VIRGINIA - Are you ready to head back to the opera?
The Virginia Opera announced this week the return to fully produced performances starting in September.
The 2021-2022 season begins with Richard Wagner’s first installment in his epic Ring Cycle, "Das Rheingold." This newly conceived production will be performed outdoors exclusively at Topgolf Virginia Beach and Topgolf Richmond.
The Virginia Opera returns to its traditional venues – the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, the Dominion Energy Center in Richmond, and the Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax – with an imaginative restaging of Puccini’s "La Bohème."
A premiere for the Commonwealth of Virginia continues the season with "Three Decembers" by American composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, and Mozart’s comedy "The Marriage of Figaro" follows.
The season concludes in partnership with the Virginia Arts Festival with a co-presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s "The Sound of Music."
“We are so pleased to announce our plans for getting back to what we do – producing live entertainment for our audiences across the state. Creative thinking has brought us an incredible opportunity to host these performances at Topgolf which promises to be one of the most epic experiences of live theater ever produced by Virginia Opera as 'Das Rheingold' launches our season. When we return to our theaters, the planned 'La Bohème' will be a terrific opportunity for first time opera-goers to experience an all-time great, but with a reduced run-time. 'Three Decembers' is a contemporary work with modern themes, proving opera can be as timely as it is timeless. 'Figaro' will wow as we pull out all the stops with a grand production of this delightful comedy. All of our plans have been carefully thought through to ensure the safety of our artists and audiences today yet are flexible to evolve with guidelines and regulations as they are updated," said Peggy Kriha Dye, General Director and CEO of the Virginia Opera.
2021-2022 Season – Production Information
"Das Rheingold"
- Richard Wagner
- Sung in German with English Surtitles
- Performed outdoors exclusively at Topgolf Virginia Beach on September 12 at 4:30 and 8 p.m. and Topgolf Richmond on September 19 at 4:30 and 8 p.m.
The story of "Das Rheingold" includes all the magic and power of Wagner’s monumental vision, including gods, dwarves, giants and the iconic castle Valhalla. A condensed version by Jonathan Dove will be performed in the unique yet perfectly suited setting of Topgolf in Virginia Beach and Richmond. Seating for these performances is limited and currently only available to subscribers.
"La Bohème"
- Giacomo Puccini
- Sung in Italian with English Surtitles
- Harrison Opera House, Norfolk - November 5, 6, and 7
- Dominion Energy Center Richmond - November 19 and 21
- Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax - November 13 and 14
The Virginia Opera returns to its mainstage venues with a fresh take on a fan favorite with Puccini’s "La Bohème." Every note you love from the classic masterpiece will all be there – but in a carefully tailored production that will be under two hours without an intermission. The production will ensure the "indoors" return of audiences to the Opera’s three theaters as safely as possible.
"Three Decembers"
- Music by Jake Heggie | Libretto by Gene Scheer
- Based on an original play by Terrence McNally
- Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera
- Sung in English with English Surtitles
- Harrison Opera House, Norfolk - January 28, 29 and 30, 2022
- Dominion Energy Center Richmond, February 11 and 13, 2022
- Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax - February 5 and 6, 2022
Virginia Opera is pleased to present the Commonwealth Premiere of Three Decembers. This intimate American work follows a family through three decades – 1986, 1996, 2006 – immersing the audience in their struggles to connect, while old secrets emerge thickening the drama and tension. Based on Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally’s unpublished play, Some Christmas Letters, the story follows Broadway diva Madeline Mitchell in the twilight of her career, along with her children Beatrice and Charlie.
"The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro)"
- W.A. Mozart
- Sung in Italian with English Surtitles
- Harrison Opera House, Norfolk, March 25, 26, and 27, 2022
- Dominion Energy Center Richmond, April 1 and 3, 2022
- Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax - April 9 and 10, 2022
Closing the Virginia Opera’s 2021–2022 season is Mozart’s beloved comedy "The Marriage of Figaro." Full of scheming and wooing, flirting and foolishness, the opera's joyful and absurd twists pile the truly outrageous on top of the scandalous to provide what we all wish for — the very happiest of endings. Driven by the music of Mozart with his entrusted librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, "Figaro" promises captivating performances that will leave audiences walking on air!
"The Sound of Music"
- Music by Richard Rodgers
- Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
- Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
- Suggested by “The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta von Trapp
- Co-presented with Virginia Arts Festival
- Harrison Opera House, Norfolk, - May 13, 14 and 15, 2022
New for the 2021-22 season, the Virginia Opera and Virginia Arts Festival are partnering to stage a new, full production of the classic musical in May 2022. Winner of five Tony Awards in 1959 and the basis for the timeless film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, plan to revisit all of your favorite songs with the von Trapps. Virginia Opera subscribers will receive a subscriber discount and have early access to tickets.
Subscription Information
Subscription tickets for all four productions are on sale now for performances in Norfolk and Richmond starting as low as $75. Tickets for performances at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University will go on sale at a later date. Subscription tickets and ticket information is available at:
The Edythe C. and Stanley L. Harrison Opera House
Norfolk, Va.
866-673-7282
vaopera.org
Center for the Arts at George Mason University
Fairfax, Va.
703-993-2787
cfa.gmu.edu
The Carpenter Theatre at Dominion Energy Center
Richmond, Va.
866-673-7282
vaopera.org
