Jenn Gambatese, Leona Mitchell, Sam Briggs, Meghan Picerno, Chris Mosz, Kevin Thompson
Tulsa Opera has announced its 2025-26 Season filled with musical treasures and favorite things.
The Austrian Alps meet the rolling hills of Tulsa with Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s beloved classic musical, The Sound of Music. Presented in semi-staged concert format, with costumed principals, theatrical lighting, and set pieces, The Sound of Music stars Broadway award-winner Jenn Gambatese (Wicked, Hairspray) as Maria, Tulsa’s favorite leading man Sam Briggs as Captain von Trapp, and international opera legend Leona Mitchell in her role debut as the Mother Abbess. Directed by Machele Miller Dill and conducted by Tulsa Opera Artistic Director Maestro Aaron Beck, the popular musical features the Tulsa Opera Signature Chorale and the Tulsa Opera Orchestra. The one-night-only performance takes place on November 15, 2025, at 7:30 p.m., at the VanTrease Performing Arts Center for Education on the Southeast Campus of Tulsa Community College.
The Pirates of Penzance, one of Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert’s most popular and successful operettas, makes a heralded return to Tulsa Opera. Frederic, mistakenly apprenticed to a band of lovably incompetent pirates, is released from his indentures on his 21st birthday, finding himself free at last to fall in love and fulfill his tragic duty to destroy pirates. He promptly embarks on both projects, only to find himself stymied by a terrible paradox. The hilarious, swashbuckling romance features star of major operatic and Broadway stages, soprano Meghan Picerno, as Mabel; Tulsa Youth Opera and Filstrup Resident Artist alumnus, tenor Chris Mosz, as Frederic; award-winning bass-baritone, Jason Zacher as the Pirate King; Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano, Tesia Kwarteng as Ruth; baritone Robert Mellon, last seen at Tulsa Opera as Taddeo in the 2022 production of The Italian Girl in Algiers, as Major General Stanley; and acclaimed bass Kevin Thompson, last seen in Tulsa Opera’s 2021 Greenwood Overcomes concert, as the Sergeant of Police. The fully staged and costumed production is directed by Eve Summer, conducted by Cathy Venable, and features the Tulsa Opera Chorus and Tulsa Opera Orchestra. The production is courtesy of Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, with costumes from Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Two performances take place on January 30, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. and February 1, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. in Gussman Concert Hall at the Lorton Performance Center at the University of Tulsa.
Noye’s Fludde, aka Noah’s Flood, is Benjamin Britten’s delightful musical retelling of the Noah’s Ark story, specially composed for children’s voices with a few adult roles, and performance in a church setting. The Tulsa Youth Opera takes on all roles and will also help create the sets, props, and costumes for this family-friendly show, also featuring the Tulsa Youth Symphony and the Tulsa Opera Orchestra. It will be conducted by Maestro Aaron Beck. Performances take place June 5, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. and June 6, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. Director and location are TBA.
The Tulsa Opera Signature Chorale, conducted by Maestro Aaron Beck with Filstrup Resident Artist Whitney Hollis at the piano, is the star of Sing Me a Waltz: Celebrating Johann Strauss II at 200. This joyful evening of choral selections from Johann Strauss II and contemporaries takes place on May 16, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at the German American Society of Tulsa.
Tulsa Opera is also introducing a new, intimate recital series, Voices After Dark, with three different recitals taking place throughout the season at Filstrup Hall in the Laven Sowell Opera Center. Music from the Shadows, featuring classical songs for the spooky season, takes place on October 25, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. Spanish Nights: The Vocal Music of Manuel de Falla is on February 28, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. Route 66: Music from the Mother Road takes place on April 18, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. The series stars select singers of the Filstrup Resident Artist Company, with Maestro Beck at the piano.
“Tulsa is a town where you can run into the same friends enjoying a rock concert on Friday, a Broadway show on Saturday, and the opera on Sunday afternoon,” says Tulsa Opera General Director and CEO Lori Decter Wright. “We are excited to bring Tulsa a season filled with fun, the excitement of international stars working side by side with Tulsa-based talent, and our trademark mix of something for everyone. We’re also pleased to continue our commitment to bringing opera to venues all over town. We believe in creating community through bringing people into the theater to connect with themselves and each other and having a truly great time as they do it.”
Tickets and season packages are available now or by calling the Box Office at 918-582-3133.