Opera in the Ozarks, the storied summer music festival and prominent opera training program based in Eureka Springs, will celebrate its 75th anniversary year, and the grand opening of its highly anticipated new theater as it kicks off its 2025 Summer Season later this month — featuring dozens of exciting opera performances and other special musical events at venues across the Northwest Arkansas region.
The 2025 season begins on Friday, June 27, and continues through Friday, July 25, at Opera in the Ozarks’ mountainside venue, Inspiration Point Center for the Arts, located at 16311 Hwy. 62 West, overlooking Beaver Lake just five miles west of Eureka Springs.
Executive director Nancy Preis said the differences between the new theater and the old theater are astronomical.
“We have beautiful, comfortable seats — no more bringing a cushion,” Preis said. “The lobby speaks for itself. It’s a spectacular view. When the sun sets, it’s gorgeous.” Preis continued, “Not only is the lobby air-conditioned and has plenty of space, but the concession stand will be inside. No more digging around icy coolers of water. We have refrigerators and indoor bathrooms.”
The new state-ofthe- art 300-seat theater, made possible by a generous $34 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation, preserves the intimate experience Opera in the Ozarks is known for while enhancing audience comfort and production capabilities. Alongside the theater, the newly completed facilities also include an expanded rehearsal hall, production shops, practice rooms, and faculty housing — ensuring that the program continues to attract and nurture the next generation of opera singers and musicians. Project vendors included Crossland Construction, general contractor; Polk Stanley Wilcox, architect; Schuler Shook, theater design; and Jaffe Holden, acoustic design.
“This theater has amenities people expect in a theater,” Preis said. “We’ve got it all, plus a spectacular view they don’t expect.”
Preis has worked at Opera in the Ozarks for 11 years. When she started, it was an eight-week summer job. Now, it’s a “52-week, year-round scramble.”
“We’ve grown in terms of the amount of stuff we’re doing, but we’re still doing it all with a minuscule staff,” Preis said.
One example of that growth is how the new theater will be used. Since it is available year-round, Preis said, something will always be happening there.
“We’re not going to bring in Broadway tours. It’s much too small for that,” Preis said. “Our goal is to have a mix of things we produce ourselves and things we rent the theater for. We just booked out first wedding for the fall.”
Preis thanked the Walton Family Foundation for making the theater possible.
“We’d still be talking about it if they hadn’t invested,” she said. “But I don’t want to overlook the fact that there’s 75 years of people who supported this organization, who believed in it, who gave according to their means. There’s a ton of people who have given $25 a year. It’s the people that have been there for 75 years that made this possible.”
Before the season launch in late-June, Opera in the Ozarks officially marked the grand opening of its new theater with a Gala Celebration on Saturday, May 31. This milestone event coincided with the 75th anniversary of Opera in the Ozarks, marking a new era for the renowned opera training program leading into its Summer 2025 Season.
The gala featured an exclusive first look at the new theater, special performances by a dozen distinguished alumni including Latonia Moore, Leona Mitchell and Mark Delavan, and a celebratory reception honoring the program’s rich history and bright future.
The new season features a talented cast of approximately 40 singers along with professional instrumentalists from across the country.
“We have assembled a company of many wonderful singers from across the nation who will convene on our mountain this summer, and the always wonderful orchestra will be at full strength with 25-plus instrumentalists, ready to thrill you with their beautiful music-making,” Preis said. “Together they will take part in 21 fully staged and costumed opera performances, including three Sunday matinees.”
Preis encouraged everyone to come see the new theater and the performances that will take place there.
“For 75 years, Opera in the Ozarks has been a beacon for aspiring opera artists,” says Preis. “The opening of this new theater is a transformative moment for our organization, providing artists with a stage that reflects the caliber of their talents and offering audiences an immersive operatic experience like never before.”
Family Day
A free Family Day on Sunday, June 29, will feature guided tours of the new theater between 2 p.m. and 4:15 p.m., and a 3 p.m. talk by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist Rex Nelson about the state of the arts in Arkansas.
Special Performances This season’s Main-Stage repertoire includes three exceptional operas: Georges Bizet’s Carmen, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, and Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow, plus additional special events at locations throughout Northwest Arkansas. (See “About the Operas” further below for opera synopses.)
“We do one ‘standard’ opera each season (Carmen) and one American opera (Into the Woods), and we try to do one lesser known but worthy piece,” Preis explains. “While hardly an unknown piece, The Merry Widow hasn’t been performed at Opera in the Ozarks in over 20 years, so it was time to bring its merriment back to our stage. And marking 50 years after the United Nations designated 1975 as the ‘International Women’s Year,’ these three operas all feature strong, independent women, intent on doing things their way.”
MainStage productions are staged on a rotating basis throughout the season, with evening performances at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m.
Mainstage Performances
The 2025 Summer Season MainStage performance schedule is as follows: ■ Carmen – June 27, July 2, 6, 11, 14, 19, 25 ■ Into the Woods – June 28, July 3, 7, 9, 13, 18, 23 ■ The Merry Widow – July 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 20, 24 Beyond the 21 MainStage performances in Eureka Springs, the 2025 Summer Season will also feature more than a dozen performances of The Bremen Town Musicians, by John Davies, at locations throughout Northwest Arkansas, including area libraries and community centers.
Featuring Opera in the Ozarks’ Studio Artists, these outreach performances are free of charge. In addition, the singers will visit area schools, senior communities and community centers with a program that celebrates the unamplified human voice.
Audiences will also enjoy the always exciting Chamber Music concert on July 21 at Inspiration Point, and not one, but two Broadway Cabarets. One cabaret will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 17, at The Medium in Springdale and will include heavy hors d’oeuvres, and the other will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, at Inspiration Point and will include a buffet dinner (both cabaret venues will have cash bars). These cabaret performances will feature a variety of popular songs from Broadway shows, performed by members of the Opera in the Ozarks company.
Get your tickets!
Tickets for the 2025 season are on sale now and are moving quickly. Single tickets to MainStage opera performances range in price from $30 to $50 depending on seat selection, with special $10 pricing available for children and students under 18. Tickets for the Springdale cabaret performance are $60. Tickets for the dinner-inclusive Eureka Springs cabaret performance are $80. Tickets for the Chamber Music Concert are $25.
Tickets may be purchased online at opera. org, or by calling the box office at (479) 253-8595. For more information, including a complete list of performance dates and other details as they are announced, visit opera.org.
ABOUT THE SEASON’S MAINSTAGE OPERAS Carmen is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, who died suddenly after the 33rd performance in 1875, unaware that the work would achieve international acclaim within the following decade. Carmen has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon. Entranced by Carmen’s passionate song of freedom and her seductive dancing, the soldier Don José descends into a dangerous spiral of desire, jealousy, and obsession. Matadors bump shoulders with factory workers to the sound of Spanish rhythms and castanets in the heat of Seville. Carmen’s seductive “Habanera” and “Seguidilla,” Don José’s “Flower Song,” Escamillo’s “Toreador Song,” and Micaëla’s prayer for courage are some of the most recognizable moments in opera.
Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim begs the question: “What would you do to make your wishes come true?” Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (of beanstalk fame), and a baker and his wife find out when they take a journey into the woods. It’s a magical, bewildering place full of witches, wolves, giants and mysterious strangers, where familiar fairy tales get tangled up together. Wishes come true here, but at a price. Even storybook characters must face the music — of which there is plenty. Be careful what you wish for.
The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár is a stream of memorable melodies revolving around the relationship between the wealthy young widow Hanna and the dissolute bachelor Danilo. Keeping the widow’s money in the country is the goal of a bunch of bumbling government officials. The widow’s quest for love unfolds amidst mishaps, intrigue, and comedic misadventure.
About Opera in the Ozarks Opera in the Ozarks, a not-for-profit organization, has been a training ground for young artists since 1950. Singers are selected annually from national auditions. Vocalists from across the country will take the Opera in the Ozarks stage during the 2025 season. The orchestra features talented musicians from across the nation. Over the years, Opera in the Ozarks has launched the careers of many talented singers who have gone on to perform in premier opera houses around the world. For more information visit opera.org.
