Extending the Stage
Every season, Madison Opera supplements its mainstage performances with innovative ways to experience and explore the breadth of the art form. From recitals to online lectures and in-person panel discussions, we invite you to join us off the stage for an enlightening exploration of opera.
Community Previews
Join Madison Opera for free previews of our operas at local retirement communities! Madison Opera staff will offer a multimedia look at each opera’s composer, history, and our upcoming production, including a performance by a Studio Artist. All previews are FREE and open to the general public.
La Bohème previews
October 8 at 7pm | Capitol Lakes
October 9 at 7pm | Oakwood Village (West)
Everlasting Faint previews
January 6 at 7pm | Oakwood Village (West)
January 7 at 7pm | Capitol Lakes
Così fan tutte previews
March 18 at 7pm | Capitol Lakes
March 25 at 7pm | Oakwood Village (West)
Digital Previews
Have tickets to a performance? Thinking of buying some? Join General Director Kathryn Smith for a multimedia preview of each show, with an entertaining look at its composer, history, and music, as well as information on Madison Opera’s production.
Watch live for the chance to ask questions of Kathryn during the preview; the previews will then remain online for you to watch whenever you wish.
Digital Preview: La Bohème
Will stream live on October 16 at 7pm Central
Watch on Youtube
Digital Preview: Everlasting Faint
Will stream live on January 15 at 7pm Central
Watch on Youtube
Digital Preview: Così fan tutte
Will stream live on April 2 at 7pm Central
Watch on Youtube
Film Screening: Moulin Rouge!
Join us at Cinematheque for a free screening of Baz Luhrmann’s Oscar-winning film Moulin Rouge! Set in Paris, a young writer joins a group of bohemians and falls in love with a star at the Moulin Rouge, only to run into deception and tragedy along the way.
When:
October 24, 2025 7:00 pm
Where:
UW Cinematheque
4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706
Free and open to the public! Visit Cinematheque’s website for more info.
Studio Artist Recitals
Join Madison Opera’s Studio Artists for hour-long recitals of arias and ensembles from opera, art song, and more. Recitals are FREE and open to the public.
December 3 at 7pm | Oakwood Village (West)
December 4 at 7pm | Capitol Lakes
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March 5 at 7pm | Oakwood Village (West)
March 6 at 7pm | Capitol Lakes
Opera Up Close
Madison Opera’s popular series of behind-the-scenes previews of each opera returns! General Director Kathryn Smith leads a multimedia exploration of the history of each opera, followed by a roundtable discussion with the production’s leading artists and creative team.
Opera Up Close is held at The Margaret C. Winston Madison Opera Center.
Admission is $20 for non-subscribers, $10 for 2 show subscribers and free to 3 show subscribers, payable at the door. Subscribe and save up to $60 on Opera Up Close tickets.
La Bohème Up Close
Sunday, November 2, 1-3 pm
Everlasting Faint Up Close
Sunday, February 8, 1-3 pm
Così fan tutte Up Close
Sunday, April 19, 1-3 pm
Opera Talk with Kathryn Smith
Opera contains so much more than what happens on stage in one production. In these hour-long lectures, General Director Kathryn Smith takes a dive into centuries of history, thematic connections, and stories, illustrated with slides, video, dry humor, and cute animals.
A Musical Diagnosis: Opera and Medicine
Streaming live on September 18 at 7pm CDT
Watch on Youtube
In the stereotypical opera, the heroine dies of a tragic disease – one that does not prevent her from singing before she dies. Medicine figures into more than just operatic death scenes, though. Join Kathryn for a dive into medicine in opera: the patients, the doctors, the diseases, and the strange elixirs that don’t always work as intended.
Opera Takes a Holiday
Streaming live on December 11 at 7pm CST
Watch on Youtube
‘Tis the season! While opera companies typically don’t perform around the holidays – theaters are full of Nutcrackers and Christmas Carols – opera characters themselves celebrate the occasional holiday. Take a sleigh ride with Kathryn into pieces from La Bohème and Werther to Cavalleria Rusticana, Parsifal, Paul Bunyan, La Juive, Moses und Aron, Silent Night, and more.
The Art of Operatic Disguise
Streaming live on March 12 at 7pm CDT
Watch on Youtube
Did you know that the addition of a mustache, cape, or half-mask renders you completely unrecognizable, particularly while you’re singing? Many opera plots turn on disguises, some more convincing than others. Join Kathryn for a peek into the closet of operatic disguises, from comedies like Così fan tutte, Die Fledermaus, and The Barber of Seville to more serious works like A Masked Ball, Fidelio, Rigoletto, and more.
All Opera Talks will stream via Youtube. Watch live for the chance to ask questions of Kathryn during the talk; the talks themselves will remain online for you to watch when it suits you.
Looking for more? Check out the archive of previous Opera Talks here.
Opera Postcards from Madison
Like love notes to our hometown, our Opera Postcards pair performers and places to bring you soaring music, a little bit of drama, and a lot of smiles. Watch below as we take you to the Children’s Museum, Central Library, Chazen Museum of Art, Olin Park, and the Overture Center for the Arts.
