A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The USC Thornton Opera, in collaboration with the USC Thornton Symphony, presents Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The opera, which premiered in 1960 and is set to a libretto adapted by Britten and his partner Peter Pears from Shakespeare’s play, is a fantasy about how myth affects the lives of mortal beings. In a… Continue reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Ken Cazan directs largest opera in history of Central City Opera House
Last month, Ken Cazan, the Resident Stage Director of the USC Thornton Opera, directed the Central City Opera’s Colorado debut of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd. CBS Denver featured a story of the performance, which with its 60 performers was the biggest show in the 140-year history of the Central City Opera House. “It’s more thrilling… Continue reading Ken Cazan directs largest opera in history of Central City Opera House
2018-2019 Scenes
The USC Thornton Opera Program is thrilled to present our 2019 Winter Opera Scenes show. We are presenting a variety of substantial excerpts from opera and musical theatre spanning many different eras. Join us on February 1st for a night of great music!
Le nozze di Figaro
The USC Thornton Opera in collaboration with the USC Thornton Symphony presents Le nozze di Figaro, the first of the three great collaborations between Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. Updated in this production to the present time, a sense of shared humanity shines through both music and words in this comedic study of class struggles and marital relations. See… Continue reading Le nozze di Figaro
Le Rossignol and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges
In the Fall of 2018, the USC Thornton Opera program and USC Thornton Symphony present a rare French double bill featuring iconic one-act operas, Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol and Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. Le Rossignol (The Nightingale), with music by Igor Stravinsky and libretto by Stravinsky and Stepan Mitusov, is based on a story by Hans Christian Anderson and… Continue reading Le Rossignol and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges
Postcard from Morocco
The USC Thornton Opera Program is excited to invite you to our Spring 2018 production of Dominick Argento’s Postcard from Morocco. Presented by the USC Thornton Opera, together with the USC Thornton Symphony, Argento’s opera is a vivid – and often absurd – portrait of travelers frozen in time as they wait for their lives’ journey to continue. See the full photo gallery for Postcard… Continue reading Postcard from Morocco
Opera Scenes 2018
The USC Thornton Opera Program is proud to invite you to our 2018 Opera Scenes Program! This year’s performance will feature compositions by numerous composers, from Mozart to Aucoin. Come join us on February 2nd for a night of great music!
Alcina
Love reigns supreme on the lush island of the sorceress Alcina and her sister, Morgana. A pair of mortals, however, is about to undo all of the spells that hold Alcina’s lovers captive. It is only through this loss that Alcina discovers that she is genuinely in love with her most recent prisoner. Not only… Continue reading Alcina
Béatrice et Bénédict
What happens when long suffering love suffers no more? Find out when the USC Thornton Opera Program, in collaboration with the USC Thornton Symphony, presents Hector Berlioz’s sparkling opera Béatrice et Bénédict. Based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Guest Director and video designer Joachim Schamberger updates this charming, romantic comedy with a contemporary, multimedia… Continue reading Béatrice et Bénédict
Ainadamar
USC Thornton Opera, together with the USC Thornton Symphony and flamenco guitarist and faculty member Adam del Monte, presents Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar. With a Spanish-language libretto by David Henry Hwang, Ainadamar (Arabic for “Fountain of Tears”) imagines the final hours of Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca through the eyes of Catalan actress Margarita Xirgu.… Continue reading Ainadamar