Va. Opera’s 2024-25 Season Opens; Includes “Loving v. Virginia” Debut

HAMPTON ROADS

The Virginia Opera observes its 50th Anniversary as it opens its 2024-2025 season this month with the dramatic opera Don Giovanni.

It concludes in April 2025 with the world premiere of Loving v. Virginia, based on the story of Richard and Mildred Loving of Virginia, whose U.S. Supreme Court case legalized interracial marriages.

In between these two features are two other noted operas that the Virginia Opera is promising will be pleasing to audiences of old and new opera lovers.

Virginia Opera is the official opera company of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is recognized as one of the finest regional opera companies in the nation. It is the only company to perform regularly in three separate main stage venues: the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, the Carpenter Theatre at the Dominion Energy Center in Richmond, and Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax.

Organized in 1974, Virginia Opera is respected nationwide for the identification and presentation of the finest young artists, for the musical and dramatic integrity of its productions, and for the ingenuity and variety of its education and outreach programs.

Don Giovanni will be performed at the Harrison Opera House October 4 and 5. It explores love, morality, and the consequences of people’s actions, as it revolves around the amorous escapades of Don Giovanni.

Following Don Giovanni, a new production of Carmen will grace the stage. It tells the story of a hopeless soldier, Don José, who is seduced by Carmen, a fiery gypsy woman with an appetite for smuggling. Its run dates are November 8 and 10.

The season picks up again February 21 and 23, 2025 with Così fan tutte,  a comedic opera with themes of love and relationships, set in 18th century Naples. The storyline is centered around two officers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, who have long bragged about their own solid relationships with their fiancées.

The anniversary’s grand finale is the much anticipated world premiere of Loving v. Virginia, with music by Damien Geter and a libretto by Jessica Murphy Moo, co-commissioned with the Richmond Symphony. Directed by the internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, the cast includes Flora Hawk as Mildred Jeter Loving and Jonathan Michie as Richard Loving, both making their mainstage debuts.

For more information on the season and to purchase tickets, please visit www.vaopera.org or contact the Virginia Opera Box Office at (866) 673-7282.