Event Calendar

Two operas, two betrayed husbands, two tragic ends. In Cavalleria rusticana the calm of a Sicilian Easter morning is broken by a betrayed lover who sets off a chain of events ending in violent tragedy. In true theatrical tradition Pagliacci's clown tries to go on the show, but his real-life humiliation and despair lead to a grim climax. The violent passions and raw emotions of these two works changed the direction of Italian opera forever. 

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Continuing the story of The Barber of Seville, Count Almaviva's eye has now wandered and his current objective is Susanna, Figaro's fiancée. The distressed couple, along with Rosina (now the Countess Almaviva) conspire to reveal the count's lechery, despite the many obstacles thrown in their way. Mozart's musical genius, along with Lorenzo DaPonte's witty libretto make The Marriage of Figaro one of opera's masterpieces. 

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Jamila returns to her hometown, New York City to perform a recital featuring Mozart, Charpentier, Strauss, Britten, and Spears. ​Click here to watch.

Taking place over two hot summer days in New York City, Kurt Weill’s two-act American opera Street Scene delves into the lives of the multi-ethnic residents of a tenement building, showcasing their hopes, dreams, and struggles. Throughout the story, musical numbers range from operatic arias to jazz and blues, reflecting the mix of cultures and emotions present in the tenement setting. Street Scene offers a commentary on the challenges faced by immigrants, the impact of poverty, and the complexities of love and relationships in a densely populated urban environment.

Set against the backdrop of Cornwall’s coastline, The Pirates of Penzance is a comedic operetta that revolves around a young man mistakenly apprenticed to a band of pirates due to a communication mix-up. As he completes his term with the pirates, he yearns for love and an honorable life. After humorous encounters with a group of young women and a crafty ruse involving the pirates’ soft spot for orphans, a surprising revelation about the young man’s true apprenticeship commitment is unveiled. Enjoy unexpected twists and a heartwarming resolution that touches on loyalty, duty, and societal expectations.

Opera Maine welcomes Jamila back to Portland for an evening of splendor and spectacle.

Thrilled to have been named a finalist at the 8th Edward M. Murray International Competition of Voice, Jamila participated in the finalists concert where her performance earned her the third place prize.

Thrilled to have been named a winner at the Boston District Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Jamila looks forward to competing among the "super 16" New England singers at the regional round.

Thrilled to have been named a winner at the Boston District Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Jamila looks forward to competing among the "super 16" New England singers at the regional round.

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In recognition of a generous gift from the Laffont family, the Met’s nationwide vocal competition—known since its founding in 1954 as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions—is designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers, and is sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera National Council, including members and hundreds of volunteers from across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Some of today’s greatest singers got their start in the auditions, including Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Stephanie Blythe, Eric Owens, Lawrence Brownlee, Lisette Oropesa, Jamie Barton, Michael Fabiano, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Ryan Speedo Green, and Nadine Sierra.

Opera Maine is thrilled to present an original production of Gioachino Rossini’s comedic masterpiece, La Cenerentola (Cinderella). Rossini’s delightful version of the beloved dustbin-to-palace tale of Cinderella is certain to enchant audiences of all ages. A heartless stepfather, scheming stepsisters, and a prince in disguise create hilarity and confusion, but goodness and love triumph in the end. Much magic is in Rossini’s exuberant music, performed by a talented cast of principals and the Opera Maine Orchestra and Chorus, all under the baton of Maestro Israel Gursky. Artistic Director Dona D. Vaughn will direct this not-to-be-missed production.

The 2023 Studio Artist Program will present two performances of Rocking Horse Winner by Gareth Williams with libretto by Anna Chatterton. A modern adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s short story, Rocking Horse Winner explores the relationship between Paul, a young man with autism, and his emotionally distant mother. Paul becomes dangerously obsessed with solving the “bad luck” of his family in order to win his mother’s love. His pursuit awakens a strange magic that connects him to luck, but also to powerful voices only he can hear. In our new age of entitlement Rocking Horse Winner is an intimate, psychological look at love, “luck”, and greed.

Music lovers, joins us for a fabulous opera night at the French Library! To celebrate la fête de la musique, the French Library welcomes soprano Jamila Drecker-Waxman and pianist Brian Moll in their rendition of Poulenc's "musical confession." Composed in 1958 by French composer Francis Poulenc, La voix humaine is a one-act chamber opera scored for a single voice and piano. The work features a text by Jean Cocteau, and details one side of a conversation between two lovers as they navigate their relationship over the phone. Their struggle to communicate with honesty is mirrored by a plague of technical difficulties, static, and miscommunications with the operator. In a world of increasing modernity, La voix humaine reveals an innate and deep-rooted longing for human connection that remains poignant even on the 60th anniversary of Poulenc's death. 

Join us May 4th & 5th at 8 pm for an Opera Scenes Program presented by Opera Studio and Opera Workshop! Each night will feature a different program - Scenes from Tosca, Falstaff, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Candide, Carmen, and more beloved classics, as well as some new and unique works!

Admission for this event is FREE and open to the public! Opera Scenes will be performed in T401, on the 4th floor of the 31 Hemenway St. building!

Please join us in Boston Conservatory's Opera Studio for the live screening of Poulenc's La voix humaine, as directed by Daniel Pelzig, sung by Jamila Drecker-Waxman, and accompanied by Brian Moll. Click here to watch. 

Based on the Biblical story of Susannah and the Elders and written at the height of the McCarthy persecutions in the United States, Susannah is an award-winning opera that tells the story of an innocent woman victimized by her single-minded, evangelical community. American composer Carlisle Floyd’s sweeping Appalachian folk-infused score combined with Pucciniesque lyricism define Susannah as the quintessential American verismo opera. Sung in English with English supertitles. 

Join Dr. Everett McCorvey, Director of The American Spiritual Ensemble, Director of Opera at University of Kentucky, and Artistic Director of the National Chorale of New York for an evening of solo and choral spirituals.

An audience favorite, the tale of four young Parisians who dedicate their lives to art and love. Puccini’s lush, romantic score captures the simple joys and heartbreaking sorrows of the artists' lives in a fully staged production with chamber orchestra presented by the voice conservatory program of the Bay View Music Festival. 

Bay View Music Festival 2022 presents a classic: The Sound of Music, featuring songs and lyrics by Rogers and Hammerstein.

The Conservatory’s production of the opera, originally set in ancient Rome, is reimagined in the period and locale of its première performance: Prague, 1791. Featuring Mozart’s glorious score set to Caterino Mazzolà’s poignant libretto inspired by Pietro Metastasio, the story is a timeless meditation on the struggle and ultimate triumph of love, beauty, and compassion in the world. Andrew Altenbach will be conducting and Daniel Pelzig will stage direct the production. 

Directed by Robert Swedberg, this is a re-working of the classic Mozart opera, that has been themed around ecology and the preservation of our planet.

Cendrillon is Massenet’s retelling of the fairy tale of Cinderella. We meet all our favorite characters: the horrible step-mother Madame de la Haltière, and step-sisters Noémie and Dorothée, Cendrillon’s kind-hearted father Pandolfe, the Fairy Godmother (La Fée), and, of course, Le Prince Charmant. This well-known fairy tale is set to Massenet’s sparklingly magical score, which aside from the beautiful vocal writing, includes French court dances, processional marches for the Princesses, and lullabies for the sleeping Cendrillon and Prince.

A governess is hired by a mysterious and wealthy man to care for his recently orphaned niece and nephew. She arrives at Bly House full of optimism and hope, but soon encounters the ghosts of two former servants who have come for the children. Are they real, or a figment of her imagination? The lines between the paranormal and mental instability blur in this brilliant opera set to Henry James’s classic novella of the same name.