Student Night @ the Opera
About Student Night @ the Opera
Student Night @ the Opera is a community program designed to provide students, chaperones, and families with school-aged children affordable access to live opera. We open up our final dress rehearsals to elementary, middle, and high school students to experience an evening at the Harrison Opera House before performances begin for each production.
What you need to know
Student Night @ the Opera community events are held at the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk.
- Subscribe to the full season for just $24 for students and chaperones.
- Individual show tickets are $10 for students and chaperones.
- These community events are intended for students, schools and homeschools as well as community-based groups and organizations. If you have a group that might be interested in attending please reach out to us.
- English surtitles are projected above the stage.
- Most operas are considered PG-13. Feel free to contact us with any specific questions or concerns regarding a particular production.
*Interested in helping underwrite student groups to Virginia Opera? We welcome your support of Student Night @ the Opera tickets.
Questions? Need more information? Want to connect? Call the box office at 866-673-7282.
Pagliacci
Art imitates life―and life can take unexpected turns.
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Sung in Italian with English Captions
A traveling troupe of comedians arrives in a lively town, ready to bring laughter to the stage. But behind the painted smiles and playful costumes lie secrets, jealousy, and a hidden love affair that threatens to tear the group apart. As the story they perform begins to mirror their own turmoil, the line between stage and reality starts to blur. What begins as an evening of lighthearted entertainment erupts into a suspenseful tale of heartbreak, suspicion, and revenge. Pagliacci is a riveting, fast-moving drama that shows what happens when emotions run too deep for any mask to hide.
Student Night @ the Opera: Wednesday, November 4, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Hansel and Gretel
A fairy-tale adventure with danger, wonder, and one wicked witch.
Engelbert Humperdinck
Sung in English with English Captions
Join two adventurous siblings as they wander into the forest in search of food―only to become lost as night falls. The next morning, they discover a gingerbread house so tempting they can’t resist taking a bite… until they realize it belongs to a cunning witch with a very wicked plan. Filled with glowing, storybook music and enchanting moments of humor, wonder, and suspense, Hansel and Gretel follows the brother-and-sister duo as they use their wits to escape danger and find their way home. This iconic Brothers Grimm fairytale will provide a heartwarming, imaginative journey perfect for audiences of every age.
Student Night @ the Opera: Wednesday, January 27, 2027 at 7:00 PM
Turandot
Three riddles, one fearless suitor, and a princess with a heart of ice.
Giacomo Puccini
Sung in Italian with English Surtitles
In a kingdom ruled by fear, Princess Turandot has vowed never to marry. Anyone who seeks her hand must answer her three impossible riddles―and those who fail lose far more than love. When a mysterious prince named Calaf arrives, he accepts the challenge and shocks the kingdom by succeeding. But the real test has only just begun. Determined to break through Turandot’s cold exterior, Calaf sparks a battle of wills that could end in passion… or destruction. Blending high-stakes drama, breathtaking spectacle, and one of opera’s most famous scores, Turandot is an unforgettable legend of danger, desire, and transformation.
Student Night @ the Opera: Wednesday, March 3, 2027 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