We hope you’ll mark your calendars, because award-winning VCU Opera, together with the VCU Symphony, will present Jules Massenet’s rendition of classic fairy-tale opera, Cinderella, on FRIDAY, APRIL 26 at 7 pm and SUNDAY, APRIL 28 at 4 pm.
A storybook kingdom. Pandolfe, a country gentleman, has married Madame de la Haltière, an imperious countess. She and her daughters, Naomi and Dorothy, bully Pandolfe’s daughter from his first marriage–known as Cinderella.
The opera will be performed in English with supertitles and has a running time of approximately 105 minutes including one intermission. Daniel Myssyk will be on the podium and the production is directed by Michelle Harman-Gulick.
Tickets are $5.00 for VCU Students and $10.00 for general admission. Tickets can be purchased online in advance or at the box office one hour before showtime the day of. Please note we are a cashless facility and unable to accept payment via cash, check, or tap.
Founded in 1950 by L. Wayne Batty, VCU Opera has been directed by Melanie Kohn Day since 1983. In 2008, Dr. Kenneth Wood joined the VCU Voice faculty and assumed duties as Co-Director/Stage Director.
VCU Opera has the longest running tradition of annual full-scale productions in the state of Virginia. Each year there is a fully-staged and costumed production of opera scenes and arias as well as a full-scale production with scenery and costumes presented in collaboration with the VCU Symphony. VCU Opera is proud of its ongoing relationship with Virginia Opera, which includes regular field trips, workshops and master classes with staff and artists.
With an emphasis on the holistic training of the complete “singer-actor,” VCU Opera has prepared students for scholarships to: the Manhattan School of Music; Peabody Conservatory; Eastman School of Music; New England Conservatory; Northwestern University; The Curtis Institute of Music; The University of Maryland; Boston University and Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. VCU Opera graduates have been selected for positions with the Virginia Opera Emerging Artists Program, and many have been selected for young artist programs with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Wolftrap Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Operafestival di Roma, AIMS-Graz, Brevard Music Festival, Lake George Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and Sarasota Opera.
If you would like to know more about award-winning VCU Opera, please be sure to watch our recent two-hour virtual production of favorite scenes from the past 10 years. This production was livestreamed on April 25, 2021 at 4:00pm.
Viva l’Opera! first half of gala production
Exploring these scenes will give you an idea of the high quality of our musical preparation, of our orchestra, and of our production values in terms of scenery, costumes, and lighting. The presentation was narrated to enhance your enjoyment.
Viva l’Opera second half of gala production
Are you a current VCU Student wishing to audition for VCU Opera? For more information please visit the VCU Opera audition page.
Opera Photos
We are proud of the many VCU Opera alumni who enjoy active careers performing in major international opera houses. VCU Opera offers an outstanding and intensive undergraduate opera training experience. Our students have ample opportunities to perform for guest artists in master classes in addition to bi-annual fully staged productions.
VCU Opera has earned awards from the National Opera Association:
Opera Production Competition
First place, Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Gondoliers”
First place, Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Old Maid and the Thief”
Second place, Ingelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel”
Opera Scenes Competition
Third place, Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” quintet scene
VCU Opera offers fully staged productions appropriately cast for undergraduate singers and presents them in collaboration with the VCU Symphony with costumes and scenery in period style.
“A Little Night Music” – Stephen Sondheim
“Tartuffe” – Kirke Mechem
“The Secret Marriage” – Domenico Cimarosa
“Die Fledermaus” – Johann Strauss
“Suor Angelica” – Giacomo Puccini
“Gianni Schicchi” – Giacomo Puccini
“Dialogues of the Carmelites” – Francis Poulenc
“The Marriage of Figaro” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“La Cenerentola” – Gioacchino Possini
“Tales of Hoffmann” – Jacques Offenbach
“Old Maid and the Thief” – Gian Carlo Menotti
“The Merry Widow” – Franz Lehàr
“Little Red Riding Hood” – Seymour Barab
“The Impresario” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“Così fan tutte” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“The Mikado” – Gilbert and Sullivan
“Hansel and Gretel”– Engelbert Humperdinck
“Amelia Goes to the Ball” – Gian Carlo Menotti
“The Magic Flute” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“The Pirates of Penzance” – Gilbert & Sullivan
“La Cambiale di Matrimonio” – Gioachino Rossini
In addition to conducting full-scale opera productions, VCU Opera strives to train students in all aspects of the genre. The following are among the variety of subjects addressed in the program:
Production and role study
Aria study
Stage and special-effects makeup
Stage combat
Techniques for auditions and competitions
Creating a character
Résumé and headshot preparation
Dramatic improvisation
Recitative workshops
“Great Voices of the Past” workshops
Period movement
Technical theatre training
Monologue preparation
Guest artist masterclasses and workshops
Backstage at the Virginia Opera field trips
Thomas Moser – VCU alumnus, Vienna Staatsoper
Fabiana Bravo – auspices of Virginia Opera
Barbara Dever – Metropolitan Opera, auspices of Virginia Opera
Maestro Peter Mark – former artistic director, Virginia Opera and Lyric Opera of Virginia
Maestro Dan Saunders – conductor, Metropolitan Opera
Maestro Joseph Walsh – former associate artistic director, Virginia Opera and Artistic Director, Lyric Opera of Virginia
Thomas Truhitte – auspices of Virginia Opera
Matthew Burns – VCU alumnus and house bass-baritone, New York City Opera
Pamela Armstrong – VCU alumna, Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera
Shirley Verrett – world-renowned artist
Nico Castel – world-renowned artist and principal diction coach and character tenor, Metropolitan Opera
Peter Atherton, Ph.D. – director of Opera Studies, Chapman University (Los Angeles) and Operafestival di Roma
Karen Knight – resident artist and guest director, Sight and Sound Millenium Theatre
Glenn Winters, Ph.D. – Education Outreach Director, Virginia Opera
Richard Harrell – Juilliard Opera Center, San Francisco Opera, director of opera at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Chris Burnside – Chair, VCU Department of Dance and international choreographer
Professor Emeritus Elizabeth Weiss Hopper, VCU Department of Theatre, Chair of Costume and Makeup
