The Big Bonanza featured at Piper's Opera House in Virginia City
Help us raise the curtain at Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City once again on April 2, from 3-5 pm, at a gala premiere party, an intimate and exclusive event, to present scenes from the new opera, The Big Bonanza.
The Territorial Enterprise newspaper writer Dan DeQuille was commissioned to tell the story of the epic 1873 discovery of the Comstock Lode by the “Bonanza King”’ John W. Mackey.
The Big Bonanza is an amazing body of work and tells a beautiful story. DeQuille’s buddy from the territorial days, the 1860s at the Enterprise, now the rich and famous, humorist and publisher Mark Twain brought DeQuille to his home in Hartford to write the book, and later publish it.
This opera will be under the direction of Albert Rudolph Lee, the new voice director for the Department of Music at UNR. It was composed by Monica Houghton and the libretto was penned by Jon Christensen.
Limited tickets are $20 and available by calling Pipers Opera House at 775-847-0433, or online at https://bigbonanzagala.eventbrite.com
Tickets include a champagne reception following the performance where patrons can meet the creators, along with Albert Lee, the cast, company and crew. The entire opera will be presented on April 8, 9, and 10 at Nightingale Hall on the UNR campus. Tickets for that event are available here.