VCU OPERA

Our production of Aaron Copland's The Tender Land opens tonight! We invite you to join us on a poetic journey through the wide-open spaces of the American heart, guest directed by James Hampton and conducted by Professor Daniel Myssyk. Performances will take place on Friday, April 24, 2025, at 7:00 PM and on Sunday, April 26 at 4:00 PM in the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall at the W.E. Singleton Center (922 Park Ave). More information and tickets available in the linktree in bio! Photos by McNair Evans.

VCU Opera & Symphony presents The Tender Land 🌾 📍 W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts 🗓 Friday (4/24) | 7–9 PM (Doors 6:30) 🗓 Sunday (4/26) | 4–6 PM (Doors 3:30) 🎟️ Tickets in bio #vcuarts #vcu #vcuopera

Starting off tech week with a bang! Not a lot of people know how much work goes on when it comes to the shows @vcuopera puts on. We are so excited for everybody to come and see Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land on April 24th at 7pm and April 26th at 4pm at VCU’s singleton center! Information about the show/tickets are in the link in our bio!

VCU Choirs Volunteers on day two of All-VA! These students were amazing! Thank you for attending our booth during the choirs’ exhibit hours!

The VCUarts Commonwealth Singers will perform at St Mark’s Episcopal Church on Thursday, April 9th at 7:00pm. The performance will feature Mozart’s Coronation Mass (K. 317) with a chamber orchestra and organ, and a selection of African American Spirituals listed below. In Bright Mansions Above arr. by Carter The Word Was God composed by R. Powell Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord arr. by U.S. Moore This performance is free and open to the public. #vcu #vcuchoirs #vcumusic #vcuarts

Vox Concordia, Virginia Commonwealth University’s treble choir, had the honor of welcoming Alexandra Olsavsky and Diana Lawrence to help workshop one of their pieces! What Happens When A Woman takes Power is a very powerful piece written by Alexandra Olsavsky, and arranged by Artemisia! This song features soloist Iyana Wells and a small group of Maddy Bailey, Sarah Canas-Berroteran, Jameel Green, Summer McGraw, and Ren Saul! If you want to hear the whole piece come to Vox Concordia’s concert on April 8th! More information is available on our profile.

The award-winning VCU Opera and the VCU Symphony proudly present Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land 🌾✨ Join us for a poetic journey through the wide-open spaces of the American heart, guest directed by James Hampton and conducted by Professor Daniel Myssyk More information and tickets available in the linktree in bio! Set on a family farm in the 1930s, this quietly powerful mid-century opera speaks across generations, exploring timeless questions of hope, belonging, and the choices that shape our lives. Copland’s unmistakable “American sound,” spare, lyrical, and deeply expressive, underscores a story that is at once intimate and universal. Performances will take place on Friday, April 24, 2025, at 7:00 PM and on Sunday, April 26 at 4:00 PM in the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall at the W.E. Singleton Center (922 Park Ave)

There’s still time to join us in the fall!! @vcuartsmusic @vcumusicwoodwinds @vcumusicpercussion @vcujazz @vcuchoirs @vcusymphony @vcubands

Come and experience Dr. Penelope Shumate’s “Baroque to Broadway” Recital this Tuesday 3/31 at 5:30 PM in the JWB Music Center (1015 grove ave Richmond, VA) this amazing recital will be featuring opera and oratorio arias, art songs, as well as musical theatre and jazz favorites. Some more about Dr. Shumate: Praised by The New York Times for “bell-like clarity and surpassing sweetness,” The New York Concert Review for “sparkling coloratura perfection,” and in Opera News magazine for “sincerity and attractive lucidity,” Penelope Shumate’s New York City performances include twenty soloist appearances at Carnegie Hall in addition to her soloist appearances at David Geffen Hall and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. Her recordings include “Messiah Refreshed” (Signum Records) recorded at Abbey Road Studios with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, “Kassandra” (Navona Records), “La pasión según San Marcos” (Summit Records), and “As the fireflies watched . . . chamber music of James M. Stephenson” (Klavier Records). She is featured in the May 2025 issue of Classical Singer Magazine, detailing her versatility as a performer and teacher of classical and contemporary commercial vocal genres, including musical theatre and jazz. She has performed internationally and throughout the United States with opera companies, orchestras, music festivals, theatres, universities, and community organizations. As a presenter and Masterclass clinician, she has been engaged by the National Opera Association, Classical Singer, the National Association of the Teachers of Singing, the College Music Society, as well as numerous Universities across America. Her academic service at the University level includes many years of experience teaching voice, lyric diction, voice class, vocal pedagogy, vocal literature, as well as opera theatre. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy from Louisiana State University. Visit .

Join us on Tuesday, March 31st at 5:30pm for “Baroque to Broadway” at the James Black Music Center (1015 Grove Avenue) in the Recital Hall 🌹 Free and open to the public!

Thank you to everyone who made VCU Opera’s 75th Anniversary Gala so special! We are deeply grateful to our honorees, alumni, students, faculty, staff, and all of our attendees for celebrating this incredible milestone with us. Your support and presence made the evening truly unforgettable! Photo credit: Nick Seitz @seitz.photo Lighting design: @its.too.nate

As we count down to the Opera 75th Anniversary Gala this Saturday, take a look back at some of the powerful performances, stunning productions, and unforgettable moments that have shaped our legacy Tickets available now using the linktree in bio!