Arizona Opera presents "Riders of the Purple Sage" a new opera based on the iconic novel by Zane Grey. The World Premiere artistic team boasts an unprecedented collaboration between Arizona Opera, Composer Craig Bohmler, Conductor Keitaro Harada, Director Fenlon Lamb, Librettist Steven Mark Kohn, world famous painter Ed Mell, and the work of the legendary Zane Grey. A special thank you to our Executive Producers, Billie Jo & Judd Herberger. "Riders of the Purple Sage" runs Feb 25 & 26th, 2017 in Tucson and March 3, 4 & 5th, 2017 at Phoenix Symphony Hall. Tickets available now: http://www.azopera.org/tickets

America’s cowboy culture and Opera's hallowed traditions converge in a documentary film that celebrates the collaborative power of art. "RIDERS of the PURPLE SAGE: THE MAKING OF A WESTERN OPERA" follows Zane Grey’s classic Western novel as it is reimagined by composer Craig Bohmler, fine art painter Ed Mell, and the performers and artisans of Arizona Opera. Zane Grey’s original tale of a peaceful rancher being pushed to marry by her churchmen and the gunman who empowers her flew off bookshelves to become the headwaters of the Western genre. Readers in industrializing cities around the globe were captivated by Grey’s vivid descriptions of sprawling desert canyons and characters reinventing themselves in a vast, exotic landscape. The film traces the evolution of a seminal novel about the settling of the American West and its adaption throughout the 20th Century in Hollywood movies. “Riders of the Purple Sage” mythologized the law of the gun and forged indelible archetypes that thrive in Western lore and the American DNA to this day. The original intent of the story and the power of its heroine are reclaimed as “Riders” is mounted in the new millennium as a grand opera that is both timely and timeless. The documentary is directed by Emmy-Winning filmmaker Kristin Atwell Ford and scheduled for release in 2020. The entire opera "Riders of the Purple Sage" is also available for broadcast and streaming as a companion program to the film. Executive Producers Billie Jo & Judd Herberger. Produced by Quantum Leap Productions. Special thanks to Arizona Opera. Production and Post provided by Quantum Leap Productions: qlpnow.com This trailer features soprano Karin Wolverton as Jane, baritone Morgan Smith as Lassiter, tenor Joshua Dennis Bern as Venters, soprano Amanda Opuszynski as Bess, baritone Keith Phares as Tull, and bass-baritone Kristopher Irmiter sings Bishop Dyer. FILMED ON LOCATION: Arizona Opera Center, Phoenix Symphony Hall, Scottsdale's Museum of the West, Rim Country Museum & Zane Grey Cabin, Mormon Lake Lodge, Desert Mountain Communities, Navajo National Monument, and Pipe Spring National Monument.

World-renowned artist Ed Mell is designing the stage set for "Riders of the Purple Sage." Based on the beloved novel by Zane Grey, "Riders" will premiere at Arizona Opera on February 25 & 26th in Tucson and March 3, 4 & 5th at Phoenix Symphony Hall. Celebrate Arizona Opera's first World Premiere and support this new work by joining the Riders Scenic Design Society. http://www.azopera.org/performances/riders-purple-sage