Union Avenue Opera

🎼 Aida in concert opens Friday tickets are going fast. But why in concert? Read on to find out - https://mailchi.mp/unionavenueopera/you-dont-want-to-miss-these-voices-in-aida-8114244

Its always a treat to sit down with Kathy Lawton Brown at Classic 107.3 - Radio Arts Foundation. If you missed the interview when it aired live you can take a listen here

Union Avenue Opera Artists Discuss "Into the Woods" and "Aida: In Concert" - Classic 107.3 As Union Avenue Opera’s 30th Anniversary Season continues, hear about upcoming performances from Jennifer Wintzer, Director of “Into the Woods”, and Limmie Pulliam, tenor in the role of Radamès for “Aida: In Concert”. Learn more and purchase tickets for “Aida: In Concert” with perform...

You don't want to miss the voices in Aida in concert 🎵 -- only 3 performances! - https://mailchi.mp/unionavenueopera/you-dont-want-to-miss-these-voices-in-aida

Join us in welcoming Jacob Lassetter to our cast of Aida in concert. Jacob was last seen as Zuniga in Carmen and will be stepping into the role of Ramfis for all performances - July 26, 28(m), August 3. Tickets available at www.unionavenueopera.org

Tune in today at 1pm as Classic 107.3 - Radio Arts Foundation chats with Limmie Pulliam and Jennifer Wintzer about their upcoming projects at UAO this summer.

Gateway Festival Orchestra and Union Avenue Opera joined Kathy Lawton Brown recently on Arts à la Carte!

✨ Gateway Festival Orchestra Guest Conductor Christopher Kelts discussed the Gateway Festival Orchestra program “Gateway West!” 🌵Learn more about this free performance on July 21 at www.gatewayfestivalorchestra.org

🎶 Jennifer Wintzer, Director of "Into the Woods", and Limmie Pulliam, tenor in the role of Radamès for "Aida: In Concert" talked about upcoming Union Avenue Opera performances. Hear the interview at classic1073.org/uao-into-the-woods-and-aida 🎫 Learn more and purchase tickets at unionavenueopera.org

Experience the thrill and excitement up close and personal in UAO's intimate venue. Two performances remain: July 12 and 13 at 8PM 🎟 https://tinyurl.com/CarmenUAO

We agree, you don't want to miss this Carmen!
🎟 https://tinyurl.com/CarmenUAO

High praise abounds for Carmen 🌹 at UAO - https://mailchi.mp/unionavenueopera/critics-are-raving-about-carmen-at-uao-8114146

Don't miss Meroë Khalia Adeeb, Soprano's portrayal of Micaëla this weekend during our final performances of CARMEN - July 12 &13 at 8PM 🎟 https://tinyurl.com/CarmenUAO

Only two performances remain - July 12 and 13 at 8PM
Order your tickets today at https://tinyurl.com/CarmenUAO

Only two performances remain - July 12 & 13.
Don't miss the show critics and audiences are raving about!
🎟 https://tinyurl.com/CarmenUAO

“This “Carmen” is a traditional interpretation that encourages a critical approach to understanding how the characters navigate a narrative fraught with jealousy, cultural clashes and fatal consequence … Elise Quagliata in the role of Carmen brings a compelling and nuanced portrayal to Bizet’s iconic character. Known for her powerful mezzo-soprano voice … Quagliata has tremendous stage presence filled with charisma and restrained dramatic flair … Tuohy presents a compelling Don José … strong but not brutish and presents his emotionally conflicted character with a palpable sense of longing and desperation … One of the standout performances is provided by Meroë Khalia Adeeb as Micaëla … Adeeb’s rich and resonant voice captures the character’s gentle nature and inner strength, and the rest of performance hits all the right notes: flexibility and emotional range, expressiveness and technical skill that is precise and controlled … Also commendable is the performance by Xavier Joseph as the smuggler Le Dancaïre. The role is a secondary character, but Joseph delivers his character with physicality, wit and bonhomie … Lassetter presents his Zuniga with a big-throated blend of authority and moral ambiguity and a performance that captures the character’s commanding presence and underlying conflict. Rogier’s Moralés is equally strong. Rogier exudes a robust and confident demeanor that emphasizes his steady, grounded nature ...”

Union Avenue Opera's 'Carmen' Delivers Compelling Moments Tempered by Contemporary Issues By CB Adams Poor Carmen. As the protagonist in George Bizet’s 1875 opera, she’s sometimes reduced to being the poster person for critical analysis of gender dynamics and relationships. Carmen’s character is often presented as some mixture of her as a free-spirited and independent woman who is

“a superb production of Bizet’s Carmen! Thirty years of ever-increasing excellence in this most challenging of musical arts. Housed in the nave of the Union Avenue Christian Church, this company offers the most intimate opera experience you’re likely to find anywhere … Carmen, springs to musical life under the baton of founder and artistic director Scott Schoonover … The cast is packed with top-flight talent; there simply is not a weak-link anywhere.

The role of Carmen is sung by Elise Quagliata. She triumphs in it! … Her [Quagliata’s] voice, lithe and articulate, is so expressive of emotions. It’s full of a variety of timbres. It is fond of those high notes, where it is strong and clear—but on the low ones it can be brassy and threatening. It’s thrilling … Tenor Brendan Tuohy [Don José] brings a deeply beautiful voice to the role. Pure and true and impeccably smooth from his lowest note to his very highest … Meroë Khalia Adeeb brings a much richer life to this girl [Micaёla] … It’s a beautiful, towering, shining voice filled with sweetness … Joel Balzun sings this rock-star bull-fighter [Escamillo], and he well deserves the praises of the crowd. His wonderful vocal power makes a triumph of the “Toreador Song” … Jacob Lassetter sings Zuniga … a strikingly strong figure on stage—with a rich baritone voice … Supporting roles are similarly splendid … The chorus of children is a delight …

Stage director Mark Freiman once again displays his great gift; he handles this large cast beautifully … Patrick Huber (sets and lighting) and Teresa Doggett (costumes) do their usual wonders, achieving beauty, authenticity and variety. Conductor Scott Schoonover draws a flawless performance from his orchestra…”

Review: CARMEN at Union Avenue Opera Saint Louis’ Union Avenue Opera is celebrating the start of it’s thirtieth year with a superb production of Bizet’s Carmen! (Thirty years—that’s twenty-nine seasons. Like everyone else Union Avenue was “dark” in 2020.) Thirty years of ever-increasing excellence in this most challenging...

“a splendid staging of Bizet’s Carmen with a dazzling performance in the title role … Elise Quagliata’s striking use her beautiful, dusky voice, but also to the supreme self-confidence of her bearing and mien. This Carmen understands her allure and deploys it shamelessly to get what she wants … Brendan Tuohy understands Don José’s emotional arc and captures his desperation after his pipe dream has slipped away from him. Tuohy’s gorgeous singing rises to the occasion in Don José’s great aria, the Flower Song. Joel Balzun makes a thunderous entrance … Balzun leaves no doubt about Escamillo’s prowess and aplomb in the famous Toreador Song … Meroë Khalia Adeeb is Micaëla, [her] sweet, beautiful soprano and her unassuming manner are a telling contrast with the eroticism of Quagliata’s Carmen … The chorus produces an especially formidable sound … Throughout the production, Freiman deftly manages the full ensemble’s activities … The orchestra plays a vibrant account of Bizet’s score under Scott Schoonover, who conducts in total sympathy with the drama. Teresa Doggett’s costumes and Stephanie Robinson’s props root the staging firmly in the opera’s original period.”

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Don't miss the excitement of Bizet's Carmen at Union Avenue Opera with performances July 5, 6, 12, 13. Tickets at unionavenueopera.org

📸 Dan Donovan

Carmen opens tonight!

‘Carmen’ returns to the Union Avenue Opera Union Avenue Opera is kicking off its 30th anniversary season with a French fan favorite.

Carmen opens tomorrow night! Get your tickets at unionavenueopera.org

Theaters celebrating July anniversaries in St. Louis Catch a show this month during the Union Avenue Opera’s 30th anniversary season and the St. Louis Actors’ Studio 10th anniversary of the LaBute New Theater Festival.

Carmen 🌹 opens this Friday -- will we see you there? - https://mailchi.mp/unionavenueopera/carmen-opens-this-friday-will-we-see-you-there

We're listening in, are you?

Coming up in the 1pm hour with Arts à la Carte, Union Avenue Opera Founder and Artistic Director Scott Schoonover and Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano Elise Quagliata (pictured) will talk about UAO's Carmen, with performances from July 5–13. Learn more and purchase tickets at unionavenueopera.org

Tune in at 107.3FM or 96.3HD2, stream online at classic1073.org, on audacy.com,📱with the Classic 107.3 app, or wherever else you find your radio content.

Tune in this Wednesday at 1:00PM as Scott Schoonover and Elise Quagliata join Kathy Lawton Brown on-air at Classic 107.3 - Radio Arts Foundation

The Playlist - Station News - https://mailchi.mp/classic1073.org/the-playlist-june-24-2024 Interviews this week feature Union Avenue Opera and the St. Louis County Library! Plus, The Chamber at Home returns July 6, and great local programs feature summer music and celebrate Independence Day. Discover what's happening on the Voice for the Arts in St. Louis!

EXCLUSIVE UAO OFFER! Union Avenue Opera is proud to partner with The Cheshire Inn this summer to offer opera patrons 20% off the best available rate, along with complimentary Cheshire English Breakfast. Located just 3.3 miles from UAO, The Cheshire Inn is the perfect opera experience add-on where you can enjoy dinner at Basso, drinks at Fox & Hounds Tavern, or perhaps a quick dip in the pool.

Booking link in comments.

Opening Night is two weeks away! A note from CARMEN stage director, Mark Freiman... https://mailchi.mp/unionavenueopera/opening-night-is-two-weeks-away

What are you doing on Tuesday?🎵 Join us backstage - https://mailchi.mp/unionavenueopera/four-weeks-until-opening-night-8114053

The floor is marked and our principal artists have arrived for their first sing thru of Bizet’s CARMEN opening July 5. We can’t wait for you to hear them in person. What a glorious sound indeed!