Welcome to the historic Ariel Opera House

Welcome to the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre, the historic Ariel Opera House, permanent home of The Ohio Valley Symphony, in the heart of Gallipolis, Ohio. Explore our website for upcoming performances and events, lessons, directions, and history! Be sure to contact the Ariel Opera House Box Office at 740-446-ARTS (2787) if you have any questions or if we may help you in planning your next visit to Gallipolis.

(COVID-19 Statement)

A TRIBUTE TO MOTOWN! 2 Shows!

MARCH 25, 2023
2:00 p.m. matinee or
7:30 p.m. evening
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By popular demand Moxie Events has added a MATINEE show of A TRIBUTE TO MOTOWN!

This high energy homage to the legends  of Motown will transport you back in time as you visit the very best of “Hitsville, USA!” The show features a cast of 15 power-house vocalists who embody everyone from Diana Ross & The Supremes to Marvin Gay & The Jackson Five! The show has received rave reviews and sold out theaters throughout its highly acclaimed tour.A highlight of the show includes an extensive set of all your favorite “Temptations” choreography and songs.

Accompanied by a six-piece band with horns, their songbook delivers all of your favorite hits like, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough to Midnight Train to Georgia.” Creative Director Ms. Martha Brogden, whose credits include the national tour of Dreamgirls and the highly acclaimed Legends of Jazz, describes the show as “simply dynamic and loaded with talent.”

“This music has transcended generations and will continue to do so. There is something magical about Motown and we’re happy to bring it to The Ariel Opera House,” said Jennifer Saul Campbell of Moxie Events, the shows production company. 

Premium Seating tickets are available for Rows A-E and Row AA and BB in the balcony. Groups of 10+ discount of 10%!

Doors open at 1:30 p.m.

April Foolishness, The Ohio Valley Symphony

APRIL 1, 2023
at 7:30 p.m.
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We all need a bit of levity in our lives and April 1st is the perfect time for it.  Maestro Peter Stafford Wilson will lead the OVS in an evening of whimsy and farce.  Canon Brent Sturm will join him with tongue planted firmly in cheek narrating The Young Lutheran’s Guide to the Orchestra.  This demos each instrument of the orchestra and the narrator lets us know why a good Lutheran would not want to play it! Also on the program is Vaughan Williams Aristophanic Suite (remember Aristophanes is the father of comedy), William Walton’s Facade Suite No. 1 and Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kije Suite (music written for one of the earliest sound movies about a fictitious soldier).

Appalachian Spring, The Ohio Valley Symphony

APRIL 15, 2023
at 7:30 p.m.
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Aaron Copland’s immortal Appalachian Spring is the perfect musical description of April and we are happy to have Maestro Scott Woodard to conduct this monumental concert piece that was lost when a previous season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Commissioned by the indomitable Martha Graham and her dancers for a ballet by the same name, Appalachian Spring (originally titled Ballet for Martha). The Shaker hymn Simple Gifts is quoted extensively in this piece. The ballet premiered in 1944 for an ensemble of only 13 instruments, Copland later extracted music to form the Suite then expanded the orchestration to the version most of us know it by today.
In keeping with the spring theme, other music included on the program is Johann Strauss, Jr.’s Fruhlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring) and waltz lovers will not be disappointed in all the beautiful and romantic melodies in this exquisite piece. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture pays homage to the season as does living composer Daniel Perttu’s To Spring.

THE FLEETWOOD MAC EXPERIENCE!

MAY 13, 2023
at 7:30 p.m.
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Join the historic Ariel Theatre in welcoming Moxi Events presentation of America’s #1 Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band The FMX Experience.

The FMX Experience will recreate the legendary look and sound of the one and only Fleetwood Mac.

The evening will feature all of their beloved hits! You’ll hear Dreams, Go Your Own Way, Landslide, Silver Springs, Don’t Stop, Everywhere, Rhiannon, You Make Love Fun, and many more!!

Premium seats are Rows A-E and Row AA and BB in the balcony.
Group of 10 or more 10% discount available!
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.

The Roarin’ Twenties! The Ohio Valley Symphony

MAY 20, 2023
at 7:30 p.m.
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100 years ago a new age was dawning, the skirts were shorter, the money flowed freely and the the Roarin’ Twenties brought in a whole new style of American music. Be at the Ariel Opera House on May 20th to celebrate an entire concert of brand new arrangements of Roarin’ Twenties music by Cincinnati Pops Principal Arranger Tim Berens featuring vocalist Mandy Gaines and pianist Michael Chertock.

Be the first to hear these brand new arrangements as the concert will be recorded live by a Grammy winning recording engineer as he and his team capture it all for public television and radio broadcast as well as a CD. Be a part of this special occasion and purchase your tickets today!

A Video History of the Ariel Opera House

Watch the history of the Ariel Opera House unfold – from it’s opening on Christmas Day 1895 to the present.  Narrated by the founder and Executive Director Lora Lynn Snow.