March Newsletter, 2023

Spring is approaching, and with it, the major opera event of the season: The Shining!  In addition, we have some fabulous engagement opportunities to enrich your experience at the show, including a special Community Conversations event at the Apple Store on the Country Club Plaza!  After The Shining we move on to Listen, Wilhelmina! our upcoming family production for children of all … Read more

February Newsletter, 2023

February kicks off with Orpheus Affair in the Lyric’s production arts building in the Crossroads. Tickets are just $75 and include drinks, food, and impactful art installations. And most importantly, proceeds go towards the support of Lyric Opera of Kansas City programs. February also holds learning opportunities to get you prepped for The Shining, which makes its Kansas City premiere … Read more

January Newsletter, 2023

The new year brings exciting and engaging opportunities to connect with Lyric Opera with exciting art installations at Orpheus Affair, a spooky trip to the Overlook Hotel, the annual Lyric Opera Ball, a zany children’s opera about all the ways to listen, and a reflection of Stephen Sondheim’s work. VIEW CALENDAR Winter/Spring Preview Orpheus Affair: Candelabra First, we … Read more

Inspiring Amahl: What Gifts Do You Bring?

ART FUELS INSPIRATION In 1951, Italian composer and librettist Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007) was commissioned by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) to write the first opera for television. Up to this point in time, Menotti’s operatic output included Amelia Goes to the Ball (1937), a radio opera entitled The Old Maid and the Thief (1939), The Medium (1946), The Telephone (1947), and The Consul (1950). With Christmas … Read more

November Newsletter, 2022

Now that we are beyond Halloween, fall is in full swing as we rush toward the end of 2022. There are many opportunities to enjoy opera, from its grandest and most heartbreaking in La traviata to its touching and sweet in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Community Conversations continue with an engaging opportunity to connect with one of … Read more

October Newsletter, 2022

Long-sleeved shirts and flannels are starting to appear at the Lyric’s production space as we prepare for our next production, La traviata. Is pumpkin spice opera a thing? Anyway, October brings several opportunities to connect with us before our next mainstage performance at the Kauffman Center. Read more below about our next Community Conversations and a … Read more

Carmen in Pop Culture

by Beth Wamsley Arguably one of the most famous operas of all time, Carmen has been no stranger to pop culture since its creation in 1875. The musical themes of Carmen have been buzzing in our ears for years in a host of different mediums. You’ve probably heard the “Habanera” before, like when the Swedish Chef and Beaker sang it … Read more

September Newsletter, 2022

The end of summer is here! That might mean cooler days approaching in Kansas City, but the stage at the Kauffman Center will heat up with live opera when we open Carmen on September 24. Read below to learn more about adult education opportunities to deepen your experience of Carmen and our new traveling opera for students, Sketchbook … Read more

Plaza, KC v. Seville, Spain

This coming fall, we are opening our 2022-2023 season with one of the most well-known operas of all time – Carmen. This story takes place in Seville, Spain, where the audience is taken on a rollercoaster of emotions as Carmen fights for love…and survival. What you may not know about this classic tale is that we … Read more

Ryan McAdams on Tosca

Conducting Tosca, with its molten intensity, is like an opulent form of wilderness therapy. The great Austrian maestro Herbert von Karajan once remarked that all conductors should perform Tosca once a year to satisfy their primal instincts. Yet beyond its histrionics, the score is a mine of meticulous character detail. These details obsess singers and conductors alike: Tito Gobbi … Read more