Ariadne on Naxos at Loretto-Hilton Center

The wealthiest man in Vienna has hired both divas and clowns to perform two separate shows at the end of a lavish dinner party. When dinner runs long, the artists are stunned to find they must all take the stage together. What results is a mashup of slapstick comedy and deeply profound romance — mixing coloratura fireworks with spectacular arias.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis presents its 2016 Festival Season. The 41st season features OTSL’s signature combination of compelling new operas and masterpieces by beloved composers, including Giacomo Puccini’s eternally popular La bohème, Richard Strauss’s moving comedy Ariadne on Naxos, Giuseppe Verdi’s magnificent and murderous Macbeth, and the highly anticipated world premiere of Jack Perla and Rajiv Joseph’s Shalimar the Clown, based on the much-admired novel by Salman Rushdie. The season also includes the second annual Center Stage concert, showcasing the talents of OTSL’s young artists. The company’s 2016 Festival Season begins Saturday, May 21 and continues through Sunday, June 26.

All main season productions at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis are accompanied by members of the St. Louis Symphony and are performed in English, with projected supertitles.