Community Calendar

Couture Opera marks its fifth season with an unforgettable evening that blends five artistic disciplines together to celebrate imagination, transformation, and the enduring power of the human spirit. Award-winning architecture, fashion, opera, historic preservation, and storytelling converge for a magical experience.

Flights of Fantasy unfolds in five breathtaking acts - from innocence and awakening through darkness, metamorphosis, and ultimately, triumph. The event is set within the beautifully restored Sanitary Laundry Building, a Knoxville landmark that has itself been transformed by MHM Architects from an industrial icon into a vibrant center for creativity and community. The evening celebrates the extraordinary ability of both people and places to reinvent themselves.

Proceeds support Knoxville Opera’s artistic and educational programming, making this an evening of design and discovery that benefits the community.

Attire: All That Glitters
Black tie. Metallics. Jewels. Sequins. Sparkles.

Honor the stories of those who have served through an extraordinary evening of music at Voices of Valor.

Presented in partnership with the Cathedral Concert Series at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, this special Veterans Day concert welcomes the U.S. Army Chorus as a featured performer. The program also brings together Knoxville Opera’s military chorus, Military Voices of East Tennessee (MVET), Knoxville Opera soloists, and the Tennessee Wind Symphony for a moving celebration of service, sacrifice, resilience, and hope through opera, American classics, patriotic favorites, and choral music.

Celebrate the joy of the holiday season at the Knoxville Opera Holiday Concert, an evening of beautiful music, community, and festive tradition. 

Featuring performances by the Knoxville Opera Gospel Choir, Knoxville Opera Children's Choir, and members of the Knoxville Opera Holiday Quartet, this uplifting concert brings together voices of all ages in a celebration of the season through beloved holiday favorites, inspiring choral music, gospel selections, and timeless classics. 

Puccini’s Madame Butterfly offers one of opera’s most intimate and devastating portraits. In Nagasaki, a young geisha marries an American naval officer, placing her faith in a future that proves heartbreakingly uncertain. As the years pass, Butterfly holds fast to what she believes is true, even as the world around her shifts. Puccini’s score captures every shade of that journey, from quiet anticipation to overwhelming loss, with remarkable clarity and restraint.

Performing January 29 and 31, this production focuses on sharing Butterfly's story with directness and honesty. Knoxville Opera invites you to witness a work of profound emotional depth and a tale shaped by memory, endurance, and the lasting imprint of love.

Sung in Italian with projected English translations.

Presented as part of the Knoxville Opera Salon Series in partnership with the Eugenia Williams House, featuring collaborative pianist Eileen Downey. 

Bass baritone Richard Ollarsaba brings Miguel de Cervantes' legendary dreamer to life in Side Quest: Quixote, The men of La Mancha. Drawing inspiration from literature, stage, and screen, this imaginative recital highlights the triumphs and tribulations of the knight-errant, Don Quixote, and the characters closest to him. Through music by Massenet, Ravel, Ibert, Chapí, and selections from Broadway’s Man of La Mancha, the audience is invited to experience multiple interpretations of one of history's most enduring literary figures through an evening of unforgettable storytelling.

Tickets on sale September 8, 2026

Presented as part of the Knoxville Opera Salon Series in partnership with the Eugenia Williams House, featuring collaborative pianist Eileen Downey. 

Bass baritone Richard Ollarsaba brings Miguel de Cervantes' legendary dreamer to life in Side Quest: Quixote, The men of La Mancha. Drawing inspiration from literature, stage, and screen, this imaginative recital highlights the triumphs and tribulations of the knight-errant, Don Quixote, and the characters closest to him. Through music by Massenet, Ravel, Ibert, Chapí, and selections from Broadway’s Man of La Mancha, the audience is invited to experience multiple interpretations of one of history's most enduring literary figures through an evening of unforgettable storytelling.

Tickets on sale September 8, 2026

Presented as part of the Knoxville Opera Salon Series in partnership with the Eugenia Williams House, featuring collaborative pianist Eileen Downey. 

Knoxville Opera artists present Wandern, an intimate recital exploring journeys both physical and emotional.  This program reflects on nature, adventure, longing, the landscapes that inspire us and the journeys that shape our lives. Performed in the elegant surroundings of the Eugenia Williams House, this thoughtful evening celebrates the timeless connection between music, landscape, and the human spirit.

Tickets on sale February 8, 2027

Rossini Festival is a FREE International Street Fair for the entire family that celebrates the global impact on the music, food, and culture of East Tennessee. More than half a million residents of Knox County and the surrounding areas have visited the festival throughout the years.

This annual event includes non-stop entertainment on four outdoor stages, showcasing opera, classical, jazz, gospel, ballet, modern dance, and much more.

Attendees can also browse food vendors and more than 75 artisans throughout the market, along with the Kids & Family Fun Zone for activities children will enjoy.

Rossini Festival is a FREE International Street Fair for the entire family that celebrates the global impact on the music, food, and culture of East Tennessee. More than half a million residents of Knox County and the surrounding areas have visited the festival throughout the years.

This annual event includes non-stop entertainment on four outdoor stages, showcasing opera, classical, jazz, gospel, ballet, modern dance, and much more.

Attendees can also browse food vendors and more than 75 artisans throughout the market, along with the Kids & Family Fun Zone for activities children will enjoy.