Southern Opera and Musical Theatre
Page Content
The Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company has accrued a reputation as one of
the finest opera and musical theatre collegiate companies in the region—attracting
a range of diverse and dazzling performers and presenting professional quality productions
for the community.
The Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company regularly offers students opportunities to perform in opera and musical theatre productions, as well as recitals and concerts. Fully staged productions have included Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Mary Poppins, Carmen, The Mikado, and Rigoletto.
The Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company regularly offers students opportunities to perform in opera and musical theatre productions, as well as recitals and concerts. Fully staged productions have included Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Mary Poppins, Carmen, The Mikado, and Rigoletto.
This past year’s opera and musical theatre stage productions were by all accounts, “epic.” From the landmark, sold-out production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera to Puccini’s masterwork, Turandot, which was presented in a joint production with the Mississippi Opera. Turandot was the largest operatic production ever produced in the state of Mississippi and completed a banner year for the Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company.
Why Choose the Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company at Southern Miss?
- Over 40 faculty members of dedicated teacher-artists
- Professional voice teachers and stage directors
- An active opera program producing multiple fully staged productions each year
- Frequent master classes and performances by musicians of international stature
Fall 2025 Auditions
Audition now for the Fall 2025 Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company production of Johann Strauss, Jr.’s comical operetta, Die Fledermaus. The story of this opera is filled with mistaken identities, scandalous love interests, absolute chaos, and hysterical outcomes. It will be performed with all dialogue and singing in English.
- Submission deadline Friday, February 7, 2025
- Rehearsals for principal roles to begin March 9, 2025
The production will run October 30 - November 2 in the Mannoni Performing Arts Center.
Guest Artists
Major vocal artists are frequently featured with the orchestra and/or opera, including
(among others) Thomas Palmer (1972), Roberta Peters (1977), Denyce Graves (1998),
Plácido Domingo (2005), David Lomeli (2009), Renee Fleming (2010), Deborah Voigt (2015),
Linda Eder (2015), Kirstin Chavez (2016), and Sandi Patty (2016).
Professional Partnerships
Students in this program also have the opportunity to become apprentice artists with
the Mississippi Opera, the ninth oldest continuously operating opera company in the
United States, as well as the local professional company, The Hub City Players, and
community theatre, Hattiesburg Community Theatre, among others.
