Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Unveils 2027 Season
June 11, 2026
ST. LOUIS, June 11, 2026 –
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) today announced its 2027 Festival Season, running May 22 – June 27, 2027, featuring four mainstage productions that span beloved musical theater, operatic masterworks, and a powerful new American opera. The season includes A Little Night Music, La traviata, Rossini’s Cinderella, and the world premiere of Safe Haven by composer Tobias Picker and librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman. The Festival Season will also feature two one‑night‑only concerts: Center Stage, the company’s annual young artist showcase, and Our Songs, a free concert celebrating community and musical storytelling.
Following the momentum of Opera Theatre’s landmark 50th anniversary and amid exceptionally strong audience demand during the current 2026 season, the 2027 Festival Season reflects the company’s continued artistic growth, its leadership in developing new American works, and its deepening connection with opera lovers across St. Louis and beyond.
Highlights include:
- Four productions including Sondheim, Verdi, Rossini, and a world premiere
- The world premiere of Safe Haven by Tobias Picker and Aryeh Lev Stollman
- 50 years of collaboration with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
- Free and special concert events throughout the season
- Festival dates from May 22 to June 27, 2027
Andrew Jorgensen, General Director of OTSL. Photo © Eric Woolsey
“Opera Theatre continues to build from strength to strength,” said Andrew Jorgensen, General Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. “From the success of our 50th anniversary to the excitement of our 51st season now on stage, we are seeing extraordinary engagement from our community. I couldn’t be more thrilled by the 2027 Festival Season that Patricia Racette has curated — repertoire that honors great works of the past while reaffirming Opera Theatre’s leadership in creating new American opera by living artists.”
The season opens with A Little Night Music, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler, a luminous and bittersweet exploration of love, regret, and second chances set over a single midsummer weekend. Verdi’s La traviata follows, offering one of opera’s most enduring love stories — a sweeping tragedy that pairs unforgettable melodies with a deeply emotional story of love found and sacrificed. Later in the season, audiences will experience Rossini’s Cinderella (La Cenerentola), a virtuosic and joyful retelling of the classic fairy tale infused with warmth and dazzling vocal fireworks.
The Festival Season concludes with the world premiere of Safe Haven, the company’s 46th world premiere in its 52‑year history. This new opera by Grammy Award-winning composer Tobias Picker and acclaimed librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman tells the story of Jewish refugees trying to flee Europe during World War II and the American leaders who sought — or refused — to save them. Centered on the intersecting journeys of Helena Laquedem, a rising Yugoslavian opera singer fighting to survive, and Eleanor Roosevelt, whose compassion helped awaken the conscience of a nation, this new opera explores resilience, moral courage, and the difficult choices faced in moments of global crisis.
“From the wonders of Sondheim to the urgency and emotional power of Tobias Picker’s and Aryeh Lev Stollman’s latest opera, this season offers an extraordinary range of storytelling,” said Artistic Director Patricia Racette. “These works invite us into worlds that are intimate, expansive, joyful, and deeply moving. I’m especially proud to bring Safe Haven to the stage — a piece that speaks urgently to our shared humanity — alongside beloved repertoire that continues to resonate so strongly with our audiences.”
Each production in the 2027 Festival Season will be performed in partnership with the Grammy Award-winning St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, marking the milestone 50th year of partnership between two of St. Louis’ most acclaimed cultural institutions. All performances will be sung in English, with English captions projected.
In addition to the four mainstage operas, the Festival Season will include two special concerts. Center Stage, taking place Tuesday, June 22, highlights the talents of artists from OTSL’s Gerdine Young Artist and Richard Gaddes Festival Artist Programs, celebrating the next generation of operatic talent. Our Songs, presented Thursday, June 3, is a free annual concert that brings artists and audiences together for an evening of music rooted in personal expression, cultural connection, and community.
A Little Night Music
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
May 22, 27, June 4, 6, 13, 19, 26
Conductor: Michael Ellis Ingram
When actress Désirée Armfeldt invites an intricate web of former lovers, uneasy couples, and longtime companions for a weekend at a countryside manor, memory and desire collide. Old longings resurface, new romances blossom, and carefully arranged lives begin to slip out of balance — leading each person to question where their hearts actually lie. Winner of six Tony Awards, Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music is a luminous blend of comedy and longing, capturing the ache of love, regret, and the question of what might have been. Featuring a ravishing, waltz-filled score — including the beloved ballad “Send in the Clowns” — this fresh staging of a modern classic is sure to captivate musical theater fans and opera lovers alike.
Leadership support comes from The William T. Kemper Foundation.
La traviata
by Giuseppe Verdi
May 29, June 5, 11, 13, 17, 19, 27
Stage Director: Bruno Ravella
Conductor: Daniela Candillari
Choosing love should be simple…yet it rarely is. Violetta is Paris’ most celebrated courtesan, adored for her wit, charm, and glamour. But when she dares to choose a different life — one built on real love with the young Alfredo Germont — she is asked to make an unthinkable sacrifice. La traviata tells the story of a woman forced to choose between love and expectation, even when a happily-ever-after isn’t guaranteed. As time and fate close in, Violetta risks her reputation, her heart, and her future for the chance to live with honesty and dignity. With music that moves from whispered tenderness to soaring heartbreak, Verdi’s masterpiece remains urgent, deeply human, and impossible to forget.
Cinderella
by Gioachino Rossini
June 5, 10, 12, 20, 25, 27
Stage Director: Michael Shell
Conductor: Gemma New
Think you know Cinderella? Think again. Rossini’s sparkling comic opera trades glass slippers and fairy godmothers for quick wit, dazzling music, and a softhearted heroine named Angelina. Her empathy catches the attention of the prince’s tutor, who is searching for the right bride for his royal charge. Through clever disguises, unexpected turns, and a bracelet that guides Prince Ramiro to true love, this classic fairytale takes on new life. Colorful, fast-moving, and charming for audiences of all ages, Cinderella offers a magical night at the opera — proof that a little kindness can be more powerful than midnight spells or enchanted pumpkins.
Safe Haven
(World Premiere)
Music by Tobias Picker
Libretto by Aryeh Lev Stollman
June 12, 18, 20, 24, 26
Stage Director: Patricia Racette
Conductor: Benjamin Manis
A young Jewish opera singer flees Europe as World War II closes in — carrying her faith and dreams across the ocean and into an uncertain future. When America hesitates to open its doors, Eleanor Roosevelt fights to awaken the conscience of a nation. Though their paths only cross once, each woman leaves a lasting mark on the other. But decades after that fateful meeting, a shocking act of violence reminds us that history ignored is all too likely to repeat itself. By turns intimate and cinematic, this world premiere by Grammy Award-winning composer Tobias Picker and librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman is a moving testament to resilience, moral courage, and the difficult choices faced in moments of global crisis.
Leadership support for Safe Haven comes from the Whitaker Foundation.
Safe Haven is made possible in part by the Fred M. Saigh Endowment at Opera Theatre.
Our Songs
A Free Community Concert
June 3
Regardless of where we come from, music is a way we express our identity. Through music, we remember the forces that shaped us and share our stories with others. At this free concert, Opera Theatre celebrates the connective power of music and storytelling. Each year, Our Songs features different guest curators, giving artists the chance to honor the voices and influences that inspire them most. From classical songs to folk music to contemporary sounds, this night transcends genre and builds community.
Learn more
Center Stage
A Young Artist Showcase
June 22
Curators: Patricia Racette & Yvette Loynaz
Conductor: Daniela Candillari
This popular annual concert shines a spotlight on Opera Theatre’s Richard Gaddes Festival Artist and Gerdine Young Artist Programs, as these rising opera stars perform iconic melodies from opera’s greatest hits and cherished rarities, accompanied onstage by the Grammy Award-winning St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Opera Theatre is known for launching the careers of many major opera stars, including Jamie Barton, Lawrence Brownlee, Christine Goerke, Erin Morley, Paula Murrihy, Matthew Polenzani, Morris Robinson, Michael Spyres, Russell Thomas, and many more.
Season subscriptions for the 2027 Festival Season are now available and offer savings of up to 15% off regular tickets, in addition to other exclusive benefits!
Regular tickets for individual performances will go on sale October 26.
To learn more, call the OTSL Box Office at (314) 961-0644
About Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is a spring festival featuring casts of rising opera singers accompanied by the acclaimed St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Each season, OTSL presents four compelling new productions in English during the months of May and June. In addition to staging innovative interpretations of classics, OTSL is also committed to premiering new operas and reviving neglected works by prominent composers; as of the company’s 2027 season, Opera Theatre will have presented 46 world premieres and 27 American premieres. The company’s competitive young artist programs foster the next generation of emerging singers; these programs have been a springboard for countless artists to launch international careers. Beyond its Festival Season, Opera Theatre provides year-round programming and educational initiatives that reach over 80,000 people in St. Louis and beyond annually. OTSL is led by General Director Andrew Jorgensen, in collaboration with Artistic Director Patricia Racette and Principal Conductor Daniela Candillari.
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is funded in part by the Missouri Arts Council and the Regional Arts Commission. Opera Theatre gratefully acknowledges Webster University for its sustaining partnership.
About the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Celebrated as one of today’s most exciting, innovative, and enduring orchestras, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the nation’s second oldest, marking its 146th year with the 2025/26 season. The visionary and heartfelt approach of Stéphane Denève, The Joseph and Emily Rauh Pulitzer Music Director, anchors more than 400 extraordinary artists across four ensembles.
A leading American orchestra, the Grammy Award–winning SLSO is dedicated to its mission of enriching lives through the power of music, fostering a vibrant and connected community. The SLSO is committed to making music more accessible to all, furthered by the September 2025 reopening of its expanded and renovated home, the Jack C. Taylor Music Center, with historic Powell Hall at its heart. A cornerstone of the St. Louis region, the SLSO partners with more than 150 community organizations to deepen music access.
The SLSO shapes the orchestra of the future through its commitment to integrity, innovation, collaboration, inclusion, and responsiveness, elevating St. Louis as a global destination.
Explore the 2027 Festival Season
Season tickets on sale now! Save up to 15% off and snag exclusive subscriber benefits.
