Recent News - Opera Guild of Southern Arizona

Documentary on AZ Opera’s Riders on Screen in Tucson February 22

February 10, 2020 by Frank Finkenberg

Arizona Opera Company’s hit Riders of the Purple Sage, which premiered in 2017 to sold-out houses, returns this season. With it comes a new full-length film documenting the creation and production of this instant classic. (Learn more about the film and AZ Opera’s upcoming performances.)

Kristin Atwell Ford of Quantum Leap Productions, Emery Award winning film maker, co-produced this documentary focusing on the collaborative process. The film travels from the untamed frontier that inspired Zane Grey’s iconic novel over a century ago to the intimate workings of the modern artistic process behind this new American opera.

You can see Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Western Opera on Saturday, February 22, at noon in The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St., presented by the Arizona Opera League of Tucson. The cost is $15. Get your tickets by writing to Fran Loubet, 6153 N. Pascola Circle, Tucson, AZ 85718, enclosing a check made out to the AZ Opera League of Tucson.

And remember to attend the Opera Guild‘s free previews of the opera on February 28 in Tucson or March 2 in Oro Valley. Yes, there are two distinct organizations promoting opera in Tucson, with similar names. Both are worthy of your support.

Quest for the Best 2020
and Opera Previews Cancelled

January 22, 2020 by Frank Finkenberg

Unfortunately, the preventive measures implemented to curb COVID-19 make it impossible to present Quest for the Best this semester. We will contact ticketholders, donors, singers, and faculty soon regarding refunds and our further plans.

For the same reason, there will be no previews of Arizona Opera’s Ariadne auf Naxos on April 3 or 6.

Photos from Quest for the Best 2019

April 20, 2019 by Frank Finkenberg

If you missed 2019’s Quest, get some of the visual flavor with these photos by Howard Weiss. For the full experience, watch videos of all the graduate and undergraduate arias.

Interior of Holsclaw Hall
Launch slideshow

See and Hear the Arias from 2019’s Quest for the Best!

April 13, 2019 by Frank Finkenberg

Congratulations to all the singers who helped make this year’s Quest for the Best an outstanding success. Thanks to the generosity of donors and attendees we awarded over $8,000 in prizes, with all singers receiving prize money. The top award winners are noted below; click on their names to go directly to videos of their arias. Or view (and download) all the graduate and undergraduate arias.

Graduate Singers and Top Awards

Left to right: Shainy Manuel, Crystal Kachevas, Erika Burkhart, Frannie Barrows, Chunghee Lee, Diana Peralta, Yuchen Luo, Kristen Lucas. (photo: Howard Weiss)

Rank	Amount	Donor	Winner
First (tie)	$1250	OGSA in honor of Patrick and Patricia Schifano	Chunghee Lee
First (tie)	$1250	OGSA in memory of Stokes Tolbert	Diana Peralta
Third	$750	Mary Casady in memory of Richard L Casady	Yuchen Luo

All Graduate Videos

Undergraduate Singers and Top Awards

Left to right: Simon Faddoul, Lylah Field, David Ingram, Bridget Marlowe, Jinzhou Jia, Kelsie Grimsley, Ezra Zurita, Emma Petersen. (Photo: Howard Weiss)

Rank	Amount	Donor	Winner
First	$800	Anonymous	Emma Petersen
Second	$600	Carolyn & Russ Russo	Ezra Zurita
Third	$500	Patrick and Patricia Schifano	Kelsie Grimsley

All Undergraduate Videos

See and Hear the Arias from 2018’s Quest for the Best!

July 3, 2018 by Frank Finkenberg

Congratulations to all the singers who helped make this year’s Quest for the Best an outstanding success. Thanks to the generosity of donors and attendees we awarded $10,600 in prizes, with all singers receiving prize money. See who won the top awards, and view (or download) all the graduate and undergraduate arias.

Graduate Student Singers

Left to right: Kristen Lucas, Brian McNiff, Jamey Wright, Mark Hockenberry, Chunghee Lee, Kaitlin Bertenshaw, Shainy Manuel, Octavio Moreno.

Undergraduate Singers

Left to right: Emma Petersen, Annalisse Sauceda Garcia, Stephanie Swift, Powel Brumm, Sara Lashbrook, Frannie Barrows, Athena Beebe, Bridget Marlowe, Brianna Barnhart, Emily Garcia.

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