IU Opera Theater's 2008-09 season will include a revival of Georg Frideric Handel's "Julius Caesar." The IU production in 2002 featured Alison Bates and Taylor Hightower.

Quick: What's the oldest, most productive opera company in Indiana?

It might be tempting to say the Indianapolis Opera.

Indy's professional company will open its 33rd season this fall. It will consist of two grand operas, "Il Trovatore" and "Hansel and Gretel" and the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta "The Pirates of Penzance." As an extra, Indy Opera will offer Wagner's "Das Rheingold" in a concert version, with minimal staging and costumes.

But the facts make a stronger case for Indiana University Opera Theater in Bloomington. IU Opera Theater is about to launch its 60th season, featuring five full-length operas and a musical.

Among other things, IU will present its first production of "Cendrillon," a French version of "Cinderella," according to Maria Levy, the company's executive administrator. Levy predicts it will be a good first opera for children, because of the familiar story.

"We do have a glass slipper, a carriage and a fairy godmother in 'Cendrillon,'." Levy said. Despite the French language, those visuals should make "Cendrillon" more familiar than Rossini's more frequently staged Italian version of "Cinderella."

Another fresh element in the Bloomington season will be new sets by IU professor David Higgins for "Le Cendrillon" and "La Traviata," the story of a disastrous love affair between a middle-class Parisian man and a popular courtesan.

IU professor Tim Noble will star in the musical, "The Most Happy Fella," which is about an Italian immigrant who tries to win over a much younger waitress in Napa Valley in 1927.

Subscription tickets ($96-$150 for adults, $48-$96 for students) are on sale. Single tickets ($15-$35, $10-$20 for students) will be available in September. All productions feature English translations projected on a screen. For more details, call (812) 855-7433.

2008-09 IU Opera Theater lineup

Sept. 26, 27 and Oct. 3, 4: "La Traviata." In Italian.

Oct. 24, 25 and Oct. 31, Nov. 1: "The Merry Wives of Windsor," with dialogue in English and arias in German.

Nov. 14, 15 and 21, 22: "Love for Three Oranges." In English.

Feb. 6, 7 and 13, 14: "Cendrillon," or "Cinderella." In French.

Feb. 27, 28 and March 6, 7: Handel's "Giulio Cesare," or "Julius Caesar." In Italian.

April 10, 11 and 17, 18: "The Most Happy Fella" by Frank Loesser.