This fall, don’t miss these intriguing classical music and opera performances
Fans of contemporary and out-of-the-box opera and orchestral music have plenty to be excited about this season, with offerings from organizations such as Wichita Grand Opera, Opera Kansas, Wichita Symphony Orchestra, and more
This time of year always coincides with a flurry of announcements from classical music and opera presenters — and a lot of cool stuff is going on over the next few months!
Between now and late winter, no fewer than seven different operas will be performed in Wichita. Of those seven, three are by living composers, and one will be a world premiere. The Wichita Symphony Orchestra is also presenting the North American premiere of a musical/theatrical piece, “War Horse in Concert.” I think that’s all pretty exciting.
Below, I’ve highlighted a few of the opera and classical performances I don’t want to miss this fall. To stay on top of everything going on in Wichita’s arts and culture scene, be sure to follow the SHOUT’s arts and culture calendar.
Wichita Grand Opera presents “Rusalka”
Last year’s 2023-2024 Wichita Grand Opera season felt like a bounce back after several seasons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout. Last November’s “La Boheme” marked the first fully staged opera at Century II Concert Hall since the pandemic. In April, WGO followed up with a concert production of Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide” featuring Kelsey Grammer.
The recently-announced 2024-2025 season is even more ambitious: three fully-staged operas, in three different languages, all based on well-known fairy tales.
“Rusalka,” coming to Century II September 21 and 22, is the only opera by Antonin Dvorak that is widely performed outside of the Czech Republic. Rusalka is a water spirit who, like Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid, gives up her voice in exchange for the chance to become human and win the love of a prince.
Dvorak weaves folk-like melodies and Wagnerian moments into a fabric of non-stop beauty, yet there is also something unsettling — something a bit dark and worrying — about this opera.
7 p.m. September 21 and 3 p.m. September 22 at Century II Concert Hall, 225 W. Douglas Ave.
$10-$85
Buy tickets online (use promo code WGO10 to unlock $10 tickets).
Wichita Wurlitzer presents “Metropolis”
The Wichita Wurlitzer is a 2,700-pipe theater organ originally assembled in 1926 to provide music and sound effects for silent films at the Paramount movie palace in Times Square. Since 1972, it has been at home in the Century II Exhibition Hall. With its extended selection of stops and percussive effects, the theater organ puts the expressiveness of a full symphony orchestra at the fingers (and toes) of a single musician. When deployed at full tilt, it is both an aural and a visual spectacle.
That makes the October 25 presentation of Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” an exciting opportunity. Donnie Rankin will play his own organ arrangement of Gottfried Huppertz’ orchestral score, accompanying a screening of the 1927 sci-fi classic.
If you’d like to get an idea of what you’ll hear, orchestral performances of the extravagantly neo-romantic Huppertz score are readily available on YouTube and streaming services, and Rankin has also posted a brief clip from his version.
7 p.m. October 25 in the Century II Exhibition Hall, 225 W. Douglas Ave.
$20
Buy tickets online.
Wichita Symphony Orchestra presents “War Horse in Concert”
“War Horse” was one of the most successful plays in the history of the UK. It ran for more than 3,000 performances from 2007 to 2016 and inspired Stephen Spielberg’s 2011 film adaptation. Based on a 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo, the play follows a horse named Joey from colt-hood through the trials of World War I.
“War Horse in Concert” is the American premiere of a program that adapts elements of the stage production into a symphonic pops program. Adrian Sutton, who composed music featured in the play, has written an evening-length score to accompany readings from Morpurgo’s novel, “Lincoln Portrait” style. Rae Smith, the play’s set designer, has created animations that will be projected overhead.
The readings will be performed by members of Wichita Repertory Theater (ICT Rep). Butler Community College Concert Choir will also join the symphony for this performance, which promises to be absorbing and emotionally resonant.
3 p.m. Sunday, October 27, at Century II Concert Hall, 225 W. Douglas Ave.
$30-85
Learn more and buy tickets online.
WSU Opera Theater presents “December Night” and Music On Site presents “Notes on Viardot”
Toward the end of the fall semester, student singers will present two more contemporary operas, including a world premiere and a second-time-ever affair.
The world premiere is “December Night,” a one-act by Lance Hulme that WSU Opera Theatre will present in November. The work is based on Willa Cather’s novel, “Death Comes for the Archbishop.”
7:30 p.m. Friday, November 8, at Miller Concert Hall in Duerksen Fine Arts Center on the WSU campus, 1845 Fairmount St.
(Find WSU campus maps and parking information here.)
$10-20; free to WSU students with ID
Learn more and purchase tickets online.
The second-time-ever opera is “Notes on Viardot” by Michael Ching, which premiered at the University of South Dakota last April. “Notes” is a biographical opera about Pauline Viardot, a French opera diva whose career spanned much of the 19th century.
A full recording of the premiere production is available on YouTube, and it strikes me as an appealing, colorful work that could easily become a favorite for colleges and conservatories. Ching has written his opera with plenty of options to cast different voice types in the same roles, and to combine or split small parts as needed, based on who is available – practical steps that make it more likely colleges will pick it up and perform it.
“Notes on Viardot” will be part of Music On Site’s 2024 festival season, presented by college students, grad students, and early-career professionals who will converge on Friends University from all over the country for 10 intensive days of rehearsals and performances, December 12-22. Specific dates and times have not yet been announced, but performances will likely fall during the weekend of Dec. 20-22.
Opera Kansas presents “Proving Up”
When I heard about Opera Kansas’ plans to present the one-act opera “Proving Up,” I was pretty psyched. “Proving Up” is one of four operas created by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek since 2012. (Two more are forthcoming in 2026.) All four are powerful, assured works. “Breaking the Waves,” in particular, impressed me deeply when I saw it on a livestream.
I was fortunate enough to see “Proving Up” at Opera Omaha in 2018, a few months after its world premiere. I would describe it as a horror opera, so don’t bring small kids.
Based on a short story by Karen Russell, the opera focuses on the Zegners, a homesteading family in Nebraska trying to “prove up,” or solidify their legal title to land they have homesteaded. They must meet a list of requirements in order to prove up, and the most challenging is that their homestead cabin must boast a window filled with real glass. The Zegners own the only glass window in the region, so when word arrives that a government inspector is coming, Pa Zegner sends his son riding off to a neighboring farm to share the wealth.
From there, things get strange and spooky, aided by the smothering isolation of the High Plains. Seven acoustic guitars, suspended from wires and played as percussion instruments, provide a unique sonic fingerprint for the work.
January 31-February 2 at Old Cowtown Museum, 1865 Museum Blvd.
More info forthcoming at operakansas.org.
Correction
Due to a scheduling conflict, Opera Kansas' production of "Proving Up" will not run October 31-November 2, as previously reported. It has been postponed to January 31-February 2. We regret the error.
Sam Jack is a poet, classical tenor, and the adult services librarian at Newton Public Library. He performs with several local groups, including Wichita Chamber Chorale, Wichita Grand Opera and Opera Kansas. He received a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Montana.
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