This spring, the Nashville Opera presents a trio of compelling performances. From the delightful retelling of 'Goldie B. Locks & The Three Singing Bears' that introduces children to live opera, to the inspiring narrative of 'When Marian Sang' celebrating the legendary Marian Anderson, and finally, the intense drama of 'Lucia, the Bride of Lammermoor'—audiences are in for a treat. These performances highlight diverse themes of friendship, historical significance, and passionate romance, promising to engage and enlighten audiences of all ages.

Nashville Opera’s Captivating Journey: From Fairy Tales to Historic Performances

From the mind Rossini, the King of Italian comic opera, comes this undisputed masterpiece of love and laughter… The Barber of Seville.  The work has proven so popular and funny that even Bugs Bunny got into the act once with an early cartoon titled “The Rabbit of Seville.”

A beautiful young lady must enter an arranged marriage with old Doctor Bartolo, but she is in love with the handsome young Count Almaviva. There is only one man who can help them.

Will Figaro save the day? Will the young lovers be united? Will old Doctor Bartolo get his closest shave ever? And what’s with all the chickens?

EPSG:4326

The Barber of Seville

Tennessee Performing Arts Center

La Bella Notte supports Nashville opera’s education and engagement programs.

La Bella Notte 2026

Omni Nashville Hotel

Get out of the way The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Here comes the original Italian Spaghetti Western!  Puccini’s follow-up to his operatic masterpiece Madame Butterfly sets its exciting tale in the American Wild, Wild West, and is filled with all the fantastic music the composer is famous for.

Set during the California Gold Rush, this unique opera features passionate arias, blazing orchestra colors, and hair trigger excitement as the Wild West comes alive.

The Girl of the Golden West

Belmont University

For the first time ever, Nashville Opera presents an entirely new kind of event: Opera Jukebox Live. This fresh, one-night-only experience breaks the mold.

Step into an intimate cabaret-style setting where artists from across genres, from opera and Broadway to country and pop, come together for a night shaped by your requests.

No program. No script. Just incredible talent, unforgettable voices, and a little bit of daring spontaneity.

Think of it as a musical wish list where your bids help set the playlist.

Opera Jukebox Live

Noah Liff Opera Center

Deep in the shadows of the Colorado Rockies and miles from where anyone can hear you scream; the Overlook Hotel awaits. For its new caretakers, the Torrance family, the only thing more unnerving than their profound seclusion and solitude is the realization that they are not the hotel’s only guests.

While his young son with a sixth sense endures this house of horrors, Jack faces demons – past and present, real and imagined – that ultimately turn him into a monster. 

What started as a desperate search for financial (and marital) sanctuary now spirals out of control and sinks into a terrifying struggle for sanity and survival. Based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel, The Shining features music as beautiful and haunting as the story is horrifying.

The Shining

Pack your picnic basket, choose your favorite bottle of bubbly, and join us for a perfect evening of song and sky-gazing on the gorgeous green grounds of Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory.  

A perennial family-friendly favorite, rain or shine, Opera on the Mountain sells out every year!

Relax with friends as Nashville Opera artists offer up fun opera and musical-theatre favorites.  After, you’ll have the opportunity to gather on the roof to gaze at the moon through Dyer's grand telescope.

Opera on the Mountain

Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory

Opera ON WHEELS is Nashville Opera’s summer and fall program of touring performances. On special performances, Nashville Opera brings their mobile stage for outdoor shows into our local Nashville communities— all with beautiful live music performed by some of Nashville’s best classically trained singers. 

Opera ON WHEELS offers family-friendly programs of “greatest hits” from opera, operetta, and musical theatre.

Opera on Wheels

Frist Art Museum

Plaza Mariachi

Tennessee State Museum

Clarksville Farmers Market

Dickson Arts, Reads, and Tunes Festival

Nashville State Community College

Deep in the Scottish moors, trouble brews. Lucia is in love with Edgardo, but is forced into a loveless, arranged marriage to another man by her possessive, controlling brother. Driven to the brink of madness and despair, Lucia takes matters into her own hands, with horrific results.

Considered one of the greatest romantic, Italian operas ever written (based on Sir Walter Scott’s famous novel), Lucia is classic bel canto (beautiful singing) opera featuring passionate music, intense drama, the world famous sextet in Act II, and the show stopping Mad Scene!

Lucia, the Bride of Lammermoor

Nashville Opera has brought opera to students around Middle Tennessee, introducing young audiences to the art form and filling in an enormous gap in arts education. 80,000 children and family members have experienced the arts through this program - many for the first time. Thanks to support from La Bella Notte and other generous sponsors, the Opera on Tour is presented at no cost to participating schools and public venues.

La Bella Notte

1 Hotel Nashville

This light and lively 30-minute recital introduces all facets of opera in a truly relatable way! Your students will enjoy meeting four real live opera singers as they bring to life the art form they love, right in your school.

Opera Out Loud

Parthenon

University of The South

Introduce your students to live opera with John Davies’ fun retelling of a classic children’s fairy tale, right in your school.

Goldie, a little girl who has a great passion for bugs and spiders, finds herself in a sticky situation when she stumbles upon the dwelling of the three singing bears. Hungry and lost, she eats from the soup bowls Mama Bear has left on the table to cool. When the three bears return to their lunch and discover a “soup thief” is on the loose, Baby Bear “Peek” leads a brave detective search and befriends Goldie Locks, our accidental soup thief, along the way! The ensuing adventure teaches children the true meaning of friendship and the importance of honesty. GOLDIE B. LOCKS AND THE THREE SINGING BEARS is a family-friendly 40-minute production sung in English and set to music from Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE and catchy numbers by the beloved composer Offenbach.

Goldie B. Locks & The Three Singing Bears

Adventure Science Center

Discovery Center at Murfree Spring

Donelson Branch NPL

Edmondson Pike Branch NPL

Green Hills Branch NPL

Hendersonville Public Library

John P. Holt Brentwood Library

Smyrna Public Library

Williamson Co. Performing Arts Center

When Marian Sang, is a program centered around the young adult friendly book, When Marian Sang, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, which tells the life story of Marian Anderson, the first Black opera singer to sing a principal role at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955.

This book incorporates the lyrics to several spirituals, and “My Country Tis Of Thee,” which she sang at her famous performance at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. in 1939.

When Marian Sang

Downtown Presbyterian Church

Fisk University

MTSU's Wright Music Building

Nashville Opera

Nashville Public Library North Branch

National Museum of African American Music

The Clement Railroad Museum

Experience the raw intensity of Puccini’s most cinematic masterpiece. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of 1800s Rome, Tosca is a high-stakes race against time where passion and politics collide.

Follow the legendary singer Floria Tosca as she fights to save her lover from the clutches of the corrupt police chief, Scarpia.

Tosca

Mozart’s most beloved comedy, The Marriage of Figaro is returning to our stage after a decade. This production leans into the lush, maximalist world of 18th-century “Marie Antoinette” style.

While Figaro tries to outsmart the philandering Count Almaviva, it is ultimately the brilliant Susanna and the resilient Countess who pull the strings to save the wedding day.

It’s a gorgeous, traditional romp through the complexities of human nature, filled with Mozart’s most sublime melodies and a heart that beats for justice and forgiveness.

The Marriage of Figaro

Get ready for something completely different in our intimate studio space!

Fortuna the Time Bender vs. The Schoolgirls of Doom is a vibrant, campy blend of musical styles, drawing from opera, Broadway, Hollywood, Gilbert & Sullivan, and touches of 1980s flair.

When the villainous “Headmaster” threatens the city with his trio of musical minions, it’s up to the time-bending Fortuna and her nerdy apprentice to save the day.

Nashville Opera

8 - 10 Oct, 2026

Tosca

15 - 17 Apr, 2027

The Marriage of Figaro

13 - 15 Nov, 2027

Fortuna the Time Bender vs the Schoolgirls of Doom

16 - 18 Apr, 2026

The Barber of Seville

Feb 28, 2026

La Bella Notte 2026

Articles & News

Nashville Opera