Something wicked — and wonderfully thrilling — is coming to downtown Denver. Opera Colorado is opening its 2026–27 season with Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth, running November 7–15 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, and it’s a first: Verdi’s gripping Shakespeare adaptation has never before been staged at the Ellie.
The production kicks off the first season programmed by new Artistic Director + CEO Barbara Lynne Jamison, and it arrives with serious star power. Internationally acclaimed conductor Patrick Summers makes his Opera Colorado debut leading Verdi’s thunderous score, full of prophecies, witches, and choruses that shake the walls. Baritone Norman Garrett steps into the title role, with soprano Marcy Stonikas returning to Denver as the fiercely ambitious Lady Macbeth.
Here’s the best part: you don’t need to be an opera expert to love this one. As Jamison puts it, everyone knows the story of Macbeth — a tale of ambition, rumor, and power spinning out of control — and Verdi turns it into grand opera at its most gripping. It’s a perfect night out for first-timers and longtime fans alike.
Tickets are on sale now at operacolorado.org. Happy City News says: gather your friends, dress up a little, and let Denver’s own opera company give you chills this November.
Photo: Jeffrey Beall / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
