Opera Columbus Announces 2017-18 Season

Opera Columbus today announced its most collaborative season to date for the 2017-18 season, showcasing the artists of Juilliard, the Columbus Symphony, Against the Grain Theatre, and Company XIV in a not-to-be-missed trilogy of timeless operatic repertoire presented in what has become Opera Columbus' signature forward-thinking style.

Opera Columbus continues its artistic collaboration with The Juilliard School's Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts and its Artist Diploma in Opera Studies (ADOS) program for a second season, opening with the Opera Columbus debut of two highly gifted ADOS sopranos in a brand new production of Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw.

This will be followed by a concert version of Verdi's Aida co-presented with the Columbus Symphony, featuring the Columbus Symphony Chorus, exceptional guest vocalists, the trumpet section of The Ohio State University Marching Band, and animals from the Columbus Zoo.

The 2017-18 season will conclude with Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice, showcasing artists from Toronto's Against the Grain Theatre and NYC's Company XIV alongside a trio of Opera Columbus guest vocalists in a modern-day and spectacular reimagining of one of the most beautiful operatic scores the world has ever known.

Opera Columbus' main stage productions for the 2017-18 season include:

Britten's The Turn of the Screw

Wednesday, September 27, 7:30pm (dress rehearsal preview)

Friday, September 29, 7:30pm

Sunday, October 1, 2pm

Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.)

Stephen Wadsworth, director

Juilliard ADOS artist Christine Taylor Price, Governess

Juilliard ADOS artist Felecia Moore, Mrs. Grose

Based on Henry James' fabulously creepy novella, Benjamin Britten's 20th-century operatic masterpiece The Turn of the Screw is incisive, evocative, spare, and profoundly mysterious. Hired to tutor two children living at a great estate deep in the English countryside, a governess is strongly warned never to ask help of her employer and to rely solely on the housekeeper, but she soon discovers there are more people inhabiting the estate than she was aware. Who are these mysterious residents and what exactly is their relationship with the children? This new production by renowned American director Stephen Wadsworth (Met, La Scala, Vienna State Opera, London's Royal Opera) stars two new young virtuosos from our Juilliard collaboration, sopranos Christine Taylor Price and Felicia Moore. Performed with the Columbus Symphony. Sung in English. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Aida in Concert

Friday, February 2, 2018, 7:30pm

Sunday, February 4, 2018, 2pm

Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.)

Rossen Milanov, conductor

Columbus Symphony

Columbus Symphony Chorus - Ronald Jenkins, chorus director

Michelle Johnson, Aida

Laura Tucker, Amneris

Marc Heller, Radamès

Brian Major, Amonasro

Opera Columbus joins forces with the Columbus Symphony, Columbus Symphony Chorus, and a host of internationally renowned guest vocalists to present a concert version of one of the most famous grand operas of all time, Verdi's Aida. Egyptian military commander Radamès must choose between his love for enslaved Nubian princess Aida and his loyalty to a Pharaoh whose daughter is madly in love with him. Special appearances by the trumpet section of The Ohio State University Marching Band and exotic animals of the Columbus Zoo. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice

Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 7:30pm (dress rehearsal preview)

Friday, April 20, 2018, 7:30pm

Sunday, April 22, 2018, 2pm

Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.)

Joel Ivany, director

Austin Mccormick, choreographer

Jason Hiester, conductor

John Gzowski, sound designer

Siman Chung, Orphée

Mireille Asselin, Eurydice

Marcy Richardson, Amour

Opera Columbus, Toronto's Against the Grain Theatre, and NYC's Company XIV collaborate to explore this gripping and timeless love story through the lens of today's technology. While staying true to the original score and honoring the traditions of Baroque opera, this full production pushes the boundaries of operatic presentation through digital sound augmentation, captivating choreography, video projections, and aerial artistry. Countertenor Siman Chung makes his Opera Columbus debut in the title role, introducing Columbus audiences to his rare and beautiful voice type in some of the world's most exquisite melodies of love, loss, and desperation. Performed with the Columbus Symphony. Berlioz version. Sung in French with English surtitles.

Subscriptions range from $69-$204 per person and go on sale Monday, March 13. They can be purchased at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), by phone at (614) 469-0939, or online at www.OperaColumbus.org.

Photo credit: Cory Weaver