Costume Designer

Set Designer

In a brilliant examination of class dynamics, power, and human folly, this opera revels in the wit and warmth of Mozart’s luminous music and underscores the strengths and vulnerabilities of each character. At its heart, the clever servant Figaro fights to marry his true love while outsmarting his amorous and scheming master, who has his own designs on Figaro’s bride-to-be, Susanna. Not only a musical masterpiece—it’s a rallying cry for love, dignity, and the pursuit of justice that called for the end of aristocratic privilege.

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The Marriage of Figaro

Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

1930, India. Flora Crewe, a noted Bloomsbury Group poet, undertakes a journey through India for her health. Free-spirited and without social inhibitions she unsettles most people she meets, but secretly captivates Nirad Das, a handsome Indian painter. 

1980s England. Flora’s sister, Mrs Swan, is visited by an American biographer trying to uncover exactly what took place on the trip – and then Das’ son appears in her garden with a painting of Flora by his father – a nude…

Satirising the self-importance of both academia and the ruling class, Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink is an evocative meditation on art and love, exploring how creativity can bridge even the most profound cultural barriers.

Indian Ink

Hampstead Theatre

Opera Philadelphia proudly presents the company premiere of "The Anonymous Lover," a captivating romantic comedy that stands as a testament to the genius of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. This groundbreaking 18th-century composer, often overlooked due to his race, was a contemporary of Mozart and Haydn and shines through his only surviving opera. The music, composed by Joseph Bologne with a libretto by François-Georges Fouques Deshayes, Desfontaines, based on the play "L’amant anonyme" by Stéphanie Félicité, Madame de Genlis, and adapted by Kirsten Greenidge, will be performed in French with English supertitles, offering audiences a unique and immersive experience.

Set against the backdrop of a frothy romp filled with beautiful arias and charming music, "The Anonymous Lover" tells the story of the young widow Léontine, portrayed by soprano Symone Harcum, who receives a series of passionate letters from a secret admirer. As she grapples with the possibility of new love, it becomes clear that her friend Valcour, played by tenor Khanyiso Gwenxane, is the mysterious author. This opera invites audiences to root for true love in a tale that is both ahead of its time and timeless.

The production is co-produced with Boston Lyric Opera and features a talented cast including Johnathan McCullough as Ophémon, Ashley Marie Robillard as Jeanette, Joshua Blue as Colin, and Sun-Ly Pierce as Dorothée. The creative team is led by conductor Kalena Bovell and director Dennis Whitehead Darling, with scenic coordination by Baron E. Pugh, costumes by Leslie Travers, and lighting by Driscoll Otto. Elizabeth Braden serves as the chorus master, marking her Opera Philadelphia debut.

"The Anonymous Lover" will grace the stage of the Academy of Music with performances scheduled for January 31 at 8:00 p.m. and February 2 at 2:00 p.m., during the Jan - Feb 2025 season. The opera runs for approximately 90 minutes with no intermission, promising an evening of uninterrupted enchantment.

This production is part of Opera Philadelphia’s 2024-2025 Season, supported by the Artistry Now Matching Fund and Barbara Augusta Teichert, with additional support from Judy and Peter Leone for Academy of Music productions. Don't miss the opportunity to discover the work of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and experience a romantic comedy that will leave you inspired and uplifted.

The Anonymous Lover

Academy of Music

Even though The Haunted Manor is considered Moniuszko’s most remarkable work, it is still hard to fathom the fact that the opera has been put before the Warsaw public over 1,500 times already. Written after Poland had been wiped from the map of Europe, the masterpiece enabled the desolate nation to go on a sentimental journey back to the time when its motherland was self-governing and free from external peril. A praise for family and native traditions evoking the happy days of yore won the hearts of the Polish audience yearning for its heritage. Before the tsarist censors realised the opera had been written to lift the Poles’ spirits and banned it after the third show in 1865, large portions of the public had managed to see the production and spread the word about the hope of restoring freedom that it offered. Unfortunately, Moniuszko did not live to see the next staging. A hundred years since its world premiere, the opera opened the first season at the newly restored Warsaw opera house following its destruction during the Second World War. It was no coincidence: in the course of the intervening decades The Hunted Manor became a symbol of Polish patriotism, Poland, and the strength of her nation that has risen from ashes many times it its history. 

The Haunted Manor

Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera

Memories from Paul McCartney’s life in Liverpool, England, inspire this story of growing up and finding our way. Beginning with Latin text that means “not for ourselves, but for the whole world were we born,” Liverpool Oratorio explores formative moments, relationships, and the responsibilities we accept. Cincinnati Opera proudly presents the world-premiere stage adaptation of McCartney’s acclaimed 1991 work for orchestra, chorus, and soloists. It’s a powerful story, full of heartfelt lyrics and soaring melodies, presented in a brand-new stage production.

Paul Mccartney’s Liverpool Oratorio

Cincinnati Music Hall

A royal, Succession-like power struggle. Lust and death at every turn. A king who desires his wild and wilful step-daughter. Her erotic fascination with a condemned prophet. The result is a horrific trade. Based on Oscar Wilde’s play.

Salome

Bord Gáis Energy Theatre

National Opera House

Rusalka, a young water nymph, falls in love with a prince. The witch gives her a potion that will render her human but take away her voice. Rusalka risks everything for love and ends up paying dearly.

The company premiere of Dvořák’s Rusalka will be directed by the acclaimed Sir David Pountney whose vision is of a Freudian fairy tale set in a psychiatric hospital in Vienna. Led by conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya, Ailyn Pérez sings the title role. Robert Watson performs as the Prince and Mary Elizabeth Williams is the Foreign Princess, both in their company debuts.



Rusalka

Santa Fe Opera

Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is one of the most popular comic operas of all time. Filled with amusing cases of mistaken identity and romantic subterfuge, plus music by a Mozart at the height of his powers, The Marriage of Figaro has stood the test of time for centuries. 
The Marriage of Figaro is a sequel to The Barber of Seville. The story opens several years later, in Count Almaviva’s palace near Seville, Spain. Rosina is now the Countess, but her husband has lost much of his interest in her and is a would-be philanderer.
Figaro is in love with the Countess’s servant Susanna, who he plans to wed that very day. However, their employer Count Almaviva has his eye on Susanna. In fact, the Count intends to invoke the hated feudal practice of droit de seigneur—the infamous right of the lord to sleep with a commoner’s bride on her wedding night.
Figaro, Susanna, and the Countess are understandably outraged at this possibility, and are determined not only to prevent it, but to teach the Count a lesson.

Benedum Center for the Performing Arts

Tatyana, a young woman living in the depths of the Russian countryside, falls hopelessly in love with Eugene Onegin, a dashing, cynical man of the world. Thinking her naïve, he casually rejects her. When, many years later, they meet again, Tatyana is married to another man and the toast of fashionable St Petersburg society. Too late Onegin realises that he loves Tatyana, with devastating consequences for them both.

Tchaikovsky adapted Pushkin’s great verse novel for the stage and set it to music that displays his gift for unforgettable melody – particularly in Tatyana’s famous ‘Letter Scene’ – and his genius for dance in the rural revels and the Petersburg ball scenes. The result is a deeply affecting portrait of love, regret and missed chances.

Eugene Onegin

Leeds Grand Theatre

Adapted from the Oscar Wilde play of the same name, Salome has been thrilling and shocking audiences since its premiere in 1905. And it's easy to see why: a biblical story complete with a lecherous king, a willful princess, and an unyielding prophet is bound to get attention. Add in a power struggle, a dangerous obsession, and a dance that scandalizes audiences to this day, all set to Strauss's iconic music, and you're in for a wild and gripping performance.

Seattle Center

Often hailed as the gold standard of opera, Mozart’s masterful portrayal of an extraordinary wedding day marries sparkling wit with profound insights on love, aging, forgiveness, and, ultimately, the joy of coming together. As they prepare to tie the knot, Susanna and Figaro must contend with their amorous employer Count Almaviva; his wife, the Countess; the scheming Marcellina; and a colorful cast of characters who place numerous (and often amusing) obstacles in their path to the altar. Love wins, carried by music of breathtaking beauty, warmth, and humanity.

Costume Designer, Set Designer

Leslie Travers

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 9 - Nov 21, 2026

Eugene Onegin · Opera North

17 - 31 Oct, 2026

Salome · Seattle Opera

7 - 15 Nov, 2026

The Marriage of Figaro · Lyric Opera of Kansas City

Past events

14 - 22 Mar, 2026

The Marriage of Figaro · Atlanta Opera

Dec 3, 2025 - Jan 31, 2026

Indian Ink · Hampstead Theatre

About

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