ST. LOUIS - eTradeWire -- Union Avenue Opera (UAO) is preparing for its highly anticipated 2025 Festival Season, presenting a compelling lineup of musical and operatic works that delve into themes of transformation, fame, desire, and fate. Celebrating its 31st season, UAO continues its commitment to showcasing emerging and professional artists in bold, story-driven productions presented in their original languages, with English supertitles.

The season opens with Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady (July 5, 6m, 11, 12), a musical theatre classic presented in this operatic setting. Directed by Annamaria Pileggi and conducted by UAO's Founding Artistic Director Scott Schoonover, this production blends Broadway tradition with operatic scope. Audiences will follow Eliza's journey from Cockney flower girl to self-assured woman, with timeless songs such as "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "The Rain in Spain."

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In a bold pairing, the season continues with a double bill of Tom Cipullo's Josephine and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci (July 25, 26, August 1, 2), conducted by Stephen Hargreaves and directed by Kathryn Frady. Josephine celebrates the life of Missouri-born icon Josephine Baker, whose glamorous rise to fame was shadowed by personal sacrifice. In Pagliacci, reality and performance collide in one of opera's most emotionally raw and visceral tragedies, featuring the famed aria "Vesti la giubba."

The season concludes with Richard Strauss' provocative masterpiece Salome (August 15, 16, 22, 23), featuring soprano Kelly Slawson in the title role. Directed by Mark Freiman and conducted by Schoonover, this gripping tale of lust, prophecy, and obsession is set to Strauss' lush and cinematic score, including the infamous "Dance of the Seven Veils."

All performances will take place at Union Avenue Opera's intimate venue inside the historic Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 N. Union Blvd, just northwest of the Delmar Maker's District in St. Louis' Central West End. Free parking is available in the adjacent lots and on surrounding streets. UAO's intimate space ensures an immediate and powerful connection between artist and audience—every raised eyebrow and whispered aside resonates deeply.

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Now in its 31st year, Union Avenue Opera remains one of the Midwest's only opera companies presenting a full summer festival season accompanied by a full union orchestra. With over 120 professional artists hired annually—many from the greater St. Louis area—UAO is deeply committed to its community, offering performance and education programs such as the acclaimed CRESCENDO! initiative for collegiate singers. This season's programming once again highlights UAO's unique ability to pair grand-scale storytelling with artistic accessibility.

Tickets and more information: www.unionavenueopera.org
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