Riders of the Purple Sage is Epic
Broadway World
An opera as monumental and well-crafted as Craig Bohmler's Riders of the Purple Sage can now lay claim to a rightful place in the canon of works about the American West. In its World Premiere, as part of Arizona Opera's Arizona Bold Initiative, Riders is literally and figuratively blazing new trails, demonstrating the relevance and value of the age old genre in a dynamic and memorable production.
A Night at the Opera with an Arizonan Twist
Green Living Magazine
With stunning backdrops that can be considered characters themselves, Phoenix native Ed Mell is displaying his artwork on a large scale for the first time in his career. Hand painting each backdrop, the mesas and mountains fill the stage with danger, excitement and beauty in a mixture of colors and depth. An opera telling the story of typical Arizonan life wouldn’t be complete without beautiful sunsets in the background.
Arizona Opera Connects To Arizonans With Western Opera
Riders of the Purple Sage on Arizona Horizon
How a Western novel inspired Arizona's first homegrown opera
Arizona Opera goes to Hollywood in action-packed Riders of the Purple Sage
The Republic
"Bohmler's cinematic score also has a very contemporary energy, with flashing violins of the sort that build excitement in the latest “Star Wars” flick. This engaging production is built on sturdy bones: iconic hero-and-villain characters, a suspenseful story and a score that’s studded with soaring, hummable melodies..."
Historic premiere: Riders puts Arizona Opera in different league
Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Opera made history Saturday night with "Riders of the Purple Sage," its first world premiere of its first ever commissioned opera. It now has a seat at the big-boys' table among companies three, four times its size in opera-friendly cities like Chicago and New York.
Companies the size of Arizona, which mounts productions in Tucson and Phoenix, don't normally put themselves on the shaky limb of "new works." It's a risky, expensive venture. But at the big boys table, taking a chance is the price of admission, and on Saturday night, with some 1,400 people in the audience, Arizona Opera took that challenge with "Riders of the Purple Sage" — and it paid off.