Words and Images Courtesy of the Virginia Opera
Company’s 48th Season includes The Valkyrie, The Pirates of Penzance, Fellow Travelers and La Traviata
Wagner’s Ring Cycle to continue in 2023-2024 and
conclude in 2024-2025 (50th Anniversary Season)
Hampton Roads, Richmond, Fairfax, VA (March 23, 2022)— Virginia Opera is pleased to release the details of its 48th Season of producing opera. Performances will take place at the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, Virginia, the Carpenter Theatre at the Dominion Energy Center in Richmond, Virginia, and at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Orchestras for the planned productions will include both the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond Symphony.
The 2022-2023 Season opens with Richard Wagner’s The Valkyrie. Building off of the momentum of the epic Das Rheingold produced at Topgolf, The Valkyrie (Die Walküre) will continue Wagner’s legendary “Ring Cycle” followed by Siegfried in 2023-2024 and concluding with Twilight of the Gods (Götterdämmerung) to open its 50th Anniversary Season in 2024-2025.
The Pirates of Penzance, the Gilbert & Sullivan family-friendly favorite continues the Season in November 2022. In early-2023 the work of Virginia Beach-native, composer Gregory Spears, will be featured with the Commonwealth premiere of Fellow Travelers. Fellow Travelers is part of Virginia Opera’s renewed commitment to feature contemporary work in its repertoire. The Season concludes with the crowd-pleasing La Traviata in a remounting of the traditional production first seen by audiences in the 2014-2015 Season.
Season ticket purchasers will have the opportunity to add-on a recital concert by Virginia Opera’s Creative Partner and Advisor, renowned baritone Will Liverman. This special concert will feature Artistic Director Adam Turner on piano and is offered exclusively to subscribers and donors.
Peggy Kriha Dye, General Director and CEO of Virginia Opera: “Next season’s line up is outstanding. Continuing, and ultimately completing Wagner’s Ring Cycle is a milestone for any company, and we are proud to be counted among the few that will have accomplished such a worthy undertaking. We expect the entire family to enjoy The Pirates of Penzance, and are thrilled to continue to present contemporary American work with Fellow Travelers. We will toast the end of the season with everyone’s favorite opera party in La Traviata. These mainstage productions will be complemented by exciting new programming and partnerships in our communities generated as a result of our Strategic Plan which will be completed before the summer months.”
Adam Turner, Artistic Director of Virginia Opera: "Artistically, the season offers wide-ranging and diverse selections - from cherished hallmarks of the operatic repertory to compelling and fresh perspectives, there's truly something for everyone. Furthering our journey into Richard Wagner's epochal Ring Cycle with the second installment, The Valkyrie (in an orchestral version by Jonathan Dove), we will continue to plumb the depths of human nature, with the timeless themes of power and love providing endless discovery. Developed by an inspired core team of creative partners and designers, the cohesive presentation of VO's first-ever Ring Cycle will evolve over the next three years, proving to be a captivating and monumental achievement in the company's history. Fan-favorites La Traviata and Pirates remind us why we all fell in love with this wonderful art form, while also providing us the opportunity to introduce impressive new talent to our audiences. With the Commonwealth premiere of Fellow Travelers, we welcome a thrilling new voice in classical music - composer Gregory Spears, one of Virginia's own! And finally, I'm overjoyed to collaborate as pianist alongside VO's Creative Partner and Advisor, Will Liverman, another one of Virginia's own who is playing a major role in steering the world of opera in the 21st century. All in all, we have an exceptional season lined up!"
2022-2023 Season – Production Information
The Valkyrie
Richard Wagner
Orchestra version by Jonathan Dove
Harrison Opera House, Norfolk | September 30, October 1 & 2
Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax | October 8 & 9
Dominion Energy Center, Richmond | October 14 & 16
Sung in German with English surtitles.
Featuring the Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Following the hit production of Das Rheingold in the 21/22 Season Virginia Opera launches into the complete Ring Cycle with the second installment: The Valkyrie. Prepare to ride with the Valkyries as we are reintroduced to Wotan and his extensive family. Now comfortably ensconced in Valhalla, they are again faced with very godly problems. The stage will be set for Siegfried in the fall of 2023 and Twilight of the Gods in the fall of 2024.
The Pirates of Penzance
W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan
Harrison Opera House, Norfolk | November 4, 5, 6
Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax | November 12 & 13
Dominion Energy Center, Richmond | November 18 & 20
Sung in English with English surtitles.
Featuring the Virginia Symphony Orchestra
A young apprentice pirate with no stomach for a future of piracy is due to be released from his required service on his twenty-first birthday… Trouble is, fate might just intervene with the plan. With his newly found sweetheart, a long-winded but well-intentioned father, and a Pirate King boss with his own merry band of buccaneers, The Pirates of Penzance is a modern, major spectacle for the entire family.
Fellow Travelers
Gregory Spears
Libretto by Greg Pierce
Based on the 2007 novel “Fellow Travelers” by Thomas Mallon
Harrison Opera House, Norfolk | January 27, 28, 29
Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax | February 4 & 5
Dominion Energy Center, Richmond | February 10 & 12
Sung in English with English surtitles.
Featuring the Virginia Symphony Orchestra
The 1950’s had its own sense of style, and its very real problems. Fellow Travelers follows the story of a love affair between two men caught in the turbulent moment of Senator Joe McCarthy’s “Lavender Scare” – an overt policy to drive homosexuality out of government service. The very real struggles resulting from this witch-hunt end in a stunning act of betrayal.
La Traviata
Giuseppe Verdi
Harrison Opera House, Norfolk | March 3, 4, 5
Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax | March 11 & 12
Dominion Energy Center, Richmond | March 17 & 19
Sung in Italian with English surtitles.
Featuring the Richmond Symphony
Prepare to be swept away by one of opera’s most tragic love stories. The tale of the stunning courtesan Violetta and the hopelessly romantic Alfredo is woven with some of the best-known music in the repertoire. La Traviata’s high points are matched with tears in the tragic end.
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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