Opera at ArtPark

Opera has been deeply woven into Artpark’s programming throughout much of our 50-year history as a 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.

past performances

Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman
September 13, 2025

Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman was performed in its original German, with English supertitles projected onto the on-stage screen in the Mainstage Theater in a production starring 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 — who all helped to bring the story to life. 

 

 

Puccini's Greatest: A gala opera concert
July 14, 2024

Crafted by Michael Capasso, Director of the New York City Opera, this performance was a tribute to the timeless works of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, showcasing renditions of his most beloved arias. Audiences immersed themselves in the captivating melodies of classics from La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Turandot, and more, skillfully interpreted by the unmatched talents of three-time Grammy Award-winning Soprano Latonia Moore, Baritone Michael Chioldi, Tenor Gregory Turay, Soprano Kristin Sampson, Soprano Tatev Baroyan, and Tenor Dominick Chenes. Guided by Grammy Award-winning conductor Gil Rose, this mesmerizing journey through Puccini's repertoire was complemented by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Artpark Festival Chorus. 
 

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.