- Sounds confusing.

(upbeat music) - Walk us through this upcoming season of Opera.

- So the four pieces that we're doing this year, I think do span a pretty wide range of what Opera has to offer, including a piece that was written only five years ago, The Central Park Five by Anthony Davis, who we featured in 2022 as the composer of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, a piece that we're all so proud of because it started here in Detroit and went on to be performed at the Metropolitan Opera of New York and Seattle Opera, Opera Omaha, and is coming to Lyric Opera of Chicago.

So great to have Anthony come back with Central Park Five, a piece that is also about social justice, is about the miscarriage of that justice, you know, with the story of the five exonerated young men.

- When can people see The Central Park Five opera?

- Central Park Five is in May of this upcoming May, May of '25.

- [Cecelia] '25.

- I should say that that production is coming to us from Portland Opera that did a production by the theater director, Nataki Garrett.

It's a multimedia production that is very strong.

She uses just state-of-the-art technology in a way that is, to really tell the story and give us the idea of what it meant to read about the story as a headline first, and the difference between the headline and the real people that experienced this particular story.

So it's a brilliant, a brilliant production.

- And then before that is Mozart's Così fan tutte, directed by you.

- So just prior to that will be our new production this season.

So a new production means we haven't rented it from somewhere else where they have done all the good creative work.

When you do a brand new production, it means we're building the costumes, we're building the set.

The concept for it is all gonna be originating first and foremost here in Detroit before it goes anywhere else.

So for me, I feel like that is always the place where we can really say, this is what Detroit Opera stands for.

So this year that piece is one that I'm directing, Mozart's Opera Così fan tutte, which I'm going to use as an exploration of artificial intelligence.

So that Mozart's original piece, the characters in the opera will be, well, they won't be played by robots, they will be humans playing robots.

(Yuval laughs) - Okay, real people playing robots.

- That are playing real people.

- Playing real people.

- Yeah, so.

- Okay.

Be sure to check it on the stage.

It sounds confusing, but you'll understand it when you see it.

- When you watch it, it'll make perfect sense.

- Okay.

And you are the mastermind behind this new production.

- Thank you.

- When will this staging take place?

- April, three performances in April.

- [Cecelia] And we're working our way backwards.

- [Yuval] Exactly.

- I feel like I need to get my tickets.

- Oh yes.

- Already.

(Cecelia laughs) And what's prior to that as we work our way to the star- - As we work our way backwards.

- Of the season, yes.

(both laughing) - Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel will be the piece that we do in February and March of this year as well.

So the Spring is quite packed.

We have three very, very unique and exciting projects finally and starting our season.

(Yuval laughs) - To kick off everything.

- To kick it all off is something that is a real, you know, one of those pieces that everyone says, I would say it's one of the ABCs of opera, but it doesn't start with an A, B, or C, but it's La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi.

And that we have the great benefit of our music director Roberto called Leading, a stellar cast, and a production by Francesca Zambello that has been seen in a number of other cities.

Really elegant, beautiful, grand in its way.

Lots of dancing.

Lots of, there's even two dogs in it.

I try to get my dog in it, but she's too small.

(both laughing) But- - It's okay, maybe next time.

- Maybe next time.

- That will be the closest to kind of a, the kind of the opera that, you know, if you are a traditional opera lover, like this is one that will be the closest probably to what you're familiar with, you know?

And I'm glad that we can provide that as well in our season.

And I hope it's a good starting point.

Like let's kick off that way, and from there let's keep exploring outward to Handel, to Mozart, and to Anthony Davis.

- So four operas laid out starting with La Traviata.

- [Yuval] Yes.

- Then Rinaldo, Così fan tutte.

- [Yuval] Yes.

- And the Central Park Five.

- [Yuval] That's right.

- For Detroit, Metro Detroit, and anyone from around the world to come right here to the heart of Detroit and check out.

- Can't wait.