Washington University Opera presents “Evening at the Opera” May 4 and 5

From the helicopter assault in Apocalypse Now to Elmer Fudd singing “kill da wabbit” in What’s Opera, Doc?, “Ride of the Valkyries” by Richard Wagner (1813-83) is one of the most recognized motifs in Western music.

The Washington University Opera will perform “Ride of the Valkyries” from Wagner’s opera Die Walküre (1870) as part of its “Evening at the Opera” concert at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 4 and 5,

Performances — sponsored by the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences — are free and open to the public and take place in Karl Umrath Hall, located just north of the Mallinckrodt Student Center, 6445 Forsyth Blvd. For more information, call (314) 935-4841 or email staylor@wustl.edu.

Jolly Stewart is director of the Washington University Opera. John Stewart, director of vocal activities in the Department of Music, conducts.

The program begins with selections from The Queen of Spades (1891) by Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), a story of obsessive gambling replete with ghosts and secret codes. The program continues with excerpts from The Coronation of Poppea (1643) by Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), an historical tale in which the Emperor Nero discards his wife, Ottavia, to marry the scheming, power-hungry Poppea.

The program concludes with singers — complete with horns and spears — performing music from Die Walküre, part of Wagner’s four-opera Ring Cycle, based on figures from Teutonic lore. “Ride of the Valkyries,” from the third act of Die Walküre, depicts four sisters of the Valkyrie Brünnhilde as they prepare to transport fallen heroes to the halls of Valhalla.