Lyric Opera of Kansas City Announces 2021-2022 Season

Lyric Opera of Kansas City General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler today announced its 2021-2022 season. The season includes two mainstage productions at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and Tosca and two add on experiences- a night of glamour at the Kauffman Center with Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood and live performances of the holiday classic, Amahl and the Night Visitors at the Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building. All Kauffman Center performances will be accompanied by the Kansas City Symphony.

The 2021- 2022 season opens with the Lyric's return to the Kauffman Center with Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood. Famous arias and instrumental moments from opera frequently punctuate dramatic moments in opera's favorite movies. Featured selections from films include Pretty Woman, Mission Impossible, and Up, this concert includes three LOKC debuts: sopranoa??Talisea??Trevigne, mezzo-soprano Ginger Costa-Jackson, a??and tenora??Limmiea??Pulliam. Then, Lyric Opera's new Kansas City holiday tradition with Amahl and the Night Visitors returns with live performances, featuring Paul Mesner puppets to entertain families in the Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building.

Then join the Lyric as we delve into one of recent history's compelling figures, Steve Jobs in a new opera by composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. This adventurous opera, performed without intermission, will bring to life a personality that has arguably had one of the most significant impacts on all our personal and professional lives in the last twenty years. The 2021-22 season ends with Tosca, Puccini's timeless masterpiece of jealousy, love, and revenge.

From the Hollywood hills to Bethlehem and Silicon Valley, and the rooftops of Rome Lyric Opera's 2021-2022 season will excite your senses with the unexpected and invite you to open your world.

Sandler stated, "We are thrilled to announce this season and welcome our audiences back. We all know how hard this past year has been for everyone. We have been very busy, producing a season with innovative and creative projects to share with the community. While some things may be different, we remain committed to exciting your senses and opening your world. I hope that our audiences are as pleased as we are. We can't wait to see you again!"

2021-2022 Season

Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood

The season begins with Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood. What would great movies be without great music? Even silent films had scores. The truth is, there can be no climax without a crescendo, no thrills or chills without trills, no big finale without big brass. No one creates drama like a diva or touches the tenderness of a tenor, and nothing pulls heartstrings like a string section. When you think about how music heightens our emotions and guides us through the story, opera is Hollywood's original special effect. And for sheer experiential excess, the combination of cinematic and operatic is pure gold in Tinseltown. Come with us when the Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood and relive some of your favorite musical moments from the silver screen, back on the stage where they began.

Artists and Artistic Team

Conductor: David Charles Abell

Singers:

Talise Trevigne, Soprano *

Ginger Costa-Jackson, Mezzo-soprano *

Limmie Pulliam, Tenor *

Edward Parks, Baritone

* Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut

Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (1601 Broadway, KCMO 64108)

Saturday, November 13, 2021, at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 14, 2021, at 2:00 p.m.

Amahl and the Night Visitors

Amahl and the Night Visitors returns to the LOKC stage for live performances. Seamlessly pairing live singing and music with masterful puppetry, Amahl and the Night Visitors brings to life the story of three kings - the Magi - who have traveled from far-away lands to bring gifts to a child born in Bethlehem. When they stop to rest for the night, they are taken in by an impoverished, disabled boy and his mother. Amahl is dazzled both by their stories and the exotic treasures they carry, but the humble host will soon show them what it truly means to give with a generous heart, triggering a miraculous ending to this inspiring story. Based on Italian folktales of the Nativity and the Epiphany, this imaginative telling of the first Christmas is an original Lyric Opera of Kansas City production created in collaboration with master puppeteer Paul Mesner. It's a heartwarming holiday tradition designed with families in mind, and you can only experience it right here in KC.

Photo credit by Don Ipock for LOKC

Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951)

Music and Libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti

Sung in English with English subtitles

This production is owned by Lyric Opera of Kansas City

Cast and Artistic Team

Production: Shawna Lucey

Conductor: Piotr Wisniewski

Puppet Designer: Paul Mesner

Scenery Designer: Steven Kemp

Costume Designer: Nancy Robinson

Mother: Aubrey Odle * ^

King Kaspar: Wayd Odle *^

King Melchior: Keith Klein^

King Balthazar: Peter Morgan *^

* Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut

^ Lyric Opera of Kansas City Resident Artist

Amahl and the Night Visitors

Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building (712 E. 18th St., KCMO 64108)

Thursday, December 2, 2021, at 7:30 pm

Friday, December 3, 2021, at 7:30 pm

Saturday, December 4, 2021, at 2:00 pm

Sunday, December 5, 2021, at 2:00 pm

Thursday, December 9, 2021, at 7:30 pm

Friday, December 10, 2021, at 7:30 pm

Saturday, December 11, 2021, at 2:00 pm

Sunday, December 12, 2021, at 2:00 pm

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs

In a production as daring and innovative as the man who inspired it, this opera is an immersive exploration of the life of Steve Jobs on his journey from hippie idealist to tech icon. Every piece of Jobs's life reveals more of the puzzle, as we try to discern how a person whose devices have connected us in so many ways could struggle to make meaningful connections with the people closest to him. Beneath the towering Silicon Valley legend, and between the lines of ones and zeroes, is the story of a complicated human being whose public revelations changed the world and whose personal demons had lasting consequences.

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (2017)

By Mason Bates

Libretto by Mark Campbell

Sung in English with English subtitles

This production is jointly owned by Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Atlanta Opera, and Austin Opera.

Cast and Artistic Team

Conductor: Michael Christie

Stage Director: Tomer Zvulun

Scenery/Costume Designer: Jacob Climer

Projection Designer: S. Katy Tucker

Lighting Designer: Robert Wierzel

Sound Designer: Rick Jacobsohn

Steve Jobs: John Moore

Steve Wozniak: Billie Bruley *

Laurene Powell Jacobs: Sarah Larsen

Chrisann Brennan: Madison Leonard*

Kobun Chino Otogawa: Wei Wu *

A Teacher: Aubrey Odle ^

* Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut

^ Lyric Opera of Kansas City Resident Artist

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (1601 Broadway, KCMO 64108)

Friday, March 11, 2022, at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 12, 2022, at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 13, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.

Tosca

All is fair in love and war. But for Rome's celebrated opera singer, Tosca, all is not well. Fueled by jealousy, the Chief of Police pursues her artist lover for alleged treasonous acts, pausing only to pursue Tosca with a decidedly different set of acts in mind. From the start, Puccini's penchant for verismo is as present as ever, and to further tighten the tension, each act plays out in real-time - packing twists and terrors by the truckload into one 24-hour period. Also, present is Puccini's unrivaled ear for melodies that swirl like smoke trails, forming soft stacks of billowing clouds. But we know that eventually, all that heavy, haunting beauty will begin to block out the sun. Facing ruthless tyranny and torture, Tosca's revenge is bathed in verismo violence and sealed with a kiss. But her willingness to trust a dead man spawns a startling, tragic twist. She lived for art and love. But Puccini saves what she'd die for until the bitter, shocking end.

Photo credit by Cory Weaver for LOKC

Tosca (1900)

By Giacomo Puccini

Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa

Sung in Italian with English subtitles

Sets owned by Lyric Opera of Kansas City

Cast and Artistic Team

Conductor: Ryan McAdams

Director: Carol Vaness *

Set Designer: R. Keith Brumley

Lighting Designer: Kendall Smith

Tosca: Marina Costa-Jackson *

Cavaradossi: Robert Watson *

Scarpia: Aleksey Bogdanov *

Sacristan: Jake Gardner

Angelotti: Peter Morgan ^

Spoletta: Wayd Odle ^

Sciarrone: Keith Klein ^

* Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut

^ Lyric Opera of Kansas City Resident Artist

Tosca

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (1601 Broadway, KCMO 64108)

Saturday, April 30, 2022, at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, May 6, 2022, at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 8, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.

Subscriber and Single Ticket Information

Subscriptions for the 21-22 season are 2-opera packages containing The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and Tosca with two add-on experiences, Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood and Amahl and the Night Visitors. Subscribers save 20% off single ticket prices, 10% off single ticket add-ons, and get access to seats before the general public. Subscribers received early renewal information via email in early June and subscription renewal packets will be mailed in mid-June when subscriptions will go on sale to the general public. Season ticket packages range from $64 to $288. For ticket information, visit the Lyric Opera website or contact Lyric Opera Ticketing & Patron Services at (816) 471-7344.

Orpheus KC

Orpheus KC offers arts lovers new to the art of opera opportunities to get involved, connect with like-minded enthusiasts, and support Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Join us for events throughout the season, including happy hours and brunches, experience our concierge service at performances and our annual event, Orpheus Affair. It is an opportunity to get to know a new art and new friends, who, like you, are just getting initiated to what, we know, will become a life-long love of opera.

Orpheus KC memberships are available online now, click the link below to become a member today! Memberships last 12 months from the time of purchase. For questions call Ticketing & Patron Services at (816) 471-7344.

https://kcopera.org/

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