New Works Festival

Join us for our New Works Festival, taking place May 10-12, 2024 at the Arizona Opera Center—a vibrant, immersive experience highlighting selections from operas that are new to the canon. Be the first to preview these poignant works in Arizona, which may even be featured in a future Arizona Opera season.

Experience the swashbuckling action of Zorro, romance of Intimate Apparel, and heart wrenching story of The Copper Queen Film! The New Works Festival will delight audiences both new and familiar to the opera scene. Day passes include access to talk backs with the performers, panel discussions with invited guests, opera trivia, parties, and more!

Zorro

Based on and inspired by the masked vigilante of pulp fiction fame, Zorro is a swashbuckling adventure opera. Set in Los Angeles when it was still a colony of Spain, this re-telling of the Zorro legend naturally follows Diego de la Vega, esteemed swordsman and Spanish nobleman, as he fights for the poor and enslaved. Filled with all the romance, swordplay, and humor that is a trademark of the Zorro universe.

Intimate Apparel

Set in turn of the century New York, Intimate Apparel tells the story of Esther, a lonely African American woman who works sewing beautiful corsets and ladies’ undergarments. Seeking love and romance, Esther enters a letter-writing relationship with a mysterious suitor laboring on the Panama Canal. When he moves to New York, they embark on an unhappy marriage, leading Esther to realize that only her self-reliance and certainty of her own worth will see her through life’s challenges.