Student Previews

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Grade Level: Each performance is individually rated.
Cost: FREE for Title 1 Schools, $5 per student including College, $10 per chaperone
Chaperone Requirement: One supervising teacher (complementary ticket provided) per 10 students. Additional adult tickets must be requested and approved by Arizona Opera.
 

2023/2024 Season Student Preview Performances

FRANKENSTEIN

Music and Libretto by Gregg Kallor

Date: Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Time: 7 PM
Location: Herberger Theater Center, Phoenix
Rating: PG-13
Language: Performed in English with English and Spanish supertitles
Length: approx. 2 hours and 30 minutes

Arizona Opera’s eagerly-awaited third World Premiere, based on Mary Shelley’s iconic novel by the same name, comes to the stage to open the 2023/24 Season in the McDougall RED Series. With a riveting, cinematic score and libretto by Gregg Kallor, the living, feeling Creature is brought to life only to be forsaken by its creator, Victor Frankenstein. Embracing Shelley’s original text, Frankenstein gives poignant voice to The Creature’s struggle and lays bare the horror of alienation and “otherness” with exquisite nuance. At the core of this heartbreaking tale lies an exquisitely wrought plea to look deeper within ourselves to find our commonality and to uphold our responsibility to one another.

Frankenstein was workshopped at Arizona Opera in Phoenix in December 2022 to great success. It follows Arizona Opera’s first two gripping world premieres, Riders of the Purple Sage and The Copper Queen Film, the latter of which was released in fall 2021 as a feature-length film. As stewards of the 400-plus year art form, Arizona Opera thrives on re-imagining its productions, commissioning new operas, and supporting up-and-coming artists.

The Barber of Seville

Music by Gioachino Rossini, Libretto by Cesare Sterbini

Date: Thursday, January 25, 2024
Time: 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Location: Symphony Hall, Phoenix
Rating: PG
Language: Performed in Italian with English and Spanish supertitles
Length: approx. 3 hours and 15 minutes

Love, mistaken identity, and humor are woven throughout The Barber of Seville, Rossini’s comic opera masterpiece. The Barber of Seville is considered one of the greatest opera buffa of all time, maintaining its popularity for over two hundred years.

Count Almaviva falls hopelessly in love with the beautiful Rosina, the young ward of a grumpy and elderly Bartolo who intends to marry her and claim her dowry. Dressed in disguise, Almaviva tries to earn Rosina’s affection for who he really is, rather than for his money and status. Almaviva assumes multiple identities including a poor student, a drunken soldier, and a singing tutor and priest. With the help of his companion Figaro, Almaviva stops at nothing as he pursues Rosina through a series of comical hijinks and bait-and-switch facades. Eventually revealing his true identity, he manages to win Rosina’s heart and the pair evade the disgruntled Bartolo, with love and laughter triumphing in the end.

Roméo & Juliette

Music by Charles Gounod, Libretto by Jules Barbier & Michel Carré

Date: Thursday, February 29, 2024
Time: 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Location: Symphony Hall, Phoenix
Rating: PG-13
Language: Performed in French with English and Spanish supertitles
Length: approx. 2 hours and 30 minutes

Gounod's romantic and rapturous music sets the stage for this tale of star-crossed lovers, based on Shakespeare’s play about the feuding Montague and Capulet families in Verona.

Roméo Montague and his friend Mercutio don masks to sneak into the Capulet’s ball, where Juliette Capulet has been presented to the party guests. Roméo falls instantly in love with Juliette, who fervently loves him back despite being pledged to marry Count Parîs. Juliette’s cousin Tybalt recognizes Roméo as he shares a tender moment with Juliette, but is prevented from attacking as Roméo and his friends flee.

Roméo and Juliette affirm their forever love in the iconic balcony scene. Outside the Capulet palace, Roméo breaks up a fight between Mercutio and Tybalt, asking him to forgive the feud between families. With nothing but scorn, Tybalt kills Mercutio and Roméo stabs Tybalt. Knowing their families will never get along, Roméo and Juliette plan to fake their deaths in a desperate attempt to be together, culminating in an ending for these lovers that is as tragic as it is heartbreakingly beautiful.

Don Giovanni

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

Date: Thursday, April 18, 2024
Time: 7 PM - 10:15 PM
Location: Symphony Hall, Phoenix
Rating: PG-13
Language: Performed in Italian with English and Spanish supertitles
Length: approx. 3 hours and 30 minutes

Mozart’s Don Giovanni, regarded by many as one of the greatest operas of all time, tells the centuries-old story of the libertine Don Juan.

Don Giovanni tries to seduce Donna Anna, which goes awry and he ends up killing her father, the Commendatore, unbeknownst to her. Donna Anna asks her fiancé, Don Ottavio, to avenge her father’s death. The opera follows Don Giovanni’s salacious escapades, aided and abetted by his servant Leporello. Giovanni makes his rounds seducing and duping numerous characters, bragging along the way and escaping accountability by obscuring his identity. In a cemetery, Giovanni meets the Commendatore’s statue, who forebodingly warns him that he will laugh no longer. When offered the chance to change his ways, will Don Giovanni repent?

IMPORTANT: To attend a Student Preview, you are required to be a CURRENT student and MUST present a student ID when picking up your ticket if you are not traveling with a large school group. If you are not able to present your student ID when picking up your ticket at will-call  you will not be allowed into the event.
No school ID? Before completing your reservation, indicate in the notes section why you cannot present an ID. Arizona Opera will verify your reservation and contact you if there are any issues.

Important Information about Student Previews at the Opera:

• Safety Protocols will follow those established for Main Stage performances and will be announced soon.
• All tickets will remain at will call (unless otherwise specified) and can be picked up at the box office at Symphony Hall beginning at 6 PM. 
• Seating is general admission. Please note, the front center orchestra section is blocked off for this performance for production needs.
• Bus parking for symphony hall performances is provided on 3rd Street and Washington. You will receive a bus pass with specific instructions about a week before the performance. Police officers will be on site to assist with parking.
• Car parking is available for a fee in the garages surrounding Symphony Hall. These garages include the Hyatt Regency garage, Chase garage (1st and Monroe), and the West garage (directly under Symphony Hall).

Phoenix Symphony Hall Safety Policies: 

 For the safety and security of all patrons, Phoenix Convention Center & Venues has implemented a screening process for all public shows at Symphony Hall.
All guests will pass through metal detectors to screen for prohibited items. Clutch Bags no larger than 8.5” x 5.5” and Clear Bags up to 12” x 6” x 12” are permitted. Medical and family bags are allowed. No other bags are permitted, and all bags are subject to search.
It is recommended that patrons arrive approximately 60 minutes before the performance start time. Please review our prohibited items prior to your arrival.

Join the Education mailing list to stay up to date on all education programs, and to be notified when registrations open. Please reach out to chollerbach@azopera.org for more detailed information about each rating.