FAQ

Whatever you’re comfortable in. There is no dress code at our performances, and you don’t need a gown or tails — jeans are just as welcome as cocktail attire. Some audience members enjoy dressing up for a night (or afternoon) at the opera, and that’s welcome too.

We hope so — many of our productions are designed with first-timers in mind. Opera is storytelling with music: love, betrayal, comedy, and big emotions, sung by trained voices with a live orchestra. Our productions often reimagine classic works in fresh settings, from Super Flute, Mozart’s Magic Flute set in the world of classic video games, to a Così fan tutte set on a mid-century college campus. Each production page includes a short description of the story so you can read up before you come.

It depends on the work. Each production page lists the total running time, including intermission — for example, our 2026 Così fan tutte ran about three hours with a 15-minute intermission.

Venues vary from production to production. We have performed at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, the Arts Center at Dunham, Cincinnati Museum Center, and the Finneytown Performing Arts Center, among others. The venue and address for each performance are listed on its production page and on our Upcoming page.

Ticket links are posted on each production page and on our Upcoming page as soon as a production is announced. To hear about new productions first, join our mailing list.

Yes. In addition to any printed materials at the venue, we post the full program booklet as plain text on our Program page, so you can read it on your phone, enlarge it, or use a screen reader.

Yes. When we perform in a language other than English, we project English translations, called supertitles, above the stage — much like watching a movie with subtitles. You can follow every line of the story without knowing a word of the original language.

Composers wrote their music to fit the sounds and rhythms of a specific language, so the original text is usually the truest fit for the music. Supertitles let us keep that while making sure no one misses the story.

Please email Isaac.Selya@QueenCityOpera.org before the performance and tell us what would help. Our online program is available as plain text for screen readers and large-print viewing, and we’re happy to share details about the venue in advance.

We don’t hold open auditions. Instead, we review submitted materials from singers and instrumentalists year-round, and we sometimes invite artists to audition by invitation as we cast each production.

Email both Isaac.Selya@QueenCityOpera.org and Associate Music Director Michael Patterson (m.patterson@QueenCityOpera.org) with your résumé, a headshot (for singers), and links to recent recordings or videos. Singers, please tell us your voice type and roles you’re ready to sing; instrumentalists, please tell us your instrument and recent ensemble experience. We keep submissions on file and reach out when there’s a fit.

Our casts and orchestra are drawn primarily from talented emerging professionals, alongside experienced artists from across the region. Our musicians also perform with many of the region’s and nation’s leading ensembles. You can see our orchestra roster and the full roster for every project since 2012.

Our mission includes advancing the careers of emerging designers and conductors as well as performers. We welcome portfolios and materials from directors, designers, stage managers, and conductors at the same addresses.

Thank you for thinking of us, but no. We perform almost entirely common-practice-era works in the public domain, so we aren’t able to review new scores. Several other companies specialize in new opera and are a much better fit.

Queen City Opera is a Cincinnati opera company founded in 2012. Our mission is to perform classical music featuring emerging artists, the highest artistic standards, and collaborations with local community organizations. Read more on our About page.

Many of our productions are paired with a community partner whose work connects to the story on stage — from the Holocaust and Humanity Center for Defiant Requiem to the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired for Iolanta. See the full list in our QCOllaborations.

Performance videos are on our YouTube channel. For photos, casts, and details from every production since 2012, see Past Productions.

Queen City Opera is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so donations are tax-deductible. Visit our Donate page to give online or by check, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Coming to a show and bringing a friend helps too.

Email Isaac.Selya@QueenCityOpera.org or call 513-503-8323.