After a long hiatus, OGSA’s Opera Previews are returning live!  We will be presenting previews of the final two productions of Arizona Opera’s 2021-22 season, A Little Night Music and  Cosí fan tutte. New this season is a larger venue for our previews, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church’s Fellowship Hall, which provides the space needed for best Covid practices for live performances.

As always, there is no charge for these community events, but donations of $5 or more per person are much appreciated, and go toward honoraria for our students. Also owing to the pandemic, no food is allowed in the church hall and masks are required.

Coming Soon: We preview A Little Night Music March 4

Our first live preview of 2022 takes place at St. Andrew’s at 2:30pm on March 4. Arizona Opera Company will present A Little Night Music in Tucson on March 12 and 13. A special draw is Metropolitan Opera soprano Patricia Racette. We’ll give you an advance peek, featuring student singers.

Here’s what Arizona Opera Co. has to say about this modern classic:

Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film, Smiles of a Summer Night, A Little Night Music focuses on a deliciously tangled web of affairs, all ripe with the possibility of new love and second chances. A comedy of manners with rapturous music, it is moving, witty, heartbreaking, and—most of all—a celebration of love. Among the songs in this groundbreaking theatrical piece is Send in the Clowns, one of the most recorded songs of all time.

Our presenter will be Darnell T. Roulhac, Assistant Professor of Practice in Musical Theatre Voice at the University of Arizona’s School of Theatre, Film and Television. Musical selections will be performed by four talented student singers, Hanna Hufford, Danny Bass, Lillie Langston, and Erin McDaniel; the accompanist will be Kyungsun Choi. Don’t miss this romp through the glorious music of America’s treasured composer Stephen Sondheim.

Mozart Gem Cosí  Rounds Out the Season

Our preview season concludes with Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte at St. Andrew’s on April 8 at 2:30 pm. As Arizona Opera puts it, Cosí “tells the story of two sisters who are falsely led to believe that their fiancés have been called to war. In truth, their lovers were only out to test their fidelity; they swiftly return home in disguise to seek the truth.” Oh, the perils of operatic love! We’ll give you further details as they are available.

Say Hello to Opera! returns in a new venue, Friendship Hall of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. (See address in the box below.)

After a long hiatus due to COVID19, our very popular live presentations of opera highlights return with an American classic, Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land, at 2:30 p.m.on December 3. As noted in our previous Presto! the opera has already been performed by UA Opera Theater in Crowder Hall. If you missed it, here is your chance to learn about the opera and enjoy some of the arias. Future presentations of Say Hello to Opera! will take place before each UA production. (See operas and dates below.)

Please note our new location: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Friendship Hall, 7650 N. Paseo del Norte. UA Opera Theater Director Cynthia Stokes will narrate and UA opera students will sing arias. As always, there is no charge for these community events, but donations of $5 or more per person are much appreciated, and go toward honoraria for our students.

Also owing to the pandemic, no food is allowed in the church hall and masks are required. For the same reason, our Brown Bag Opera previews cannot be held this season.