Arizona Opera Announces Return To In-Theater Performances For Its 2021/22 Season

Arizona Opera has announced its 2021/22 Season-its 50th Anniversary Season-which will feature an exciting and diverse programming schedule of five productions, including the release of the company's first world premiere film and four planned in-theater productions in both Phoenix and Tucson.

Season Tickets for Arizona Opera's 2021/22 Season will go on sale starting Monday, May 3, 2021. Ticket purchasing access and priority seating will be given to current season subscribers. For more information, visit azopera.org.

Check out the full lineup below:

The Copper Queen Film

Clint Borzoni, Composer | John de los Santos, Librettist

To Be Released in October 2021 on Arizona Opera OnDemand (ondemand.azopera.org)

Arizona Opera's 2021/22 Season will open in a fresh and exciting way, with the McDougall RED Series film premiere of The Copper Queen with music by Clint Borzoni and a libretto by John de los Santos. The production, originally slated to be performed in-theater during the 2020/21 Season, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then reimagined as a film project. It will now be viewable by opera lovers not only in Arizona Opera's home state, but across the country and the globe.

Featuring Arizona Opera's first ever all-female director/conductor/designer team, led by Crystal Manich, the idea for The Copper Queen originated as part of Arizona Opera's SPARK initiative, which fosters the creation and support of new work.

The Copper Queen tells the story of Julia Lowell, a resident of The Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona in 1910, where she was forced to live in captivity in service to the men of the town. A century later, Addison Moore - a stranger to Bisbee - visits Room 315, the site of Julia's tragic death, where her ghost now famously roams. This riveting tale - told across the generations - is one of human bondage, furtive romance, secret connections, and ultimately - redemption.

"Clint and I are so excited to bring the premiere of The Copper Queen to opera audiences across the globe in this compelling new vision," stated John de los Santos, the opera's librettist.

Clint Borzoni, the composer of The Copper Queen, added, "I believe that the intimacy of the work lends itself well to film, since the piece is a dark and rich character study. Through the lyrical score and gripping plot, I'm confident audiences will be pulled into the haunted room along with the characters."

Arizona Opera has partnered with Phoenix-based Manley Films to bring the project to life, which is being filmed this spring for its much-anticipated online release in October.

El Milagro del Recuerdo (The Miracle of Remembering)

Production by Leonard Foglia | Javier Martínez, Composer | Leonard Foglia, Librettist

Phoenix - December 3-5, 2021 - Herberger Theater Center

Tucson - December 11-12, 2021 - Temple of Music and Art

Arizona Opera is planning its return to in-theater performances with the McDougall RED Series Regional Premiere of a new, holiday-themed mariachi opera - El Milagro del Recuerdo (The Miracle of Remembering) - with music by Javier Martínez, and production and libretto by Leonard Foglia. El Milagro del Recuerdo is a co-production of Arizona Opera, San Diego Opera, and Houston Grand Opera-where it opened to great acclaim in 2019. Arizona Opera's production of El Milagro del Recuerdo will mark only the second time the work has been performed.

The border story of El Milagro del Recuerdo is a prequel to the hugely popular Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, which Arizona Opera presented to audience and critical praise during its 2014/15 Season. The opera's music is composed by Javier Martínez, taking up the mantle of his father, José "Pepe" Martínez (1941-2016), the longtime music director of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán and composer of the mariachi operas Cruzar la Cara de la Luna and El Pasado Nunca Se Termina.

Director and Librettist Leonard Foglia comments: "The piece deals with the basic issues surrounding the choices people have to make in life. It tells universal, human stories. How do we make decisions about what's important? I hope it resonates with everyone."

Carmen

Georges Bizet, Composer | Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, Librettists

Phoenix - January 28-30, 2022 - Symphony Hall

Tucson - February 5-6, 2022 - Tucson Music Hall

One of the world's most popular operas, Carmen, returns to the stage as an in-theater production in January and February 2022.

The ultimate diva, the gypsy Carmen can ignite men's desires and fill their hearts with passion at a single glance. When Don José, a naïve soldier fighting in the Spanish Civil War, gets caught in her web, jealousy rages and anarchy reigns supreme.

The thrilling score by French composer Georges Bizet includes some of the most popular and recognizable music in all of opera, including Habanera and The Toreador Song. From its lighthearted beginnings to its tragic and destined climax, Carmen is indeed one of opera's most dynamic and thrilling works in the traditional repertoire.

Stage Director Stephanie Havey says of this beloved masterpiece: "Carmen juxtaposes the facade of civilization and the mysterious forces of primitive desires. Carmen glorifies freedom above all else, challenging the norms that govern hearts and minds. I am looking forward to bringing this iconic opera and its disruptive heroine to life."

A Little Night Music

Stephen Sondheim, Music and Lyrics | Book by Hugh Wheeler

Phoenix - March 4-6, 2022 - Symphony Hall

Tucson - March 12-13, 2022 - Tucson Music Hall

Presented as part of the Marlu Allan and Scott Stallard Modern Masterworks Series, A Little Night Music is the Tony Award and Drama Desk-winning Best Musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Arizona Opera's production features an alluring scenic and costume design by American fashion icon, Isaac Mizrahi.

Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film, Smiles of a Summer Night, A Little Night Music focuses on a deliciously tangled web of affairs, all ripe with the possibility of new love and second chances. A comedy of manners with rapturous music, it is moving, witty, heartbreaking, and - most of all - a celebration of love. Among the songs in this groundbreaking theatrical piece is Send in the Clowns, one of the most recorded songs of all time.

Arizona Opera's production of A Little Night Music will feature the internationally acclaimed American soprano, Patricia Racette as Desiree, and operatic star Paulo Szot, who won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for the Lincoln Center revival of South Pacific.

Since its premiere on Broadway in 1973 at the Shubert Theater, A Little Night Music has been performed on London's West End and in major Broadway revivals. It was also adapted for film by Hal Prince with a cast that included Elizabeth Taylor, Len Cariou, and Diana Rigg. Given its sweeping and beautiful musical score, A Little Night Music has also been performed by a number of notable opera companies, including Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and Opera Theater of St. Louis.

Così fan tutte

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer | Lorenzo Da Ponte, Librettist

Phoenix -April 8-10, 2022 - Symphony Hall

Tucson - April 16-17, 2022 - Tucson Music Hall

Arizona Opera's 50th Anniversary Main Stage Series comes to a close with a new production of Mozart's Così fan tutte, with libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, who also partnered with Mozart on The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni.

In its first fully-staged Arizona Opera performances in over a decade, Così tells the story of two sisters who are mistakenly led to believe that their fiancés have been called to war. In truth, their lovers were only out to test their fidelity, so they return home - in disguise - to seek the truth. Among the delightful cast of characters in this Mozart classic are Despina, the nosy maid, and Don Alfonso, a philosopher who is actually behind the scenes pulling the strings and making it all happen.

This season finale will also celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the company's Marion Roose Pullin Opera Studio, and will be created under the artistic leadership of Arizona Opera's second all-female director/conductor/designer team.

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