Actor

A deeply American masterpiece, Susannah, launches HGO’s 2026-27 season, continuing the company’s centenary celebration of opera icon Carlisle Floyd. Set in the hills of Tennessee and inspired by Floyd’s own roots as a minister’s son, the story follows Susannah, a young woman whose life is shattered after she’s seen bathing in a creek by church elders, leading to cruel gossip, judgment, and finally, her harrowing assault. Shared through a genre-blending score infused with revival hymns and Appalachian folksong—and a libretto, also by Floyd, written in colorful regional dialect—the opera will be presented in a new staging from celebrated soprano-turned-director Patricia Racette. Soprano Angel Blue, an international sensation, makes her role debut as Susannah, with leading baritone Rod Gilfry as the Reverend Olin Blitch and rising tenors Bille Bruley and Aaron Blake as Sam and Little Bat. Maestro James Gaffigan conducts.

EPSG:4326

Susannah

Wortham Theater Center

Susannah explores the destructive effects of false accusations and the cruelty of mob mentality. Set in a stark Tennessee town, a young woman is targeted by suspicion and gossip that mounts in intensity. The music is undeniably American and inspired by familiar folk melodies that underscore the opera’s setting. Directed by renowned soprano Patricia Racette in her Opera Omaha debut, Susannah confronts the complexity of human nature through Susannah’s search for beauty and one man’s lust for power.

Orpheum Theater

Patricia Racette, acclaimed soprano and Opera Theatre’s Artistic Director Designate, performs the songs of Édith Piaf in this captivating concert.

Patricia Sings Piaf

The Sheldon Concert Hall

Inaugurated by the legendary Eleanor Steber in 1988, these extraordinary master classes offer insights by distinguished artists into the craft of singing and interpretation, featuring performances by select Richard Gaddes Festival Artists and Gerdine Young Artists.

John D. & Sally S. Levy Master Classes

Sally S. Levy Opera Center

You’ve never seen an opera like this before. Step inside a world of fantasy, hilarity, and boundless imagination as Shepherd School Opera Department presents John Corigliano’s mesmerizing The Ghosts of Versailles. As the curtain rises, we encounter the ghosts of King Louis XVI’s court, including Marie Antoinette who is still haunted by the memory of her execution. Her favorite playwright tries to lift her spirits with an opera featuring the beloved characters from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. As the “opera within an opera” unfolds, realities blend, worlds collide, and events take an unexpected turn. An evening of spectacle, suspense, laugh-out-loud humor, and astonishing emotional poignancy awaits in this grand celebration of the power of opera.

*Sold Out* John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles

Brockman Hall For Opera

Experience the timeless tragedy of "Roméo & Juliette" brought to life by the Arizona Opera. This captivating production, featuring music by Charles Gounod and a libretto by Jules Barbier & Michel Carré, delves into the heart of Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers amidst the feuding Montague and Capulet families in Verona. Witness the romantic and rapturous melodies that underscore the passionate and ill-fated love story of Roméo and Juliette.

Join us for an unforgettable performance at two locations:
- In Phoenix at Symphony Hall on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at 7:30pm and Sunday, March 3, 2024, at 2:00pm.
- In Tucson at The Linda Ronstadt Music Hall on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at 7:30pm and Sunday, March 10, 2024, at 2:00pm.

This production is performed in Italian with English and Spanish supertitles, ensuring that the beauty of the opera is accessible to all. The estimated running time is yet to be announced, promising an evening filled with emotion, drama, and exquisite music.

"Roméo & Juliette" is a highlight of the Arizona Opera Main Stage Series, showcasing the bold, brave, and brilliant talent that defines our season. Don't miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in the tragic beauty of one of opera's greatest love stories.

Roméo & Juliette

Phoenix Convention Center

 The Linda Ronstadt Music Hall

Hansel and Gretel head into the forest in search of food—but they almost end up as tasty treats themselves when they start nibbling on the deliciously edible house of a very nasty witch!

Hansel and Gretel

AT&T Performing Arts Center

Eighteen-year-old Susannah Polk lives with her brother Sam in the woods outside a Tennessee mountain town. When local churchmen spot her bathing in an isolated creek, she becomes the target of gossip, accusations, and worse.

San Diego Civic Theatre

Gabriella Reyes stars in Carlisle Floyd’s apocryphal Appalachian fable, presented at Lyric Opera of Chicago for the first time since 2002.

In small-town Tennessee, young Susannah’s beauty and gentleness earn her admiration from some — and envy from others. But in this devout community where modesty is tantamount to holiness, rumors of Susannah’s impropriety threaten more than just her humble reputation.

With a taut, visceral libretto sung in English and a score that infuses lush orchestration with flavors of Broadway and American folk music, this modern masterpiece is as raw and gripping today as when it premiered more than five decades ago.

Lyric Opera House

A young Jewish opera singer flees Europe as World War II closes in — carrying her faith and dreams across the ocean and into an uncertain future. When America hesitates to open its doors, Eleanor Roosevelt fights to awaken the conscience of a nation. Though their paths only cross once, each woman leaves a lasting mark on the other. But decades after that fateful meeting, a shocking act of violence reminds us that history ignored is all too likely to repeat itself.

By turns intimate and cinematic, this world premiere by Grammy Award-winning composer Tobias Picker and librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman is a moving testament to resilience, moral courage, and the difficult choices faced in moments of global crisis.

Actor

Patricia Racette

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 23 - Nov 8, 2026

Susannah · Houston Grand Opera

12 - 14 Feb, 2027

Susannah · San Diego Opera

11 - 23 Apr, 2027

Susannah · Lyric Opera of Chicago

12 - 26 Jun, 2027

Safe Haven · Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

Past events

Oct 23 - Nov 8, 2026

Susannah · Houston Grand Opera

Jan 30 - Feb 1, 2026

Susannah · Opera Omaha

About

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