KEARNEY – The University of Nebraska at Kearney will showcase American opera during a pair of weekend performances.
Loper Opera’s “American Voices” is a pastiche of both older and newer works from composers Kurt Weill, Aaron Copland, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jake Heggie and Jennifer Higdon. The scenes are produced in concert staging with large projections to evoke time, settings and sentiment.
“There is a rich legacy of opera written by American composers that stretches nearly 100 years and continues with exciting new works written and produced today. The excerpts on this program reflect the diverse stories of Americans in urban and rural settings from the Civil War to contemporary times,” said Director Anne Foradori, a professor in UNK’s Department of Music, Theatre and Dance.
Performances of “American Voices” are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 6) and 3 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 7) in UNK’s Fine Arts Recital Hall. The program, sung in English, is about 70 minutes. Admission is free.
The cast consists of UNK students Zachary Allen, Steven Boldt, Daisy Hawkins, Rochelle Hazelton, Zac Ochsner, Hannah Petersen and Maximus Wohler, along with the UNK Men’s Choir, UNK graduate Katherine Ridder, professor Sharon Campbell, who chairs the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance, and Kearney High School junior Emma Jahn.
Other UNK students, faculty and staff involved in the production are:
Mirim Kim, Coach/Collaborative Pianist
Noelle Bohaty, Choreographer
John Petzet, Conductor of Men’s Choir
Alison Gaines, Performance Conductor
Del DeLorm, Lighting and Technical Assistance
Angel Qualset, Stage Manager
Giovanni Flores, Sound Production Coordinator
