Kansas City’s Lyric Opera sets full season with old favorites, Hollywood, Steve Jobs
Masks and opera just don’t go together. (Except, perhaps, in Verdi’s “A Masked Ball.”) With the pandemic receding more every day, the masks are coming off and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City is ready once again to belt out the arias.
The company has just announced its 2021-2022 season, and it’s the perfect mix of the old and new, which should please every opera lover. There’s a concert program of opera hits that have been featured in films, “Amahl and the Night Visitors” makes a return journey, there’s a new work inspired by tech icon Steve Jobs, and the season will end with one of Puccini’s most potent operas, “Tosca.”
In spite of declining COVID-19 numbers and increasing vaccinations, the Lyric is still being cautious as it returns to full performances. For example, Deborah Sandler, general director and CEO, still can’t say when the Lyric will be able to host audiences at full capacity.
“That is a conversation with the Kauffman Center,” Sandler said. “It’s their venue, we use it, but my understanding is that all of us will continue to follow federal, regional and local health guidance and whatever rules we have. We certainly hope we’ll be able to get as many people who want to come into our operas.”
The Kansas City Symphony recently announced its 2021-22 schedule in the Kauffman Center’s Helzberg Hall, with audiences at full capacity.
Sandler says the Lyric is being extra cautious because “opera is so complicated.”
“Things are changing very, very quickly,” she said. “We’re going from masking and social distancing to virtually nothing. But when you deal with an opera, you’ve got the orchestra, you’ve got the principal singers enclosed in a room, you’ve got a chorus, you’ve got people who build scenery. So we’re planning to come back cautiously. But back we are!”
All but “Amahl” will be performed in the Muriel Kauffman Theatre at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.
The newly announced season also reflects not just ongoing health concerns, but the economic situation resulting from the pandemic. Not only did the Lyric’s ticket sales take a hit, but some foundations also suspended their donations.
“Some of our foundations have been remarkably generous, particularly the Richard J. Stern Foundation and the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation,” Sandler said. “But there are other foundations who suspended their arts funding to focus on very pressing health and social needs. So we have to build back our ticket-buying base and we have to build back our contributor base.”
“Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood,” the first production of the season, reflects these concerns. It’s a concert rather than a costly full-staged opera. Yet it is sure to appeal to opera buffs and newbies, as well.
“I wish I had a dollar for every person who goes to the movies, hears an opera aria and thinks to themselves, ‘Maybe I would like opera,’” Sandler said. “We hope to ignite that passion or at least help them get their toe in the water. People can expect to hear tunes from great movies like ‘Shawshank Redemption,’ ’Pretty Woman’ and ‘Moonstruck,’ to name only three.”
(7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 and 2 p.m. Nov. 14.)
Last year, the Lyric invested significant time and resources into a new production of the Christmas opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” Featuring gorgeous sets and life-sized puppets, it was performed in the Lyric’s production space rather than the Muriel Kauffman Theatre.
Unfortunately, at the last minute, new pandemic protocols were put in place and all in-person performances had to be canceled. Although the filmed version the Lyric streamed was visually stunning, Sandler says seeing the production live is a very different experience.
“In the streamed performance you couldn’t see all of the interaction between the different performers,” Sandler said. “The camera can’t be all over the place. It’s performed in an intimate space so families can come and see the puppets up close. The audience is not far away from the action.”
(7:30 p.m. Dec. 2, 3, 9 and 10 and 2 p.m. Dec. 4, 5, 11 and 12. Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building, 712 E. 18th St.)
The last two productions of the season were originally scheduled to be performed earlier this year but were postponed because of the pandemic.
“The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” with music by Mason Bates and libretto by Mark Campbell explores the life of one the most intriguing contemporary personalities.
“It talks about Steve Jobs’ life from a sort of hippie idealist to the tech icon he became,” Sandler said. “It talks about some of his difficult relationships, like his partnership with Steve Wozniak. And the high-tech production will reflect the subject.”
(7:30 p.m. March 11 and 12 and 2 p.m. March 13.)
The season will end with one of the most justly beloved operas of the repertoire. And, in something of a coup, it will be directed by a renowned diva who knows a thing or two about “Tosca.”
“We think the singers we have lined up are great, but there’s some added excitement to this particular production,” Sandler said. “If you look back over the last 30 years or so, one of the preeminent Toscas of her generation was Carol Vaness, and she will be directing this performance.”
Sandler says that “Tosca,” a heart-rending opera in any season, has special meaning for contemporary audiences.
“One of the eternally attractive things about opera is its musical storytelling,” she said. “And everyone in the audience is invited to take that story and filter it through the lens of their own experience. I don’t want to give away the ending. I think most people know it, but it’s a woman who’s been victimized and tries to take control. You could almost look at it from any perspective, and it has relevance for today.”
(7:30 p.m. April 30 and May 6 and 2 p.m. May 8.)
Season ticket packages range from $64 to $288. Single tickets will be offered at a later date. See kcopera.org or call 816-471-7344.
You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.