Launching with an unprecedented production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold at Topgolf, Virginia Opera’s return to live performance includes La Bohème, Three Decembers, The Marriage of Figaro, and an exciting new partnership with the Virginia Arts Festival.
Words and Images Courtesy of Virginia Opera.
Hampton Roads, Richmond, Fairfax, VA (May 6, 2021)— Virginia Opera is thrilled to announce the return to fully produced performances beginning in September 2021. The Season begins with Richard Wagner’s first installment in his epic Ring Cycle: Das Rheingold. This newly conceived production will be performed outdoors exclusively at Topgolf Virginia Beach and Topgolf Richmond. Virginia Opera returns to its traditional venues – The Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, The Dominion Energy Center in Richmond, and the Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax – with an imaginative restaging of Puccini’s La Bohème. A premiere for the Commonwealth of Virginia continues the Season with Three Decembers by American composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. Mozart’s comedy The Marriage of Figaro follows. The Season concludes in partnership with the Virginia Arts Festival with a co-presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music.
Peggy Kriha Dye, General Director and CEO of Virginia Opera: “We are so pleased to announce our plans for getting back to what we do – producing live entertainment for our audiences across the state. Creative thinking has brought us an incredible opportunity to host these performances at Topgolf which promises to be one of the most epic experiences of live theater ever produced by Virginia Opera as Das Rheingold launches our season. When we return to our theaters, the planned La Bohème will be a terrific opportunity for first time opera-goers to experience an all-time great, but with a reduced run-time. Three Decembers is a contemporary work with modern themes, proving opera can be as timely as it is timeless. Figaro will wow as we pull out all the stops with a grand production of this delightful comedy. All of our plans have been carefully thought through to ensure the safety of our artists and audiences today yet are flexible to evolve with guidelines and regulations as they are updated.”
Adam Turner, Artistic Director of Virginia Opera: “I simply cannot wait to bring the power and passion of opera back to our audiences. In addition to longstanding partnerships with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, I am thrilled to be working hand-in-hand with our colleagues at the Virginia Arts Festival on this exciting new endeavor. Together, we will once again share our love of this artform with audiences throughout the Commonwealth.”
2021-2022 Season – Production Information
Das Rheingold
Richard Wagner
Sung in German with English Surtitles
Performed outdoors exclusively at Topgolf Virginia Beach on September 12, 2021 at 4:30 and 8:00 PM and Topgolf Richmond on September 19, 2021 at 4:30 and 8:00 PM
The 2021-2022 Season kicks off with a bold premiere for Virginia Opera with Wagner’s first installment of the epic “Ring Cycle” – Das Rheingold. The story includes all the magic and power of Wagner’s monumental vision, including gods, dwarves, giants, and the iconic castle Valhalla. A condensed version by Jonathan Dove will be performed in the unique yet perfectly suited setting of Topgolf in Virginia Beach and Richmond. Seating for these performances is limited and currently only available to subscribers.
La Bohème
Giacomo Puccini
Sung in Italian with English Surtitles
Harrison Opera House, Norfolk, November 5, 6, & 7, 2021
Dominion Energy Center Richmond, November 19 & 21, 2021
Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax, November 13 & 14, 2021
Virginia Opera returns to its mainstage venues with a fresh take on a fan favorite with Puccini’s La Bohème. Every note you love from the classic masterpiece will all be there – but in a carefully tailored production that will be under two hours without an intermission. The production will ensure the ‘indoors’ return of audiences to Virginia Opera’s three theaters as safely as possible.
Three Decembers
Music by Jake Heggie | Libretto by Gene Scheer
Based on an original play by Terrence McNally
Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera
Sung in English with English Surtitles
Harrison Opera House, Norfolk, January 28, 29 & 30, 2022
Dominion Energy Center Richmond, February 11 & 13, 2022
Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax, February 5 & 6, 2022
Virginia Opera is pleased to present the Commonwealth Premiere of Three Decembers. This intimate American work follows a family through three decades – 1986, 1996, 2006 – immersing the audience in their struggles to connect, while old secrets emerge thickening the drama and tension. Based on Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally’s unpublished play, Some Christmas Letters, the story follows Broadway diva Madeline Mitchell in the twilight of her career, along with her children Beatrice and Charlie.
The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro)
W.A. Mozart
Sung in Italian with English Surtitles
Harrison Opera House, Norfolk, March 25, 26, & 27, 2022
Dominion Energy Center Richmond, April 1 & 3, 2022
Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax, April 9 & 10, 2022
Closing Virginia Opera’s 2021–2022 season is Mozart’s beloved comedy The Marriage of Figaro. Full of scheming and wooing, flirting and foolishness, Figaro’s joyful and absurd twists pile the truly outrageous on top of the scandalous to provide what we all wish for—the very happiest of endings. Driven by the music of Mozart with his entrusted librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, Figaro promises captivating performances that will leave audiences walking on air!
The Sound of Music
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
Suggested by “The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta von Trapp
Co-presented with Virginia Arts Festival
Harrison Opera House, Norfolk, May 13, 14 & 15, 2022
NEW FOR 2021-2022 – Virginia Opera and Virginia Arts Festival are partnering to stage a new, full production of the classic musical in May 2022. Winner of five Tony Awards in 1959 and the basis for the timeless film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, plan to revisit all of your favorite songs with the von Trapps. Virginia Opera subscribers will receive a subscriber discount and have early access to tickets.
Subscription Information
Subscription tickets for all 4 productions are on sale now for performances in Norfolk and Richmond starting as low as $75. Tickets for performances at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University will go on sale at a later date. Subscription tickets and ticket information at:
The Edythe C. and Stanley L.
Harrison Opera House
Norfolk, VA
866.673.7282
Center for the Arts at George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
703.993.2787
The Carpenter Theatre at
Dominion Energy Center
Richmond, VA
866.673.7282
About Virginia Opera
Virginia Opera, the official opera company of the Commonwealth of Virginia, is one of the finest regional opera companies in the nation and is the only company to perform regularly in three separate main stage venues: the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, the Carpenter Theatre at the Dominion Energy Center in Richmond, and Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax. Organized in 1974, Virginia Opera is respected nationwide for the identification and presentation of the finest young artists, for the musical and dramatic integrity of its productions, and for the ingenuity and variety of its education and outreach programs.
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