Timothy Myers
Rebecca Herman
Kathryn Eader
Bill Mester
Austin Opera is turning 40! You’re invited to a Spectacular Birthday Concert featuring some of opera’s most iconic showstoppers. Sarah and Ernest Butler Music Director Timothy Myers conducts celebrated arias and ensembles from Verdi’s Aida and Rigoletto, Puccini’s Turandot (including "Nessun dorma,") Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Bernstein’s Candide and West Side Story, and more! Each selection will showcase the vocal prowess of some of the most highly sought-out opera singers today, in collaboration with the Austin Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
Sung in original languages with projected English titles.
Individual tickets for these performances will be on sale Monday, August 4, 2025.
I am so pleased by the wonderful variety of artistic experiences we have created for this 40th birthday season in Austin. November’s birthday concert will be both an exciting preview of this season’s Carousel and La Bohème as well as a celebration of the artists who make opera such a singularly thrilling live experience. There will be something for every Austinite, whether this is your first year as an opera fan or your 40th.
Joining the concert as guest soloists are some of opera’s top voices. Described by The New York Times as possessing an “agile coloratura technique and a feeling for the Italianate style… with warmth, full penetrating sound and tenderness,” American soprano Leah Crocetto continues to astonish audiences with her moving portrayals of opera’s greatest heroines. She most recently joined Austin Opera in February 2025 as a soloist for Verdi’s Requiem. Tenor Jonathan Burton is engaged to sing the most demanding roles in the repertoire including Cavaradossi in Tosca, Calaf in Turandot, Dick Johnson in Fanciulla del West, and Radames in Aida. In 2023, Burton delighted Austin Opera audiences as Canio in Pagliacci. Mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams, lauded by Opera News for her “velvety mezzo,” last appeared in Austin as the Beggar Woman Sweeney Todd. Baritone Malcolm MacKenzie has been heard in leading opera houses throughout the U.S. and Europe. Opera News recently raved that “his rich, warm, and dark tone was bolstered by a relentless legato line.” He’ll make his Austin Opera debut in April 2025 as Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
Sarah and Ernest Butler Music Director Timothy Myers conducts the Austin Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Rebecca Herman serves as stage director with lighting design by Kathryn Eader and audio design by Bill Mester.
Soprano
Mezzo-soprano
Tenor
Baritone
Stage Director
Celebrate the start of Austin Opera's 40th Anniversary Season at the 2025-2026 Season Opening Celebration! Festivities include an elegant dinner in a tented ballroom on the H-E-B Terrace and a themed afterparty with cocktails, late-night snacks, and an opportunity to meet and mingle with the cast!
Join us in the theater at 6:30 P.M. before the opera on Saturday, November 15, 2025 for a special talk by Austin Opera Scholar-In-Residence Dr. Charles Carson. Opera Overtures is free to all ticket holders andwill be a fascinating pre-show addition to the evening for both opera aficionados and first-time operagoers alike. This lecture will be held at the Dell Hall Orchestra level.
Come along before the Sunday, November 16, 2025 matinee for some Coffee & Conversations with General Director & CEO, Annie Burridge, and a special guest. There’ll be complimentary pastries along with coffee at this free pre-show presentation in Dell Hall, Orchestra level at 1:00 P.M.
