Detroit Opera 2024-25 season to feature ‘Central Park Five,’ AI-inspired ‘Così fan tutte’ and more

Detroit Opera’s 2024-25 season will feature an eclectic variety of opera productions written over three centuries, as well as dance performances by six of the top ballet and contemporary dance companies from around the world.

The season will open on Oct. 19 with Giuseppe Verdi’s 1853 masterwork “La Traviata,” directed by Francesca Zambello and featuring two rising singers making their Detroit Opera debuts in leading roles — soprano Emily Pogorelc and tenor Galeano Salas. In this production of Verdi’s iconic love story, Zambello takes a progressive look at gender relations, focusing on “society’s changing views about women.”

Detroit Opera will present three other operas throughout its 2023-2024 season, including Handel’s “Rinaldo” — the third Handel opera ever to be produced at Detroit Opera; the world premiere of Yuval Sharon’s futuristic, AI-inspired production of Mozart’s “Così fan tutte”; and Anthony Davis’s award-winning 2020 opera “The Central Park Five,” which tells the story of the wrongful convictions of five African American and Latino men in the assault of a white female jogger in Central Park.

“One of Detroit Opera’s central missions is to engage people with the relevant issues of our time,” said Detroit Opera President and CEO Patty Isacson Sabee, in a news release. “As we strive to make Detroit Opera a gathering space for the city of Detroit, we are also fortunate, under our current artistic leadership, to have gained a reputation as a company that does things differently and is emerging as a national leader in opera and dance.

“We honor these art forms by giving them a home where they can evolve and change.”

The dance season will begin on Nov. 2 with Mark Morris Dance Group performing “The Look of Love,” an homage to Burt Bacharach with musical collaborator Ethan Iverson. Other dance productions this season will include Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (Nov. 23–24, 2024), Complexions Contemporary Ballet (Dec. 7–8, 2024), Twyla Tharp Dance (Feb. 1–2, 2025), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (March 14–16, 2025) and Malandain Ballet Biarritz (April 26–27, 2025).

Detroit Opera Artistic Advisor for Dance John Teeuwissen says this season of dance will be “both serious and fun, robust and eclectic, purposely reflecting no singular aesthetic.”

“What all six companies have in common is quality, creativity and innovation. The season includes some of the world’s foremost choreographers, but as dancers know, it’s not always about the steps—it’s about what the dance makes you feel, and where you are going in your head and in your heart,” Teeuwissen said, adding that many of the dance performances this season will be accompanied by a variety of live music.

For more details about Detroit Opera’s 2024-2025 season, visit detroitopera.org or call 313-237-7464.