--- description: It's been a long time coming: opera enthusiast and Supreme Court Justice fan favorite Ruth Bader Ginsburg is making the move from court to theater. title: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Going to Perform in an Opera image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba8b01244e5521aa/6988ab265f570ffb3ab22fe9/ruth-bader-ginsburg-joining-the-opera.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Going to Perform in an Opera  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 21, 2016 10:04 PM CUT  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, pictured here on September 21, 2016 in New York City, seems well-accustomed to basking in applause. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, pictured here on September 21, 2016 in New York City, seems well-accustomed to basking in applause.Michael Kovac—Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 21, 2016 10:04 PM CUT Supreme Court Justice and opera enthusiast Ruth Bader Ginsburg is [ascending](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-ginsburg-idUSKCN12L2LF?feedType=RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews&utm%5Fsource=Twitter&utm%5Fmedium=Social&utm%5Fcampaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fentertainment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Entertainment%29 "undefined") from her court chambers to the stage. On Nov. 12, Ginsburg will perform the non-singing Duchess of Krakenthorp role in Donizetti’s _Daughter of the Regiment_. The [Washington National Opera announced](http://www.kennedy-center.org/wno/index "undefined") her one-night role in [its staging of the show](http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/OROSB "undefined") at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. next month. “While the opera is best known for the vocal acrobatics required of its singers, the high-comedy antics of the non-singing role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp often steal the show,” the Opera said in a statement. The script is being slightly modified to wink at Ginsburg’s day job. Ginsburg’s performance will sort of be a debut for the 83-year-old, but she has already appeared as an extra in a handful of operas over the years. Unsurprisingly, the allure of RBG on stage is proving a boon to the opera’s business. “We definitely sold a lot of tickets today after our announcement,” Washington National Opera spokesperson Michael Solomon told _Reuters._ \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-ginsburg-idUSKCN12L2LF "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4541481/supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-opera/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4541481/supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-opera/"},"headline":"Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Going to Perform in an Opera","datePublished":"2016-10-21T22:04:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:21:22.076Z","description":"Don't worry, she's keeping her day job","url":"https://time.com/4541481/supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-opera/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba8b01244e5521aa/6988ab265f570ffb3ab22fe9/ruth-bader-ginsburg-joining-the-opera.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba8b01244e5521aa/6988ab265f570ffb3ab22fe9/ruth-bader-ginsburg-joining-the-opera.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ruth bader ginsburg joining the opera","caption":"Ruth bader ginsburg joining the opera","creditText":"Michael Kovac—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4541481/supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-opera/","name":"Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Going to Perform in an Opera"}}]}] ```