Opera at ArtPark

Opera has been deeply woven into Artpark’s programming throughout much of our 50-year history as performing arts venue. We became recommitted to providing opera to our audience again starting in 2022 with our presentation of Opera in Concert at Artpark: Up Close and Personal.

See more info about our recent opera performances below, and stay tuned for updates on our opera programming for 2025 and beyond. 

Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman
September 13, 2025

Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman will be performed in its original German, with English supertitles projected onto the on-stage screen in the Mainstage Theater.

Featuring Metropolitan Opera star Michael Chioldi, along with international opera stars Marjorie Owens, Daniel Sumegi, & Robert Stahley, and rising opera talents Emily Skilling and Jason Garcia-Kakuk, onstage with the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Grammy Award-winning conductor Gil Rose — bringing the story to life.  

This beloved opera tells the haunting tale of a sea captain cursed to roam the oceans for eternity. His only hope of salvation lies in the selfless love of a woman willing to sacrifice herself for him. Once every seven years, the Dutchman is allowed to come ashore in search of such a bride. In our production, his path crosses with Senta, a woman who seems to understand—and perhaps even share in—his tragic fate.

CARL ORFF's "CARMINA BURANA" BY LA FURA DELS BAUS
July 29, 2023

 "Barcelona’s La Fura Dels Baus  has brought their production to Western New York for it’s North American premiere in what can best be described as an intriguing avant garde theatrical event to tempt the senses" - Michael Rabice, Broadway World

Barcelona-based theatrical troupe La Fura dels Baus presented a stunning production of Carl Orff’s "Carmina Burana," one of the most beloved and recognizable musical compositions. to a sold out crowd in the Mainstage Theater on July 29, 2023. This grand performance featured over 200 performers from Western New York and around the world, including members of the Catalan troupe, under the direction of Carluss Padrissa, along with Tanzen Dance, a youth choir, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, all conducted by Gil Rose.

OPERA IN CONCERT AT ARTPARK: UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
July 30, 2022

This performance in the Mainstage Theater was an intimate opera concert featuring the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Gil Rose, with vocalists Soprano Danielle Talamantes, Mezzo-Soprano Janna Baty, Tenor Dominick Chenes, and Baritone Michael Chioldi. The audience was seated on stage alongside the performers and orchestra, creating an immersive experience as they delivered some of opera’s most memorable melodies and moments by Verdi, Bizet, Gounod, Puccini, and Rossini.