Billie Jo & Judd Herberger\u00a0invite you to the premiere of\u00a0Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Western Opera<\/em>, a new film\u00a0about the\u00a0artistry behind\u00a0Arizona Opera’s\u00a0electrifying opera,\u00a0Riders of the Purple Sage<\/em>, based on the Zane Grey novel. The event is hosted by Scottsdale\u2019s Museum of the West with partners Quantum Leap Productions and Arizona Opera. Sponsors include Castle Hot Springs, Arizona\u2019s first resort.<\/p>\n The film\u00a0marks an unprecedented collaboration between the work of author\u00a0Zane Grey\u00a0(1872-1939), American composer\u00a0Craig Bohmler\u00a0and librettist\u00a0Steven Mark Kohn, and Arizona’s\u00a0“visual poet\u00a0laureate,” painter\u00a0Ed Mell. In 2012 Bohmler discovered Grey’s most famous novel when he ducked into the\u00a0Zane Grey Cabin Museum\u00a0in Payson, Arizona to escape a thunderstorm. Five years later, the musical adaptation of Grey\u2019s beloved Western celebrated its world premiere at\u00a0Arizona Opera\u00a0as a fully staged grand opera with a state-of-the-art set designed by one of America\u2019s preeminent landscape painters.<\/p>\n Western Spirit, Scottsdale\u2019s Museum of the West\u00a0is delighted to present the documentary during Western Week 2020.\u00a0Michael J. Fox, Director and CEO of Western Spirit says, \u201cOur mission is to immerse people in the unique story of the West. The Riders documentary captures a powerful chapter in our regional history and the lasting impact of artists who have expanded the narrative from Old West to the New West.\u201d<\/p>\n Directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and Arizona local, Kristin Atwell Ford. Produced by Quantum Leap Productions in collaboration with Arizona Opera.<\/p>\n Join us for a celebration of Arizona’s arts, culture, and community.<\/p>\n