RAPPACCINI’S DAUGHTER To Open Opera Columbus' 44th Season

Opera Columbus will launch its 44th season with the Columbus premiere of Rappaccini’s Daughter (La hija de Rappaccini), presented at the Southern Theatre on September 19 and 21, 2025.

The production marks only the second time in the company’s history that a full opera will be staged in Spanish, following the sold-out success of María de Buenos Aires. Timed to Hispanic Heritage Month, this staging honors and uplifts the Latin American cultural heritage at the heart of the work.

Composed in 1992 by Daniel Catán — the first Mexican composer to have an opera produced in the United States and at the Metropolitan Opera — Rappaccini’s Daughter is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s haunting short story. Sung in Spanish with both English and Spanish supertitles, the opera tells the story of Beatriz, a young woman kept in her father’s poisonous garden and rendered both beautiful and deadly by his experiments. When she encounters Giovanni, a young medical student, their love sets in motion a chain of events that ends with devastating consequences.

Audiences are invited to arrive early for a themed pre-show experience, featuring custom loose-leaf tea “love potions” and a specialty cocktail, “La Beatriz” Manhattan, from the bourbon bar.

“This opera blends beauty and darkness and will feature a good mix of beloved artists you won’t want to miss,” said Opera Columbus General Director + CEO Julia Noulin-Mérat. “We’re thrilled to open our season with a production as mysterious, daring, and rarely performed as Rappaccini’s Daughter.”

The cast features Cecilia Violetta López (Beatriz), Dane Suarez (Giovanni), Monica Danilov (Isabella), Carlos Ahrens (Baglioni), Richard Ollarsaba (Rappaccini), and Skye Marie Johnson, Cynthia López Olaya, and Anabella Petronsi as Flowers. The production also marks the Opera Columbus debut of stage director Brandon Shaw McKnight, with music direction by Rolando Salazar.