BY DAVID SHENGOLD David Shengold explores the opera’s tragic heroine, a character who is in some way familiar to us all. Most American accounts of Gounod’s Faust get around sooner or later to two diverting facts about the piece. First, that in its early decades the Metropolitan Opera performed the score so often that wags …
At the southwest corner of the Detroit Opera House, you may have noticed a huge mural of our proscenium overlooking the intersection of John R and Broadway. The stage, which at first appears empty, is the site of an exciting new way for Detroit Opera to share its newest productions with Detroiters! Using augmented reality, …
The upcoming Detroit Opera production of Faust, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz and choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly, is the duo’s first collaboration in the operatic world. Over the past five years, the two have challenged generic boundaries to instead create an emergent body of work which resonates with anxieties, hopefulness, and as Kelly describes, “amplifying …
In 1978, during the nascent Michigan Opera Theatre’s seventh year as an organization, Charles Gounod’s Faust closed the season to rave reviews. “MOT’s Faust is Heavenly…they saved the best for last…The voices are strong and secure…[they] are the primary reasons for the opera’s success.” (Detroit Free Press, Feb. 12 1978) No voice soared higher than …
Certainly, Faust is one of history’s greatest operas – the quintessential “deal with the devil” that’s resonated with audiences since its premiere in 1859. This version, however, is different. Tony-nominated and Lincoln Center Theatre’s resident director Lileana Blain-Cruz first staged this production at Opera Omaha, which features Gounod’s original music & libretto for the Théâtre …
Learn more about the production here. Have time to take a quick 1-min survey? Click Here! Leonard I thought The Valkyries was a terrific operatic experience. The acting and singing were spellbinding. Bravo Detroit Opera! John I didn’t care for it. Nothing more than bad quality green screen projections of singers onto tv …
Wotan’s digital world comes alive on the Detroit Opera House stage thanks to LA-based PXT Studio and its founders Kaitlyn Pietras and Jason H. Thompson. If you attended our groundbreaking production of Twilight Gods, then you are already familiar with their work! For The Valkyries, PXT continues their Detroit collaboration with the help of three …
Meet Our Conductor Sir Andrew Davis leads the Detroit Opera Orchestra through Wagner’s “music of the future!” One of today’s most recognized and acclaimed conductors, Sir Andrew Davis’s career spans more than 50 years during which he has been the musical and artistic leader at several of the world’s most distinguished opera and symphonic …
Over the summer, Detroit Opera’s Artistic Director Yuval Sharon talked with Associate Artistic Director Christine Goerke about bringing Wagner’s opera and one of her signature roles to the Detroit Opera House stage. Listen to the full conversation on our podcast: Detroit Opera · OperaHERE: The Valkyries Yuval Sharon: We are about to revisit a production …
In 1972, just three years after New York’s Stonewall Riots, the Michigan Gay Confederation organized Detroit’s first gay pride march. Hundreds of participants rallied proudly down Woodward Avenue in one of America’s earliest examples of LGBTQ+ organizing. Today, June 24th, marks the fiftieth anniversary of Detroit Pride, a milestone that we are also celebrating …
