North Carolina Opera

10/11/2026

🎭 Join the excitement of CARMEN this weekend! We’re looking for friendly volunteers to help make our performances on Friday, October 16 and Sunday, October 18 a wonderful experience for our audiences. Meet fellow opera lovers and be part of our opening weekend!🫶

Interested? Email Amanda at [email protected] for details and to sign up. 💌

10/09/2026

Join us for CARMEN Community Night on Friday, October 16, celebrating Black artistry and community! ❤️

Directed by opera legend Denyce Graves, this performance anchors an evening honoring the legacy and lasting influence of Black artists in opera. We welcome HBCU communities, Divine Nine organizations, Black cultural and professional groups, students, families, and everyone who wishes to celebrate with us. Whether you’re an opera regular or joining us for the first time, we’d love to see you there.

Arrive early for “Seduction and the Body in CARMEN,” a pre-show talk with Marcus Pyle, Ph.D., exploring race, women’s agency, and opera’s most famous femme fatale. The talk is free for all October 16 ticket holders.

📅 Friday, October 16
💬 6:30PM: Pre-show talk in the Carolina Room, downstairs from Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
💃 7:30PM: CARMEN performance
📍 Raleigh Memorial Auditorium at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts

Invite your friends and reserve your seats at the link in the comments 👇

Raleigh Arts | North Carolina Arts Council | NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources | United Arts Wake County | John William Pope Foundation | WRAL TV

09/22/2026

Ready to dance? 💃 CARMEN in Motion is this Sunday!

Join North Carolina Opera and Flamenco Carolina for a lively, beginner-friendly afternoon inspired by the passion and rhythm of CARMEN.

🎶 Explore flamenco rhythm, movement, and expression
🌹 Learn choreography set to the famous “Habanera”
🎉 Finish with a festive Rumba party dance

No experience? No problem. Flamenco is a solo dance, so you don’t need a partner either. All ages and experience levels are welcome!

Come dressed for the fiesta if you’d like. Colorful dresses, ruffled skirts, flowers, and fans are encouraged but absolutely not required.

📅 Sunday, September 27
⏰ 1–3 PM
📍 Barriskill Dance Theatre School
3642 Shannon Road, Durham

Register now at the link in the comments!

09/21/2026

📻 We’re thrilled to announce that Leoneda Inge, host of North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC's Due South, will lead the conversation with Denyce Graves at our special event on Thursday, October 1!

Join us for cocktails, Spanish-inspired light bites, and an intimate conversation with one of opera’s most celebrated artists. Denyce will share stories from her remarkable career and offer a behind-the-scenes look at her vision for NC Opera’s upcoming production of CARMEN.

📅 Thursday, October 1 at 6 PM
📍 The Chancellor’s Room at Dorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center at NC State University
🎟️ Space is limited. Reserve your seat today at the link in the comments.

09/10/2026

🔥 A passion that burns. 🔥

Bizet’s CARMEN returns to North Carolina Opera on October 16 & 18 at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts.

Desire ignites a dangerous flame when the fiercely independent Carmen pulls soldier Don José into her orbit. What begins with seduction spirals into obsession, jealousy, betrayal, and tragedy, all set to some of the most recognizable and irresistible music in opera.

Starring Gina Perregrino as Carmen, with Eric Taylor as Don José. You may remember Eric as Pinkerton, the leading man in our MADAMA BUTTERFLY earlier this year!

Laureano Quant takes the stage as the charismatic bullfighter Escamillo, with Elana Gleason as Micaëla.

Conducted by Joseph Mechavich and directed by legendary mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, CARMEN is sung in French with English translations projected above the stage so you'll understand every word.

Tickets are on sale now! 🎟️ Get ready for passion, seduction, unforgettable melodies, and a story that burns all the way to its dramatic final moment. Grab your seats today at ncopera.org.

Raleigh Arts | North Carolina Arts Council | United Arts Wake County | John William Pope Foundation | NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources | The Best of Raleigh | TowneBank

09/08/2026

One of opera's greatest artists invites you inside the world of CARMEN.

Join North Carolina Opera for An Evening with Denyce Graves on Thursday, October 1st.

Legendary mezzo-soprano and acclaimed director Denyce Graves has captivated audiences on the world's most prestigious stages. While she's in Raleigh directing North Carolina Opera's upcoming production of CARMEN, we're inviting you to an intimate evening to hear stories from her remarkable career, reflect on her iconic history with the role of Carmen, and get an inside look at bringing this beloved opera to life from the director's chair.

Enjoy Spanish-inspired cocktails and light bites before settling in for an engaging conversation that takes you inside the artistry of CARMEN.

✨ Space is limited for this intimate event.

🎟️ $75pp. Reserve your seats today at the link in the comments.

08/31/2026

💃🌹 Experience CARMEN in motion!

Step into the passionate world of CARMEN with North Carolina Opera and Flamenco Carolina for an afternoon of flamenco, music, movement, and fun.

At this special Tasting Notes experience, you’ll:

💃 Explore flamenco rhythm, movement, and expression
🌹 Learn flamenco-inspired choreography to CARMEN’s famous “Habanera”
🎉 Learn a lively Rumba party dance
🎶 Discover connections between dance, music, and the dramatic world of CARMEN

Never danced before? Perfect! No experience or partner is needed, and all ages are welcome. Come on your own, bring a friend, or make it a family afternoon.

And if you’re feeling festive, dress for the fiesta! Colorful dresses, ruffled skirts, flowers, fans, and other flamenco-inspired touches are encouraged, but absolutely not required.

📅 Sunday, September 27 | 1–3 PM
📍 Barriskill Dance Theatre School | Durham

Space is limited, so come experience CARMEN beyond the stage. ¡Olé!

🎟️ Registration link in the comments!

08/31/2026

A beloved member of the NC Opera family needs our support. ❤️

Denise Schumaker has been part of North Carolina Opera since our very beginning, helping bring countless productions to life through her extraordinary work with our costumes. Her artistry and talent have touched stages across the Triangle, making her a treasured member of the local arts community.

Denise is now facing a devastating cancer diagnosis. We hope the NC Opera community will join us in surrounding her with the same care and generosity she has given to our stages and artists for so many years.

If you are able, please consider supporting Denise and her family or sharing her story.

Less than a year after losing our mother to stage 4 cancer, our family is facing another devasta… Jaime Morris needs your support for Help Denise Fight Cancer

07/18/2026

📣 Don’t forget to submit your audition materials by this evening for a time slot! Space may be available for us to hear women on this date as well, so please feel free to send us an email and we will respond by 7/21. We can’t wait to hear you!

🎶 Sing with North Carolina Opera! 🎶

We're holding chorus auditions for our upcoming productions of CARMEN, TURANDOT, and ORFEO & EURIDICE.

📅 Saturday, July 25
🕙 10:00AM to 2:00PM
📍 Meredith College

A pianist will be provided, and there is no fee to audition.

To request an audition time, email [email protected] by July 18 with your contact information, your audition selection(s), and any relevant materials such as a résumé, headshot, or performance links. Audition time slots will be assigned by July 21.

We'd love to hear you!

07/14/2026

🎟️✨ Presale starts NOW!

Be the first to grab tickets to CARMEN, TURANDOT, and ORFEO & EURIDICE in Concert before the general public.

Use Offer Code ENCORE to unlock early access! 🔓

🎶 Grab your tickets today at the link in the comments.

Raleigh Arts | John William Pope Foundation | North Carolina Arts Council | United Arts Wake County | NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources | The Best of Raleigh