Union Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Union Avenue Opera (UAO) grew out of one man’s vision for an opera company that would offer professional opportunities for gifted, emerging artists.

In the summer of 1995, Scott Schoonover, with the support of the Arts Group of Union Avenue, mounted a production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and the rest is history. Since that summer, the company has produced fully staged productions of Britten’s The Little Sweep (1996), Blow’s Venus and Adonis (1996), Monteverdi’s Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (1996), Gilbert and Sullivan’s Yeoman of the Guard (1997), Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (1998, 2006), Floyd’s Susannah (1999), Puccini’s La Bohème (2000, 2006), Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte (2000), Bizet’s Carmen (2001, 2008), Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (2001), Puccini’s Tosca (2002), Verdi’s La Traviata (2002), Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin (2003), Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (2003), Puccini’s Turandot (2004), Gounod’s Faust (2004), Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (2004), Menotti’s The Medium (2005), Verdi’s Falstaff (2005), Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos (2005), Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Bellini’s Norma (2006), Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (2007), Puccini’s Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi (2007), Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (2007), Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore (2008), and Verdi’s Otello (2008).

In 2007 a new orchestra pit and expanded stage were constructed as part of a renovation by Union Avenue Christian Church, successfully completing UAO’s first capital campaign. Since its founding, Union Avenue Opera’s repertoire, audience, reputation and funding have grown as it has pursued its mission with excellence and integrity, offering professional opera in original languages at reasonable prices.

Union Avenue Opera has become a treasured fixture on the St. Louis arts scene. Members of Union Avenue Christian Church continue to serve as volunteers for UAO in various capacities, including members of the board of directors, ushers, ticket takers, dressers, designers and more. To learn more about the company and its productions, please visit its site.