The drama, the spectacle, the romance, the tragedy...what’s not to love about opera? In collaboration with local opera companies, including Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Opera and Opera Pacific, Excelsus Olé! members see and hear top-name players in both new and classic performances.

Each season, Excelsus selects area operas to share with Opera Lovers Everywhere. In educational sessions prior to the performance, we bring to life the stories and traditions behind the music. Afterwards, we reconvene to share our impressions. Performance tickets are included in the price.

The cost is $50 per Opera or sign-up for all three and pay only $130 (a $20 savings). The session fee includes one student ticket. The Operas this season include the following performances and education sessions:

Three impossible riddles - to solve them is to win the hand of the beautiful, but icy Princess Turandot. Many suitors have failed and sacrificed their heads for their efforts. Calaf is determined to answer the questions, keep his head and win her hand. Will he succeed when all others have not?

The Count's lecherous attention has settled on Figaro's bride-to-be, and Figaro's challenge is getting her to the altar before the Count has his way with her. From the opening notes of The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart's masterpiece is filled with lively characters meeting life's unexpected twists and challenges with humor, grace and poignancy.

Violetta, one of Paris' most successful and experienced courtesans, is introduced to Alfredo, son of a wealthy nobleman. Their attraction is immediate and Violetta abandons her cynicism for true love with this impetuous, vibrant young man. However, their happiness is interrupted by the arrival of Alfredo's father, whose words remind Violetta that the world she has entered cannot accommodate a woman of her background.