Collage of promotional posters for the Florentine Opera's 2025/26 season, featuring themes of villains and rebellion, with imagery of swords, masks, and dramatic designs.

The Florentine Opera
Milwaukee, WI

The Continual Reinvention of a Classic

As Milwaukee’s oldest performing arts organization, The Florentine Opera is no stranger to the idea of reinvention. Which, in the tradition-laden realm of opera, is somewhat of a challenge. The need has always been to strike that balance between the art form’s traditionalist supporters and an untapped, primarily younger, audience who have never had more choice when it comes to entertainment.

After a brand overhaul completed in 2017, The Florentine’s identity and market positioning has continued to evolve with its energetic CEO, Maggey Oplinger, inspiring ambitious programming that manages to effectively strike that balance between old and new.

Celebrating 90 years of the Florentine Opera, with a circular text mentioning the milestone and a bold number 90 in the center. The text is in black and gold on a white background.

Cover of a program or season brochure for a theater or opera company titled "The Florentine Opera" with the subtitle "Acts of Rebellion" and a smaller note indicating the 2024/25 season. The design includes a stylized red fan or leaf and bold text, with a promotional message about subscriptions and ticket pricing.

Event flyer for a production of Carmen at Uihlein Hall, Marcus Performing Arts Center. Shows on May 16 and 18, 2025. The flyer features a halftone image of a woman, and the flyer includes details about the event, cast photos, and credits.

Open program booklet featuring a large artistic portrait of a woman with red and white stylized halftone effects and a floral background. The left side contains event details for a performance on February 14, 2025, and additional information about the event, including performer and conductor images.

An open booklet displaying information about a theatrical opera performance including dates, times, venue, cast, and a large artwork of a woman with curly hair and an expressive face. The left page has green background with white text, and the right page features a colorful illustration of a woman with an open mouth, edited with pop art style.

o&o studio have been working closely with Maggey and her team to develop thematic graphics that capture the free spirit and bold attitude of the Florentine, and are then expressed in its season highlights each year. A recurring theme each year is one of contrasts — both the mix of traditional and contemporary, but also the many diverse perspectives that are becoming more and more apparent in the opera space.

A promotional poster for The Florentine Opera's 2026/27 season featuring a stylized woman holding two red knives, with a blue floral pattern background and white text about subscription renewals.

A graphic illustration of a person sitting hunched over with their head down, surrounded by abstract colored shapes in red, black, teal, and beige, with a red liquid-like shape dripping from the figure.

Design inspired by 'The Godfather' movie poster, featuring two women whispering to a man with a bouquet of blue roses, a gun, and a red coffin with skulls.

Poster featuring a stylized illustration of a woman with short hair, wearing a jacket, with artsy background elements including arches and red lines, title 'The Magic Flute' and composer 'Mozart'.

Close-up of a dark pink and purple rose with promotional text for The Florentine Opera, including a circular phrase about season, and words hidden by the flower. The background is dark.

A man and woman face to face, with the text 'ROMÉO ET JULIETTE' overlapping their faces.

A dark, monochromatic photo of a flower with curved text overlaying it, reading "The 2022/23 Season" and "The Florentine Opera."

Open brochure with three pages visible, displaying information about upcoming performances of Romeo and Juliet at a theater. The left page has event details and cast photos with a pink background. The middle page features a large image of two faces and text quoting a review. The right page shows details for a concert with a purple and blue design, including date, location, and performers.

Open theater programs featuring performances such as Mozart's Così Fan Tutte and Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, with detailed schedules, locations, cast photos, and production information.

An emergent stylistic theme over the last few seasons has centered on collage. This has been driven by the fact that performers are often not booked, and sets not fully baked, until well after the season has been launched. This limitation has yielded a series of compositions that double down on the idea of contrasts, but through collage allow the the different elements of each opera to be expressed in compelling ways.