Bold. Brave. Brilliant.

Daughter of the Regiment--Full Circle

Josh Borths – March 19, 2015

I can’t believe we have arrived at our fifth and final opera of 2014/15, and soon, this season will be nothing but memories of glorious music, beautiful productions, and wonderful performances.

We have come to the end of the line.

Andrea Shokery and Doug Provost, however, have come full circle.

Daughter of the Regiment: Returning to a First Love

Andrea Shokery fell in love with opera as a little girl growing up in Columbus, Ohio. As a middle schooler, her parents brought her downtown  to see a funny, family-friendly performance at Opera Columbus called, The Daughter of the Regiment. Andrea was swept away by the romance and beauty of the production, and was stunned by the performance of Anna Christy as Marie, the Daughter of the opera’s title. This was the opera that made her want to pursue opera as a career and instilled a life-long love of the art form.

We never forget the first opera that sweeps us away, and Daughter of the Regiment was that opera for Andrea.

Doug Provost’s career was on the rise. Already, he had designed productions of many plays and musicals across the country. At this time, Doug had accepted the position of Production Manager at Opera Columbus, and the first opera he designed was the same production of Daughter of the Regiment.

Years later and after thousands of hours in the practice room, Andrea became an opera singer and was accepted into the Arizona Opera Studio Program, and after hundreds of designs, Doug became the Director of Production at Arizona Opera.

Now, Andrea will be singing the role of Marie on Saturday, April 11th and Doug will be designing the lighting—yet again—for our production of Donizetti’s Daughter of the Regiment.

Both are excited to inspire and delight the next generation of opera singers, designers, and fans.

Student Night at the Opera

Our final Student Night at the Opera for the season will take place on April 8th at 7:00pm. Now is the time to get your local school to the opera and experience this remarkable comedy.

Student rush is also available for all performances. Receive up to two $20 tickets with a valid student ID.

Funny how this happens. Isn’t it? You never know who will be the next great singer or the next great designer.

Who knows! It might be the student sitting next to you.