Arts Entertainment and Music Performing Arts

Asheville Symphony: Night at the Opera

Photo by Mike Morel

Join the Asheville Symphony for an exhilarating evening of opera scenes, arias and choruses, led by maestro Darko Butorac and featuring three incredible guest vocalists, the Asheville Symphony Orchestra (ASO) and the Asheville Symphony Chorus. This rare opportunity to hear live opera in Asheville will feature selections from William Tell, Aida, La Bohème and La Traviata. The concert takes place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 19, at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.

“The works selected for our Night at the Opera concert are from the core of the operatic repertory, and our three guest vocalists are outstanding singers,” says Butorac, music director for ASO. “So for opera newcomers, this is a chance to experience the very best of this genre, and for the aficionados, an opportunity to hear works they already know and love performed by some incredible voices.”

The program opens with the instantly recognizable Overture from Rossini’s William Tell. From there, the orchestra, guest vocalists and Asheville Symphony Chorus transport the audience on a journey through the emotional range of opera with selections from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and La Bohème, Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Nabucco and Aida, and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. The program closes with Act II Scene II of Verdi’s La Traviata—a fittingly dramatic close to this operatic adventure.

Guest vocalists for this performance are celebrated soprano Cecilia Violetta López, who has received accolades for her signature role of Violetta in La Traviata; American operatic tenor Ben Gulley, whose career is burgeoning with lead and feature roles in opera, solo engagements, concert and film work, nationwide touring and prestigious appearances abroad; and baritone Jeff Mattsey, who has worked around the world with companies including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, San Diego Opera, Vancouver Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Edmonton Opera, Calgary Opera and the Teatro Colón in Argentina.

Thomas Wolfe Auditorium is located at 87 Haywood Street in Asheville. Single tickets for Masterworks concerts are $25–75, depending on seating section (reduced youth pricing is available). Tickets can be purchased online at AshevilleSymphony.org, by phone at 828.254.7046, in person at the Asheville Symphony office at 27 College Place, Suite 100, or at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center–Asheville Box Office in downtown Asheville.

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