Lyric Opera of Kansas City Announces Concluding Performance of EXPLORATION SERIES: AMERICAN VOICES

General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler today announced the final performance in 2017-2018 Lyric Opera's ExplorationsSeries. The company will close the second season of this new and innovative series with American Voices on Saturday, March 24 with a 7:30 p.m. performance in the Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building. Continuing the theme of featuring eclectic performances in intimate spaces, this recital will feature Lyric Opera's Resident Artists performing art songs by prominent American composers, past and present.

American Voices will be a final showcase for Lyric Opera Resident Artists Marlen Nahhas, Lauren Auge, Martin Luther Clark, Tim Murray, and James Maverick - all of whom are also involved in Lyric Opera's mainstage opera Rigoletto in the coming weeks. The American Voices program includes songs by Amy Beach, Charles Ives, Jake Heggie, and others, anchored by Samuel Barber's suite Hermit Songs, which was premiered by the great Leontyne Price at a Library of Congress recital in 1953 with the composer at the piano.

Also on the program are several songs by Juliana Hall, on texts by Carl Sandburg and Edna St. Vincent Millay, as well as John Daniels Carter's Cantata, which uses texts from traditional spirituals "Ride On, King Jesus," "Let Us Break Bread Together" and others.

Explorations Season Sponsored by Virginia & Charles Clark, Reach Out Kansas, Inc., and Spencer Fane LLP With additional support from The Ingram Family Foundation, and The Estate of Richard Hill, Charter Sponsor of the Resident Artists Program.

American Voices

Opera Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building (712 E. 18th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108)

Sat. March 24, 7:30 p.m.

A reception with the Resident Artists hosted by the Lyric Opera Guild will follow the performance.

Tickets are $25. Reservations are required. To purchase tickets, visit kcopera.org or call Ticketing & Patron Services (816) 471-7344. For more information, please visit www.kcopera.org/explorations.

Upcoming 2017-2018 Season at a Glance

REIMAGINED PRODUCTION

The Barber of Seville

Gioachino Rossini, 1816

Sung in Italian with English subtitles

Saturday, April 28, 2018 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018 7:30 p.m.

Friday, May 4, 2018 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 6, 2018 2:00 p.m.

Director: Michael Shell *

Conductor: Leonardo Vordoni

Lighting Designer: Driscoll Otto *

Almaviva: Jack Swanson *

Rosina: Cassandra Zoe Velasco *

Figaro: Jarett Ott *

Don Basilio: Brian Banion

Don Bartolo: Matthew Burns *

Berta: Marlen Nahhas +

Fiorello: Armando Contreras ~

Officer: Tim Murray +

About Lyric Opera of Kansas City

Lyric Opera of Kansas City was founded in 1958; it is one of the nation's premier regional opera companies and brings high quality live operatic performances to the people of the Kansas City area and a five-state region. Repertoire choices encompass original language performances of standard repertory as well as contemporary and American operas. The Company mounts productions that enrich the community it serves, as well as reflect the highest artistic standards of the profession. Lyric Opera offers innovative and award-winning programs designed to further music and arts education both in schools and in the community, and serves more than 18,000 students and educators each year.

Opera lovers can be fans of Lyric Opera of Kansas City on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at @kcopera or on Instagram @kcopera.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City is a member of OPERA America and this season is made possible with funding from Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts, and the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation.

To post a comment, you must register and login.