Eurydice
by Matthew Aucoin
January 31 & February 1, 2025
Betty Van Andel Opera Center
After producing his opera Second Nature in 2021 and bringing him to Grand Rapids to adjudicate the VanderLaan Prize in 2022, Matthew Aucoin invited Opera Grand Rapids to partner with the Boston Lyric Opera to co-commission a chamber version of his hit opera Eurydice. The first ever commission project in Opera Grand Rapids’ history, this stunning opera premiered in full-scale at
The Metropolitan Opera in 2021, after a world premiere at the LA Opera in 2020. Eurydice reconceives the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, telling the story from the heroine’s perspective. We follow Eurydice into the underworld, where she first passes through the River of Forgetfulness, then encounters her deceased father. By the time Orpheus comes to find her, Eurydice has become a different person and is not sure she wants to return to life.
Opera is Lit
March 13, 2025
GRAM
No other composer in Western music has been so controversial as Richard Wagner. For over a century, his music has either inflamed or enraptured critics and listeners alike. Mark Twain humorously summarized the situation saying, “I have been told that Wagner’s music is better than it sounds.”
Join musicologist Camellia Adams and the talented OperaGR singers and musicians as they dive into the literary and musical world of Richard Wagner. Come see for yourself what the controversy is all about. Will you leave happily singing “Kill da Wabbit” from Chuck Jones’ cartoon What’s Opera Doc? Or will you leave thinking Wagner’s operas are simply hours of “lewd caterwauling”?
VanderLaan Prize
March 29, 2025
Betty Van Andel Opera Center
One of the top collegiate vocal competitions in nation, the Vanderlaan Prize gives voice students a chance to compete for cash prizes. 10 finalists will be chosen to perform in the final-round concert, judged by world-class opera professionals.
Night with the Opera
May 15, 2025
GLC Live at 20 Monroe
Opera Grand Rapids will return to GLC at 20 Monroe for an amazing evening of opera, philanthropy and fun. Stay tuned throughout the season for event details and artist announcements.