Portland Opera to Go: Beatrice

Beatrice is sung in English with live English captions and will be presented in full costume, with a portable set designed to tour schools and community venues.

Standard/Adult tickets are $35, and Student/Youth tickets are $10.00. A limited number of Arts for All tickets will be available starting two weeks prior to the performance. 

Beatrice is part of a multi-year commitment and project called ”Our Oregon” to commission original operas highlighting the experiences of unsung heroes and Oregonians, and will be followed by operas about Asian and Pacific Islander and Native American communities. Each opera will be developed with K-12 schools and communities in mind and toured throughout the state and region in subsequent years.

Dates, programming, artists, and details are subject to change.

Beatrice tells the story of real-life Oregonian, Beatrice Morrow Cannady and her tireless fight for racial equality in Oregon. Beatrice Morrow Cannady was an extraordinary figure who, among other things, was the editor in chief and eventual owner of The Advocate, one of the few and largest African American papers of its time in Oregon; a co-founder of the Portland branch of the NAACP; and the first African American woman in Oregon to earn a law degree. Hers is an inspiring story of hard work, grit, and determination to see justice done! 


Portland Opera to Go’s production of Beatrice is set in the years 1912 to approximately 1930. It contains historically accurate language which may be considered, at best, outdated and, at worst, offensive. Specifically, the words “Negro” and “colored” are each used once within the context of the opera. One is spoken in the context of a newspaper headline and one in the context of an editorial which is an actual quote from one of Ms. Cannady’s editorials of the time.

We urge you to discuss this historically accurate language with your children. While this language was commonplace and considered polite in its time, it is no longer acceptable in everyday conversation. It is used in this production because of the time and story being told, and we do not condone this usage today.

Captions: For patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing, each performance includes live English captions projected above the stage.

Audio Description: For patrons who are blind or have low-vision, the Sunday matinee performance will include a live audio description of the action and dialogue onstage.

Learn more about accessibility at the Hampton Opera Center here. If you require wheelchair accessible and/or companion seating, or have any other hearing or vision needs, please call us to purchase tickets so that we can ensure your visit to the theatre is an excellent one.