Here you can find information on some of Opera Grand Rapids’ past productions.
La Bohème
by Giacomo Puccini
April 19 & 20, 2024
DeVos Performance Hall
Wonder where the story of “Rent” or “Love Story” came from? Puccini’s classic opera has inspired generations with its true-to-life story of Rodolfo and Mimi — star-crossed lovers. With the romantic score and soaring melodies of Puccini, La bohéme is the perfect opera for opera fans and newcomers alike. Spoiler alert: bring tissues.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
by Ricky Ian Gordon
February 9 & 10, 2024
Betty Van Andel Opera Center
Based on Jean-Claude van Itallie’s play after the Buddhist teachings of the same name, The Tibetan Book of The Dead leads us through the stages we experience after death and our transition into the next life. Written for his life partner, this amazing and moving piece launched the extraordinary career of one of America’s premiere composers. A performance not to be missed.
The Abduction from the Seraglio
by W.A. Mozart
October 13 & 14, 2023
Forest Hills Fine Arts Center
The divine Mozart’s first operatic success, which was commissioned by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II (see the movie Amadeus for more). The beautiful noblewoman Costanza and her maid Blonda are shipwrecked and taken to the palace of Pascha Selim, ruler of the Ottoman Empire. Selim falls in love with Costanza, who refuses him to be faithful to her one true love, Belmonte. The Abduction is a family-friendly masterpiece for all to enjoy.
Season Kickoff: Dr. Miracle
September 16, 2023
Betty Van Andel Opera Center
Spend a beautiful mid-morning among friends enjoying Bizet’s Le Docteur Miracle while dining on brunch fare and imbibing in a mimosa bar.
Aida
by Giuseppe Verdi
May 5 & 7, 2023
DeVos Performance Hall
Verdi’s towering masterpiece Aida is a tale of patriotism, love and betrayal, set against the backdrop of ancient Egypt. Aida, princess of Ethiopia, is the captive slave of the Egyptian princess Amneris. Both are in love with Radamès, who commands the Egyptian army against the invading Ethiopians. The love triangle turns to ruin when Aida’s father, Amonasro, appeals to his daughter’s love of country to betray Radamès.
The Last American Hammer
by Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi
February 17 & 19, 2023
Irwin Seating Company
Milcom Negley, a one-man militia, rages against the tyranny of federal overreach. A conspiracy theorist, Milcom believes an obscure, would-be Thirteenth amendment negates the authority of our government. The only major source of employment in town—a hammer manufacturer—has shuttered, and Milcom is armed with “the last American hammer” to roll off the plant’s line. He is hunkered down in a rural museum with curator Tink Enraught and FBI Agent Reyes.
The Pirates of Penzance
by Gilbert & Sullivan
October 28 & 30 2022
EGR Performing Arts Center
We are ready to sing, dance, and swashbuckle through Gilbert and Sullivan’s hilarious topsy turvy operetta The Pirates of Penzance. Candy colored seaside fun, pirates preoccupied with moral dilemmas, a loquacious major general, and of course a charming romance will keep you smiling and tapping your feet through this most delightful and tuneful comedy that promises to be fun for the whole family!
Turandot
by Giacomo Puccini
April 22 & 23, 2022
DeVos Performance Hall
Puccini’s final opera takes us to mythical China. The princess Turandot has renounced love. She will only marry a prince who can answer her three riddles. Hundreds have tried – all have failed. Until an unknown Prince solves the mystery of Turandot’s riddles, and the secret to her heart. Featuring opera’s most iconic aria “Nessun dorma,” Turandot is a visual, dramatic and musical feast for the senses not to be missed.
Stinney: An American Execution
by Frances Pollock | Libretto by Tia Price
February 25, 26 & 27, 2022
Peter Martin Wege Theatre
In 1944, George Stinney Jr. was executed at the age of 14. Wrongfully accused of the rape and murder of two white girls, George became the youngest person legally executed in America. Stinney: An American Execution spotlights the agony of this injustice as it reminds us of our aspirations for an enlightened society.
Don Giovanni
by W.A. Mozart
October 22 & 24, 2021
DeVos Performance Hall
The final day in the life of Don Juan, the infamous murderer and callous seducer of women, performed in Opera Grand Rapid’s original production of Mozart’s Prague masterpiece.
Second Nature
by Matthew Aucoin
April 30 & May 2, 2021
The Pavilion at Millennium Park
Second Nature imagines our planet a hundred years from now. Climate change has wreaked havoc worldwide, and humans have had to seal themselves in an artificial habitat to escape. But two children’s curiosity leads them back out into nature in hopes of finding a world that is worth saving.
Penny
by Douglas Pew
March 19-April 2, 2021
Virtual Performance
Penny is a NEW opera about the power of music. In the course of this one-hour opera, we see the leading character Penny Rutherford, an autistic woman, literally and figuratively find her voice. As Penny learns to express herself through singing, she transforms before our eyes.
Così fan tutte
by W.A. Mozart
October 23 & 25, 2020
EGRHS Performing Arts Center
In Mozart’s comedy Così fan tutte or The School for Lovers, Ferrando and Guglielmo boast to their friend, the cynical bachelor Don Alfonso, that their fiancées, Dorabella and Fiordiligi, are unreproachable in their steadfastness and virtue. What happens next is a comedic masterpiece of disguises and deception gone wrong as Alfonso and the clever maid Despina take the two couples to the School for Lovers.
Scalia Ginsburg
by Derrick Wang
March 14, 2020 | 7:30 PM
& March 15, 2020 | 2:00 PM
Betty Van Andel Opera Center
This comic opera in one act is inspired by the opinions and unlikely friendship of Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Opera Grand Rapids will be one of the first opera companies in the world to produce this opera.
The Mikado
by Gilbert & Sullivan
November 1 & 2, 2019
St. Cecilia Music Center
G&S’s beloved satire on Imperial British politics and institutions comes to life on the intimate stage of St. Cecilia Music Center. The poor wandering minstrel Nanki-Poo is in love with the lovely Yum-Yum, the ward of the Lord High Executioner, who has designs on her himself. The town swirls with satirical chaos when the Emperor (The Mikado) reveals that if no one is executed in the town, it will be reduced in stature to a village. Heads will comically roll in this Topsy-Turvey world.
La Traviata
by Giuseppe Verdi
June 14 & 15, 2019
St. Cecilia Music Center
The heartbreaking true story of Parisian courtesan Marie Duplessis became the classic novella that inspired the films Camille, Pretty Woman and Moulin Rouge. The great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi retells her story in one of the greatest operas of all time.
The Magic Flute
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
October 26 & 27, 2018
DeVos Performance Hall
Performed in English, this magical allegorical tale of equality between all men and women has enchanted audiences since its premiere more than two hundred years ago. OGR’s production stars acclaimed artists John Viscardi as the comic Papageno and Jana McIntyre as the star-blazing Queen of the Night.