La traviata: The vibrant Violetta falls in love with young nobleman Alfredo, but society tests their love and demands sacrifice. Will they find happiness before it’s too late?

La traviata – Audience Reactions: Hear what our audience has to say about La traviata, from the passionate portrayals, the unforgettable music, and the emotions that brought them to their feet.

Love, scandal, drama: La traviata is the blueprint for your favorite reality shows! RV Mendoza shares the tea about Violetta Valéry and her torrid love affair with Alfredo. Will the lovers be united in the end?

La traviata – Verdi and Musical Realism with Prof. Jack Blaszkiewicz, Professor of Music History at Wayne State University. Watch as he delves into the allure of La traviata, exploring its rich cultural context and enduring musical brilliance.

The Mark Morris Dance Group teams up with musical collaborator Ethan Iverson for The Look of Love, a wistful and heartfelt homage to the chart-topping songs of Burt Bacharach.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo brings its internationally beloved troupe of male dancers to Detroit to perform a brilliant combination of skillful pointe work and hilarious parodying of classical ballet favorites such as Swan Lake and The Dying Swan.

Madame Butterfly: In Detroit Opera’s production of Madame Butterfly, performed in October 2023, an all-Japanese and Japanese-American creative team transported Puccini’s tragedy to a virtual-reality setting that re-envisioned how we view Madame Butterfly’s story.

Madame Butterfly – Audience Reactions: “Taking this story and putting in the 21st century – that is something that will stick with me.” Our opening night audience LOVED Madame Butterfly!

Matthew Ozawa on Madame Butterfly: If opera is a reflection of the times, who gets to tell their stories? Director Matthew Ozawa takes us behind the concept of Detroit Opera’s upcoming Madame Butterfly, a new production featuring an all Japanese and Japanese-American creative team. Experience the music you know and love in a production that re-imagines the opera’s events through the fantasy of a modern-day Pinkerton.

Europeras 3 & 4: Part circus and part meditation, John Cage’s Europeras is serious fun. It’s been called “the great American opera,” which is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek assessment, since all of the music comes from classics of the European canon…

Europeras 3 &4 – Audience Reactions: From the serendipity of random intersections, to the display of DO history in costumes and props, there was something for everyone to enjoy!

Shelley Selim – Listening to John Cage: “I have found my most satisfying experiences with Cage as…relinquishing conscious thought about this music and having a real sensory experience.” Shelley Selim, Mort Harris Curator of Automotive, Industrial, and Decorative Design at Detroit Institute of Arts, shares insight into John Cage’s interconnected sonic and visual worlds.

Breaking the Waves: Hailed as a “post-millennial Mozart” by Time Out New York, composer Missy Mazzoli makes Detroit Opera history with her modern masterpiece, an unforgettable emotional experience based on the film by Lars von Trier.

Breaking the Waves – Audience Reactions: “Detroit is doing some of the most interesting work in opera in North America.” Our audiences loved Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s heart-wrenching opera Breaking the Waves. Moments of joy and darkness intermingle in this beautiful exploration of faith, goodness, and sacrifice.

Missy Mazzoli & Royce Vavrek – Breaking the Waves: In this interview, Missy and Royce discuss the process of creating Breaking the Waves, from translating Lars von Trier’s film to the operatic stage, to the return of Kiera Duffy – who debuted the role of Bess in 2016 – to the lead role.

The Cunning Little Vixen: Human and animal worlds collide in Janáček’s enchanting, cinematic modern fable about a clever vixen who tries to outwit her captors. The production uses playful projections to transform singers into forest creatures, with hand-crafted animations that evoke the fable’s comic-strip origins.

The Cunning Little Vixen – Audience Reactions: “It’s a real reason to come to Detroit!” Our audience for opening night of Leoš Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen absolutely loved the mix of gorgeous animation, beautiful music, and a story for all ages.

The Cunning Little Vixen – Dr. Tim Cheek: Leoš Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen epitomizes his love of nature and his Czech homeland; through inventive folk songs and animalistic expressions, the natural world of the Moravian countryside comes to life! Dr. Tim Cheek, Professor of Music at University of Michigan, goes in-depth on what makes Janáček’s style so unique.

Raja Feather Kelly on Faust: Obie-winning choreographer Raja Feather Kelly joins FAUST as Movement Director! In this video, we get a sneak peek as Kelly works with the Detroit Opera Chorus. He also shares some deep insight on the creative choreographic process, and what it means to “become Faust!”

Xerxes – Audience Reactions: Audiences from all over are coming to see this comedy at the Detroit Opera House! The sensational American countertenor Key’mon Murrah stars in Handel’s tongue-in-cheek 1738 masterpiece about love and the limits of power. Dame Jane Glover conducts, in Tazewell Thompson’s vivid, color-soaked production.

Ainadamar “Fountain of Tears” – Audience Reactions: See how our audience loved Osvaldo Golijov’s Fountain of Tears, which reimagines the life of revolutionary poet Federico García Lorca. The production powerfully blends dance, projections, and poetry. “The fight all of us young artists must carry on is the fight for what is new and unforeseen.” — Federico García Lorca

La bohème: How do we go from tragedy to hope? From death to life? From loneliness to love? In this visionary treatment of Puccini’s opus La bohème, Detroit Opera does just that — by presenting the opera in reverse order.

Yuval Sharon – La bohème in Reverse: Yuval Sharon, Detroit Opera’s Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director, gives us peek behind the curtain of his production of La bohème. Sharon takes Puccini’s classic and flips the script, quite literally!

X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X: This new production is a powerful, moving exploration of how one man’s fight to define his life on his own terms became the battle cry for justice of an entire people.

The Music of X: Anthony Davis’ score for X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, is suffused with his personal compositional style that ranges from Richard Wagner to Miles Davis. Some of Detroit’s finest musicians, including violinist Velda Kelly, multi-reed player Marcus Elliot, trombonist Vincent Chandler, and double bassist Marion Hayden, tell us what excites them about playing this music, and the importance of presenting X in Detroit.

Making X – Anthony Davis and Thulani Davis: Composer Anthony Davis and librettist Thulani Davis talk about the creation of the work, including the initial conception offered by Anthony’s brother Christopher, the impact of Detroit on the life of Malcolm, the importance of connecting contemporary audiences to America’s difficult history.

Yuval Sharon and Waajeed – John Cage and the “Mix”

Madame Butterfly – Kyoko Johnson of Michigan’s Sakura Japanese Instrumental Group

Ainadamar (Fountain of Tears): Arab Roots, Flamenco Sounds

Miguel Cisne – Peace, Love, Unity, Respect, and Resistance in Detroit

MJ Kariya – Embracing the Process, and the Unknown Results

Davóne Tines – Lift Every Voice and Sing

DAVÓNE TINES x DETROIT

Waajeed – Underground Music Academy x Detroit Opera

Detroit Bureau of Sound – Child of Tree

The Valkyries – Dress Rehearsal – O hehrstes Wunder Christine Goerke (Brünnhilde), Wendy Bryn Harmer (Sieglinde)

The Frida You See Before You – Catalina Cuervo, soprano and Nathalie Doucet, piano