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Masterworks: A Night at the Opera
From $55 | Student Tickets $15
A Night at the Opera
Symphonic Masterworks Series
Experience the drama, passion, and soaring beauty of the world’s greatest operatic music—no costumes, no subtitles, just the music in all its symphonic glory with two special guest vocalists – soprano Ashley Fabian and bass-baritone Neil Nelson.
A Night at the Opera brings together unforgettable orchestral and vocal masterpieces by Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Bizet, and other iconic composers whose melodies have defined the art form for centuries.
From heart-stopping arias and lush love duets to fiery overtures and triumphant finales, this concert showcases opera’s most beloved moments performed by two acclaimed vocal soloists, joined by the full Gulf Coast Symphony. Whether you’re a devoted opera lover or discovering the power of the music for the first time, this is a spectacular journey through the emotional highs, breathtaking lyricism, and dramatic storytelling that only opera can deliver—no staging required.
A feast for the ears. A celebration of the voice. And passion for the ages.
PROGRAM:
| OTTO NICOLAI | Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor |
| WOLFGANG AMADÈUS MOZART | “Madamina, il catalogo è questo,” from Don Giovanni, K. 527 Neil Nelson, bass |
| WOLFGANG AMADÈUS MOZART | “Là ci darem la mano,” from Don Giovanni, K. 527 Ashely Fabian, soprano Neil Nelson, bass |
| WOLFGANG AMADÈUS MOZART | Overture to Don Giovanni, K. 527 |
| CHARLES GOUNOD | “Je veux vivre,” from Romeo and Juliet Ashely Fabian, soprano |
| GIOACHINO ROSSINI | Overture to La Cenerentola |
| GAETANO DONIZETTI | “Regnava” nel silenzio from LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR Ashely Fabian, coloratura soprano |
| PIETRO MASCAGNI | Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana |
| GIACOMO PUCCINI | “O mio babbino caro,” from Gianni Schicchi Ashely Fabian, soprano |
| –INTERMISSION– | |
| GIUSEPPE VERDI | Overture to Nabucco |
| GIUSEPPE VERDI | “Il lacerato spirito” from SIMON BOCCANEGRA Neil Nelson, bass |
| GIUSEPPE VERDI | “Caro nome,” from Rigoletto Ashely Fabian, soprano |
| CHARLES GOUNOD | “Vous qui faites, l’endormie” from FAUST (Mephistopheles Serenade) Neil Nelson, bass |
| CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS | “Bacchanale,” from Samson and Delilah |
| GEORGES BIZET Hoffmann, Fritz (arr) | Suite No. 1 from Carmen I. Prelude– 1:30 Ia. Aragonaise 2:15 II. Intermezzo 2:20 III. Seguidilla 1:55 IV. The Dragons of Alcala 2:05 |
| GEORGES BIZET | “Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre,” from Carmen Neil Nelson, bass |
About the Composer
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet (1838–1875) was a French composer whose melodic brilliance and dramatic flair shaped Romantic opera. Best known for Carmen, he blended realism and passion with unforgettable orchestration. Though his career was brief and his life tragically short, Bizet’s works redefined opera with emotional intensity and vivid musical color.
Read More ››Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti was a leading Italian composer of the bel canto era whose operas combine melodic brilliance with keen dramatic insight. Prolific and versatile, he wrote nearly 70 operas, ranging from sparkling comedies like L’elisir d’amore to powerful tragedies such as Lucia di Lammermoor. His work helped bridge the elegance of Rossini with the emotional intensity that later flourished in Verdi’s operas.
Read More ››Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod, in full Charles-françois Gounod, (born June 17, 1818, Paris, France—died Oct. 18, 1893, Saint-Cloud, near Paris), French composer noted particularly for his operas, of which the most famous is Faust. Gounod’s melodic vein is unmistakably original, though often oversentimental. He knew how to write for the voice and was also a skillful orchestrator; but in his operas his sense of musical characterization, though rarely devoid of charm, is often excessively facile,
Read More ››Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni was an Italian composer best known for Cavalleria rusticana, a landmark work that helped launch the verismo movement in opera. His music emphasized raw emotion, vivid orchestration, and stories drawn from everyday life, breaking from the idealized traditions of earlier Italian opera. Though his later works were less enduring, Mascagni’s influence reshaped operatic realism and dramatic intensity at the turn of the 20th century.
Read More ››Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific and influential composer of the classical era. Born in Salzburg, he showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. He composed more than 600 works, and is among the most popular of classical composers. His influence is profound on subsequent Western art music.
Read More ››Otto Nicolai
Otto Nicolai was a German composer and conductor best known for his opera The Merry Wives of Windsor, a cornerstone of the German comic opera tradition. A contemporary of early Romantic composers, he blended lyrical elegance with orchestral clarity, drawing on both Italian and German influences. Nicolai also co-founded the Vienna Philharmonic, leaving a lasting legacy as both a composer and a musical institution builder.
Read More ››Giacomo Puccini
Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, born on December 22, 1858, started the operatic trend toward realism with his popular works, which are among the most often performed in opera history. But the fame and fortune that came with such successes as La Bohème, Madama Butterfly and Tosca were complicated by an often-troubled personal life. Puccini died of post-operative shock on November 29, 1924.
Read More ››Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as some sacred music, songs, chamber music, and piano pieces. He was a precocious composer of operas, and he made his debut at age 18 with La cambiale di matrimonio. His best-known operas include the Italian comedies The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia), The Italian Girl in Algiers (L’italiana in Algeri), and Cinderella (La Cenerentola). He also wrote a string of serious operas in Italian, including works such as Tancredi, Otello, and Semiramide. The Thieving Magpie (La gazza ladra) features one of his most celebrated overtures.
Read More ››Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) was a French composer, pianist, and organist celebrated for his brilliance, precision, and versatility. A child prodigy, he mastered every major musical form with elegance and clarity. His works often explore themes of nature, mythology, and spirituality, blending classical balance with Romantic color. Renowned for his orchestral imagination and technical mastery, Saint-Saëns created music of refined beauty and lasting power, uniting intellect and emotion in a uniquely disciplined yet expressive style.
Read More ››Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (October 10, 1813 – January 27, 1901) was born in Roncole in the former duchy of Parma, he first studied music in the neighboring town of Busseto. Then, upon being rejected in 1832, because of his age, by the Milan Conservatory, he became a pupil of the Milanese composer Vincenzo Lavigna. He returned to Busseto in 1833 as conductor of the Philharmonic Society. At the age of 25 Verdi again went to Milan. His first opera, Oberto, was produced at La Scala
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