The Copper Queen, composed by Clint Borzoni

The Copper Queen was  selected as the winner of Arizona Opera’s inaugural commission initiative, Arizona SPARK.

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.