Susannah | Program Book

Jan 30 & Feb 1

SUSANNAH

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SUSANNAH JAN 30 & FEB 1, 2026 Letter from the General Director ���������������������������������������� 4 Board of Directors ����������������������������������������������������������������� 6 Opera Omaha Staff ���������������������������������������������������������������� 7 Major Contributors �������������������������������������������������������������� 11 The Lessons of Susannah ��������������������������������������������������� 12 Conductor's Note ���������������������������������������������������������������� 16 Director's Note �������������������������������������������������������������������� 18 Title Page ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 21 Synopsis �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 22 Artist Biographies ��������������������������������������������������������������� 24 Opera Omaha Chorus �������������������������������������������������������� 29 Production & Music Staff �������������������������������������������������� 31 Omaha Symphony ��������������������������������������������������������������� 32 Craftsman’s Guild ���������������������������������������������������������������� 34 Opera Omaha Guild ����������������������������������������������������������� 34 Holland Community Opera Fellowship �������������������������� 38 Education Programs ����������������������������������������������������������� 42 Opera Omaha Donors �������������������������������������������������������� 46 Memorials & Tributes ��������������������������������������������������������� 49 Fortissimo Society & Special Funds �������������������������������� 52 Corporate & Foundation Donors ������������������������������������ 53 Repertoire History �������������������������������������������������������������� 54 OPA Board & Administration ������������������������������������������� 56 OPA General Information ������������������������������������������������� 57 Get Involved ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 58

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FROM THE GENERAL DIRECTOR

DEAR FRIENDS: We are so pleased to welcome you to the first production of the New Year, Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. As both the composer and librettist for Susannah, Carlisle Floyd was one of the first successful American opera composers. And this opera is quintessentially American. It takes place in rural Tennessee, and you will hear the influence of Appalachian folk melodies and colors in the score and instrumentation.

2026 is the centennial of Carlisle Floyd’s birth, and we are honored to partner with The Carlisle Floyd Foundation in a national celebration of his legacy. Susannah may be one of the first successful American operas, but new operas are written by American composers every year and the canon of American opera continues to grow in this significant anniversary year for both Carlisle Floyd and the United States.

Susannah is inspired by the apocryphal story of "Susanna and the Elders" from the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. It is not a literal retelling, but it explores similar themes around innocence, injustice, and social structures of discrimination.

Storytelling has been a fundamental method to teach life lessons for centuries, since preliterate times. Stories, and in this case opera, are a safe way to experience unsafe situations without having to live those difficult realities ourselves. What we learn from Susannah is a painful lesson—that the very people who should protect each other can be unduly influenced by the destructiveness of mob mentality.

It is my hope that we leave the theater and remember to think critically and independently, and to treat others with “lovin’ kindness,” as Susannah’s brother Sam says.

Looking ahead, we have three operas still to come this season: Handel’s Hercules featuring the worldrenowned English Concert on Friday, March 13, Bluebeard’s Castle with the Omaha Symphony on Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25, and the continuation of our Family Opera Series with UnShakeable from June 5-7.

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And we have announced our 26/27 Season, which is the most varied of my tenure at Opera Omaha, and I am genuinely excited and proud of each title.

We open with Opera Outdoors at a new venue, Stinson Park in Aksarben. Then, in September, we feature GRAMMY Award-winning baritone and composer Will Liverman in concert at Slowdown (one night only!). In November, we celebrate the holiday season with Puccini’s La bohème, not seen in Omaha since 2016.

January brings the third installment of the Family Opera Series with The Pigeon Keeper, a new opera that we will perform at The Rose Theater. We head back to the Orpheum in March for Ariadne auf Naxos, the first opera by Richard Strauss to be programmed by Opera Omaha. And The English Concert returns at the end of April with Handel’s Alessandro, which has only been performed in the United States one time since its composition in 1726. Subscriptions are on sale now—you don’t want to miss a show!

Thank you for believing in the value of our work, and for being part of our community. We are sincerely grateful.

All best wishes,

Allison Swenson GENERAL DIRECTOR

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OPERA OMAHA

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Roger Blauwet

Linda Burt Rebrovic

Sandra Bruns

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Michael Chase

Dr. Jawed Bharwani

Dr. Karen Fannin

ADVISORS CHAIR

Carrie Nath COMMUNITY PANEL REPRESENTATIVE

Nicholas Bjornson Dr. Anne Bruckner Mihaela Kobjerowski Hillary Nather-Detisch David Offutt Jane Offutt Terri Sanders Joe Spitzenberger Jara Sturdivant-Wilson Jerry Syslo Tony Vargas

EMERITUS BOARD

Betty Foster Lauren Garcia Dr. Fred Hanna Ryan Hansen Dr. Hamza Haqqi Lora Kaup Mark Allen Maser Sheila McNeil Patty Pandzik Deb Peterson Alysia Radicia Dr. Debra Reilly-Culver Dr. Jeffrey Robinson Karl Schwent Mary Ann Strasheim Jerry Syslo Dr. James Tracy

Terrence J. Ferguson

Jim Winner

Robert E. Owen

Connie Kinnear

Mary Ann Strasheim

OPERA OMAHA GUILD PRESIDENT

Chris Tombrello CRAFTSMAN’S GUILD PRESIDENT

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OPERA OMAHA STAFF

Allison Swenson GENERAL DIRECTOR

ADMINISTRATION

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Abz Cameron

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HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOW

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HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOW

ARTISTIC Katrina Thurman

Chloe Janae Gormley HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOW

Pat McEvoy

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Trisha Berquist

Aiden James Poling

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Josh Quinn

HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOW

HEAD OF MUSIC & CHORUS DIRECTOR

MARKETING

Steven White

Kyle Thomas

PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

DEVELOPMENT Joe Prickett DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Rebecca Ihnen

Rachel Austin ART DIRECTOR

Howard Coffin AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT & SALES MANAGER

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

PRODUCTION

Laura Jaros

Kate Whitecotton

DEVELOPMENT DATABASE & ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION

Tim Combs TECHNICAL DIRECTOR SUSANNAH | WINTER 2026

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WITH GRATITUDE

FOR OUR CONTRIBUTORS Opera Omaha honors Richard D. Holland and the Holland Foundation for unyielding major support over the years and the entire Simon family and Omaha Steaks for their sustaining generosity.

With our sincere gratitude, we acknowledge the following foundations and businesses that make our programming a reality. Opera Omaha would also like to recognize the institutions and corporations that provide operating support or sponsor our community engagement programs, which are designed to educate, uplift, and enrich our community.

SEASON SPONSORS

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The Nebraska Arts Council, a state agency, has supported this program through its matching grants program funded by the Nebraska Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. Visit www.nebraskaartscouncil.org for information on how the Nebraska Arts Council can assist your organization, or how you can support the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

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THE LESSONS OF SUSANNAH After half a century, Carlisle Floyd’s opera still has much to teach us

BY ROGER PINES

Susannah has been performed thousands of times over the past seven decades. It reaches out to seemingly every audience, not just with Carlisle Floyd’s magnificent yet instantly accessible music, but also with a story that has never lost its relevance.

This was a deeply personal work for Floyd. Although its hymns and folk-like moments were entirely his own, they were very much in the spirit and tradition of music he’d always known. As a child he attended revival meetings, which he remembered as “very terrifying,” with an unnerving feeling of “mass coercion” and a sense that “the entire congregation was on my back to go to the altar. I resented the fact of the mob against the individual.”

The South Carolina native understood the various “types” who populate Susannah (gossipy wives, hypocritical elders, the charismatic itinerant preacher).

Although a Methodist minister rather than an evangelist, Floyd’s father—like the opera’s Olin Blitch—did lead a peripatetic existence, continually relocating in one rural town after another. Floyd has commented that “the ladies in the community always had the visiting minister and his family for dinner—each one tried to outdo what the other had done. That’s all part of my background.”

He noted, too, that, as a child of the Depression, he grew up well aware of an ”under-educated, lower economic class” demographic that would be central to Susannah.

In late 1953 Floyd, then teaching at Florida State University, began working on Susannah, his first full-length opera (for which he wrote his own libretto).

Genuine inspiration came his way in a devastatingly moving work from 1950, Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Consul. Experiencing that opera onstage helped Floyd envision an art form that, at its best, was anchored by unimpeded theatrical momentum—what he thereafter referred to as “musical drama.”

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At Aspen in 1954, Floyd played through Susannah’s arias for soprano Phyllis Curtin. Hailing from small-town West Virginia, she connected immediately with both the music and the character. When baritone Mack Harrell heard portions of the score, he, too, was enthusiastic. Delighted that these singers were interested, Floyd’s dean at FSU began planning Susannah’s first production, presented in Tallahassee on February 24, 1955. The following year the work triumphed at New York City Opera, eventually receiving the New York Music Critics' Circle Award as the best new opera of 1956. Susannah also represented America at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Many critics, then as now, termed it a “folk opera,” which always frustrated Curtin. She often commented that “it’s not a folk opera, any more than Cavalleria rusticana is a folk opera, or Peter Grimes is a folk opera.”

Floyd found his dramatic source in the Apocrypha’s story of “Susanna and the Elders,” which he freely updated to backwoods 1950s Tennessee. The Apocryphal heroine is publicly exonerated while the opera’s is not, although in the end, Floyd’s Susannah does remain defiant even when the villagers threaten to force her to leave New Hope Valley.

Susannah is regarded by her exceedingly self-righteous community as what, in today’s parlance, we might describe simply as “other” (early in the opera, one of the local gossips declares, “That pretty a face must hide some evil”). The villagers have no interest in understanding her as a human being, given how different she is from everyone around her.

We have little sense of what Susannah’s family life was like growing up (other than the fact that her father used to sing her the “Jaybird Song”). Her brother Sam doesn’t have much time for her, since he’s generally either hunting or drunk. The two are used to a particularly rustic life, living in their isolated cabin.

Early in the opera, Susannah seems lively and sweet-natured. We see the delight with which she dances with all the men, and the affection coloring her relationships with Little Bat and Sam. At the same time, she has a sense of adventure and is eager to see what lies “out there beyond them mountains.”

She’s a vibrantly appealing, earthy young woman but with an innocence about her, evident in her lighthearted singing we hear offstage as she’s bathing naked in the mountain stream.

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The beginning of Susannah’s disillusionment occurs in the dismaying moment of her rejection by the villagers. Despite her generous gift of freshly picked peas, she’s completely shunned. From then on, her joy in life quickly deteriorates, due to the shame to which she’s subjected in the revival scene, as well as her profound loneliness and melancholy. She admits to Blitch that she doesn’t know what it would be like to be happy again. Once he seduces her, she understandably becomes bitter (Blitch asks for her forgiveness and she replies, “Forgive? I forget what that word means”). When she reveals what Blitch has done to her, Sam shoots him and flees New Hope Valley, and the comparatively carefree life Susannah had known is ruined. In the final scene, her near-violent response to the villagers constitutes, in effect, a courageous assertion of her right to remain in the valley.

Blitch is perhaps an even more challenging role. He embodies a religious hypocrisy that is very much alive in our own time. Although sexual abuse within the church wasn’t uncommon during the period of Susannah’s composition, the problem has been much more widely reported in recent decades. We can all recall news accounts of clergymen (usually deeply trusted by their communities) revealed as sexual predators. It was horrifying to hear from NBC News a few years ago that “nearly 1,700 priests and other clergy members that the Roman Catholic Church considers credibly accused of child sexual abuse are living under the radar with little to no oversight from religious authorities or law enforcement.”

Just before the weary, emotionally exhausted Susannah yields to Blitch’s advances, the opera’s most unsettling moment occurs: a skillful singing actor can make something utterly chilling of the preacher’s words: “Will your brother be home tonight?...Let’s go inside.” Floyd subsequently gives Blitch a remorseful, prayer-like monologue, and the character does attempt (unsuccessfully) to persuade the villagers to forgive Susannah, but the composer doesn’t manage to gain the audience’s sympathy for this troubled, love-starved man.

Anyone experiencing a performance of this opera should bear in mind that the televised McCarthy hearings were mesmerizing Americans in 1954, as Floyd was completing Susannah. He later explained that although he didn’t consciously create a parallel between the opera and the atmosphere of suspicion that McCarthyism had promoted nationwide, “I lived through the terrors. At Florida State, an accusation was tantamount to guilt. We faculty had to sign a pledge of loyalty or lose our jobs. It affected me and informed me emotionally. And there it is in the opera. But I can't say I put it there.”

In the current political climate, it’s impossible to avoid extrapolating New Hope Valley’s false accusation of Susannah into today’s ever-increasing fear

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of “other-ness.” There’s an encroaching feeling that we’re being watched, that what we write and what we say could be used against us, even that our lives and livelihoods could one day be damaged irreparably. The story of Susannah may be built on a small scale, but half a century after its premiere, its impact remains more vivid and powerful than ever.

SUSANNAH, HUAC, AND MCCARTHY The community’s character assassination of Susannah leads us to consider the larger picture: at the time of the opera’s creation, the House Un-American Activities Committee, founded in 1938, was still functioning. Especially from 1947 to 1950, HUAC had issued subpoenas to many union activists, government employees, and important figures from entertainment, literature, science, and academia, unjustly suspected of subversive, pro-Communist activity. Those who refused to cooperate with HUAC by taking the Fifth Amendment could be cited for contempt of Congress, often jailed, and subsequently blacklisted in their professional lives. HUAC’s influence began to decline in the late 1950s, but it continued to operate until 1969, when it was renamed the Committee on Internal Security, which wasn’t terminated until as late as 1975.

HUAC being a House committee, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy played no part in it, but beginning in early 1953, he chaired the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for two years. The SPSI proceeded to foment a wave of anti-Communist feeling that invaded much of the country.

A politician who habitually presented false information implicating innocent people, McCarthy first drew national attention when, at a 1950 Republican dinner in Wheeling, West Virginia, he waved a piece of paper and declared, “I have here in my hand a list of Communists who have infiltrated the State Department of the United States.” Constantly proclaiming that the Federal government was full of Communists who sought America’s destruction, McCarthy even denounced Gen. George C. Marshall and considered the Truman administration “thoroughly infested with Communists.” Only in 1954, when McCarthy launched his investigation of the U.S. Army, did the country and his own Senate colleagues finally turn against him.

ROGER PINES is a contributing writer to Opera magazine (U.K.), programs of opera companies internationally, and major recording labels. Former dramaturg of Lyric Opera of Chicago and currently a faculty member of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, Pines has also been a panelist on the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts’ “Opera Quiz” since 2006.

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FROM THE CONDUCTOR

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON CARLISLE FLOYD AND SUSANNAH As we celebrate the 100th birthday of Carlisle Floyd, we join the ranks of his innumerable admirers in recognizing his singular stature as the Dean of American Opera. With his death in 2021 at age 95, Floyd left not only a legacy, but also a standard by which modern American opera can justly be assessed. His compositional procedure emphasized the pre-eminence of textual prosody— the music of the text. There’s a reason why his characters seem comfortable in their operatic skin: their creator has vanquished from their stage-language any pretense or stylized contrivance that would interfere with their unalloyed naturalness.

Despite a lifetime of steady operatic output that included such operas as Wuthering Heights, Of Mice and Men, Cold Sassy Tree and others, it is notable that Susannah remains Floyd’s most well-known and beloved opera. Consider the fact that Floyd was only 28 when he composed Susannah (music and libretto). Mozart was 30 when he wrote Le nozze di Figaro, with four operatic masterpieces yet to come!

As I’ve approached this opportunity to conduct Susannah again, I’ve been reflecting on several personal connections to the composer and the opera that have resonated meaningfully with me over the years. I am a native South Carolinian, just like Carlisle Floyd.

Both of us were born into a common culture in which sincere and fervent fundamental Protestantism was the religious ambiance of our everyday existence. As children and young men, our lives and worldviews were informed by examples both of genuine goodness and also debilitating hypocrisy and judgementalism that could often lead to destruction and squalor.

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My late father was the first member of his family ever to finish high school. His roots were in the mountains and hills of Appalachia—southwest Virginia, to be specific. I spent every summer of my childhood in this wondrous environment.

It was there that I first fell in love with authentic Appalachian folk music, my grandmother having so often sung me to sleep with “Barbara Allen” and other Scotch-Irish ballads that are the core source of the American folk-song canon. Now it’s important to understand that, while Susannah is sometimes called a “folk-opera,” Floyd himself preferred “folk-like” in describing the music.

“The Trees on the Mountain,” the “Jaybird Song,” and all the opera’s other manifestations of folk-like music are entirely original with Floyd. I find this uncanny verisimilitude jaw-dropping in its effectiveness and infinitely endearing in its sentimental poignancy.

There are so many other aspects of Susannah that strike personal chords with me. One of my family’s 19th-century ancestors was a circuit-riding evangelist who would go by horseback from one rural community to the next, conducting revivals and challenging each community to commit themselves to righteousness.

I like to think that’s where the parallel with the opera’s Olin Blitch ends. But the hymnody that Floyd uses to color the church scenes in the opera’s New Hope Valley locale is strikingly accurate and authentic, both in music and text—all while being newly composed. It represents the style of hymn singing that I, myself, encountered and led in my first ever paid musical job as music director of New Hope Church in a rural north Georgia mountain community.

Finally, I’d like to mention an experience I had years ago when my wife (soprano Elizabeth Futral) and I were recording “Ain’t it a Pretty Night” in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra, as part of Chandos' "Opera in English" project. While Susannah has become familiar to American audiences over the years, for the members of the Philharmonia Orchestra it was a new encounter. They were overwhelmed and in awe of this great music—its sense of space, atmosphere and personal connection to Susannah herself. The concertmaster asked me, “this Carlisle Floyd, he must be your country’s greatest opera composer?” I answered, “Yes—perhaps he is.”

— Steven White

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FROM THE

DIRECTOR Carlisle Floyd's Susannah sits close to my heart: it draws me to my identity as an American, as a woman, as a member of society at large, as a singer (when I was only 20 years old, it was the very first operatic role I ever performed!), and now it extends its pull on me as a director.

Rediscovering this story (loosely based on the Apocryphal account of "Susanna and the Elders" from the Book of Daniel) inspired me in terms of not just its relevance of depicting a community buried in dogma, narrow-mindedness, and intolerance but also, because of the connection between the tale’s truth and the role of the tree. In the Biblical account, the unabashed lust and unjust threats from the Elders incriminate them when their lies about the details of the false accusation are untangled – each claiming that Susanna’s "crime" took place under a tree – but each describing a different kind of tree, thus revealing their lie.

While Susanna is vindicated in the Biblical account, the operatic heroine’s treatment is not so redemptive. Floyd’s Susannah Polk dares to be different, dares to think independently, and dares to conceive of a life outside the city limits — in all senses of the expression. My hope is not only to deliver the narrative of this opera but also to underline the consequences of intolerance and dogmatic thinking that are so often prevalent in our society. The dangers of groupthink are real indeed…it frequently feels as though individualized thinking is less valued than ever before.

Floyd’s score indicates the place and the time period: New Hope Valley, Tennessee – The Present. Given this directive license, we have opted to tell this story through the lens of a 1990s New Hope Valley. The omnipresent tree anchors our visual space but is enveloped by the girding backdrop of the Appalachian Mountains, giving us the promise of another sunrise, another season. Incorporating the use of projections allows for a broader palate of visual possibilities so that we can shift more seamlessly between scenes and locales.

Appalachia itself becomes a double-edged sword, as the natural beauty of its edges also serves to suppress, illuminating the sway held by conformity, or more importantly, the fate that can await those who dare to break free.

Religion is a fulcrum in the action of this story that unfolds over the course of one week, proving its conflicting power to both unify and ostracize, to lift up yet subsequently quash those who dare to defy its tenets. When those who pray together then also prey together, the ugliness of mass mentality rears its head, forever devastating the life of a young woman whose innocence became an immutable casualty.

— Patricia Racette

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©2025 Applied Underwriters, Inc., Rated A-SUSANNAH (Excellent) by AM Best. Insurance | WINTER 2026plans protected U.S. Patent No. 7,908,157.

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SUSANNAH Music and libretto by Carlisle Floyd.

Performed in English with English supertitles.

By arrangement with B&H Music Publishing Inc. d/b/a Boosey and Hawkes, publisher and copyright owner.

January 30 and February 1, 2026 Orpheum Theater, Slosburg Hall | Omaha, Nebraska First performance: Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida – February 24, 1955 First Opera Omaha performance: February 1981

CREATIVE

CAST

Steven White

Caitlin Lynch*

Karina Brazas

PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR

SUSANNAH POLK

MRS. GLEATON

Patricia Racette*

Andrew Potter

Fran Daniel Laucerica*

DIRECTOR

OLIN BLITCH

ELDER HAYES

Kaye Voyce

Robert Stahley*

Gretchen Crane

COSTUME DESIGNER

SAM POLK

MRS. HAYES

Andrew Boyce*

Christian Sanders*

Joseph Canuto Leon*

SETS & PROPS DESIGNER

LITTLE BAT MCLEAN

ELDER OTT

Greg Emetaz*

Thomas Gunther

Lauren Cook*

DIGITAL PROPERTIES & EFFECTS DESIGNER

ELDER MCLEAN

MRS. OTT

Kylee Loera*

Lauren Paul

Tanner Engeseth

MRS. MCLEAN

A MAN

ASSOCIATE PROJECTION DESIGNER

Eric Southern III*

Graham Brooks

*Opera Omaha Debut

ELDER GLEATON

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Ronell Oliveri WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER

Julian Adair* CHOREOGRAPHER

Steven White sponsored by Linda Burt Rebrovic and John Rebrovic Caitlin Lynch sponsored by Mutual of Omaha Lauren Paul sponsored by Husch Blackwell The Omaha Symphony Opera Omaha Chorus | Josh Quinn, director Costumes, Sets & Props, and Digital Properties & Effects were originally produced for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

The performance runs approximately 2 hours, including one 20-minute intermission.

The use of flash equipped cameras, audio recorders, video cameras or any other recording device during the performance is strictly prohibited.

SUSANNAH

SYNOPSIS ACT ONE The people of New Hope Valley, a rural Tennessee town in the Appalachian Mountains, have assembled for a square dance on a hot July night. The Elders’ wives gossip about the beautiful young Susannah, calling her a “shameless wench” raised by a drunkard brother. Reverend Olin Blitch arrives and confidently introduces himself. As the visiting revival preacher, he intends to bring sinners to repentance. Noticing Susannah, he joins her in the square dance.

Little Bat walks Susannah home that night. Staring up at the starry sky, she shares her dreams of leaving New Hope Valley. Sam arrives, and Susannah asks him to sing her favorite song before they go to bed. The next morning, when the church Elders go searching for a baptismal creek for the revival, they discover Susannah bathing in it. Ashamed of their lust for the girl, they vow to punish her for her brazen nakedness.

That night, at a potluck dinner, the Elders and their wives spread rumors that Susannah is corrupting their young men. When Susannah arrives, the townsfolk refuse to speak to her. Confused and embarrassed, she leaves. Little Bat finds her at home and explains the situation: his parents made him confess that Susannah seduced him, and there’s talk of running her out of the valley.

Alone with Sam, Susannah begs to know what all this cruelty is about. Her brother’s only explanation is that “people want to believe what’s bad.”

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ACT TWO A few days have passed, and the town has continued to shun Susannah. Sam tells her that they are waiting for a confession, but Susannah insists she has done no evil. Nevertheless, her brother suggests she attend a revival service to show the congregation she’s not afraid.

That evening, Sam leaves on a hunting trip, and Susannah makes her way to church. Olin Blitch preaches a sermon full of hellfire and asks anyone feeling guilty to bring their sins to the altar. When Susannah doesn’t come forward, Blitch pressures her to publicly admit her wrongdoings. Overwhelmed, she screams “No!” and flees the sanctuary.

An hour later, Blitch finds Susannah alone at home, singing a sad folksong her mother taught her. He tries again to get a confession out of her, but Susannah stands her ground, despite the toll this ordeal has taken on her. Blitch confides to Susannah that he’s lonely and desperate for love. Exhausted from fighting, Susannah succumbs to his advances, and he leads her into the house.

The next morning at the church, Blitch—now a broken man racked with shame—prays for mercy. During his night with Susannah, he discovered that she was still a virgin and had been telling the truth. When the Elders and their wives enter, Blitch tries to convince them of Susannah’s innocence. But when he can’t explain how he knows, they remain unconvinced and leave. Susannah, meanwhile, has entered. Blitch pleads for forgiveness, and she responds that she’s forgotten what the word means.

At sundown, Sam returns drunk from his hunting trip. Susannah tells him that Blitch violated her, and he rushes off, vowing to kill the preacher. She realizes too late that Sam took his shotgun with him, and she suddenly hears his weapon fire in the distance. Little Bat runs in to report that Sam shot and killed Blitch in the baptismal stream. The townsfolk assemble around Susannah’s house, warning her to leave New Hope Valley, but she laughs scornfully and scares them away with her own gun. Alone with Little Bat, she lures him seductively, only to slap him across the face. He hurries away, and she remains planted on her porch, a defiant yet “lonely prisoner of a self-imposed exile.”

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ARTIST

BIOGRAPHIES Steven White

Patricia Racette

Principal Guest Conductor Steven White returns to Opera Omaha after last conducting The Rake’s Progress. Maestro White is one of North America’s premier operatic and symphonic conductors.

He began the 24/25 Season by returning to Merola Opera Program to lead their Grand Finale concert, followed by a return to the Academy of Vocal Arts for Gounod’s Faust, and a return to the Metropolitan Opera for their holiday production of The Magic Flute. The 25/26 Season will also include Elixir of Love with Utah Opera. In the past several seasons he has returned to the Met to participate as Assistant Conductor in Der fliegende Holländer, Don Carlo, Billy Budd, The Rake’s Progress, Tosca and Elektra. With a vibrant repertoire of over sixty-five titles, Maestro White’s extensive operatic engagements have included performances with New York City Opera, L’Opera de Montréal, Vancouver Opera, Opera Colorado, Pittsburgh Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Opera Baltimore, New Orleans Opera, and many others.

Acclaimed soprano Patricia Racette makes her Opera Omaha debut in Susannah. Ms. Racette has appeared in the most celebrated opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teatro alla Scala, Paris Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro Real, and Gran Teatre del Liceu. Her vast repertoire includes the title roles of Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Jenufa, Kátya Kabanová, and Salome; all three leading lady roles in Il Trittico, and Katerina in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Ms. Racette made her directorial debut with a new production of La Traviata at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in the summer of 2018, and returned in the summer of 2021 to direct herself in a production of Poulenc’s La Voix humaine. This season, she makes two role debuts: Madame de Croissy in Dialogues des Carmélites at The Dallas Opera and Desirée Armfeldt in A Little Night Music at Arizona Opera. She is currently the Artistic Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ Gerdine Young Artist and Richard Gaddes Festival Artist programs.

Kaye Voyce

Andrew Boyce

Kaye Voyce returns to Opera Omaha after last designing Faust.

Ms. Voyce is a costume and set designer active in theater, opera, dance, and performance. Her Broadway credits include Uncle Vanya, directed by Lila Neugebauer and starring Steve Carrell, Sea Walk/A Life (co-design), True West, The Nap, Significant Other, The Real Thing, The Realistic Joneses, and Shining City. Other recent projects include We Had a World at MTC, The Welkin at Atlantic, The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman at Atlantic and Arena Stage, Tosca at The Glimmerglass Festival, Staff Meal at Playwrights Horizons, set and costume design for Waiting for Godot at Geffen Playhouse, and the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s opera The Listeners at Den Norske Oper, Opera Philadelphia, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Andrew Boyce makes his Opera Omaha debut in Susannah. Mr. Boyce is a Chicago based designer working in theatre, opera, dance, and film/TV. Recent opera credits include work with Cincinnati Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Des Moines Metro Opera, Central City Opera, Opera San Jose, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Chicago Opera Theater, among others. He has regional credits with most major regional and LORT theaters across the U.S, as well as NYC credits on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Mr. Boyce received his MFA from Yale School of Drama and he currently serves as Associate Professor of Design at Northwestern.

Conductor

Costume Designer

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Director

Sets & Props Designer

Greg Emetaz

Kylee Loera

Digital Properties & Effects Designer

Associate Projection Designer

Greg Emetaz makes his Opera Omaha debut in Susannah. Mr. Emetaz is a filmmaker and video designer based in New York. For stage, his work has been seen in Champion and Fire Shut Up in My Bones at The Metropolitan Opera, The Righteous, Tristan und Isolde, and M. Butterfly at Santa Fe Opera, La fanciulla del West at the National Center for Performing Arts – Beijing, La clemenza di Tito at LA Opera, and Tristan und Isolde at Croatian National Theatre, as well as world premieres of Bel Canto at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dolores Claiborne at San Francisco Opera, and An American Soldier, Shalimar the Clown, 27, and The Golden Ticket at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. For screen, his work has been seen in the feature film Amador County Has No Coroner (upcoming), and Camp Wedding (Nevermore Audience Award, Jim Thorpe Best Comedy). He has also served as video director for the 2008-2011 NEA Opera Honors, the 2011 and 2013 NEA Jazz Masters, and created behind-the-scenes documentaries for Julie Taymor's The Tempest, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and numerous productions at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and New York City Opera.

Kylee Loera makes her Opera Omaha debut in Susannah. Ms. Loera is a video designer and content creator/editor for live performances. Selected design credits include Hispanic Heritage Awards at Warner Theatre, Gods and Mortals and Fidelio at Washington National Opera, Kennedy Center, Zemlinsky’s Room at BAM/Little Opera Theater, Sing Happy, Louder Than Words, and Cockeyed Optimist at 92nd Street Y Kaufman Concert Hall, Murder on the Orient Express and Frozen at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Light and the Dark at 59e59 Theaters, Jersey Boys, La Cage aux Folles, Frozen, Anything Goes, and Legally Blonde at The Muny, Three Mothers and Sweat at Capital Rep, Wizard of Oz at Children’s Theatre, The Ghosts of Versailles at Rice University, Young Frankenstein and The Color Purple at Pittsburgh CLO. She served as Associate Designer on Florencia en el Amazonas, and Champion at the Metropolitan Opera, and Working Girl at La Jolla.

Eric Southern III

Ronell Oliveri

Lighting Designer

Wig & Makeup Designer

Eric Southern III makes his Opera Omaha debut in Susannah. Mr. Southern is an Obie award-winning designer working in theater, opera, music, and dance. His designs have been seen internationally in London, Paris, Avignon, Tokyo, Seoul, Athens, Australia, Hannover, Zurich, and Romania. With Opera Theatre of Saint Louis he has designed Susannah with Patricia Racette, Tosca and Galileo Galilei with director James Robinson, Julius Caesar with director Elkhannah Pulitzer, and Don Pasquale with director Christopher Alden. His work has also been presented at Lincoln Center, The Goodman Theater, Steppenwolf Theater Company, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Manhattan Theater Club, The New Group, Rattlestick Theater, Primary Stages, La Mama, Atlantic Theater Company, Center Theater Group, and the Guthrie. In opera and music he has designed for Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, The Harris Theater, Prototype Festival, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Ronell Oliveri has been designing wigs and makeup for opera, theater, ballet, and film for the past 20 years for such companies as Minnesota Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Central City Opera, and The American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. Currently, she is the resident wig and makeup designer for Opera Colorado and Opera Omaha. As a wig and makeup artist, her professional credits include engagements with Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Boston Ballet. She was a Primetime Emmy nominee as key makeup artist for her work in television. Her work can also be seen in several Broadway shows including Wicked, All The Way, and Waitress.

Recent engagements include Mitridate at Boston Lyric Opera, La bohème at Opera Colorado, and The Marriage of Figaro at Opera Columbus. Upcoming engagements include La traviata at Opera Colorado, and The Anonymous Lover with Opera Columbus.

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ARTIST

BIOGRAPHIES Julian Adair

Caitlin Lynch

Julian Adair makes her Opera Omaha debut in Susannah. Ms. Adair is a noted choreographer, dance educator, author, and director whose work spans stage, film, and education. Her choreography has been recognized with Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards, Theater Arts Guild Outstanding Achievement in Choreography Awards, and a Telly Award for excellence in film. She is the Founder and Director of Adair Dance Academy and Ever After Productions, is an adjunct professor of dance at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and an artist in the Nebraska Arts Council Residency Program. Production credits include Bright Star at the Omaha Community Playhouse, Jesus Christ Superstar at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Nutcracker Delights, and A Suite for Small Spaces I & II, modern dance concerts produced by Ever After Productions.

Caitlin Lynch makes her Opera Omaha debut in Susannah. Ms. Lynch studied at the University of Michigan and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) before training with the young artist programs of Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, and the Glimmerglass Festival. During the summer of 2025, she created the title role in Siddhartha, She, a world premiere scenic oratorio composed by Chris Theofanidis and conducted by Robert Spano, at the Aspen Music Festival.

She also returned to the Grand Teton Music Festival as the soprano soloist for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, led by Sir Donald Runnicles. Upcoming, Ms. Lynch makes her role debut as the 3rd Norn in Götterdämmerung at Atlanta Opera. She is a regular performer at the Metropolitan Opera, where recent appearances include the First Lady in The Magic Flute, and she returns to the company’s stage during the 26/27 Season.

Andrew Potter

Robert Stahley

Bass Andrew Potter returns to Opera Omaha after last performing in Don Giovanni. Mr. Potter has garnered increasing demand across the country for his larger-than-life stage presence with a voice to match. Last season, Mr. Potter made his Florida Grand Opera debut as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, returned to Seattle Opera as Panthée in Les Troyens, took his Angelotti in Tosca to Richmond Symphony, joined Opera Omaha to sing the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, and joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera to cover Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. This season, he returns to The Metropolitan Opera to cover Timur in Turandot, and he debuts with Los Angeles Dream Orchestra to sing the same role. In addition, he will return to Dallas Opera as the Jailer/Thierry in Dialogues of the Carmelities, debut with New Orleans Opera as Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, and sing Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Nashville Opera.

Tenor Robert Stahley makes his Opera Omaha debut in Susannah.

Last season, Mr. Stahley made his Metropolitan Opera debut singing the First Armed Man in The Magic Flute, covering the Messenger in Aida, The Voice of a Young Man in Die Frau ohne Schatten, and the Third Jew in Salome. Previous engagements include Don Jose in Carmen with Dayton Opera, Erik in Der fliegende Holländer with Utah Opera and the Buffalo Philharmonic, Canio in Pagliacci with The Glimmerglass Festival, Cavaradossi in Tosca with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Froh in Das Rheingold with The Dallas Opera, Siegmund in Die Walküre and Jupiter in Semele with Opera Santa Barbara, Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West with North Carolina Opera, Walther von der Vogelweide in Tannäuser with LA Opera, The Captain in The Lord of Cries with Santa Fe Opera, Melot and the Young Sailor in Tristan und Isolde with the LA Philharmonic, and Narraboth in Salome with the Bard Festival. Other roles include the title roles in Candide, Idomeneo, and The Tales of Hoffmann, The Schoolmaster in The Cunning Little Vixen, Charlie in Mahagonny-Songspiel, The Lamplighter and Drunk in The Little Prince, Sam Kaplan in Street Scene, and Hubert Humphrey in Dark River.

Choreographer

Olin Blitch

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Susannah Polk

Sam Polk

Christian Sanders

Thomas Gunther

Christian Sanders makes his Opera Omaha debut in Susannah. Last season brought numerous exciting engagements for Mr. Sanders including Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd with Utah Opera, Vain Man/ Snake in The Little Prince with Pacific Opera Victoria, Philip Hirschkop in the new opera Loving vs. Virginia with Virginia Opera, Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Sellem in The Rake’s Progress at Des Moines Metro Opera. This season, he returns to Utah Opera to sing Stuart Ullman and Delbert Grady in The Shining, and returns to Pacific Opera Victoria to sing Orpheus in Orpheus and Eurydice.

Baritone Thomas Gunther returns to Opera Omaha after last performing in The Barber of Seville.

Favorite stage performances include Marcello in La bohème in the Dominican Republic, Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire at Merola Opera, Germont in La traviata at Soo Opera and Bay View, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte at Schenectady Symphony, Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore at Union Avenue Opera, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus at Winter Opera St. Louis, Billy Bigalow in Carousel at Soo Opera, Javert in Les Miserables at University of Kentucky, Dandini in La Cenerentola at Opera in the Heights, Silvio in Pagliacci at Sugar Creek, Raoul in Phantom of the Opera at University of Kentucky, and the title roles in Sweeney Todd and Don Giovanni. He was most recently seen reprising his role as Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Mr. Gunther is an adjunct voice professor at Doane University in Crete, NE and at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he works with musical theatre students. He also maintains a private voice studio.

Lauren Paul

Graham Brooks

Mezzo-soprano Lauren Paul returns to Opera Omaha after last performing in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Ms. Paul is an emerging artist living in Omaha, Nebraska. In 2025, Lauren made house debuts with Sarasota Opera and Opera Omaha.

As a studio artist with Sarasota Opera, she made her company and role debuts as Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria rusticana and as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro.

Previously, Lauren has appeared on stage as Rossweisse in Die Walküre with TUNDI Productions, Zita Donati in Gianni Schicchi, Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, and Bradamante in Alcina with University of South Dakota Opera. In 2024, Lauren was a Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. There, she covered roles in Julius Caesar and Galileo Galilei. During the 23/24 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Lauren was named a winner in the Nebraska district and advanced to the Upper Midwest regional competition where she received an encouragement award.

Tenor Graham Brooks returns to Opera Omaha after last performing in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Last year, Mr. Brooks was featured as Le Doyen de la Faculté in Cendrillon with FSU Opera, Porcupine in Fantastic Mr. Fox with Opera Omaha, and as Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Roanoke. Mr. Brooks' previous roles with Opera Omaha include Aldeano #2 and Young Man in El último sueño de Frida y Diego, Gastone in La traviata, and Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro. In the Spring of 2024, he reprised both Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Opera Roanoke's production of Le nozze di Figaro. Mr. Brooks spent the summer of 2023 with Central City Opera as a Bonfils-Stanton Studio Artist. He currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida, and is pursuing a Doctor of Music degree in Voice Performance at Florida State University.

Little Bat McLean

Mrs. McLean

Elder McLean

Elder Gleaton

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ARTIST

BIOGRAPHIES Karina Brazas

Fran Daniel Laucerica

Soprano Karina Brazas returns to Opera Omaha after last performing in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Last season Ms. Brazas was a guest artist at the Shreveport Opera SOX Gala, performed as Miss Hedgehog in Opera Omaha’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, and performed Schubert Lieder with the Omaha Chamber Music Society. Prior seasons have seen her as Papagena in the Omaha Symphony’s 50th Anniversary Gala, as the soprano soloist in the Choral Collaborative program and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, all with the Omaha Symphony. Operatic highlights include performances as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Young Alyce in Glory Denied, both with Union Avenue Opera, and Pamina in The Magic Flute with Shreveport Opera. Ms. Brazas made her professional debut as Kitty Hart in Dead Man Walking with Central City Opera, where she also sang Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. Ms. Brazas enjoys baking and spending time with her husband and two children.

Cuban-American tenor Fran Daniel Laucerica makes his Opera Omaha debut in Susannah. Mr. Laucerica has been praised for his clarity and agility in various repertoires.

The 25/26 Season will see Mr. Laucerica as Don Luigino in Il viaggio a Reims, Pylade in Iphigénie en Tauride, and as the Tenor Soloist in Bach's Mass in B minor.

Recent operatic engagements include Woman With Eyes Closed as Thomas, Armida as Rinaldo, Il barbiere di Siviglia as Almaviva, Pagliacci as Beppe, Elizabeth Cree as Dan Leno, Florencia en el Amazonas as Arcadio, Proving Up as Miles, La traviata as Alfredo, and appearances with Pittsburgh Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera San Jose, Virginia Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera. Mr. Laucerica is also a recent Third Prize-Winner of the Handel Aria Competition and, in concert, has performed as a Tenor Soloist in Carmina Burana, St. Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio, Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, and Handel’s Messiah.

Gretchen Crane

Joseph Canuto Leon

Gretchen Crane returns to Opera Omaha after last performing in The Rake’s Progress. Ms. Crane is a soprano who performs frequently across the Omaha metro, including solo performances with the Omaha Symphony. A homegrown Nebraskan, she has performed with opera companies across the country and held artist residencies with Des Moines Metro Opera and Opera Naples. She holds degrees from the University of Nebraska Lincoln and the University of Kansas. She is also a co-founder of Salt Creek Song Festival and contributes to the advancement of music education through her work with the Omaha Conservatory of Music.

Baritone Joseph Canuto Leon makes his Opera Omaha debut in Susannah. Mr. Canuto Leon is an emerging artist originally from Des Moines. He has been featured with The Dallas Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Chautauqua Opera Company, Vero Beach Opera, Charlottesville Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, Painted Sky Opera, Village Opera, Peach State Opera, Opera in the Rock, and Opera on the James. Recent roles for Mr. Canuto Leon include Giorgio Germont in La traviata with Vero Beach Opera, Peach State Opera, and Village Opera, Marcello in La bohéme with Florida Grand Opera’s outreach tour and Village Opera, Schaunard in La bohéme with Florida Grand Opera and Painted Sky Opera, Father in Hansel and Gretel with Chautauqua Opera Company and Wichita Grand Opera, Valentin in Faust with Village Opera, Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow with Charlottesville Opera, Belcore in The Elixir of Love with The Dallas Opera’s outreach tour, the title role in Eugene Onegin with Russian Opera Workshop, and both Barone Douphol in La traviata and Morales in Carmen with Florida Grand Opera.

Mrs. Gleaton

Mrs. Hayes

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Elder Hayes

Elder Ott

OPERA OMAHA

CHORUS Lauren Cook

Mrs. Ott

Mezzo-soprano Lauren Cook makes her Opera Omaha debut in Susannah. Ms. Cook continues to garner acclaim for her nuanced voice and captivating stage presence. Recent role highlights include Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, L’enfant in L’enfant et les sortilèges, Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Scalia-Ginsburg, with companies such as Opera Philadelphia, Opera Columbus, Virginia Opera, Arizona Opera, and Opera Delaware, among others. Most recently she was seen performing Kate in The Pirates of Penzance in a role and company debut with Salt Marsh Opera. In the concert scene, Ms. Cook recently performed as the Alto Soloist in the Duruflé Requiem with Symphony in C, Handel’s Messiah with the Phoenix Symphony, Tulsa Symphony, and Lancaster Symphony Orchestras, as well as The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass with the Brooklyn Bluegrass Collective. Locally, Ms. Cook has performed Copland’s Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson and Barber’s "Nuvoletta" with Salt Creek Song Festival.

SOPRANO Karina Brazas Gretchen Crane Shannon Jennings* Rosemary Joyce Alexandria Plumb Nicole Thoms

MEZZO-SOPRANO Mary Carrick Lauren Cook* Megan Parsons Lauren Paul Kaitlin Pearson Laura Petry Judi Unger

TENOR Graham Brooks Jon Gathje Fran Daniel Laucerica*

Tanner Engeseth

A Man

Tanner Engeseth returns to Opera Omaha after last performing in The Barber of Seville. Originally from De Forest, WI, Mr. Engeseth’s recent engagements include Marcello in La bohème with the Vienna Summer Music Festival, Marquis de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites with UNL Opera, Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors with UNL Opera, and Dandini in La Cenerentola with FIO Italia. He is a regional finalist of the West Central NATS chapter and previously won first place in his category at the Wisconsin NATS auditions.

He is currently a graduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, studying under Dr. Jamie Reimer Seaman. He holds a BM Music Education degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Gavin Rasmussen Daniel Schreiber Jacob Thomas

BASS Matthew Brown Joseph Canuto Leon* Tanner Engeseth Jiabo Gao Thomas Gunther Bret Olsen David Petry Garrett Scholberg

SUPERNUMERARIES Ayla Gunther* Juniper Gunther* *Opera Omaha Debut

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CHECK OUT OUR UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS!

Jan. 16 — Feb. 8, 2026

Feb. 13 — March 22, 2026

March 13 — April 4, 2026

For tickets, visit OmahaPlayhouse.com or call the OCP Box Office at (402) 553-0800

Season tickets available through November 9th.

For more information about the artists and programs, go to www.LFCM.US Single tickets available through the Lied Center and at the door.

Catalyst Quartet

Sunday, Nov 9, 2025 | 3:00 PM Johnny Carson Theater Beethoven, Joseph Bologne, Aftab Darvishi, Toru Takemitsu, and Florence B. Price

New York Polyphony Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 | 7:30 PM Johnny Carson Theater Anton Bruckner, Franz Schubert, Akemi Naito, Paul Moravec, and Andrew Smith

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Junction Trio

Thursday, Feb 19, 2026 | 7:30 PM Johnny Carson Theater Beethoven, John Cage, John Zorn, and Franz Schubert

Zodiac Trio

Wednesday, April 15, 2026 | 7:30 PM Kimball Recital Hall George Gershwin, Peter Schickele, Arturo Marquez, and Greg Simon

OPERA OMAHA

PRODUCTION & MUSIC STAFF Zoe Steenwyk*

Zach Cohn*

STAGE MANAGER

ASSISTANT PROJECTION DESIGNER

Olivia Gacka*

Amanda Jones

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

COSTUME SUPERVISOR

Kassandra Joy

Gary Bosanek

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

WARDROBE COORDINATOR

Emma Lipson*

Candace Leyland

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

WIG & MAKEUP ASSISTANT

Katie Blice

Alayna Klein*

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

ASSISTANT SET DESIGNER

Lindsay Woodward

Byron Farrar*

REHEARSAL PIANIST

SUPERTITLE OPERATOR

Chad Curran

Al Dusek+

ASSISTANT TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

HEAD PRODUCTION CARPENTER

Laura Peters

Scott Wasson+

PROPERTIES SUPERVISOR

HEAD PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN

+IATSE Local 42 Stagehand Services are provided by IATSE Local 42.

Wardrobe Services are provided by IATSE Local 831.

Opera Omaha is a member of OPERA America.

Cheyenne Sykes* ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER

*Opera Omaha Debut

S A V E : T H E : D A T E

GALA OPERA OMAHA

Friday, March 27, 2026 Steelhouse Omaha

Honoring the memory of

Richard J. Parrish Featuring three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning bass-baritone

Ryan Speedo Green

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OMAHA

SYMPHONY VIOLINS

BASS

TROMBONE

Susanna Perry Gilmore, Concertmaster Ahra Cho, 1st Associate Concertmaster Henry Jenkins, 2nd Associate Concertmaster Christopher Hake, Assistant Concertmaster Keith Plenert, Principal 2nd Violin Frank Seligman, Associate Principal 2nd Violin Kevin Tompkins, Assistant Principal 2nd Violin Ricardo Amador Phyllis Duncan Tracy Dunn Daniel Fletcher Rebecca Kia-Mills Anne Nagosky Lucy Duke Yi-Miao Huang Melissa Pruss Mary Perkinson David Neely

Nathaniel Olson, Principal Bobby Scharmann, Associate Principal Danielle Meier Jeremy Baguyos James Giles Michael Swartz

Patrick Pfister, Principal Jason Stromquist Jay Wise

FLUTE

PERCUSSION

VIOLA

BASSOON

Thomas Kluge, Principal Tyler Sieh, Associate Principal Margo Romig-Motycka Alexa Brown Juliet Yoshida Bozhidar Shopov Sarah Curley Rebecca Vieker

CELLO Paul Ledwon, Principal Gregory Clinton, Associate Principal Zachariah Reff, Assistant Principal Timothy Strang Mark Motycka Holly Gullen-Stout Shannon Merciel Trev Petersen

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TIMPANI Jack Rago, Principal

Maria Harding, Principal Nicholas Fitton, Assistant Principal Lisa Meyerhofer, 3rd Flute and Piccolo

Paul Matthews, Principal Derek Dreier, Assistant Principal

OBOE

Janna Young, Principal

Alexandra Rock, Principal Heather Baxter, Assistant Principal Christine Sallas, 3rd Oboe and English Horn

KEYBOARD

CLARINET

Jennifer Boomgaarden Daoud, President & CEO Kyra Hansen, Chief Operating Officer & Director of Production John Coate, Operations & Production Manager Tim Fogarty, Operations & Production Manager Emily E. Duffin, Orchestra Personnel Manager Erica Ostermiller, Operations Coordinator Nicholas Buonanni, Head Librarian Ryland Muñoz, Librarian Nicole Cowan, Assistant Librarian Margaret Shumate, Stage Manager Alex Jacobsen, Assistant Stage Manager

Carmelo Galante, Principal Rosario Galante, Assistant Principal Madison Freed, 3rd Clarinet and Bass Clarinet

James F. Compton, Principal Nicholas Nelson, Assistant Principal Karen Sandene, Third Bassoon and Contrabassoon

HORN Brett Hodge, Principal Steven Schultz, Associate Principal Jake Rensink Jordan Dinkins

TRUMPET Scott Quackenbush, Principal Federico Montes, Associate Principal Christopher Haas

HARP

Christi Zuniga, Principal

ORCHESTRA OPERATIONS

Energizing Impact Husch Blackwell proudly supports Opera Omaha’s 2025-2026 season and celebrates its ongoing mission to enrich the quality of life in our community by creating professional opera that expresses humanity’s deepest emotions and highest aspirations.

David E. Gardels | Partner david.gardels@huschblackwell.com | 402.964.5027

huschblackwell.com

Opera Omaha productions are made possible, in part, with significant support from the Craftsman’s Guild.

Cindy & Mike Baumer

Nora Mae & John* Gibson

Valerie Proctor

Dr. Betty Beach

Mark Kalal

Rebecca Reed

Ian Bugeja

Christine Lund

Margret Sexton

Tom Burton

Dean Manternach

Toni Shelton

Gina Carusi

Julie Mead

Janet Syslo

Kate & Chris Gannon–Tombrello

Patty Pandzik

Saprina Thiesen

Bill Gaus

Christine & Patrick Peters

Leslie Vann

Melissa Gebauer

Hilarie Price

Annika Weber *Deceased

The Opera Omaha Guild is a dedicated group of individuals who actively support Opera Omaha’s fundraising, community engagement, and education programs. Members plan and promote events such as Cotillion (etiquette classes for area sixth graders), social luncheons, educational activities, opera study groups, and pre-performance parties.

If you are interested in joining the Opera Omaha Guild, please call (402) 346-7372 or visit operaomaha.org/guild for additional information. We appreciate your interest and look forward to hearing from you soon!

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Connie Kinnear PRESIDENT

Elizabeth Peters PRESIDENT ELECT

Lora Kaup PAST PRESIDENT

Mark Maser VP ENGAGEMENT

Kelly Sanford VP FUNDRAISING

Betty Foster VP MEMBERSHIP

Lisa Hagstrom COTILLION LIAISON

Vivian Davis CORRESPONDING SECRETARY

Connie Kinnear RECORDING SECRETARY

April Nebel TREASURER

GUILD STANDING COMMITTEES

AT LARGE BOARD MEMBERS

VICTORIAN TEA

Dana Carlton-Flint

Lora Kaup

SPRING LUNCHEON

Connie Kinnear

Laura Hale

COTILLION

Marilyn Martin

Lisa Hagstrom

Sherry Taxman

PATRON PARTY

Sara Young

Linda Andersen Connie Kinnear Mark Maser Deb Peterson Kelly Sanford OPENING NIGHT OVERTURES

Christina Miller NEWSLETTER

Lora Kaup

SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS

Lauren Garcia STUDY GROUP

Deb Peterson NE DISTRICT METROPOLITAN OPERA LAFFONT COMPETITION AUDITIONS

Mary Ellen Mulcahy 34

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Kathy Gross

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MORE PERFORMANCES. MORE VENUES. MORE OPERA.

EXPLORE THE 26/27 SEASON AT OPERAOMAHA.ORG/2627

AUG 29 2026 7:00PM

Stinson Park Free

SEPT 27 2026 7:00PM

Slowdown Add On

Opera Outdoors, Opera Omaha’s FREE, family‑friendly season opener returns in a new location – Stinson Park.

Bring a blanket and a picnic and enjoy opera’s greatest hits sung by world‑class artists.

GRAMMY Award-winning baritone Will Liverman shares an intimate evening of original and classical music, featuring velvet-soft lyricism and roof-raising charisma, in a performance where word and tone meet heart and heat.

NOV 13 2026 7:30PM

JAN 28 2027 6:30PM

NOV 15 2026 2:00PM

Orpheum Theater Subscription Package

JAN 29 2027 6:30PM

JAN 30 2027 2:00PM

The Rose Theater Add On

A spark of love warms a winter of want in the world’s most beloved opera, La bohème. E. Loren Meeker’s sumptuous production of this operatic staple heightens the romance and the sting of Parisian cold as Puccini’s starving artists stir hearts with their bohemian ideals and singular hope.

A fisherman and his daughter pull a refugee boy like a fish from the Mediterranean sea. Who is this child?

How will they find him a home?

This new opera invites families to a coastal village where kindness changes destinies.

MAR 19 2027 7:30PM

APR 30 2027 7:30PM

MAR 21 2027 2:00PM

Orpheum Theater Subscription Package

What happens when an opera company and a comedy troupe are spontaneously forced to perform together?

Opera Omaha’s first-ever opera by Richard Strauss features hilarity and poignance in a backstage battle of art and ego.

Holland Performing Arts Center Subscription Package

As part of their 3-stop US tour, The English Concert presents the rarely performed Handel opera, Alessandro.

Savor authentic Baroque opera with vocal fireworks, unparalleled musicianship, and a love triangle of Greek proportions.

USING THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA IN ENGAGING AND JOYFUL WAYS Elements of opera, including music, movement, drama, art, and words, show up in all that the Holland Community Opera Fellowship does in the community. This season, our team and community partners enjoyed playing with and using these in new ways. Programming regularly includes multiple elements of opera, as we help build connections between what we’re doing in the community and on stage!

MOVEMENT

MUSIC

DRAMA

WORDS

HERE ARE A FEW RECENT EXAMPLES FROM THE FALL: • Tenants at Sheltering Tree, a community-focused apartment living center for adults with disabilities, explored each element and how it shows up in an opera production. Recently, Fellows and tenants worked together to create their own arias with unique word choice, moods, and rhythms.

• Residents at QLI, a state-of-the-art rehabilitation and residential center for those impacted by spinal cord and brain injury, developed and performed a musical chant and percussive rhythm centered on what makes their lives zesty!

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ART

• Preschoolers at the Learning Community Center of South Omaha (LCC) engaged in storytelling by diving into books about the colors around them.

Each child worked with Fellows to create a visual art piece representing some of their favorite colors and objects. LCC offers educational support to children and families.

• Fellows and seniors at Intercultural Senior Center, a community center that provides social, educational, and support services for older adults, explored the types of instruments used in an opera. They examined sounds made by woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion instruments, listened to and critiqued classical pieces featuring the instruments, and then created visual art pieces inspired by them!

Seniors at Intercultural Senior Center discover the beautiful sounds of a piano and create their own mini version at a workshop with Fellows Aiden James Poling and Chloe Janae Gormley in Fall 2025.

25/26 COMMUNITY PARTNERS The Holland Community Opera Fellowship creates responsive programming that acknowledges the strengths of each participating individual and community partner.

Sarpy County Juvenile Justice Center

FIND MORE INFORMATION AT OPERAOMAHA.ORG/HCOF

SUSANNAH | WINTER 2026

39

March 13

HERCULES TICKETOMAHA.COM

ORPHEUM THEATER

Returning to Nebraska as part of their three-stop U.S. tour, The English Concert, under the leadership of conductor Harry Bicket, brings some of the world’s finest musicians to Omaha.

APPLIED UNDERWRITERS PRESENTS

BEETHOVEN'S FIFTH & BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE April 24 and 25, 2026 | Holland Performing Arts Center

Two of Omaha's cultural cornerstones, Opera Omaha and the Omaha Symphony, join forces to create an exceptional night of artistry.

First, experience Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. It's not just one of the most famous works in the classical repertoire—it's one of the most famous works in the world. Beginning with four of the most recognizable notes in history, Beethoven crafts a musical universe of tension, drama, and ultimate triumph. From its thunderous opening to its blazing finale, "the Fifth" is a symphonic journey through adversity, brimming with emotional intensity and spirit.

Next, bask in the one-act opera, Bluebeard’s Castle, where every shadow hides a secret, and every door unlocks a new terror. Bartók’s psychological thriller unfolds as Judith, newly wed to the enigmatic Duke Bluebeard, dares to open his castle’s forbidden doors. The walls close in and the air grows thick with dread as each turn of a key draws her closer to a horrifying secret. With a score that raises the tension with every note, Bluebeard’s Castle is not just an opera—it is a musical descent into madness.

Russian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya takes the baton for both pieces, with acclaimed singers Ryan McKinny and Michelle DeYoung, and immersive projections by David Murakami.

OPERA OMAHA

EDUCATION PROGRAMS

OPERA OMAHA EDUCATION PROGRAMS Each year Opera Omaha education programs serve over 2,000 students from early childhood to graduate school level at more than 75 partner schools and universities.

STUDENT DRESS REHEARSALS Student Dress Rehearsals are an immersive way for students to go beyond an ordinary field trip to get an intimate experience with the opera. This FREE program offers a rare opportunity for students to see the show before the public does and without a large crowd for a more personal and meaningful experience.

ARTIST VISITS AND MASTERCLASSES Each season, Opera Omaha brings guest opera artists from our productions to classrooms and community partners across the city. Each artist visit is tailored to the needs of teachers and students to create a meaningful opera learning experience and may include short performances, a masterclass, workshop, or Q&A.

OPERA 360 This immersive program takes the Student Dress Rehearsal experience and expands it for groups that want to learn more about the artisans that operate behind the scenes. Students get a backstage tour and speak directly with opera professionals, exploring areas such as costume design, hair and makeup, stage management,

directing, and conducting. These conversations give students extra insight into the careers available within opera, allowing them to ask questions and expand their aspirations for future involvement in opera production.

POETRY & MUSIC PROJECT The Opera Omaha Poetry & Music Project is a statewide program run in partnership with the Nebraska Writers Collective to amplify the voices of youth poets, both urban and rural, across Nebraska and Iowa. The project connects student poets and their words with professional composers to create original music and explore connections between poetry and music.

STUDENT RUSH TICKETS All students may take advantage of $10 rush tickets to Opera Omaha performances! One hour prior to performances, students can receive up to two tickets with a valid student ID. If you are bringing 10 or more students to an Opera Omaha production, you can take advantage of group student rush tickets. Call Howard Coffin at (402) 346-7372 x2 for more details.

TO LEARN MORE VISIT OPERAOMAHA.ORG/EDUCATION 42

SUSANNAH | WINTER 2026

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UNSHAKEABLE JUNE 5-7, 2026 | HOFF FAMILY ARTS & CULTURE CENTER Music by Joseph Illick | Libretto by Andrea Fellows Fineberg The Family Opera Series returns with the one-act opera, UnShakeable.

Three years after a mysterious epidemic has left its survivors plagued by memory loss, two actors reunite in a desolate theater using the only common language they can find: Shakespeare. As they search for sparks of their forgotten past, they’ll need the audience’s help to connect them to memories and emotions that linger just out of reach.

TICKETOMAHA.COM 44

SUSANNAH | WINTER 2026

Shakespeare’s most-beloved romantic comedy springs to life in this delightful tale of feuding fairies and mismatched lovers…

MONARCH

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Sponsored by Bruce Reneaud & Kerry Dobson

Sponsored by Bruce Reneaud & Kerry Dobson and Kim Jubenville

amballet.org/tickets

ART BY ANTHONY DEON BROWN

SUSANNAH | WINTER 2026

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OPERA OMAHA

DONORS We are immensely grateful for our incredible community of supporters. Through their remarkable generosity in support of Opera Omaha’s Annual Fund, our donors empower us to produce world-class opera and deliver groundbreaking, free community engagement and education programming for the tens of thousands of audience members, artists, and neighbors we serve.

This listing reflects gifts received between June 15, 2024 - November 15, 2025

CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE

$100,000+

Steve Menzies Jane and David Offutt Mary and Richard* Parrish Julie M. Schroeder Donald Wurster

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE $50,000- $99,999

Robert E. Owen Linda Burt Rebrovic and John Rebrovic The Carl Rohman Trust Todd Simon Annette and Paul Smith Donna and Coyner* Smith Kate and Roger Weitz

PRODUCER $25,000-$49,999

Anonymous (2) Cindy and Mogens Bay Barbara Person and Scott Burger Catherine and Terry Ferguson Polina and Bob Schlott

BACKER

$10,000-$24,999

Dr. Betty L. Beach Roger Blauwet Dr. Anne and Stephen Bruckner Carol E. and David A. Domina Carol L. Dworak Estate Frances and David Ertel Betty Foster Devin J. Fox, MD and Rob Block Kyoko and Jonathan Fuller Jerry C. Gose Vivian and Allen Hager

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Belle and Ryan Hansen Dr. Ali Khan Vicki and David Krecek Janet and H. Frederick Kuehl Susan F. Morris Pauline Quinn Constance Ryan Kara and Joe Spitzenberger Jean and Eugene Stark, Jr. Mary Ann Strasheim Janet and Jerry Syslo Dr. and Mrs. James Tracy Gail and Irving Veitzer Jo Bartikoski and Don Westling Gail and Michael Yanney Charese E. Yanney

BENEFACTOR $5,000-$9,999

Anonymous Linda Matson Andersen Sara and Jawed Bharwani Sharon and Randy Blackburn Sandi and Bill Bruns Tina and John Cherica Debra Reilly-Culver and Robert Culver, Jr. Anna-Karin and David* Dillard Linda and David Gardels Vernie and Carter Jones Ruth Keene Mihaela and Brett Kobjerowski Joanne and David Kolenda Mark Maser and Paul Ledwon Sheila McNeill Sharee and Murray Newman Ann and Paul O'Hara Deb and Eric Peterson Jacqueline Sorrels and Alex Ritter Silvia Greene Roffman Ava and Bruce Ross Howard B. Silberg Revocable Trust Marika and Peter Stone Ellen and Robert Vladem Mary Beth and James Winner

GUARDIAN $3,500-$4,999 Mrs. Sharon McGill Connie Osborne

SUSTAINER $1,500-$3,499

Sidney Marquez Boquiren Dawn and Sid Dinsdale Kate and Chris GannonTombrello Leslie Garth Mary Jetton Matthew Messner and Neil Sechan Rita and Donald Otis Lora Kaup and Michael Pray Greta Vaught and John Ritland Dr. Jeffrey A. Robinson, M.D. Sarah Billinghurst Solomon

PATRON

$750-$1,499

Laura and Bryan Alexander Yoko and Tom Arthur Joshua Bassan Nicholas Bjornson Nancy Ward and Toby Bright Dr. Samuel Cohen Bill L. Gaus Judy and George Haecker, Jr. Sarah Baker Hansen and Matthew Hansen Jane and Edward Hawks Carol and James Healy Anne Marie Hubbard Susan Thomas and Steven Hutchinson Mr. Alfred G. Kelley Molly Burns and Thomas Klein Susan and Alan Langnas Wade Leak and John Yost Deana Liddy Timothy Markel Marilyn and Robert Marion Martin

Karen and Larry Nelsen Stephen Osberg Tom Richter Kelly and Mark Sanford Anne Stoddard Sherry and Jeff Taxman Dr. Terry Tomcsik Anne and Arnold Weitz Laura Wilwerding Shirley Young

ADVOCATE $300-$749

Anonymous (2) Eileen and Timothy Arkebauer Kelli and Brian Bello Mayrene Bentley Samuel Bierner and Joseph Pinson Teri and David Black Jerry Brabec Kathleen Joan Bradley Ann and David Burkholder Murray Joseph Casey Joan and Don Cimpl Mary and Hal Daub Linda and Tim* Daugherty Jennifer and James Davenport Hillary Nather-Detisch and John R. Detisch Carolyn and David Diamond Joan Desens and Simon CarrEllison Bev and Dick Fellman Tamara and Thomas Foley Elizabeth and John Fullerton John Green Cathy and Guy Gronquist Joan Squires and Dan Hamann Tim Held and Jay Worden Stanton and Julia Hoppe Dr. Linda Matson and Mr. Michael Howland Susan and Craig Ihnen Bonnie and David Jaros Gayle and Marlin Jeffers Susan R. Jensen Jeffrey Johnston

*Deceased

Ruth Ann Keene Mary and Tom Kerr Marilyn and Mark Kirchhoff Barbara and Marshall Kushner Ronna and Joseph Kutlas Lourdes Secola and Sheldon Lerner Kathleen and John Lohr Bruce McKeefry and Geoffrey Yeomans Dorothy* and Daniel McKinney Karen and Paul Mullen Kevin Murray Polly and Frank Partsch Jessica and Dennis Pate Elizabeth and Jerry Powell Lisa and Dan Prickett Cynthia and David Rector Dr. Debra J. Romberger Kathleen Crawford-Rose and Robert Rose David Sampson Mr. Ray Schueneman and Mrs. Libby Murphy Joan and Charles Shapiro Sissy Katelman Silber Donald Slaughter Ginger Talbot Paula Wallace Verne Weber Ann and John Williamson Jara and Kenley SturdivantWilson James Wink Melanie and John Wright Mary* and Anthony Yonkers Sara and John Young

FRIEND $1-$299

Anonymous (5) Gay and Steve Abraham Demetrio Aguila Cindy and Rod Anderson Tim Anderson Ronald Bailey Susan Baumert Erna Beach Ang Bennett Richard Berkland Shana Bernache Duane Bier Eric Bildt Rose Glock Dawn Ann Boll Anne and Robert Bothe Olivia and Jeff Brockman Shawntae Brown Stanford Brown

Michelle Bruckner Janice and Mario Buda Michael Bykerk Karen and David Campbell David Campbell Alexander Cayetano Felicia Cervantes Edward Chaperon Melanie and Jeffrey Chapman Susan Chenoweth Christine and Bob Chilcoat Jeannine Christensen Donna Christian Grace Chu Julie Clawson Tiffiny Clifton Diane and Howard Coffin Caitlin Copenhaver Denise Cotton Carmelita Cox Eleanor Shirley and Dan Cox Kris Vikmanis and Denny Creighton Eileen Crinklaw Donna Dahlsten Rosemary J. Pauley and Timothy F. Daugherty Spencer and Vivian Davis Clifford Davis Sarah Davis Michael Del Core Susan and Stephen Dolezal Mark Draper Trudy Eblen Amy and Matthew Epp Karla Ermel Allison Evans Karen and Richard Everett Michael Faust Mary and Ronald Ferdig Sarah Ferneding Mary Fieber Andrea and Donald Fineberg Beverly Fleckten Terry and Mollie Foster Sandra Franklin Danie and Steven Frazee Morgann Freeman Andrew Frost Karen Gahl-Mills Judith Gannon Mary Green Robert Griffin Jan Grimes Natasha Hartley M. Kathlyn and R. Michael Gross Jackie and Douglas Grote Allison Hardy

Ellen Hargus Darrel Harris Dr. Gerald Christensen* and Ms. Mary Clare Haven Mary Jo Havlicek Lisa Hawk Katrina Thurman and Robert Hawkey Cheryl and Joe Hazel Kasey Hesse Marilyn Hoegemeyer Shari Hofschire Joachin Voss and Don Horn Ann and Don Hosford Annette and Steven Huff Rebecca Ihnen Xavier Jackson Marti Baumert and Richard Jeffrey Vibeke Jensen John Johnson Alice Jorgensen Neil Jouvenat Donna and James Kalar Sandra and Jon Kayne Mary and Thomas Kerr Viktor Khanzhyn Julia Kleinschmit Wende and John Kotouc Mary J. Krance Candida Kraska Adam Kucirek Barbara Kuhn Robert Kuzelka Heike and Adam Langdon Mathew Leaf Julie and Joseph Lecci Alison Lee Elaine Leise Patricia and Edmund Leslie Donna and Mark Lett Stephanie Liekhus Sherryl and Hiram Lilley Douglas Little Lori Liu Billie D. Logan Gerald Lohman III Lorraine Beadell and Greg Love Cedric Ludlow Christine Lund Kathryn and William Lydiatt Jodie and William Mackintosh Maria Magana Heidi Malowski Karla* and John Marburger Karen and Michael Markey Eric Martens Dr. Cliff Mason Amy Mather

Mary Mattingly Cyndi and Wayne Mattson Catherine and Marcus Maydew Linda and Terry McClain Catherine Biddulph and Keith McClure Theresa McCrackine Laura McLean Jackie McLellan Susan and John McMannama Ann Jansen Michelson and Brent Michelson Cindy Miserez Donald Moran Tom Murnan April and Jonathan Nebel Jerry Tyrrell Ann Nelson Dawn and John Nielsen Patricia and Anthony Nogg Holly Herman Robert Nordt Neil F. O'Donnell Kathleen and Louis O'Konski Jessica Olsen Mary Helms and Kenneth Olson Duane Ostlund Sean Otterberg Erin Owen Mike Pape Diane and Robert Peabody Christopher B. Pedersen Lois Pesek Margery Radek Pope H. Margo Prentiss Abigail Kutlas-Prickett and Joseph Prickett Kathleen Doak Pyper James Pyrzynski Jacqueline Quigley Silva Raker Patricia and Robert Ranney Victoria and Edward Roche Jheam Rodriguez Britt Roeder Noyes W. Rogers Alexis Rothenberg Diana Roucka Courtney Rudick Rev. David Rykwalder Terri Sanders Marissa Sanford Barbara and Daniel Scanlan Callie and Karl Schwent Michelle and Brett Scollard Margret Sexton Kay M. Shilling, M.D. Janelle Siffring Tom Simmons

*Deceased

SUSANNAH | WINTER 2026

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Ellen and Richard Slosburg Shannon and John Slowiaczek Kim Smith-Ferguson Alexia Kniska and Bo Smith Neil Solomon Leslie Kuhnel Kim Sosin Stacy Spale Eric Spruth-Janssen Glenda and George Steinsberger Joe Stubler Mary A. Sturek Allison and Hunter Swenson Kiley and James Thiele Melani Torrez Gina Tranisi Mitch Treu Jillian Tuck Pia Ulrich Barbara Van Dyke Ann Stephens and John Vasiliades Patricia Victor Shannon and Michael Walenta Kathleen Ward

Sarah Watson Annika and Allen Weber Carolyn Weber Mathew Whitlock Melanie and Nicholas Wilwerding Kathleen Wittbrot Sarah Woodhouse Brad Woolbright Edith and Robert Zahniser Inna Zevakina Melissa Zierke Matthew Zwick

Thursday, Feb. 5 | 7 pm

Sunday, March. 15 | 3 pm

Mozart Masterpieces

The ArcoStrum Experience

Chamber Orchestra with Thomas Kluge, conductor and soloist Heather Baxter, oboe

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*Deceased

SUSANNAH | WINTER 2026

ArcoStrum

Free concerts for the community since 1988.

Presbyterian Chruch of the Cross 1517 S. 114th St. Omaha, NE 68144 VesperConcerts.org

OPERA OMAHA

MEMORIALS & TRIBUTES Donors who made gifts to the Annual Fund in honor or in memory of a loved one are recognized below.

This listing reflects gifts received between June 15, 2024 - November 15, 2025.

IN MEMORY OF: GLORIA DINSDALE Linda Andersen

CONNIE HEIDEN KAMMANDEL

Cindy and Rod Anderson Cindy and Mogens Bay Anne and Robert Bothe Kathy and Michael Gross Mary and Thomas Kerr Jodie Mackintosh Timothy Markel Susan and John McMannama Barbara and Daniel Scanlan Ellen and Richard Slosburg Shannon and John Slowiaczek Mary Ann Strasheim Mary Beth and James Winner

JODY KERSSENBROCK Dr. Sandra Kay Squires

MR. AND MRS. BILLIE F. LOGAN Billie D. Logan

RICHARD PARRISH

Linda Andersen Cindy and Mogens Bay Kelli and Brian Bello Richard Berkland Sara and Jawed Bharwani Duane Bier Jeannine and Dale Christensen Sarah Davissssss Tamara and Tom Foley Polly Goecke Kathy and Michael Gross Janet and Fred Kuehl Patricia and Edmund Leslie Deana F. Liddy Linda and Terry McClain Mary Ellen Mulcahy Duane Ostlund Jacqueline Quigley Diana and Steve Roucka Dawn Suing Joan Swahn Mary Ann Strasheim Allison and Hunter Swenson The Des Moines Opera Shannon and Michael Walenta Mary Beth and James Winner

THOMPSON ROGERS

Rebecca Noble and Keith Allerton Tom Chandler and William Schaffer Dr. Debra Reilly-Culver and Robert Culver Paul and Sandy Epstein Mike Klug Mark Maser and Paul Ledwon Sharon L. McGill Jim Morrow and Dorothy Davis Morrow Mary Ellen Mulcahy Jean Ann Ballinger and Ward Peters Pauline Quinn Dr. Greg Sutton Shannon and Michael Walenta

ALICE ROTERT

CAROL DOMINA’S BIRTHDAY

Joan Desens and Simon Carr-Ellison

CATHERINE AND TERRY FERGUSON

Joanne and David Kolenda

KATE AND CHRIS GANNON-TOMBRELLO

Judith Gannon

MALLORY HAYS Howard Coffin

DR. ALI KHAN

Dr. Anne Marie Hubbard

MARK MASER

Marilyn Hansen Joanne and David Kolenda

Joanne and David Kolenda Wendy Wiseman

RICHARD (DICK) SERPAN

MARK MASER AND PAUL LEDWON

Mary Jetton Mary Ellen Mulcahy Mike Pape Margery Radek Pope Annika and Allen Weber

JANET SIFFRING Janelle Siffring

DR. MICHAEL SORRELL Mary Ellen Mulcahy

ELOUISE SQUIRES Dr. Sandra Kay Squires

PAUL TRANISI

Gina Tranisi

RAYMOND VONDRAK

Libby Murphy and Ray Schueneman

MARY ELLEN MULCAHY

Joanne and David Kolenda

COURTNEY LORE PERSON AND BARRY RUBIN Mary Beth and James Winner

MARY PARRISH Kelli and Brian Bello

MARY AND RICHARD* PARRISH Dr. Betty Beach, Ph.D.

JAMES PYRZYNSKI Bill Gaus

LINDA BURT REBROVIC

Mark Maser and Paul Ledwon

Jessica and Dennis Pate

BROTHER WILLIAM WOEGER

LINDA BURT REBROVIC AND JOHN REBROVIC

Bill Gaus Opera Omaha Craftsman’s Guild

IN HONOR OF: BETTY BEACH Bill Gaus

SANDI BRUNS

Joanne and David Kolenda

SCOTT BURGER AND BARBARA PERSON

Joseph Pinson and Samuel Bierner

SCOTT BURGER’S BIRTHDAY

Allison and Hunter Swenson

CAROL DOMINA Patrick Galvin

Carolyn and David Diamond Mr. and Mrs. Tom Kerr

KELLY AND MARK SANFORD Marissa and Mitchell Sanford

ALLISON SWENSON

Andrea and Donald Fineberg Connor Howard Neil Sechan and Matthew Messner Caitlin Volz

GAIL AND MIKE YANNEY

Heider Family Foundation Constance Ryan The Walter Scott Family Foundation *Deceased SUSANNAH | WINTER 2026

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MADAMA BUTTERFLY Giacomo Puccini

THE MAGIC FLUTE Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

EUGENE ONEGIN Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

RODELINDA George Frideric Handel

LILI ELBE Tobias Picker / Aryeh Lev Stollman

santafeopera.org 505-986-5900

Opening Nights Sponsor 855-674-5401 fourseasons.com/santafe

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photo by Robert Godwin for the Santa Fe Opera

FEB 20

The Chior of Man PURCHASE TICKETS: 712.388.7140 | artscenter.iwcc.edu

7:30PM

Set in the world’s best pub, this uplifting production serves up entertainment featuring a cast of extraordinary singers, dancers, musicians, and a charming poet.

This show has something for everyone, including a real working bar on stage.

5 99 1 .

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opens March 2026 o-pa.org/Tenaska

o m o m a a h h a a ’’ s s

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A tangible legacy – investment in the future of both Opera and Omaha Members of Opera Omaha’s Fortissimo Society have made arrangements to support Opera Omaha and its innovative role in the cultural vibrancy of our region for generations to come. By establishing bequests, gifts of life insurance, IRAs, trusts, and other estate plans, Fortissimo Society members demonstrate their commitment to the transformative power of opera in our community. Their legacies are tangible investments in our cutting-edge, human-centered work that is leading and redefining the future of opera.

We proudly and gratefully acknowledge our Fortissimo Society members: Peppy* and Norman* Bahr Jo Bartikoski and Don Westling Betty L. Beach, PhD Kathleen Joan Bradley Sandra L.E. and William C. Bruns Dr. Debra Reilly-Culver and Bob Culver Carol L. Dworak* Ike and Roz Friedman Foundation Linda and David Gardels Bill Gaus Geof* Heiden and Connie Heiden Kammandel* Mary* and Charles* Heider Mary* and Richard* D. Holland Aline Hosman* Sally and Gary* Kaplan Joanne and David Kolenda Graham Lusk* Ann* and Allan* Mactier Constance B. Meunier*

Sharee and Murray Newman Ephraim L. Marks* and David M. Rice* Mark Allen Maser Joan F.* and Richard* L. O’Brien Ann and Paul O'Hara Mr. and Mrs.* Robert E. Owen Rev. David Pace Mary and Richard* Parrish Thompson H. Rogers* Jane and Carl* Rohman Ruth and William* Scott Eve and Fred* Simon Dr. and Mrs. Michael* and Shirley Sorrell Dr. Judith Stoewe* Mary Ann and Jerrold* Strasheim Janet and Jerry Syslo Bruni and Roy* Thylin Mary Beth and James Winner

We are grateful to the following individuals who designated a portion of their estate to support Opera Omaha, upon their passing.

Rabbi Myer S.* and Dorothy Kripke* Pauline D. Nelson* Howard B. Silberg* Margaret Wiltse* Annie F. Zinn*

SPECIAL FUNDS We thank the donors who have established restricted funds to honor a family, friend, and loved one. These named funds provide important ongoing support through Opera Omaha’s endowment.

The Barbara Willson Fund The Jane Hill Education Fund The William Randolph Hearst Fund

For more information about ways to give, sample language for bequests, or to inform us of your inclusion of Opera Omaha in your estate plans, please reach Joe Prickett, Director of Development at (402) 346-7372 or jprickett@operaomaha.org. *Deceased

OPERA OMAHA

CORPORATE, FOUNDATION & GOVERNMENT DONORS CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE

BACKER

ADVOCATE

Anonymous Applied Underwriters, Inc. Douglas County Board of Commissioners Holland Foundation Peter Kiewit Foundation Omaha Steaks/Simon Legacy Ventures LLC. The William Randolph Hearst Foundation Weitz Family Foundation

Adah and Leon Millard Foundation Baxter Conagra Brands Foundation Heider Family Foundation Iowa West Foundation Jetton Charitable Fund Kiewit Mutual of Omaha Opera Omaha Craftsman's Guild Opera Omaha Guild

Amphion Foundation Backer Family Charitable Trust Baird Foundation Inc. Burlington Capital Foundation Cobank Edward and Lida Robinson Charitable Trust Fraser Stryker Heritage Omaha Humanities Nebraska Koley Jessen P.C., LLC Lincoln Financial Foundation, Inc. OPERA America Paypal Giving Fund Strauss Charitable Fund The Fred and Sally Bekins Foundation

$100,000+

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE $50,000-$99,000

Anonymous FNBO

PRODUCER

$25,000-$49,999

Anonymous Allan and Ann Mactier Charitable Foundation Nebraska Arts Council Nebraska Cultural Endowment Omaha Magazine University of Nebraska Medical Center Valmont Industries, Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

BENEFACTOR $5,000-$9,999

CL Werner Foundation HDR, Inc. Husch Blackwell LLP Security National Bank The FS Foundation Inc Union Pacific Corporation University of Nebraska Foundation University of Nebraska - Omaha Walter Scott Family Foundation Whitmore Charitable Trust

$1-$4,999

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OPERA OMAHA

REPERTOIRE HISTORY 1958-59

Madama Butterfly Tosca Oklahoma!

Hansel and Gretel

1959-60

Carousel Pagliacci/Quivera

1960-61

1971-72

Rigoletto The Tales of Hoffmann

1972-73

Madama Butterfly Romeo and Juliet Un Ballo in Maschera

1973-74

Die Fledermaus La traviata

Tosca The Marriage of Figaro The Elixir of Love

1961-62

1974-75

The Merry Widow La bohème

1962-63

Carmen La Périchole

1963-64

Aida The Barber of Seville

1964-65

Lucia di Lammermoor The Marriage of Figaro

1965-66

Rigoletto Madama Butterfly

La bohème Lucia di Lammermoor La Périchole

1975-76

1969-70

Faust Cavalleria Rusticana/ Pagliacci

1970-71

Aida Die Fledermaus

1977-78

The Barber of Seville Werther La bohème

1979-80

Die Fledermaus* La traviata* The Pirates of Penzance

1980-81

Così fan tutte Susannah Rigoletto

1981-82

The Daughter of the Regiment Carmen The Magic Flute

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1984-85

Tosca Falstaff Gianni Schicchi/Pagliacci

1985-86

Turandot Lucia di Lammermoor The Marriage of Figaro

1987-88

Aida The Merry Widow Don Pasquale Don Giovanni

1978-79

La traviata Carmen

Aida* The Tales of Hoffmann Don Giovanni

1976-77

1967-68

1968-69

1983-84

1986-87

Il Trovatore The Ballad of Baby Doe Tosca La bohème

Don Pasquale Faust Madama Butterfly

La traviata Manon Bilby’s Doll The Barber of Seville

Madama Butterfly The Abduction from the Seraglio* The Bartered Bride

1966-67

1982-83

La traviata The Barber of Seville Porgy and Bess The Turn of the Screw* The Juniper Tree* Where’s Dick?

Amahl & the Night Visitors* Carmen La bohème

1988-89

Oklahoma!

Partenope+ The Diary of One Who Vanished White Rose A Celebration of Bel Canto Rigoletto Manon

1989-90

Plácido Domingo in Concert Show Boat Madama Butterfly Romeo and Juliet*

1990-91

Carousel Angelina Reaux in “Stranger Here Myself” Maria Padilla+ The Golem+ Il Trovatore* The Magic Flute

1991-92

My Fair Lady Tosca Don Giovanni*

1992-93

Ermione+ The Gardens of Adonis*** Autumn Valentine*** Eugene Onegin* The Flying Dutchman

1993-94

Vive Toulouse!

Requiem Variations*** Fidelio The Pirates of Penzance

1994-95

The Merry Widow La traviata Carmen

1995-96

The Daughter of the Regiment* Turandot The Barber of Seville

1996-97

Così fan tutte* La bohème Faust

1997-98

Don Pasquale Madama Butterfly La Cenerentola Opera Omaha 40

1998-99

Eric Hermannson’s Soul***† Aida The Marriage of Figaro

1999-00

2008-09

Samuel Ramey in “A Date with the Devil” Samson et Dalila Tosca*

The Blizzard Voices***† The Pirates of Penzance La bohème

2000-01

Amahl & the Night Visitors* Carmina Burana/Pagliacci Falstaff Man of La Mancha

Night for American Song Pagliacci Brundibár The Marriage of Figaro So in Love with Broadway*

2001-02

2010-11

All-American! Concert Amahl & the Night Visitors Otello Little Women Don Giovanni

2002-03

Richard Rodgers’ America Concert Carmen The Turn of the Screw* H.M.S. Pinafore Bloodlines***†

2003-04

La bohème Lucia di Lammermoor Cold Sassy Tree*

2004-05

The Threepenny Opera* The Tender Land* Dream of the Pacific***† Turandot La traviata

2005-06

Paul Bunyan Madama Butterfly* The Abduction from theSeraglio*

2006-07

Tosca Wakonda’s Dream***† The Barber of Seville

2007-08

All The King’s Men* The Tragedy of Carmen* Aida*

2009-10

Opera for the Cure* Don Giovanni Madama Butterfly

2011-12

This is Opera!* Hansel and Gretel* The Marriage Contract* The Mikado

2012-13

La traviata The Magic Flute* Bluebeard’s Castle*

2013-14

Opera Outdoors* Carmen Agrippina* La Cenerentola

2014-15

Opera Outdoors* Rigoletto* A Flowering Tree* Fidelio

2015-16

Opera Outdoors* The Barber of Seville La fanciulla del West Semele*

2016-17

Opera Outdoors* La bohème Così fan tutte* Flight* Stranger from Paradise***†

2017-18

Opera Outdoors* Tosca* Falstaff* Medea* Proving Up*† ONE Festival***

2018-19

2023-24

Opera Outdoors* Don Pasquale El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered La traviata El último sueño de Frida y Diego

2024-25

Opera Outdoors* Pagliacci The Elixir of Love Les Enfants terribles* Faust*+ ONE Festival***

Opera Outdoors* Don Giovanni The Rake's Progress Giulio Cesare Fantastic Mr. Fox*

2019-20

2025-26

Opera Outdoors* Madama Butterfly The Abduction from the Seraglio

2020-21

Opera Outdoors Broadcast dwb++ Miranda++ MODULATION++ Concert with the Omaha Symphony: Bizet, Mahler and Chausson Opera Under the Stars* La boheme++

Opera Outdoors* The Barber of Seville Susannah Hercules Bluebeard's Castle* UnShakeable*

* New production + American Premiere *** World Premiere † Commissioned Work ++ Film/Digital Premiere

2021-22

Opera Outdoors* The Capulets and the Montagues* Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street* Eugene Onegin*

2022-23

Opera Outdoors* X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X* Suor Angelica The Marriage of Figaro

DON PASQUALE | OCTOBER 2023

55

OMAHA PERFORMING ARTS

BOARD AND ADMINISTRATION OMAHA PERFORMING ARTS Omaha Performing Arts is the local non-profit arts organization that manages the Orpheum Theater and owns and operates the Holland Performing Arts Center, and Steelhouse Omaha

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

STAFF

Jack Koraleski, Chair

Joan H. Squires, President

D. David Slosburg, Vice Chair

Arnold Reeves, Senior Vice President and COO

Michael S. Cassling, Vice Chair

Gennean Scott Gray, Senior Vice President and CSO

Avner M. Applbaum H. Dele Davies, M.D. Meg Lauritzen Dodge Scott C. Heider Todd L. Johnson Christopher Leitner Rodrigo López Sharlon Rodgers Rachel Werner John K. Boyer, Secretary

56

SUSANNAH | WINTER 2026

Sabrina Weiss, Senior Vice President of Development Andy Cassano, Vice President of Programming and Education Erika Hansen, Vice President of Commercial Entertainment Ryan Murray, Associate Vice President of Operations Alyssa Stieren, Associate Vice President of Finance & Information Services Ashley Voorhees, Vice President of Patron Services

OMAHA PERFORMING ARTS

GENERAL INFORMATION FOOD SERVICES The Orpheum Theater, Holland Center, and Steelhouse Omaha are served exclusively by O-pa Food and Beverage Services, who deliver a range of offerings, including pre-performance and intermission service. Beverages with lids purchased in the lobbies may be brought into halls at both venues.

Menus are available for private parties, special events and meetings that are tailored to individual needs and event budgets. For more information or to book an event in either venue, contact (402) 345-0202 or events@o-pa.org.

To have a consistent policy for all of our venues, the Orpheum Theater is now cashless.

What that means for you: • Card will be the only accepted payment for food and drinks at the Orpheum.

• You can convert your cash to a Visa ReadyCARD for free at the house manager’s desk at the Orpheum.

• Your Visa ReadyCARD has no expiration and can be used anywhere that accepts prepaid debit cards.

• Cash can still be used to purchase tickets.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY Doctors, parents or patrons expecting phone calls are advised to leave their seat location (shown on the ticket) with the appropriate parties and with the house manager or head usher. The emergency telephone number during performances is (402) 661-8555. The attendant will forward calls to the appropriate venue.

PARKING Orpheum Theater – nearby and conveniently located garage parking is available at OPPD with entrances on Howard Street between 16th and 17th streets and on 17th Street. OPPD garage closes one hour after final curtain. Surface lot and street parking are also available.

Holland Performing Arts Center – easy-access garage parking is available in Omaha Park 8 directly north of the Holland Center with entrances on Dodge or Capitol streets. Park 8 closes one hour after final curtain. Street parking is also available.

Steelhouse Omaha - easy-access garage parking is available at the National Indemnity garage at 322 N. 12th street, other options include Omaha Park 8 and street parking.

FIRE OR TORNADO NOTICES In the event of fire, tornado or other emergency, patrons will be given instructions regarding evacuation of the facility or relocation to areas of refuge. Please do not run; walk to the designated areas as directed.

LOST AND FOUND Lost articles may be retrieved by speaking with an usher. If you have already left the venue, please call Omaha Performing Arts Security: (402) 661-8555.

ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES Omaha Performing Arts is committed to ensuring every patron’s performance experience is convenient, safe and remarkable. Both the Orpheum and Holland offer a wide range of accessibility features. Unique requests may be accommodated by contacting Ticket Omaha in advance.

• Accessible seating throughout the hall.

• Accessible parking adjacent to the theater.

• Accessible restrooms.

• Accessible backstage accommodations for performers and technicians, including accessible entries, dressing rooms and restrooms.

• American Sign Language interpretation is scheduled on select Saturday Broadway matinee performances at the Orpheum but may be arranged in advance

of other performances by calling Ticket Omaha.

• The Orpheum is equipped with hearing loop technology. Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) are also available for all performances in both venues. Ask the house manager or usher for assistance.

• GalaPro for closed captioning for select Broadway performances and other performances can be requested in advance via box office.

• Guide and service dogs are welcome.

If you have any special requests or concerns, please contact Ticket Omaha, toll free at 866.434.8587 or locally at 402.345.0606. Or email ticketomaha@o-pa.org. We are pleased to assist you with your needs.

TICKET OMAHA Tickets for all performances at the Orpheum Theater and Holland Performing Arts Center are purchased through Ticket Omaha online at TicketOmaha.com; by mail at 1200 Douglas Street, Omaha, NE 68102; by phone toll free at (866) 434-TKTS (8587) or (402) 345-0606, Monday through Friday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; or in person at the Ticket Omaha box office, 13th and Douglas streets, Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Tickets for shows at Steelhouse Omaha are sold through Ticketmaster unless otherwise noted.

ENTRY INSPECTION All guests attending events at our venues are subject to visual and bag inspections conducted by Omaha Performing Arts security. Visit TicketOmaha.com/faqs for a list of items not permitted in the Holland Center and Orpheum Theater and Steelhouseomaha.com/visit for Steelhouse Omaha policies.

SUSANNAH | WINTER 2026

57

OPERA OMAHA

GET INVOLVED Without the dedication and perseverance of outstanding volunteers and support groups, our productions would not be as beautiful, our bottom line would not be as sound, and our sense of community would not be as strong. For these, and many other reasons, we extend a heartfelt thank you to the following organizations.

We invite you to get involved and become a volunteer or member of one of our support groups. For more information about the following opportunities, please visit: operaomaha.org/get-involved or email opera@operaomaha.org.

OPERA OMAHA GUILD

VOLUNTEERS

The Opera Omaha Guild is a dedicated group of individuals who actively support Opera Omaha’s fundraising and community engagement and education activities.

Members plan and promote events such as Cotillion (etiquette classes for area sixth graders), social luncheons, educational activities, opera study groups and pre-performance parties.

If you are interested in joining the Opera Omaha Guild please call us at (402) 346-7372 or visit our website for additional information.

Volunteers help Opera Omaha complete essential tasks like assisting with community events, ushering at concerts, or providing additional office support. It is clear without their help, Opera Omaha would not be able to bring world class opera to Omaha stages or the community.

Students can also fulfill required community service hours for groups like National Honor Society by volunteering with Opera Omaha.

For more information, please fill out the inquiry form at shareomaha.org/ nonprofit/opera-omaha.

CRAFTSMAN’S GUILD Integral to Opera Omaha’s success since 1962, the Craftsman’s Guild members donate stagecraft skills in the areas of wardrobe, makeup/wigs, concessions, and parties. Focused on meeting the backstage needs of guest artists and the production, members enjoy the camaraderie and reward of helping to create top notch performances for the Omaha community.

SUPERNUMERARIES

OPERA OMAHA CHORUS The Opera Omaha Chorus is comprised of professionally trained singers from Omaha, Lincoln and surrounding communities. Please contact the company for the next audition date. Prospective candidates will be assigned a time slot and asked to present two selections; one in a foreign language, one in English, and neither selection can exceed five minutes in total. Arias, art songs, or church solos are all acceptable as audition pieces. Please provide printed music for the accompanist, who will be available at no cost.

Supernumeraries appear on stage in non-speaking, non-singing roles, much like being an extra in a movie.

Being a “super” takes some time and patience, but is a lot of fun and a great learning experience. Super roles are varied but might include servants, soldiers, peasants, priests and priestesses, dancers, bartenders, waiters, ragamuffins, pickpockets, and sometimes even animals! All ages, including children, are needed.

ADVERTISING For Opera Omaha program book advertising, please contact: Kyle Thomas Director of Marketing and Communication 402.346.7372 X300 kthomas@operaomaha.org 58

SUSANNAH | WINTER 2026

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