The cities of Colonial Heights and Suffolk in Virginia are severely affected by the Virginia Tornadoes. The latest news is that Governor Kaine declares statewide emergency to coordinate response to severe tornadoes.

Other states (Illinois, Texas) have instituted Internet Safety curriculum in schools, but Virginia has taken a step that no other states have: made it mandatory.

For the first time in its 33-year history, Virginia Opera is proud to bring a Russian opera to the stage with its new production of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's heart-rending EUGENE ONEGIN – performances are scheduled between Feb. 8 and March 2 in Norfolk, Fairfax and Richmond, Va.

A full weekend of Russian-themed celebration awaits local arts lovers and supporters at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts, featuring “Russian Revelry: A Magical Gala Evening” – Virginia Opera’s only annual fundraiser in Northern Virginia – on Feb. 23, 2008.

A young art teacher looks out from his Saitama, Japan studio/classroom as the European plaster portrait busts that surround him turn shyly away from our gaze. Two uniformed Japanese students stand in a Richmond, Virginia high school library, their hands framing a large atlas map of their native country.

An Evening at the Winter Palace, Virginia Opera’s annual fundraising gala, celebrates with a modern twist the opulence and splendor of Imperial Russia at Norfolk’s Marriott Waterside Hotel, starting 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 26, 2008 – just two weeks before the curtain lifts for the company’s first Russian opera, Tchaikovsky’s masterful Eugene Onegin.

Virginia Opera's "Student Night at the Opera" returns for its second season with steeply reduced ticket prices for students to all performances of the company's 2007-2008 season operas here at the Landmark Theater, all with strong ties to the Virginia Standards of Learning.

Virginia Opera's 2007-2008 season opens here at the Harrison Opera House Sept. 28 with a production of Jacques Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann, in which a poet tells the fantastical stories of his three great loves and how they ended in misery due to the meddling incarnations of a supernatural villain.

Tenor Dan Snyder, who stars in the title role of Virginia Opera's upcoming production of Tales of Hoffmann, will make a special appearance at Harbor Park at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, to sing The Star-Spangled Banner in commencement of the annual America Supports You Freedom Walk.

The name "Paul Potts" became familiar to people across the globe this past week as videos featuring his operatic performances of "Nessun Dorma" became among the most watched at YouTube.com. The popular aria from Puccini's "Turandot" earned the former mobile telephone salesman victory and worldwide celebrity in the hit British television series, "Britain's Got Talent," hosted by Simon Cowell.

His work has been viewed by millions as the scenery surrounding Oscar award-winning actors like Anthony Hopkins, Hilary Swank, and Geena Davis; but instead of coming from Hollywood, the next artists to give brilliant performances on a set built under the direction of Richmond's Richard Blankenship will be from Virginia Opera.

The new special exhibition Stationary Voyages: The Boat in Photograph, open through January 20, 2008, presents the Museum’s renowned International Small Craft Collection in an entirely new and contemporary style. Pairing 18 vessels with 20 photographers, a story between artifact and art has been created, creating an exhibition unlike any mounted at The Mariners’ Museum before.