A message from Wayne Brown

Welcome to the second half of Detroit Opera’s 2022–23 season! We are pleased that you are joining us for our company’s first performances of Xerxes, Handel’s tongue-in-cheek 1738 masterpiece, featuring a stellar cast led by the renowned conductor Dame Jane Glover. James Blaszko directs this revival of Tazewell Thompson’s production. As with all our opera presentations, Xerxes reflects our broader goal to share with Detroit audiences new ways to experience opera through the distinctive artistic lens of Yuval Sharon, our artistic director. These performances are made possible in part by the long-standing support received from General Motors.

Later this month, we invite you to return to the Detroit Opera House on March 17 to 19 for the visit by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, now under the visionary artistic leadership of Robert Battle. A Detroit favorite, the company’s dance presentation will mark the 14th collaboration with our organization.

This season’s final opera, Fountain of Tears (Ainadamar) on April 8 to 16, is by one of the world’s most exciting composers, Osvaldo Golijov, with a libretto by David Henry Hwang. The opera—about the life and death of revolutionary Spanish poet Federico García Lorca—powerfully blends flamenco dance, projections, and poetry and is directed by Brazilian choreographer Deborah Colker. Fountain of Tears will be performed entirely in Spanish, with English titles. The season’s final dance presentation will be a rare U.S. appearance (April 29–30) by the renowned State Ballet of Georgia, led by ballet star Nina Ananiashvili and featuring a program of mostly George Balanchine works, accompanied by the Detroit Opera Orchestra.

Finally, we wish to remind you to please go directly to detroitopera.org when purchasing any ticket for opera or dance at the Detroit Opera House. As you search for ticket options for any event you are interested in attending, you should remain attentive and vigilant: be certain that the web address is true to the organization, and do not rely upon the name of the production or artists alone. For tickets and further information about our upcoming performances, always visit our website, detroitopera.org.

Enjoy today’s performance, and come back soon!

Wayne S. Brown President & CEO, Detroit Opera