This series provides audiences with fresh insights from regional scholars and industry professionals to enrich appreciation and understanding of the operas in our season. Both established operagoers and curious newcomers alike are sure to make discoveries. This series features two distinct sessions: Opera Dives Deep and Meet the Artists.
Opera Dives Deep features esteemed guest speakers. Learn more about the opera’s synopsis, historical background, and musical highlights, concluding with a Q&A session.
Meet the Artists features the cast and creative team of the operas in our season. Learn more about their careers, their experience with the current production, and the stories behind their performances. A Q&A session will follow, giving attendees the chance to engage directly with the artists.
Both are held at the Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Center at 712, East 18th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108. Events take place on Monday evenings, beginning at 6:00 pm.
Registration for the 2026–2027 season will be available July 1, 2026.
Upcoming Events
Opera Dives Deep: La bohème
Dr. Rebecca Johnson, speaker
- Monday, September 14, 2026, 6:00–7:00 pm
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With a background that combines extensive instrumental and choral skills with a love of music education and history, Rebecca Johnson has worn numerous musical hats during her career. Her performance ensembles include the Metropolitan Chorale of Kansas City, Sacred Arts Chorale, and Vox Luminis. Groups under Dr. Johnson’s baton have performed in England, Brazil, and across the United States.
Recently retired as coordinator of music at Metropolitan Community College Blue River and director of sacred arts for Central Theological Seminary, Johnson holds a Doctor of Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado.
In addition to teaching and performing, Johnson is a frequent lecturer. Locally, Johnson has loved providing Pre-Opera Talks and Opera Dives Deep lectures for Lyric Opera of Kansas City for over ten years. Abroad, her favorite lectures have included “Sacred Music in America” in South Korea and “The Music of Louis Armstrong” to high school students in Yangon, Myanmar.
Meet the Artists: La bohème
Dr. Roger Williams, moderator
- Monday, September 21, 2026, 6:00–7:00 pm
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Roger C. Williams, Jr. Ed.D. holds a Bachelor of Science in music education from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a Master of Music Education from the University of Kansas, a Master of Arts in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a Doctor of Educational Leadership and Policy from Saint Louis University. He has served as president of the Board of Directors for the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey (KCFAA), and a member of the Incentive Grants Board of Directors for the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Missouri Citizens for the Arts.
Opera Dives Deep: The Marriage of Figaro
Dr. Martin Nedbal, speaker
- Monday, November 2, 2026, 6:00–7:00 pm
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Martin Nedbal, associate professor of musicology at the University of Kansas, is the author of Viennese Opera and Morality in the Age of Mozart and Beethoven (Routledge, 2017) and translator and editor of The Published Theoretical Works of Leoš Janáček (Editio Janáček, 2020). His articles on Mozart, Beethoven, and Czech music have also appeared in many journals and books.
Meet the Artists: The Marriage of Figaro
Doris Mattingly, moderator
- Monday, November 9, 2026, 6:00–7:00 pm
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In addition to forty-five years of teaching experience, Doris Mattingly has an extensive background in accompanying, vocal coaching, and conducting. She has chaired the prestigious Washington International Competition for Piano at the Kennedy Center, commissioned new opera and musical theater works at American University, established the opera department at the Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts, and performed in venues including the Kennedy Center, Lisner Auditorium, Warner Theater, and Constitution Hall. She has also lectured and moderated for the Arlington County Public Library’s opera series.
Former studies with Emerson Meyers, George Manor, and Boris Goldovsky prepared her for work as Assistant Conductor and repetiteur with the Washington Civic Opera and Opera Theater of Northern Virginia, narrating their children’s opera series. Mattingly received degrees in Piano Performance and Voice at the Catholic University of America with studies in Education at the University of Maryland.
Newly residing in Missouri, Mattingly serves on the Kansas City Music Teachers board as chair of the Holiday Program at the Kemper Museum, holds affiliation with the Music Teachers National Association, teaches in her private piano studio, and provides consulting services to public and private school educators. She is also chair of the Leawood Book Club, holds membership in the Lyric Opera Book Club and enjoys supporting the Kansas City music and art community.
Opera Dives Deep: The Pirates of Penzance
Dr. John Stephens, speaker
- Monday, February 15, 2027, 6:00–7:00 pm
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A native of St. Louis, John Stephens holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Hamburg, Germany and took advanced training at the Juilliard School of Music. Stephens was a professional opera singer for forty-five years, singing lead and supporting roles with opera companies including The Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, New Orleans Opera, Cleveland Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Company of Boston, Minnesota Opera and many others. He has a long relationship with Lyric Opera of Kansas City and has performed in many of our productions from 1981–2014, including the 1995 production of The Pirates of Penzance.
Stephens has directed professionally for the past nineteen years, specializing in the works of Mozart, Gilbert & Sullivan, and Benjamin Britten. Concert appearances have been with the St. Louis Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the National, Boston, Kansas City, and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras, as well as several years as bass soloist with the Bach Aria Group. He has recorded for Columbia and Nonesuch records.
Stephens has been a member of the faculty at the University of Kansas School of Music since 1981, teaching voice and directing opera. There he received the Kemper Award for Teaching Excellence, and his students have sung with major opera companies around the world including The Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Paris Opera, Covent Garden, The Beyreuth Festival, Santa Fe Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Houston Grand Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the Tanglewood Festival, as well as on Broadway and in numerous national tours.
Meet the Artists: The Pirates of Penzance
Dr. Hilary Larkin, moderator
- Monday, February 22, 2027, 6:00–7:00 pm
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Hilary Larkin, a native of Dublin, Ireland was educated at University College Dublin and Cambridge University. An academic historian, she currently is an adjunct teacher at Rockhurst University. She also has a background in music and the arts, and does free-lance work for Gramophone and Bachtrack, a London-based online music magazine.
Opera Dives Deep: Aida
Dr. Andrew Granade, speaker
- Monday, April 19, 2027, 6:00–7:00 pm
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Andrew Granade is Professor of Musicology at The University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory. He is the author of Harry Partch: Hobo Composer, “Cracking the Code: What Notation Can Tell Us About Our Musical Values” in the first volume of Open Access Musicology, and several articles on music and science fiction television and music history pedagogy. He is currently editing two collections (one on Harry Partch and the other on Arkansas music for Illinois Press), and is beginning a monograph about the wind band in American history. He also co-hosts the podcast “Hearing the Pulitzers” with David Thurmaier.
Meet the Artists: Aida
Dr. Rebecca Johnson, moderator
- Monday, April 26, 2027, 6:00–7:00 pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
With a background that combines extensive instrumental and choral skills with a love of music education and history, Rebecca Johnson has worn numerous musical hats during her career. Her performance ensembles include the Metropolitan Chorale of Kansas City, Sacred Arts Chorale, and Vox Luminis. Groups under Dr. Johnson’s baton have performed in England, Brazil, and across the United States.
Recently retired as coordinator of music at Metropolitan Community College Blue River and director of sacred arts for Central Theological Seminary, Johnson holds a Doctor of Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado.
In addition to teaching and performing, Johnson is a frequent lecturer. Locally, Johnson has loved providing Pre-Opera Talks and Opera Dives Deep lectures for Lyric Opera of Kansas City for over ten years. Abroad, her favorite lectures have included “Sacred Music in America” in South Korea and “The Music of Louis Armstrong” to high school students in Yangon, Myanmar.
Upcoming Events
Opera Dives Deep: La bohème
Dr. Rebecca Johnson, speaker
- Monday, September 14, 2026, 6:00–7:00 pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
With a background that combines extensive instrumental and choral skills with a love of music education and history, Rebecca Johnson has worn numerous musical hats during her career. Her performance ensembles include the Metropolitan Chorale of Kansas City, Sacred Arts Chorale, and Vox Luminis. Groups under Dr. Johnson’s baton have performed in England, Brazil, and across the United States.
Recently retired as coordinator of music at Metropolitan Community College Blue River and director of sacred arts for Central Theological Seminary, Johnson holds a Doctor of Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado.
In addition to teaching and performing, Johnson is a frequent lecturer. Locally, Johnson has loved providing Pre-Opera Talks and Opera Dives Deep lectures for Lyric Opera of Kansas City for over ten years. Abroad, her favorite lectures have included “Sacred Music in America” in South Korea and “The Music of Louis Armstrong” to high school students in Yangon, Myanmar.
Opera Dives Deep: The Marriage of Figaro
Dr. Martin Nedbal, speaker
- Monday, November 2, 2026, 6:00–7:00 pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Martin Nedbal, associate professor of musicology at the University of Kansas, is the author of Viennese Opera and Morality in the Age of Mozart and Beethoven (Routledge, 2017) and translator and editor of The Published Theoretical Works of Leoš Janáček (Editio Janáček, 2020). His articles on Mozart, Beethoven, and Czech music have also appeared in many journals and books.
Meet the Artists: The Marriage of Figaro
Doris Mattingly, moderator
- Monday, November 9, 2026, 6:00–7:00 pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
In addition to forty-five years of teaching experience, Doris Mattingly has an extensive background in accompanying, vocal coaching, and conducting. She has chaired the prestigious Washington International Competition for Piano at the Kennedy Center, commissioned new opera and musical theater works at American University, established the opera department at the Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts, and performed in venues including the Kennedy Center, Lisner Auditorium, Warner Theater, and Constitution Hall. She has also lectured and moderated for the Arlington County Public Library’s opera series.
Former studies with Emerson Meyers, George Manor, and Boris Goldovsky prepared her for work as Assistant Conductor and repetiteur with the Washington Civic Opera and Opera Theater of Northern Virginia, narrating their children’s opera series. Mattingly received degrees in Piano Performance and Voice at the Catholic University of America with studies in Education at the University of Maryland.
Newly residing in Missouri, Mattingly serves on the Kansas City Music Teachers board as chair of the Holiday Program at the Kemper Museum, holds affiliation with the Music Teachers National Association, teaches in her private piano studio, and provides consulting services to public and private school educators. She is also chair of the Leawood Book Club, holds membership in the Lyric Opera Book Club and enjoys supporting the Kansas City music and art community.
Opera Dives Deep: The Pirates of Penzance
Dr. John Stephens, speaker
- Monday, February 15, 2027, 6:00–7:00 pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
A native of St. Louis, John Stephens holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Hamburg, Germany and took advanced training at the Juilliard School of Music. Stephens was a professional opera singer for forty-five years, singing lead and supporting roles with opera companies including The Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, New Orleans Opera, Cleveland Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Company of Boston, Minnesota Opera and many others. He has a long relationship with Lyric Opera of Kansas City and has performed in many of our productions from 1981–2014, including the 1995 production of The Pirates of Penzance.
Stephens has directed professionally for the past nineteen years, specializing in the works of Mozart, Gilbert & Sullivan, and Benjamin Britten. Concert appearances have been with the St. Louis Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the National, Boston, Kansas City, and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras, as well as several years as bass soloist with the Bach Aria Group. He has recorded for Columbia and Nonesuch records.
Stephens has been a member of the faculty at the University of Kansas School of Music since 1981, teaching voice and directing opera. There he received the Kemper Award for Teaching Excellence, and his students have sung with major opera companies around the world including The Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Paris Opera, Covent Garden, The Beyreuth Festival, Santa Fe Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Houston Grand Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the Tanglewood Festival, as well as on Broadway and in numerous national tours.
Meet the Artists: The Pirates of Penzance
Dr. Hilary Larkin, moderator
- Monday, February 22, 2027, 6:00–7:00 pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Hilary Larkin, a native of Dublin, Ireland was educated at University College Dublin and Cambridge University. An academic historian, she currently is an adjunct teacher at Rockhurst University. She also has a background in music and the arts, and does free-lance work for Gramophone and Bachtrack, a London-based online music magazine.
Opera Dives Deep: Aida
Dr. Andrew Granade, speaker
- Monday, April 19, 2027, 6:00–7:00 pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Andrew Granade is Professor of Musicology at The University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory. He is the author of Harry Partch: Hobo Composer, “Cracking the Code: What Notation Can Tell Us About Our Musical Values” in the first volume of Open Access Musicology, and several articles on music and science fiction television and music history pedagogy. He is currently editing two collections (one on Harry Partch and the other on Arkansas music for Illinois Press), and is beginning a monograph about the wind band in American history. He also co-hosts the podcast “Hearing the Pulitzers” with David Thurmaier.
Meet the Artists: Aida
Dr. Rebecca Johnson, moderator
- Monday, April 26, 2027, 6:00–7:00 pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
With a background that combines extensive instrumental and choral skills with a love of music education and history, Rebecca Johnson has worn numerous musical hats during her career. Her performance ensembles include the Metropolitan Chorale of Kansas City, Sacred Arts Chorale, and Vox Luminis. Groups under Dr. Johnson’s baton have performed in England, Brazil, and across the United States.
Recently retired as coordinator of music at Metropolitan Community College Blue River and director of sacred arts for Central Theological Seminary, Johnson holds a Doctor of Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado.
In addition to teaching and performing, Johnson is a frequent lecturer. Locally, Johnson has loved providing Pre-Opera Talks and Opera Dives Deep lectures for Lyric Opera of Kansas City for over ten years. Abroad, her favorite lectures have included “Sacred Music in America” in South Korea and “The Music of Louis Armstrong” to high school students in Yangon, Myanmar.
