummon. Drawing from experiences in the composer's own life, the poignant FAVORITE SON journeys through one man's memories to find the essence of truth.

The cast includes singer, songwriter, session musician, and four-time GRAMMY-nominated artist Darrell Scott, popular opera crossover tenor (and minor league baseball player) John Riesen, and Emma Grimsley, who led the North American touring company of The Phantom of the Opera as Christine through its closing in February 2020.

Hummon, who previously collaborated with Nashville Opera to produce his work SURRENDER ROAD, is best known for penning songs including The Chicks' Cowboy Take Me Away, Tim McGRaw's One Of These Days, Wynonna Judd's Only Love, and Bless the Broken Road for Rascal Flatts.

April brings Nashville Opera back to TPAC's Jackson Hall for John Hoomes' edgy film-noir staging of Verdi's classic RIGOLETTO. Making his Nashville Opera debut in the title role is baritone Aleksey Bogdanov will make her company debut in the role of Gilda. Tenor Daniel Montenegro, recently seen at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and San Diego Opera, makes his company debut in the role of Duke.

RIGOLETTO will feature the fruits of the partnership between Nashville Opera and Nashville Film Festival-the winning film entry of the Nashville Opera Noir Filmfest will be showcased as a part of the production, with live orchestra accompaniment.

The season closes in the new Belmont University Performing Arts Center with May performances of Richard Wagner's masterwork, DAS RHEINGOLD, the first of four operas comprising The Ring Cycle. Wagner's music is seared into the pop psyche as the soundtrack for the famous helicopter scene in Apocalypse Now, and that same power infuses DAS RHEINGOLD (The Gold of the Rhine River).

Wagner's intense, extended one-act draws from Norse mythology and German folklore to weave a story of gods, giants and an epic heist of precious gold-for the forging of an all-powerful magic ring. Dramatic Baritone Lester Lynch returns to the Nashville Opera stage in the role of Wotan, the King of the Gods.

Lynch will be joined by a stellar international cast including mezzo-soprano Renée Tatum as Fricka, dramatic soprano Othalie Graham as Freia, and bass Zachary James as Fafner the Giant.

Season tickets will go on sale September 7, 2021. Full cast and production information will be available on July 9 at nashvilleopera.org.

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