Bogotá to host gala concert for the 50th anniversary of Ópera de Colombia — The Rio Times
On October 3, 2026, Bogotá, Colombia, will host the gala concert “Gran gala: 50 años de la Ópera de Colombia,” dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the opera company Ópera de Colombia. The performance will begin at 20:00 local time in the main hall of the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo. As The Rio Times reports, latecomers will not be admitted to the hall.
Programme and performers
The programme includes popular arias, duets and choral excerpts from works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Georges Bizet, Vincenzo Bellini and Jacques Offenbach. The concert will open with Mozart’s overture to “The Marriage of Figaro.” It will also feature Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro,” “Casta Diva” from Bellini’s opera “Norma,” the Habanera and the Toreador Song from Bizet’s “Carmen,” “Sempre libera” from Verdi’s “La Traviata,” and the chorus “Va, pensiero” from his “Nabucco.”
The second part is scheduled to include the aria “E lucevan le stelle” from Puccini’s “Tosca,” the barcarolle from Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann,” and Mozart duets, including “Papageno, Papagena!” from “The Magic Flute.” Luis Fernando Madrid will conduct. The soloists include Venezuelan mezzo-soprano Carolina Camacho, Colombian tenor Eduardo Díaz, sopranos Gabriela Tello, Beatriz Mora and Daniela Reyes, as well as baritone Camilo Mendoza.
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The concert will also feature the Bogotá Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Ópera de Bogotá Choir and Ballet Studio Bogotá, which will perform in the part of the programme dedicated to “Carmen.” Winners of the Ciudad Lírica vocal prize — baritone Julián Usama and soprano María Paula Quintero — will take the stage.
Tickets and company history
Tickets are sold by the Colombian service Tuboleta. Prices range from 30,000 to 90,000 Colombian pesos, including the service fee. Seats with partially obstructed views on the second and third floors cost 30,000 pesos, while the cheapest seats with a full view cost 50,000 pesos. Stalls seats cost from 60,000 to 90,000 pesos.
Ópera de Colombia was founded in 1976. Its founder was Gloria Zea, who at the time headed the national cultural institute Colcultura. The company ceased operations in 1986 and resumed them in 1991. As of 2016, it had staged 45 operas by 20 composers in approximately 830 performances and helped launch the careers of more than 150 Colombian soloists.
