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Shakespeare’s tale of ruthless desire, Macbeth kicks off Opera Orlando's 2024-25 Destiny + Desire Season

Opera Orlando are embarking on a powerful 2024-25 season, continuing their tradition of world-class, cutting edge, innovative presentations.

Shakespeare’s tale of ruthless desire, Macbeth kicks off Opera Orlando's 2024-25 Destiny + Desire Season

Opera Orlando is inviting audiences to face their destiny and give in their desires during the upcoming Destiny + Desire Season. The 2024-25 season features two Shakespeare inspired works, a beautiful treatment of a beloved fairy tale, and some stunning Verismo.


Macbeth, Shakespeare’s tale of ruthless desire set to some of Verdi’s most magnificent music, takes the stage to open Opera Orlando’s season of Destiny + Desire on Friday, October 25 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday October 27 at 2 pm.


This all-new production takes to the stage at STEINMETZ HALL, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, and will be led by conductor Mark Sforzini and stage director Matt Haney, both making their Company debuts.


Shakespeare’s tale of ruthless desire, Macbeth kicks off Opera Orlando's 2024-25 Destiny + Desire Season

Consumed by the promise of political power and propelled by his ambitious wife, Macbeth, sung by international baritone Norman Garrett, gets caught in a murderous web to claim the Scottish throne. A powerful and emotional work, Macbeth is the opera Giuseppe Verdi declared to be “unlike any other!”


There is no love story here, just a darkly riveting scramble to grab power at any cost.


Sung in Italian with English and Spanish supertitles. Estimated run time of two hours and forty-five minutes with one intermission.




Opera Orlando 2024-25 Destiny + Desire Season
Opera Orlando Presents Macbeth

Opera Orlando Presents Macbeth
October 25 & 27, 2024 | Steinmetz Hall

Macbeth, Shakespeare’s tale of ruthless desire set to some of Verdi’s most magnificent music, takes the stage to open Opera Orlando’s season of Destiny + Desire. This all new production will be led by stage director Matt Haney and conductor Mark Sforzini, both making their Company debuts.


Consumed by the promise of political power and propelled by his ambitious wife, Macbeth, sung by international baritone Norman Garrett, gets caught in a murderous web to claim the Scottish throne. A powerful and emotional work, Macbeth is the opera Giuseppe Verdi declared to be “unlike any other!” There is no love story here, just a darkly riveting scramble to grab power at any cost.


Opera Orlando Presents Four Lost Santas | Amahl and the Night Visitors

Opera Orlando Presents Four Lost Santas | Amahl and the Night Visitors
December 6–8, 2024 | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater

Opera Orlando presents the world premiere of Four Lost Santas, a comic Christmas opera. This fun, family-friendly piece is a lead-in to Menotti’s seasonal favorite Amahl and the Night Visitors, and it is the perfect antidote for the hustle and bustle of the season. Join a barbershop quartet of Santas who find themselves lost on their way to what should be their big break: SantaCon! They are thankfully rescued by Judy and Rudy, a mother and son who are running late to their community theater production of Amahl. When they can’t fix the Santas’ car, they all pile into the Mom’s car to get into town.


They arrive to utter chaos at the theater as the three Kings and Page have quit the production. Rudy is particularly disappointed, but the Santas save the day as they volunteer to sing the roles in Amahl, because of course they have sung them before. As the cast breathes a sigh of relief, the stage manager yells, “Places!” and then begins Amahl and the Night Visitors, a poignant story of a beautiful Christmas miracle.


This pairing is a perfect balance between the commercial and sacred side of the holidays, told by a fantastic cast in the intimate setting of the Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater. Sing along to some of your favorite Christmas carols, and let this new Christmas tradition tug at your heartstrings.


Four Lost Santas/Amahl and the Night Visitors will be sung in English with English and Spanish supertitles and have a run time of approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.


Opera Orlando Presents Cendrillon

Opera Orlando Presents Cendrillon
February 7 & 9, 2025

Opera Orlando presents a fairy tale classic, Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon. Based on the beloved French Cinderella story by Perrault, this all new production will surely sparkle and enchant audiences.


Bring the whole family to enjoy this delightful opera directed by James Marvel, making his Company debut, with conductor Noam Aviel returning to Orlando to conduct the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in the pit. This charming take on the Cinderella story is full of fun, laughter, and gorgeous music that will delight audiences of all ages.


Cendrillon will be sung in French with English and Spanish supertitles. The run time for the full evening will be 2 hours and 45 minutes with one intermission.



Opera Orlando Presents Beatrice + Benedict / Cavalleria Rusticana

Opera Orlando Presents Beatrice + Benedict / Cavalleria Rusticana
April 25 & 27, 2025 | Steinmetz Hall

Opera Orlando presents two operas rolled into one with Hector Berlioz’s Beatrice + Benedict and Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. Watch these stories unfold simultaneously on an Easter day in the Sicilian town of Messina.


Audiences first watch Berlioz’s comedy, based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, play out in the town square with weddings and a happy ending for all, and then a more tragic tale is told as Mascagni’s verismo opera happens in the exact same town square.


This is an all new opera mash-up conceived by Company artistic director Grant Preisser. He leads this production joined by conductor Pasquale Valerio making his company debut. The production will also feature the Opera Orlando Chorus and Youth Company, as well as dancers from Orlando Ballet.


Beatrice + Benedict will be sung in English and Cavalleria Rusticana will be sung in Italian. Both will have English and Spanish supertitles. The run time for the full evening will be 2 hours and 45 minutes with one intermission.



Opera Orlando Present Treemonisha
May 16–18, 2025 | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater | Jan. 17

Opera Orlando invites you to embark on a life-affirming journey of family and community in a new production of Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha. A truly astounding work that resonates on many levels, it is the only opera in existence about the Reconstruction Era African-American experience written by a black man who actually lived through it, and this new production will celebrate the past but also reflect the present, highlighting black excellence and the strength, beauty, and wisdom of Black women, all led by stage director Roberta Emerson.


Joplin's tuneful score is a lively mix of ragtime, vaudeville, and grand opera, with a big helping of heart and soul. Treemonisha is a young woman who leads her community against the influence of conjurers, who prey on ignorance and superstition. Through Treemonisha’s confrontation with the conjurers the community realizes the value of education and Treemonisha leads them all into a bright and bountiful future of education, opportunity, and prosperity.


Treemonisha will be sung in English with English and Spanish supertitles and have a run time of approximately two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. The theater will be in a thrust configuration, with seating on three sides


For more information and to purchase tickets for the upcoming 2024-2025 season click here:


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