Presented by 
Friday, July 12 at 8 pm
Saturday, July 13 at 8 pm
Friday, July 19 at 8 pm
Saturday, July 20 at 8 pm
One of the world’s most beloved operas, Madama Butterfly, Puccini’s tragic tale of love and heartbreak, returns to the Union Avenue Opera stage.
In the harbor village of Nagasaki at the turn of the 20th century, love blossoms between Cio-Cio-San [Butterfly] a young Japanese geisha, and Lieutenant Pinkerton, an American naval officer. Their marital expectations clash in Madama Butterfly as passion and honor reverberate with the explosive force of Puccini’s powerful score, featuring Butterfly’s famous aria “Un bel di” and the exquisite “Flower Duet.” A mother, alone and banished from her people, Butterfly pines for her husband. He returns only to humiliate and betray her beyond what she can endure.
For full synopsis and to meet the cast click HERE.
Directed by Jon Truitt
Conducted by Scott Schoonover
Presented in Italian with projected English supertitles.
Friday, August 16 at 8 pm
Saturday, August 17 at 8 pm
Friday, August 23 at 8 pm
Saturday, April 24 at 8 pm
Union Avenue Opera’s four year journey through Wagner’s Ring cycle continues on the heels of 2012’s successful mounting of Das Rheingold. The second installment, Die Walküre showcases some of Wagner’s most celebrated music, including his famous “Ride of the Valkyries.”
Wotan, ruler of the gods, wishes to protect his children but is forced to forsake them when his twin offspring, Siegmund and Sieglinde, find themselves entangled in forbidden love. In an attempt to protect Sigmund, Brünnhilde, Wotan’s Valkyrie daughter, disobeys her father’s command and is duly punished: Wotan strips of her immortality and puts her to sleep surrounded by a wall of flames that only the greatest hero can conquer.
Die Walküre is reduced and adapted by English composer Jonathan Dove. His masterful cuts condense the opera in length to under three hours and will be enhanced by video projections befitting the magnificent grandeur of the Ring cycle.
For full synopsis and to meet the cast click HERE.
Directed by Karen Coe Miller
Conducted by Scott Schoonover
Presented in German with projected English supertitles.
Friday Night Lecture Series
Join us for our Friday Night Lecture Series at 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall presented by Glen Bauer, Ph. D., Associate Chair, Department of Music at Webster University. Lectures are free and open to the public.
