Arizona Opera has announced that it will be entering a meaningful new chapter of artistic vibrancy and community engagement that will excite both longtime opera lovers and newcomers alike.

In a press release the company announced that beginning in the 2018-19 Season, it will expand its programming to curate a more inclusive opera season – one that continues to deliver stunning productions of classic operas supported by world-class singers, while further diversifying its product lineup with new works that are adventurous, theatrical, and inspire curiosity among audiences new to the art form.

The new season model will continue to present five operas each year, but will also give audiences two distinct operatic experiences. The season will include a two-opera fall series tailored to a more intimate, powerful, theatrical experience and a three-opera main stage series in the winter and spring focused on beloved traditional works and large format modern masterpieces.

The new fall series will be entitled Arizona Opera RED with works being presented in more intimate venues including the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix and The Temple of Music and Art in Tucson. The first season will include Astor Piazzolla’s tango opera, “Maria de Buenos Aires,” which will open the season in September-October 2018 and Daniel Schnyder’s jazz opera, “Charlie Parker’s Yardbird,” to be presented in November 2018.

Meanwhile the winter/spring Main Stage Series will feature two big and beloved works from the classic repertoire, along with one Modern Masterwork each year. The productions will be showcased at the  Phoenix Symphony Hall and Tucson Music Hall. The 2018-19 Arizona Opera Main Stage Series will open with Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata” in January-February 2019, Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Silent Night” in March 2019, which will be the inaugural offering of the Marlu Allan and Scott Stallard Modern Masterworks Series and Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” in April 2019.