Elio Bucky makes their Cincinnati Opera debut directing a fresh take on Rigoletto. Treating it as a psychological thriller, Bucky focuses on the emotional depth and timeless themes of grief and love. With new cast members and stunning costume designs, this revival offers a powerful and modern look at Verdi’s classic.
Stories Without Words
Tina Tammaro’s artwork will be on display at Music Hall’s Founders Room during Cincinnati Opera’s 2025 Summer Festival. Inspired by the emotion and drama of opera, her intuitive, layered paintings explore themes like power, identity, and connection. Each piece invites viewers to look deeper, revealing new meaning with every glance—much like an aria told on canvas.
Wonder of Wonders
Fiddler on the Roof brought beloved Yiddish stories to Broadway, celebrating Jewish culture while exploring universal themes of tradition and change. Its heartfelt music and timeless struggles keep audiences connected across generations and cultures. Decades later, it remains a powerful story of identity, resilience, and belonging.
Who is Tosca in 2025?
Puccini’s Tosca tells a familiar story of love, jealousy, and villainy set against political oppression. But beyond tragedy, it reveals a heroine who fights for agency in a brutal world. Its timeless themes and powerful music keep audiences coming back—finding new meaning in a story we think we know.
A Fool's Game
Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto is a powerful opera built on contrasts—between light-hearted melodies and dark moral truths, personal loyalty and systemic cruelty, and justice and futility. At its center is Rigoletto, a jester trapped in moral compromise, whose attempt to shield his daughter ends in heartbreak. This enduring opera invites audiences to wrestle with uncomfortable truths beneath its beautiful music. Read more about Rigoletto here.
Passion Meets Purpose: COYP’s Will Selnick on Engaging New Audiences
Team Players: Meet Some of Our Artistic and Professional Partners
Music for a Walk in the Woods
From Stage to Air: Cincinnati Opera partners with 90.9 WGUC to broadcast 2024 Summer Festival
Celebrating National Classical Music Month: Evans's Top 10 American Opera Arias
Class Act: Cincinnati Opera Takes Center Stage in Schools
For students across Greater Cincinnati, school is back in session, and with it, a new year full of possibilities. Cincinnati Opera is excited to play a role in enhancing students’ learning by partnering with local schools on a variety of arts-based educational offerings geared toward young people of all ages.
A Summer at the Opera: Meet some of Cincinnati Opera’s 2024 Summer Interns!
Phil Groshong: Celebrating 40 years at the Opera
Synchronicity, Paint, and Paul McCartney
Barnes reached out to the Opera and a partnership was formed. Her series of eight paintings tracing the storyline of the Liverpool Oratorio, including the striking Liverpool Cathedral, will be displayed in the P&G Founders Lounge during the opera’s premiere, and another two dozen related works will grace the walls of nearby Wash Park Art Gallery.
2024 Summer Festival Featured Artist: Katrina Dienno
Making Opera Accessible to All: Cincinnati Opera’s Access Night
Access to opera can sometimes feel out of reach, especially for audience members with diverse abilities and accommodation needs. Cincinnati Opera strives to change that with its second annual Access Night at the Opera, on Saturday, June 15, with its season-opening production of Mozart's Don Giovanni.
Liverpool Oratorio Director's Note: War's Lament, Hope's Refrain
La Traviata Director's Note: Don't Forget Me
La Traviata has captivated audiences with its timeless themes of love, tragedy, and societal expectations. However, in many productions, there is a sense of unfulfillment and missed opportunities to delve into the deeper humanity of the characters. While these productions are musically brilliant and visually stunning, they often fall short in portraying the depth of character and the underlying tragedy that defines La Traviata.
Don Giovanni Director's Note: Unmasking Mozart's Don
Robeson Rediscovered: The Making of an Opera
A team of student filmmakers from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) Department of Media Production took a look behind the scenes of the development of Robeson, a new opera inspired by the life of the legendary singer and activist Paul Robeson. The result is the documentary Robeson Rediscovered: The Making of an Opera.