The Copper Queen is Arizona Opera’s second world premiere commission. It has won the top prize for Arizona Opera’s commission program, Arizona SPARK, and will be made into an operatic film in 2021.
The Copper Queen focuses around the cultural lore of a real woman in Arizona history, Julia Lowell, who lived at The Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona during the first decade of the twentieth century. Julia’s ghost is alleged to haunt the hotel ever since her tragic suicide. The opera’s narrative is split between Julia’s own time and a century later. This structure allows a contemporary character in the opera, named Addison Moore, to experience revelations of Julia’s tortured life and afterlife along with the audience.
“Borzoni’s score is quite effective. It uses a variety of styles–from honky tonk to ultra-lyrical and romantic–to tell the true story of Julia Lowell…dramatically portrayed here by the passionate soprano Caroline Worra.” (Broadway World – May 4, 2017)
Julia Lowell’s aria from The Copper Queen
Caroline Worra, Soprano
Jennifer Peterson, piano
Music by Clint Borzoni
Libretto by John de los Santos