Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Announces New Free Ticket Initiative and Additional Updates for a 2021 Outdoor Festival Season

ST. LOUIS, March 30, 2021 – Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) announced detailed plans for a live, in-person 2021 Festival Season, including a ground-breaking free ticket initiative, comprehensive cast lists, and thorough health protocol to provide the safest experience for artists, patrons, and staff. The 2021 Festival Season runs from May 22 through June 20 and features four all-new productions on an outdoor stage adjacent to the company’s usual venue at Webster University’s Loretto-Hilton Center.

 

"We cannot wait to welcome audiences and artists back to a live festival season,” said General Director Andrew Jorgensen. “The arts are re-emerging from the pandemic, and we are feeling more creative, determined, and hopeful than ever before! This season may look a little different than usual, but it gets right to the heart of our mission: shaping a new future for opera while connecting people through the beauty and power of this art form. This spring, we celebrate the light at the end of the tunnel and the joy of live opera.” 

 

Opera Theatre’s 46th Season Festival will offer four new productions of intimate works, all of which are 90 minutes or less, and will be presented in the company’s new outdoor venue with no intermissions. The season opens on Saturday, May 22 with Puccini’s comic masterpiece Gianni Schicchi; the formerly planned production of Harvey Milk is now scheduled for OTSL’s 2022 Festival Season. William Grant Still’s gripping Highway 1, U.S.A. is the second opera of the season, followed by Poulenc’s intensely dramatic La voix humaine starring soprano Patricia Racette.  

 

Opera Theatre will also present the New Works, Bold Voices Lab, a collection of three world premieres by contemporary composers to be performed as one suite of works. Originally scheduled for digital release, they will move to the main stage for live performances. These commissions are an expansion to OTSL’s existing “New Works, Bold Voices” cycle, which supports new storytelling by American composers and librettists.  

 

The 2021 Festival Season concludes with two one-night-only concert events: the annual Center Stage showcase, featuring singers from OTSL’s Gerdine Young Artist Program; and I Dream a World, commemorating Juneteenth, curated by soprano Nicole Cabell and baritone Will Liverman and presented in partnership with the Missouri Historical Society. Opera Theatre’s 2021 season will mark the 44th year of the company’s collaboration with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. 

 

Opera Theatre’s outdoor season will follow strict COVID-compliant procedures, which have been developed in consultation with Dr. Stephen Liang from the Division of Infectious Diseases at Washington University School of Medicine and other experts at the VA St. Louis Health Care System. All audiences, staff, and volunteers will be required to wear masks while on site, regardless of vaccination history; if forgotten, OTSL will provide a mask for them. On the day of the show, every audience member must pass a temperature check before entering the festival grounds. While OTSL’s beloved pre-show picnic tradition will continue, picnic tables will be spread farther apart, and table service will be offered to prevent audience mingling at bars. Within the outdoor theater, audiences will be admitted in small groups to prevent crowded lines and seated in socially distanced pods to maintain six feet between parties. Patrons will be able to access tickets, program notes, and more through a new smartphone app.  

Just as OTSL is reinventing the model for its traditional season, this year the company is also launching a ground-breaking initiative to offer free seats at every performance in 2021 and beyond. These free seats will be available to any member of the community on a first come, first serve basis — a first for the company and in the national opera scene. Named “Phyllis’ Seats” in honor of the late Phyllis Brissenden, one of Opera Theatre’s Life Board members and most generous supporters, this program will provide 30 free tickets per performance that may be reserved online or by phone beginning two days before every show. In 2022, this number will expand to at least 50 tickets per performance. 

 

“As Opera Theatre continues to dive into the work of advancing equity and inclusion within our region and within the opera industry,” said Jorgensen, “we are extremely proud to take this next step in ensuring that anyone can attend the opera. This program will join the wonderful tradition of free arts programming available in St. Louis and sets a new standard for access to opera in America. One of Phyllis Brissenden’s great joys was introducing new audiences to Opera Theatre, and this program will ensure her legacy continues. 

 

“Our plans for a 2021 Festival Season would not have been possible without the wonderful support and partnership of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Webster University, who have worked with us tirelessly to adapt to the unique challenges of this year. I am also immensely grateful to our board, staff, artists, supporters, and volunteers for their extraordinary efforts to make our 2021 Outdoor Festival Season come to life.” 

 

The 2021 Festival Season will go on sale to the general public on May 3. Tickets will cost just $39 each and will be delivered digitally via OTSL’s soon-to-be-released smartphone app or via print-at-home ticketing. To learn more, people may visit ExperienceOpera.org or call the OTSL Box Office at (314) 961-0644.  

 

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis gratefully acknowledges Centene Charitable Foundation, presenting sponsor of the 2021 Festival Season.  

 

The Outdoor Festival Stage is made possible with a leadership gift from Lelia & David Farr.  

Audience health and safety measures for the 2021 Festival Season are made possible by Mercy.  

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About OTSL’s 2021 Festival Season

Gianni Schicchi  

Giacomo Puccini
May 22, 28, June 2, 6, 11 

Not seen on Opera Theatre’s stage for more than 40 years, OTSL is bringing back one of the greatest comedies of the operatic canon. Buoso Donati has passed away, and to the horror of his relatives, has left his entire fortune to a local monastery. All sorts of antics ensue as the family hires the wily Gianni Schicchi to help them steal back the money. Baritone Levi Hernandez stars in the title role. Opera Theatre favorite Seán Curran will direct, with Leonard Slatkin, Conductor Laureate of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, at the podium.  

 

Conductor	Leonard Slatkin
Stage Director	Seán Curran
Gianni Schicchi	Levi Hernandez
Rinuccio	Joshua Blue
Lauretta	Elena Villalón
Zita	La’Shelle Allen
Gherardo	Jermaine Smith

 

Made possible with leadership gifts from the Berges Family Foundation and Sally S. Levy & Family. 

 

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Highway 1, U.S.A. 

William Grant Still & Verna Arvey 
May 29, June 4, 13, 17 

 

This story of a couple’s fight for a better life — and the sacrifices they make for a loved one — is a long-neglected work of William Grant Still. This intimate opera by the “Dean of African-American Composers” features a sweeping score that brilliantly blends elements of Romanticism, blues, and musical theater — and proves itself more than worthy of being restored to the operatic canon. Highway 1, U.S.A. will star soprano Nicole Cabell and baritone Will Liverman. This production will be directed by Ron Himes, Founder and Producing Director of the St. Louis Black Rep, and conducted by Leonard Slatkin. 

 

Conductor	Leonard Slatkin
Stage Director	Ron Himes
Bob	Will Liverman
Mary	Nicole Cabell
Nate	Christian Mark Gibbs
Aunt Lou	Rehanna Thelwell

 

 Made possible with leadership gifts from Noémi & Michael Neidorff, the Steward Family Foundation, and the Whitaker Foundation. Major production support is provided by the William T. Kemper Foundation and Commerce Trust Company. Generous support is also provided by Husch Blackwell, LLP and by donors to the Voices Fund. Community programming is made possible by PNC Arts Alive.  

 

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La voix humaine 

 Francis Poulenc  
June 5, 14, 20 

 

Love is on the line. Alone and desperate for connection, Elle frantically awaits her ex-lover’s call. The tense conversation is further jeopardized by a terrible phone connection, driving Elle into a dangerously fragile state as she grapples with grief, denial, and anger. This explosive one-woman opera features a self-directed tour-de-force performance by soprano Patricia Racette, hailed as “the most fearless woman in opera” (LA Times). 

 

Stage Director/Elle	Patricia Racette
Collaborative Pianist	Sunny Yoon

 

Major production support is provided by Rex Sinquefield in honor of Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield.  

 

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New Works, Bold Voices Lab  

Three Commissions by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis  
June 10, 12, 16, 18 

 

On the Edge  
Laura Karpman & Taura Stinson  

 

“I’m teaching Arabic history, trigonometry...Are you kidding me ”  

Parenting has always been a wonderful if daunting prospect — but perhaps never more so than during a global pandemic. On the Edge is a deeply relatable (and often humorous) tale of endless Zooming, distance learning, and the lessons we teach our children.  

 

Moon Tea  
Steven Mackey & Rinde Eckert  

 

“Imagine me there, too...no more the hand-maid of history, on a rocket to the moon.”  

In an age when science makes everything seem possible, why not reach for the stars This new opera beautifully and wistfully re-imagines a meeting between Queen Elizabeth, her husband Prince Philip, and the Apollo 11 astronauts following the 1969 moon landing.  

 

The Tongue & The Lash  
Damien Sneed & Karen Chilton  

 

"My humanity is colored a depravity in your eyes!"  

"And my humanity, you simply refuse to see."  

In 1965, the world witnessed a historic debate between cultural giants James Baldwin and William F. Buckley, Jr. over the motion: “Is the American dream at the expense of the American Negro ” This new opera explores that enduring question by fictionalizing a post-debate conversation between Baldwin and Buckley.  

 

 

Conductor	Daniela Candillari
Stage Director	James Robinson
Single Mom/Queen Elizabeth	Monica Dewey
Kyra/Janet Armstrong	Melody Wilson
Teacher/Kadin	Mack Wolz
James Baldwin	Markel Reed
Prince Philip/William Buckley	Jonathan Johnson
Neil Armstrong/Adjudicator	Jarrett Porter
Captain Collins	Michael Day
Teacher	Calvin Griffin

 

Leadership support is provided by Noémi & Michael Neidorff with commissioning support from Tim & Robin Wentworth and major production support from Emily Rauh Pulitzer. This project is made possible in part by the Fred M. Saigh Endowment at Opera Theatre and by the Sally S. Levy Family Fund for New Works, which provides support for contemporary opera and related community activities.  

 

This project is also supported by Armstrong Teasdale LLP, Buckingham Strategic Wealth, and by donors to the Voices Fund.  

 

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I Dream A World 
A Celebration of Juneteenth 

June 15 

 

Lift every voice in this city-wide celebration commemorating Juneteenth, as Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the Missouri Historical Society host an evening of music, song, and spoken word! Discover moving performances by members of the 2021 Festival Season Ensemble and other local artists in a rousing program curated by soprano Nicole Cabell and baritone Will Liverman. This event is free, but registration will be required. The program will take place on the North Lawn of the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park (5700 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63112). 

 

Opera Theatre gratefully acknowledges presenting sponsors Noémi & Michael Neidorff. Generous support also comes from major production sponsors Kim & Tim Eberlein. 

 

 

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Center Stage  

A Young Artist Showcase  

June 19 

 

This one-night-only event shines a spotlight on Opera Theatre’s Richard Gaddes Festival Artist and Gerdine Young Artist Programs. A cadre of rising opera stars performs under the stars as they sing iconic melodies from opera’s greatest hits and cherished rarities in a program co-curated by Patricia Racette, OTSL’s Artistic Director of Young Artist Programs, and James Robinson, OTSL’s Artistic Director.  

 

Made possible with major production support from Leigh & Jean Mason. Generous support for the year-long expansion of the Gerdine Young Artist Program comes from Lori & Ted Samuels in honor of Phoebe & Spencer Burke.  

 

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About Opera Theatre of Saint Louis  

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis produces a spring festival featuring casts of the opera world’s most exciting singers accompanied by members of the Grammy Award-winning St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Each season, OTSL presents inventive new productions in English during the months of May and June. In addition to innovative interpretations of classics, OTSL is committed to premiering new and relevant operas by prominent composers; since its inaugural season in 1976, 28 operas have received their world premieres at OTSL. The company’s competitive young artist programs foster the next generation of emerging American singers and have helped launch international careers for countless artists. OTSL is led by General Director Andrew Jorgensen and Artistic Director James Robinson.  

 

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is funded in part by the Regional Arts Commission, Arts and Education Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Missouri Arts Council. Opera Theatre gratefully acknowledges Webster University for its sustaining partnership.  

 

About the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra    

Celebrated as one of today’s most exciting and enduring orchestras, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest orchestra in the country, marking its 141st year with the 2020/2021 season and its second with Music Director Stéphane Denève. Widely considered one of the world’s finest orchestras, the SLSO maintains its commitment to artistic excellence, educational impact, and community connections — all in service to its mission of enriching lives through the power of music.  

 

In addition to its regular concert performances at Powell Hall, which has been the permanent home of the SLSO for more than 50 years, the orchestra is an integral part of the diverse and vibrant St. Louis community, presenting dozens of free education and community programs and performances throughout the region each year. It presents St. Louis Symphony: Live at the Pulitzer, a collaboration with the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. The SLSO also serves as the resident orchestra for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, with the upcoming 2021 Festival Season the 44th year of this extraordinary partnership.  

 

Today, the Grammy Award-winning SLSO builds on the institution’s current momentum on all fronts, including artistic, financial, audience growth, and community impact, and looks toward the future with Stéphane Denève. For more information, visit slso.org.