Kristine McIntyre's take on CARMEN

Kristine McIntyre will return to Kentucky Opera to direct the Brown-Forman 2011/12 Season opener - CARMEN  (CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA & I PAGLIACCI 2010  |  WERTHER 2008). With Maestro Joseph Mechavich the duo will be reinventing this classic tragedy for Kentucky Opera audiences.
In this video, McIntyre discusses some of the significant differences from Kentucky Opera's production in comparison to what has been performed for the last century.



Kentucky Opera will open CARMEN on Friday, September 23 at 8pm with a matinee performance on Sunday, September 25 at 2pm. 
Due to popular demand a third performance of CARMEN will take place on Friday, September 30 at 8pm.
Tickets for this not to be missed show, are now available by calling 502.584.7777 or online here.

A Delicious Opportunity!

From the Guild of Kentucky Opera:

The witch's house on stage.

Hansel and Gretel is fun. It's got cute kids, a sandman, a dew fairy and the mean ole witch who lives in a gingerbread house dripping with candy to entice her victims! The Guild of Kentucky Opera is always looking for new ideas to raise funds and found this opera wrought with possibilities!

Since Hansel and Gretel takes the stage at the Brown Theatre the weekend before Thanksgiving and the advent of the holiday season, Kitty Shaw, the Guild Treasurer, had the wonderful idea of finding a local baker to make us a gingerbread house. The original thought was a charming, standard gingerbread house. Then, when the challenge was brought to the talents of Helen Friedman, the owner of the exceptionally decadent Desserts by Helen offered to make a house based on actual witch's house that will be in the production. This was an opportunity NOT to pass up. So the Guild brought the master baker photographs of the set, and off she and her talented staff went. In a little over two weeks, Desserts by Helen crafted a tabletop version of the witch's house adding snow covered trees, gingerbread men, and a snow covered base. Although all of the elements are completely edible, we doubt you will want to consume this piece of gingerbread art!

The gingerbread house crafted by Deserts by Helen.

The Guild of Kentucky Opera is raffling tickets for the house at $10 apiece. The drawing will be on December 8 at the Guild's holiday party. Tickets are available at both performances (11/20 & 11/22) of Hansel and Gretel AND the final dress rehearsal for students tomorrow (Wednesday 11/18). You can also contact Tracy Terry at 561-7935 or tracy_terry@kyopera.org.

For more information on Hansel and Gretel go to the website! KYOpera.org.

Posted for The Guild of Kentucky Opera

Tonight's the Night!

Tonight, Friday, September 25, 2009 the Brown Theatre will be transformed into a grand opera house when Kentucky Opera opens the 2009 Brown-Forman Fall Season with La Traviata.

We have extremely limited seating for this evening as the Grand Gala has everyone all excited (and rightly so) but there are great seats still available for Sunday, September 27 at 2pm. Call for tickets 502.584.7777 before they're gone!

Here are some pictures from the Final Dress Rehearsal by O'Neil Arnold.

*SPOILER ALERT!!!

Some photos may reveal specific plot elements of the story.

Kentucky Opera Chorus looks and sounds amazing on the stage of the Brown Theatre. This is the party that opens act I and these are the people that helped make it look so good:

Stage Director: James Marvel
Set Design : Edwardo Sicango
Costume Design: John Lehmeyer
Lighting Design: Jeff Bruckerhoff
Wig & Make-Up Design: Sue Stitko Shaefer
Choreographer: Diana Dinicola

Metropolitan Opera star, Elizabeth Futral stars at Violetta, and Sébastien Guèze makes his U.S. Debut as Alfredo.Sempre libera degg'io at the end of Act I


Donny Ray Albert as Garmond in Act II.



Sébastien Guèze Act II scene 2


Flamenco Louisville dances in the end of Act II

*Unfortunately, she dies at the end...


There are more pictures on our Facebook Fan page.

Load In

This is the Traviata set, strewn in the alley behind the Brown Theatre. How exciting!