Accessible, English piece opens Opera Kansas season
Opera Kansas is opening its 40th season by smashing stereotypes about the art form.
Purcell’s “Dido & Aeneas” is staged for three performances next weekend at the Fisch Haus, in the Commerce Street Arts District.
“It’s an amazing way to dip your toes into the genre, while also being a beautiful piece,” said director Jesse Koza. “This is one of the earliest English operas that you will ever find. It’s just a gorgeous piece from front to back.”
Opera Kansas’ website sells it this way: “Carthage’s queen and a Trojan war hero caught between desire and destiny, while witches pull strings and the gods demand sacrifice.”
Michaela Larsen, who plays Dido, said she’s been looking forward to debuting in the role.
“For opera singers, it’s a staple,” she said. “It was written for a girls’ primary school, so musically it is very accessible and not very challenging to perform. But its beauty lies in its accessibility.”
Koza first directed it 10 years ago, and “I’ve been sort of obsessed with it since.
“I’m super excited to have the opportunity to do it again, especially with such an amazing performer in the lead role,” he said of Larsen.
Its composer, Henry Purcell, was better known for choral work and this is believed to be the only opera he wrote, Larsen said.
The opera will be staged in the intimate setting of Fisch Haus, with a three-quarter thrust seating.
“The style we’re shooting for is a post-World War II look, but really the drama of it is so universal that these folks could be dressed in black and it would hit you the same way,” Koza said.
Having an opera in English, Larsen said, lets the audience better enjoy the composition.
“There’s an appeal to not having to study a libretto translation or flip back and forth in the program or use supertitles or anything like that,” she said. “To be able to understand the text immediately is really empowering to audiences.”
“Dido and Aeneas” is the first Opera Kansas production for executive director Zeffin Hollis, who was hired six months ago.
A Great Bend native with a bachelor’s degree from Webster University and an MBA from Kansas State, the baritone has had more than 100 leading roles in 12 countries. He is also managing director and co-artistic director of OperaWorks, a Los Angeles-based company.
Although he did not program “Dido and Aeneas,” he is excited about the season opening.
“It’s very immediate, and it’s really, really interesting music,” he said. “It’s going to feel very fresh and exciting. It’s also short and a great, compact story. I’m telling people it’s a great first opera, because it’s 90 minutes with two short intermissions.”
Koza, cultural arts administrator for the city of Wichita, secured the location before Hollis’ arrival.
“It’s absolutely incredible. I think it’s going to be an amazing space for this,” Hollis said. “Everyone’s going to be within 10 feet of a singer. They have this acoustic shell, so the sound’s going to be incredible. It’s going to be immediate and intense for everybody, no matter where you’re sitting.”
The rest of the season includes a revival of “Mr. Twister and the Tale of Tornado Alley” at Exploration Place in May, and in June, Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Patience.” “It’s going to be very fun, very modern. It’s about fashion and it’s very topical,” he said.
He praised what he has seen so far from Opera Kansas.
“The company is amazing,” he said. “I have an amazing working board, and all of them are pulling their weight and helping. It can’t be one person, and Opera Kansas is absolutely not.”
‘DIDO & AENEAS’ BY OPERA KANSAS
When: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Feb. 20-21; 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22
Where: Fisch Haus, 524 Commerce
Tickets: $45 for general admission, or $195 for a VIP table for four, including wine and a charcuterie plate, from operakansas.org