Innovative new work and beloved classics mark Lyric Opera’s 2020-2021 season

Apple computer had a slogan in the late ’90s: “Think Different.” That slogan could be applied to the 2020-2021 season of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. In addition to operatic warhorses like “La Traviata” and “Carmen,” next season will see the Lyric’s first-ever production of George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” and an opera about the founder of Apple, “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.”

New singers, new productions and new partnerships mark next year as a season of innovation.

The season begins with Giuseppe Verdi’s iconic opera, “La Traviata.” The tale of the consumptive courtesan Violetta has enthralled opera lovers since its premiere in 1853. “Traviata” is all about the voices, especially Violetta’s. The Lyric’s general director and CEO Deborah Sandler says she’s lined up a stellar cast.

“Our Violetta, Vanessa Vasquez, is a young soprano who has a great career ahead of her,” Sandler said. “She’s a very talented young woman, and I think we’ll be hearing a lot about her in the future. Our Alfredo is a young tenor named Matthew White, who had a very exciting debut this past summer with the Cincinnati Opera when he stepped in to fill the role of Romeo in ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ And our conductor, Timothy Myers, is making his Lyric debut.”

The production was created by Francesco Zambello, one of the foremost international stage directors. She has directed opera and musical theater on Broadway and is currently the artistic and general director of the Glimmerglass Opera Festival and artistic director of the Washington National Opera. Zambello directed last season’s production of “West Side Story” for the Lyric Opera.

“She is a major force in our field on many, many levels,” Sandler said. “It is always a pleasure to do her work. It is impeccable and so well thought out and audiences tend to love it.”

Besides “La Traviata,” Zambello will also direct “Porgy and Bess.” This will be the first time the Lyric has performed Gershwin’s operatic masterpiece.

“‘Porgy and Bess’ is a challenging work to do on many levels,” Sandler said. “This is not a show that the Lyric Opera could ever do on its own. It’s a show that we have to do in partnership with other companies.

“First of all, there’s the size of the cast, which is quite large, and the fact that it is a mandate of the Gershwin estate that it be performed with an entirely African-American cast. That’s an interesting challenge. We usually do color-blind casting, but that’s not the case here. We’re going to have a lot of people on the stage that come from the community, and, quite frankly, we are really looking forward to that.”

Sandler says the Lyric is planning a series of public events around the opera, what she calls “The Porgy and Bess Project.” The Lyric will partner with several organizations in the community to explore the social issues that are raised by the opera.

First performed by the Santa Fe Opera in 2017, “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” by Mason Bates is inspired by the genius and creativity of the co-founder of Apple. The opera explores who Steve Jobs is and his relationships with his wife, daughter and Steve Wozniak.

“We will present a new second production of the opera,” Sandler said. “While we don’t always have the deep pockets to commission work, this is an especially interesting project because we are reimagining the opera and we’re doing it in conjunction with two other companies. “

The show will open in Austin, go to the Atlanta Opera and then will open in Kansas City.

“It’s very exciting. It’s kind of a new production model for us, but it allows us to experiment with new efficiencies. And in our business, we look for new efficiencies.”

Sandler said the production will have an aesthetic befitting the co-founder of Apple.

“You can imagine that it’s an interesting design challenge when you deal with somebody who was such an incredible innovator. You want the physical production to mirror that sort of iconic, innovative trend.”

The final opera of the season, “Carmen,” will be directed by Kathleen Belcher, who directed the Lyric’s recent production of “La Boheme.” Sandler says that singers for all the major roles will be making their Lyric Opera of Kansas City debuts.

“I mean, these are going to be four great shows,” Sandler said. “It’s a very rich season with an opportunity to see two shows that a large majority of our audience would not have had an opportunity to see. For people who love opera, there’s something for everyone.”

All performances at the Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. For tickets and more information, 816-471-7344 or www.kcsymphony.org.

▪ Sept. 26 to Oct. 4, 2020: Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata”

▪ Nov. 7 to 15, 2020: George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess”

▪ Feb. 27 to March 7, 2021: Mason Bates’ “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs”

▪ April 24 to May 2, 2021: Georges Bizet’s “Carmen”

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.

This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 9:00 AM.