This is a past event.

Tom Cipullo, composer of Glory Denied.
Courtesy of Union Avenue Opera
Tom Cipullo, composer of Glory Denied.

Glory Denied

When: Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m. Continues through Aug. 24 2019

Union Avenue Opera closes its season with Tom Cipullo's modern chamber opera Glory Denied. Inspired by the true story of U.S. Army Colonel Jim Thompson, who endured nine years as prisoner of war in Vietnam. The opera features both a young and an older Thompson, one dreaming of his life in America when he's freed, and the elder version lamenting how much his country and society changed while he was imprisoned. He was essentially trapped in amber, forever living in 1964 pre-war America in his mind while the world kept spinning. Glory Denied deals honestly with the uncomfortable truths many veterans face when they return home: They've changed in ways only another veteran can understand. Union Avenue Opera presents Glory Denied at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (August 16 to 24) at the Union Avenue Christian Church (733 North Grand Boulevard; www.unionavenueopera.org). Tickets are $30 to $55 for civilians. Active military personnel pay $15, and admission is free for all veterans.

— Paul Friswold

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