Journey into the soul of America with Detroit Opera’s inspiring double-bill. In Highway 1, USA, William Grant Still, the “Dean of African American composers,” paints a portrait of a family navigating the promises and pressures of the American Dream. It is paired with Kurt Weill’s folk-inspired Down in the Valley, a newly staged production and premiere about love and sacrifice.

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Highways and Valleys – Two American Love Stories

Detroit Opera House

Forty years after Aida opened the newly constructed Wortham Theater Center, Verdi’s monumental masterwork returns to HGO in a visionary new production from director Kaneza Schaal. Inspired by a diverse array of cultures and art forms from across the globe, this staging blooms with colors, flowers, and dance to share the opera’s story of love, betrayal, and sacrifice, set to an iconic score that represents the pinnacle of the Italian Romantic style. Radiant soprano Ailyn Pérez returns to HGO as enslaved Ethiopian woman Aida, with leading tenors Jonathan Tetelman and Adam Smith sharing the role of her love, Egyptian military commander Radames; Grammy Award-winning baritone Lucas Meachem in his role debut as Aida’s father, Amonasro; and powerful mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as the revenge-bent Amneris. The celebrated Milanese conductor Michele Gamba makes his company debut at the podium.

Aida

Wortham Theater Center

For the first time in over two decades, Verdi’s monumental masterwork returns to the Academy of Music in a lush new production from director Kaneza Schaal and visual artist Christopher Myers. Drawing from histories, forms, and traditions born in places where the African diaspora collided with other peoples, this new staging explores the opera’s imagined histories, rich complexities, and cultural tensions that have granted it an enduring allure. This Aida brings the timeless story of love, betrayal, and sacrifice to life while illuminating themes of identity, power, and conflict that remain strikingly relevant today, allowing us to hear Verdi’s iconic score in a whole new way. Powerhouse soprano Tiffany Townsend makes her role debut in the title role, alongside tenor Jonathan Burton (Radamès), bass-baritone Alfred Walker (Amonasro), and mezzo-soprano Aubrey Odle (Amneris).

Charlese Antoinette

Events

Upcoming events

Jan 22 - Feb 7, 2027

Aida · Houston Grand Opera

17 - 25 Apr, 2027

Aida · Opera Philadelphia

Past events

Dec 7, 2025

Highways and Valleys – Two American Love Stories · Detroit Opera

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