Opera Colorado has postponed its 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result the company will perform all postponed operas during the 2021-22 Season and beyond. The 2021-22 Season will open on Nov. 6, 2021, with “Tosca” followed by “The Shining” in February 2022 and Carmen in May 2022. Opera Colorado’s 40th-anniversary celebration in the fall of 2022 will feature a concert performance of “Cavalleria Rusticana.”

“This challenging but necessary decision was made in consultation with our COVID-19 Response Taskforce and Board of Directors, along with the most recent state and local safety guidelines, placing the health and safety of our artists, production personnel, staff, and audience first. Rehearsing and performing grand opera takes hundreds of creative individuals working in close quarters, presenting it requires audience members to gather in our hall, and there is simply no way to do that safely at this time,” said General Director Greg Carpenter in a press release. “While we miss welcoming audiences to the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, we wholeheartedly embrace this opportunity to showcase our innovative spirit, which has been at Opera Colorado’s core since its inception.”

The company will instead present Opera Colorado Amplified during the 2020-21 season. The programming will feature new digital and in-person programming featuring visiting artists, the Opera Colorado Artists in Residence, and our Opera Colorado Orchestra musicians.

The offerings will include Laquita Mitchell curating “The Promise of Living,” a multicultural program of opera and song featuring special guests Nmon Ford and Israel Gursky, Catherine Cook in Lee Hoiby’s “Bon Appetit!” and Cecilia Violetta López, Luis Ledesma, and Nathan Salazar in a program celebrating Mexican-American and Latinx culture.

Other programs will include Music Director Ari Pelto curating a series of chamber music concerts featuring Opera Colorado Orchestra musicians, and Opera Colorado Artists in Residence in An Afternoon of American Song.