Central City Opera to Present LA BOHÈME, H.M.S. PINAFORE, END OF THE RAINBOW

Central City Opera has announced its 95th festival season, running June 26 through August 1, 2027, featuring three productions that span the breadth of the company's artistic range: Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème, Gilbert & Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore, and Peter Quilter's End of the Rainbow.

The season opens with Puccini's La Bohème, one of the most performed operas in the world, returning to the Central City Opera stage for the first time in 15 years. Puccini's sweeping tale of young love and loss among a group of Parisian artists has introduced generations of audiences to opera, and its return marks a highly anticipated moment for the company's 95th anniversary season.

The festival continues with Gilbert & Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore, a beloved comic operetta returning to Central City nearly 150 years after its 1878 premiere. A sly send-up of love, class, and naval hierarchy, Pinafore remains one of the most performed works in the Gilbert & Sullivan canon and a favorite introduction to opera for audiences of all ages.

Rounding out the season is End of the Rainbow, Peter Quilter's Olivier Award-nominated play with music, which follows legendary entertainer Judy Garland through her fraught and electrifying run of concerts at Talk of the Town — a 1968 six-week run in London that became one of the most talked-about comebacks in entertainment history, told through her immortal songbook. The production continues Central City Opera's recent tradition — following 2026's Master Class — of presenting plays with music alongside its mainstage operas.

Fan-favorite Festival Extra events return, including the St. James Chamber Series, featuring CCO Orchestra musicians performing themed concerts in the intimate and historic St. James Church of Central City.

'The variety is something audiences have come to love about the Central City Opera Festival,” says Adam Scurto, Managing Director of External Affairs. “From tragic young love and sweeping music, to dry British humor, to an exploration of fame with one of the most famous icons of the 20th century, this festival has something for everyone.”

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