The Ohio State University Opera Theatre

The Program

Eric Gibson, Opera Stage Director
 

Scene from Sweeney Todd

The Ohio State University Opera Theatre performs a wide range of repertoire, from Baroque masques to Romantic operas to modern American musicals. The productions utilize students and faculty from the School of Music, the Department of Theatre and the Department of Dance, as well as additional collaborators from the wider professional world. The purpose of the program is to explore the future of the Opera Theatre genre by embracing the form's intrinsic interdisciplinary nature all the while focusing on a well-rounded "cross-trained" performer at its core. (Pictured: Sweeney Todd, Mershon Auditorium.)


Performances

Scene from Don Giovanni

Each year, fully-staged one-act operas are produced in the new Timashev Recital Hall, as well as one fully-staged opera in Weigel Auditorium. These performances include collaborations with a wide range of musicians such as the Ohio State Symphony Orchestra or chamber and jazz ensembles. (Pictured: Don Giovanni, Drake Performance and Event Center. Photo by Matt Hazard.)


Scene from "Dido and Aeneas" (2023)

Auditions

Auditions are open to both undergraduate and graduate students and all have equal opportunity to be cast in principal or secondary roles, the ensemble, or other ancillary participation. Through the Opera Techniques class, students also receive instruction in acting, movement, audition techniques, critical text and score analysis, stage combat and the overall business of the professional world. Guest artists are often invited to hold master classes and provide additional instruction throughout the year. Graduate assistantships are available for students at the master's and doctoral levels. (Pictured: Dido & Aeneas, 2016.)


Scene from Sweeney Todd

Past Productions

2023  Dido and Aeneas (Henry Purcell)
2022  Love is a Plaintive Song: a collection of songs about love and relationships
2021  Sweets by Kate (Griffin Candey)
2020  Into the Woods (Sondheim) cancelled
2019  The Marriage of Figaro (W. A. Mozart)
   Cendrillon (Pauline Viardot)
   CARTOON CABARET! — Animated Musical Cabaret
2018  Candide (Leonard Bernstein)
   One Enchanted Evening: A Golden Age Cabaret (Rodgers & Hammerstein)
   Opera Americana: Scenes from the American Lyric Theatre — Scenes Program
2017  La rondine (Giacomo Puccini)
   Ramala [world première] (Charles Wakefield Cadman)
   Sixteen by Sondheim — Stephen Sondheim Cabaret
   Der Schauspieldirektor (W. A. Mozart)
2016  Sweeney Todd (Stephen Sondheim) (pictured)
   Dido & Aeneas (Henry Purcell)
   Anything Cole’s — Cole Porter Cabaret
   Hearts & Music — William Finn/Jason Robert Brown Cabaret

Scene from Don Giovanni

2015  Don Giovanni (W. A. Mozart) (pictured)
   The Figaro Project: Scènes de la Beaumarchais — Scenes Program
   Moon Over Alabama — Kurt Weill Cabaret
2014  The Rape of Lucretia (Benjamin Britten)
   City of Angels (Cy Coleman)
2013  Carmen (Georges Bizet)
   Scena Shakespearean: Scenes by the Bard — Scenes Program
2012  Falstaff (Giuseppe Verdi)
    The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Rupert Holmes)
2011  Albert Herring (Benjamin Britten)
    Side by Side by Mozart and Sondheim — Scenes Program