Friday, July 10 at 8 pm
Saturday, July 11 at 8 pm
Friday, July 17 at 8 pm
Saturday, July 18 at 8 pm
Long considered one of the greatest operas of all time, Don Giovanni is Mozart’s version of the notorious Don Juan legend. In the decadent pursuit of pleasure, Spanish nobleman Don Giovanni travels through Europe seducing women and leaving behind him a trail of broken hearts, broken promises, and broken lives. When Don Giovanni commits murder, he unleashes a dark power beyond his control. The Don pushes his limits and meets his ultimate demise in this brilliantly crafted opera featuring the famous arias “Batti, batti, o bel Masetto” “Madamina, il catalogo è questo,” and “Fin ch’han dal vino.”
Directed by Jon Truitt
Conducted by Scott Schoonover
Presented in Italian with projected English supertitles.
Friday, July 31 at 8 pm
Saturday, August 1 at 8 pm
Friday, August 7 at 8 pm
Saturday, August 8 at 8 pm
A tale of innocence lost, Rigoletto is Verdi’s tense and brutal tale of a deformed court jester caught in a snare of corruption, lechery, and vengeance. It is a chilling whirlwind of revenge: Rigoletto, jester to the Duke of Mantua, cannot protect the person he most loves from the person he most loathes. His beloved daughter Gilda falls in love with the hated Duke and eventually sacrifices her life to save the Duke from the assassin hired her father. This iconic melodrama boasts an action-packed plot and a parade of brilliant music, including the Duke’s boastful “La donna è mobile,” Rigoletto’s “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata” and Gilda’s stunning “Caro nome.”
Directed by Tim Ocel
Conducted by Scott Schoonover
Presented in Italian with projected English supertitles.
Friday, August 21 at 8 pm
Saturday, August 22 at 8 pm
Friday, August 28 at 8 pm
Saturday, August 29 at 8 pm
A suspenseful tale of courage and sacrifice, Wagner’s tale of gods, mortals and giants draws to a close in Götterdämmerung — Twilight of the Gods. The heroic Siegfried gifts Brünnhilde with the ring as a toke of their love, but they are soon caught up in events beyond their control. Brünnhilde steps forward to return the universe to its natural order in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Watch as the Rhine overflows, Valhalla burns, and the kingdom of the gods is destroyed.
Experience Wagner at his pinnacle including “Starke Scheite schichten mir dort,” Brünnhilde’s immolation scene, and Siegfried’s powerful funeral march in this reduction and adaptation by English composer Jonathan Dove. His masterful cuts condense the opera in length to under three hours. Götterdämmerung is the culmination of Union Avenue Opera’s Wagner Project, a four-year endeavor to present Wagner’s Ring cycle enhanced by video projections and expanding technical elements never before seen on the UAO stage.
Directed by Karen Coe Miller
Conducted by Scott Schoonover
Presented in German with projected English supertitles.
Friday Night Lecture Series
Know Before You Go
7:00 pm Each Friday night before the performance in the Fellowship Gallery.
Join Union Avenue Opera and Glen Bauer, Ph. D. for our Friday Night lecture series. Dr. Bauer will discuss the opera’s historical importance, guide you through the (sometimes convoluted) plot line, and offer a sneak peak of the music to come.
Dr. Bauer earned a Bachelor of Music in Music History from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Ph.D. in Musicology from Washington University in St. Louis, He is the Director of Graduate Studies and the Associate Chair with the Department of Music at Webster University. Dr. Bauer also has worked with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre of saint Louis to present music lectures and educational presentations.
Lectures are FREE and open to the public.
2015 Dates:
July 10 and 17 – Don Giovanni
July 31 and August 7 – Rigoletto
August 21 and 28 – Götterdämmerung
