Author: Alan Held

The Wichita State University Opera Theater and the Wichita Grand Opera will present two collaborative performances of Carlysle Floyd’s Great American Opera “Susannah.” Performances will be 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13 in Miller Concert Hall on the Wichita State University campus.

The performance will feature student performers and noted professionals, including current WSU Opera Theatre director, internationally renowned bass-baritone and WSU alum Alan Held as the Reverend Olin Blitch. Also appearing will be WSU alum Samuel Ramey in the role of Elder McLean. The production will be staged-directed by former WSU Opera Theatre director Marie King.

The story of “Susannah”  appears in the Deuterocanonical Book of Daniel. Young, pretty, and innocent Susannah is a target of the vicious gossip of the women of the local elders. In 1955, the late American composer Carlisle Floyd embellished the story into an opera set in rural New Hope Valley, Tennessee.

Tickets are available by visiting the link below or by calling 316-978-3233. Students can receive one free ticket with their Shocker ID.  Other discounts apply.

Wichita State University Opera Theater presents the Kansas premiere of “The Scarlet Letter” by Lori Laitman at 7:30 p.m. April 8-9 at the Duerksen Fine Arts Center.

Based on the great Nathaniel Hawthorne novel, the important new work follows the shame and pride of Hester Prynne, her condemnation by the Puritan community, and her forbidden love with the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The fully staged performance is directed by Opera Theater Director Alan Held. The performances will be conducted by Dr. Mark Laycock with the WSU Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets are available at the College of Fine Arts Box Office or by calling 316-978-3233. WSU students receive one free tickets with their Shocker ID. Other discounts apply.

Wichita State’s Opera Theater, under the direction of Alan Held, College of Fine Arts director of opera studies, will present its annual Opera Scenes program at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 11 and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 13 at Wiedemann Hall. This annual, one-hour program features WSU students in various scenes from the operatic canon. Selections will be heard from “Lucia di Lammermoor,” “La Boheme,” “Das Rheingold,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Don Carlo,” “Le Nozze di Figaro,” “Carmen,” “Der Rosenkavalier,” “Susannah” and “Orpheus in the Underworld.”

For tickets or discounted tickets, contact the WSU College of Fine Arts Box Office at at 316-978-3233 or visit the online tick office.

Wichita State University Opera Theater, under the direction of Alan Held, will present Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” in a concert format at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 and Oct. 23 in the Miller Concert Hall of the Duerksen Fine Arts Center. The performances will be conducted by Dr. Timothy Shade, director of the School of Music with the WSU Wind Ensemble.

One of the early operas of Mozart, the piece was written when the great composer was just 18 years old. The opera foreshadows much of Mozart’s greatest writing yet to come in “Le Nozze di Figaro” and “Cosi fan Tutte.”  The concerts will be sung in Italian with English supertitles. Tickets may be obtained online or by calling (316) 978-3233.