Student Night @ the Opera
About Student Night @ the Opera
Student Night @ the Opera is a program designed to provide students, chaperones, and families with school-aged children affordable access to live opera by opening up our final dress rehearsals to elementary, middle, and high school students. Ticket prices for this program are significantly reduced and offer the chance for students to experience an evening at the Harrison Opera House before performances begin for each production.
What you need to know
All performances are at the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk.
- Single Tickets for Students and Chaperones are just $10*.
- English surtitles are projected above the stage.
- Most operas are considered PG-13. Feel free to contact with any specific questions or concerns regarding a particular production.
*This offer is intended for students with valid IDs, up to age 23. The chaperone-to-student ratio is 1:4 (1 chaperone for every 4 students) for student groups and 1:1 (1 chaperone for every 1 student) for families. Additional adult (non-chaperone) tickets are $25 each. Student IDs will be checked at the door. Virginia Opera reserves the right to deny admission to children under the age of 5. Patrons of any age must have a ticket to enter the theater.
Call 866.673.7282 or email education@vaopera.org.
Don Giovanni
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sung in Italian with English Surtitles
Mozart’s masterpiece tells the story of a handsome playboy, Don Giovanni, as he blazes a path to his own destruction in a single day. He’s loved by women as much as he loves them, but his disregard for decency catches up with him. In the end, supernatural forces exact the final punishment and, for the first time, the Don cannot outwit fate.
Student Night @ the Opera: Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Carmen
Georges Bizet
Sung in French with English Surtitles
Bold, uninhibited, and strong-willed, Carmen lives life on her own terms. She is brave, beautiful, and independent. She does what she wants. She falls in and out of love. She is a power to behold until her obsessed ex violently and tragically rejects her choice to move on.
Student Night @ the Opera: Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Così fan tutte
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sung in Italian with English Surtitles
Love has many faces when buddies don disguises for the ultimate ‘loyalty test’ of their fiancées. Cleverly concealed and with wily determination, who will come out on top in this comic battle of the sexes?
Student Night @ the Opera: Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Loving v. Virginia
Music by Damien Geter | Libretto by Jessica Murphy Moo
Commissioned by Virginia Opera and Richmond Symphony
In partnership with ICA at VCU
Co-produced by Virginia Opera and Minnesota Opera
Sung in English with English Surtitles
VA Opera caps off the 50th Anniversary season with the highly anticipated world premiere of Loving v. Virginia. A young couple’s interracial marriage in 1958 sparks a case that leads to the Supreme Court and a victory for civil rights in the United States. This operatic retelling is based on the true story of Mildred and Richard Loving.
Student Night @ the Opera: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Feedback from Educators:
“For seven years in a row, Virginia Opera’s student night has amazed and thrilled my students. Many of these kids have never seen a live play, much less an opera, and the most frequent comment I hear at the end of the night is, ‘When are we coming to the next one?’ My kids and I have had great discussions on the nature of love, jealously, religion, as well as interpretation of costume, scenic, and light design. Their comments make it straight back to my classroom the next day, and become a part of our lesson. Thanks, Virginia Opera, for providing an interesting and intellectual evening my kids can afford and enjoy!”
– Clyde Berry, Kings Fork High School
“I am such a supporter of this program, and I hope to bring more and more of my students in the future; they enjoyed the show as much as they could, loved the costumes, the set, and realized that opera is not a foreign, untouchable art. They even asked when the next student night would be.”
– Lisa Dyer, J.R. Tucker High School