The Rake's Progress

The Rake's Progress

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THE RAKE'S PROGRESS FEBRUARY 7 & 9, 2025 Letter from the General Director ���������������������������������������� 4 Board of Directors ����������������������������������������������������������������� 6 Opera Omaha Staff ���������������������������������������������������������������� 7 Major Contributors �������������������������������������������������������������� 11 Conductor's Note ���������������������������������������������������������������� 12 Director's Note �������������������������������������������������������������������� 17 Title Page ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 19 Synopsis �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 20 Artist Biographies ��������������������������������������������������������������� 22 Production Staff ������������������������������������������������������������������ 27 Opera Omaha Chorus �������������������������������������������������������� 27 Omaha Symphony ��������������������������������������������������������������� 28 Craftsman’s Guild ���������������������������������������������������������������� 30 Opera Omaha Guild ����������������������������������������������������������� 31 Holland Community Opera Fellowship �������������������������� 34 Education Programs ����������������������������������������������������������� 36 Poetry & Music Project ������������������������������������������������������ 37 Opera Omaha Donors �������������������������������������������������������� 38 Memorials & Tributes ��������������������������������������������������������� 41 Fortissimo Society & Special Funds �������������������������������� 44 Corporate & Foundation Donors ������������������������������������ 45 Repertoire History �������������������������������������������������������������� 46 OPA Board and Administration ���������������������������������������� 48 OPA General Information ������������������������������������������������� 49 Get Involved ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 50

FROM THE GENERAL DIRECTOR

WELCOME TO OPERA OMAHA It is a dreamy cast and creative team, too. You will enjoy the company debuts of Craig Colclough, Liv Redpath, Margaret Gawrysiak, Rehanna Thelwell, Donovan Singletary, Brian Jeffers and the return of Adrian Kramer, all under the baton of Principal Guest Conductor Steven White.

There is still much to enjoy this season, with The English Concert’s performance of Giulio Cesare on May 1 next on the schedule. We hope you will join us for this special one-night only performance with the world-renowned Baroque orchestra under the leadership of Harry Bicket. We have already sold tickets to guests from seven states who are making the trip to Omaha just to see Giulio Cesare!

DEAR FRIENDS: Welcome to the Opera Omaha premiere of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, a masterpiece of music and poetry that is being performed for the first time in our 67-year history!

The Rake’s Progress is based on a series of moral paintings by the 18th-century artist William Hogarth, and it follows the story of a young man named Tom Rakewell who inherits a large sum of money only to squander it through a series of poor decisions.

A colleague described The Rake’s Progress as a “bucket list opera,” or an opera that everyone wants to see or produce at least once in their lifetime. It is beloved for its musical richness, witty libretto, and finely drawn characters.

It is also a spectacle, with grand sets and costumes and a large chorus. Our performances mark the 50th anniversary of David Hockney’s iconic production which premiered in 1975 at the Glyndebourne Festival in the United Kingdom. We are honored to welcome Shannan Kelly, the Director of David Hockney, Inc., and George Snyder, David Hockney’s longtime archivist, as our guests on opening night.

LEER EN ESPAÑOL

I have a personal connection to The Rake’s Progress.

It was produced in the Santa Fe Opera’s first season in 1957 (only six years after its world premiere in Venice!), and Stravinsky would go on to be an influential force at the company. As a gesture to the Santa Fe Opera, where many of my opera dreams came true, I wanted to bring The Rake’s Progress to Omaha, where my biggest opera dream came true.

June brings the inaugural production of the Family Opera Series: Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox performed outdoors at Lauritzen Gardens from June 5-8. Featuring larger-than-life puppets and performances by 20 local children alongside international artists, it is a must-see event.

And subscriptions are on sale now for our 25/26 Season! Next season features five operas: The Barber of Seville, Susannah, Hercules, Bluebeard’s Castle, and UnShakeable. We open our season with a traditional production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, which has delighted audiences since its premiere in 1816—and was made notorious by Bugs Bunny in The Rabbit of Seville.

In February, we present Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, the quintessential American tragedy influenced by the music and culture of small-town life in the South. Following Susannah, Harry Bicket and The English Concert return to Omaha for a one-night performance of Handel’s spectacular Hercules.

In April, Opera Omaha and the Omaha Symphony join forces for Bartok’s chilling masterpiece, Bluebeard’s Castle, performed at the Holland Center. In June, the Family Opera Series continues with UnShakeable, a one-act exploration of Shakespeare for audiences of all ages.

Thank you for being with us and sharing the experience of Omaha’s first production of The Rake’s Progress. We are very grateful that you chose to make Opera Omaha part of your cultural life.

Sincerely,

Allison Swenson GENERAL DIRECTOR

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THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

The Nebraska Cultural Endowment is proud to support Opera Omaha Learn more about how we are investing in a greater Nebraska at NebraskaCulturalEndowment.org

Investing in the arts and humanities for a greater Nebraska.

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OPERA OMAHA

BOARD OF DIRECTORS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ADVISORS

Linda Burt Rebrovic

Linda Andersen

CHAIR

Jo Bartikoski

Kiley Freeman VICE CHAIR

Carol E. Domina

Nicholas Bjornson

SECRETARY

Roger Blauwet

H. Frederick Kuehl

Sandra Bruns

TREASURER

Dr. Karen Fannin

Dr. Jawed Bharwani

Betty Foster

ADVISORS CHAIR

Angie Williams COMMUNITY PANEL REPRESENTATIVE

Leslie Garth Dr. Fred Hanna Carter Jones

Dr. Anne Bruckner

Mark Allen Maser

Dr. Ali Khan

Sheila McNeil

Mihaela Kobjerowski

April Nebel

Dr. Joanne Li Barbara Person Terri Sanders Joe Spitzenberger Jara Sturdivant-Wilson

EMERITUS BOARD Terrence J. Ferguson Robert E. Owen Mary Ann Strasheim

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Dr. Jawed Bharwani

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

Deb Peterson Dr. Debra Reilly-Culver Mary Ann Strasheim Jerry Syslo Dr. James Tracy Jim Winner Lora Kaup OPERA OMAHA GUILD PRESIDENT

Chris Tombrello CRAFTSMAN’S GUILD PRESIDENT

OPERA OMAHA

STAFF

Allison Swenson GENERAL DIRECTOR

ADMINISTRATION

ENGAGEMENT

Shannon Walenta

Lauren Medici

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Jenny Daggett

Wendy Kaiser

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April Hartman

Rosemary Joyce

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HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOW

Cydnea Hoff

Pat McEvoy

OFFICE MANAGER

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Gwyn Williams

Aiden Poling

DEI, LEADERSHIP & ORGANIZATION CULTURE CONSULTANT

ARTISTIC Katrina Thurman DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION

Kai Song Chan ARTISTIC OPERATIONS MANAGER

Josh Quinn HEAD OF MUSIC & CHORUS DIRECTOR

Steven White PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR

DEVELOPMENT Joe Prickett DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Rebecca Ihnen DONOR STEWARDSHIP & EVENTS MANAGER

Laura Jaros DEVELOPMENT DATABASE & ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER

HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOW

Alejandra Sandoval-Montañez HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOW

MARKETING Kyle Thomas DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Rachel Austin ART DIRECTOR

Howard Coffin AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT & SALES MANAGER

PRODUCTION Lara Marsh DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION

Grant Hilgenkamp TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Chad Curran ASSISTANT TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

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2025 FESTIVAL SEASON JUNE 27 - JULY 20

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN WAGNER THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN JANÁČEK THE RAKE’S PROGRESS STRAVINSKY Experience world-class opera in a theatre that brings you within arm’s reach of the action onstage.

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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.

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THE RAKE'S PROGRESS

CONDUCTOR'S NOTE The readily apparent aptness of the music for the text (and vice versa) in Igor Stravinsky and W. H. Auden’s The Rake’s Progress is one of the great wonders of 20th-century operatic accomplishment. It is a creative collaboration that should be honored with the reverential tones with which we celebrate Mozart and Da Ponte, Verdi and Boito, Strauss and Hofmannsthal.

Not only did they create the story together, but they united their respective languages of word and music in an uncommonly common purpose.

Auden’s craft and rhetorical demeanor is not far distant from that of the Enlightenment poet Alexander Pope—always clear, always beautifully stylized, and rife with proverbial wisdom. Which is exactly what must be said of Stravinsky’s music. It isn’t derivative merely as a trick. His use of 18thcentury style is the exactly appropriate musical vessel in which to infuse dramatic immediacy and symbolic efficacy to realize the details of the drama.

Composed in Los Angeles just five years or so after the end of World War II, The Rake’s Progress is the culmination of Stravinsky’s nearly thirty-year “neoclassical” experimentation, breathing life into widely discarded musical forms that had been deemed by many to have long since served their purpose.

Stravinsky’s opera is a “numbers” opera, as he himself described it, incorporating the formal procedures of 18th-century operatic construction with set pieces—arias, duets, larger ensembles and choruses— mortared together by “secco recitativo” (recitative accompanied by harpsichord) and recitativo accompagnato (recitative accompanied by orchestra).

The interplay of old and new style is on display from the opening notes of the prelude, a toccata for trumpets and horns that hearkens back in spirit to the introductory bars of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo of 1607, the first great opera in history.

Complete musical analysis of the opera is a nearly endless expedition into a mine of wonders great and small. The specificity of each note, the contour of every phrase, the color of every harmonic inuendo— everything has significance and purpose, even while the music seems to unfold with effortless rightness.

Tom Rakewell is one of the most wonderfully delicious roles available to any tenor. The sheer beauty with which Stravinsky and Auden clothe his utterances is luxurious in the extreme. His first recitative and aria, “Here I stand,” begins with the same half-step as Anne’s first words, unfolding at first with true classically maestoso string writing that undergirds his confidence. Yet when he starts the aria proper, he is accompanied only by two bassoons somewhat mockingly pointing out the folly of his text, “Since it is not by merit we rise or we fall, but the favour of Fortune that governs us all, why should I labour for what in the end she will give me for nothing if she be my friend?” And here we see the beginning of Tom’s demise.

"...a conscious embrace

“Neo-classical” implies an obvious duality—a conscious embrace of both the past and the present. Stravinsky very purposefully and openly appropriates the style of Mozart (Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni, most particularly), Händel, even Bach, and Monteverdi. But this warm luminescence of diatonic comfort is very often refracted through modern sonorities and angular melodic contours. The effect is both marvelous and disturbing. As Tom says at the top of Act II, “I walk an endless hall of chandeliers, in light that blinds, in light that seers, reflected in a million smiles...”

of both the past

and the present."

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It’s difficult for us to accuse Tom of being completely evil, particularly when he so readily expresses his remorse at every turn, and with such seeming sincerity. Tom opens the second act with one of the greatest English-language tenor arias of the 20th,

or any, century, “Vary the song, O London, change!”

Here Stravinsky and Auden are equally profound in their treatment of symbolism. Auden writes “disband your notes and let them range,” indicating Tom’s weariness of the same old futile pursuits that fail to provide him happiness. Stravinsky sets the text to music that has plaintive oboe, clarinet, and bassoon twining and “ranging” up and down the scale with endearing suggestion. In the fast middle section of the aria, Tom says, “Up, Nature! The hunt is on, the pack is in full cry.” Here Stravinsky employs the same unique accompanimental figure that Mozart uses in Dorabella’s “Smanie implacabili,” when she says, “Implacable desires, which are torturing me, do not leave this soul of mine until my anguish makes me die.” Così fan tutte appears an obvious point of inspiration for Stravinsky.

find in J. S. Bach’s cantata 82, "Ich habe genug", a poetic setting from the New Testament in which Simeon prays, upon seeing the infant Christ, “Lord dismiss thy servant, for I have seen thy salvation.”

Ancient Simeon now awaits his eternal sleep.

In like token, Adonis (Tom), having at last seen Venus (Anne), is ready for oblivion, and asks to sleep on her breast.

"The specificity of each

note, the contour of every

When he awakes, Tom realizes that Anne is gone forever and cries out, “My heart breaks. I feel the chill of death’s approaching wing.

Orpheus, strike from thy lyre a swan-like music, and weep, ye nymphs and shepherds of these Stygian fields, weep for Adonis, the beautiful, the young: Weep for Adonis whom Venus loved.” Here Stravinsky pays homage to the iconic and profound "Possente spirto" of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo with an outpouring of improvisational-sounding vocal writing that is both breathtaking and heartbreaking.

phrase, the color

of every harmonic inuendo— everything has significance

and purpose, even while the music seems to unfold with effortless rightness."

In the final scene, once Tom has been rendered insane, Stravinsky goes back even further into musical history to inform the music with perfect poignancy.

As he makes his confession to Anne (who he thinks is Venus), Tom (thinking himself Adonis) sings, beginning with the same half-step interval noted from the beginning of the opera, “In a foolish dream, in a gloomy labyrinth I hunted shadows, disdaining thy true love; forgive thy servant, who repents his madness, forgive Adonis and he shall faithful prove.”

Calling upon a solo oboe over murmuring strings, Stravinsky gives this profound moment the same sense of world-weariness and resignation as we

Of course, every character, not just Tom, gets the same “neo-classical” magical treatment and special care from librettist and composer. Anne Trulove, as her name makes clear, gets what must be one of the biggest show stopping moments in all of 20thcentury opera. Her great scena that brings act one to a close is a hallmark example of the recitativearia-cabaletta form that opera lovers associate with Contessa, Donna Anna, and Fiordiligi of Mozart. “I go, I go to him” is as virtuosic and technically difficult a piece of stage singing as has ever been written.

LEER EN ESPAÑOL

(Continued on next page) THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

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OPERAOMAHA

INTRODUCING THE FAMILY OPERA SERIES Opera Omaha is thrilled to create the Family Opera Series. Each year Opera Omaha will produce one opera intended for audiences of all ages. These imaginative productions will take place in unique locations across the city.

Fantastic Mr. Fox JUNE 5-8, 2025 LAURITZEN GARDENS TICKETOMAHA.COM

PRODUCTION SPONSORS

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT

Edgar Foster Daniels Foundation

Giger Foundation

Polina and Bob Schlott

Jetton Charitable Fund

PUBLIC SUPPORT

Baba the Turk, while among the strangest and not clearly understood characters in all of opera, is allowed to express herself through a “rage aria,” an angular and outrageous outburst of anger and hurt feelings replete with frequent prop damage.

It should be noted that Nick is the element that most brings out the “neo” in Stravinsky’s “neo-classical” approach. Take for example the introduction to the graveyard scene in Act III. Creeping ominously forward along the jagged path of an octatonic scale, the prelude, written for solo string quartet, is as far from anything that would be associated with classical form or harmony, save for the restrained number of its instrumental forces. As the scene develops, Stravinsky achieves a bizarre and macabre atmosphere with the use of harpsichord by itself to accompany the fateful card game happening on stage. This “classical” instrument used in a very “neo” and brittle way, charges the entire scene with profound discomfort and foreboding.

Finally, some mention should be given to the chorus, who, whether whores, roaring boys, or sad dwellers of Bedlam, are given some of the pithiest and proverb-like things to say.

Everywhere and always, Auden and Stravinsky unceasingly display their rhetorical and expressive genius.

— Steven White

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CLEOPATRA AND COUNTERTENORS.

Giulio Cesare MAY 1, 2025

As part of its three-stop American tour, The English Concert brings Giulio Cesare to Carnegie Hall, University of California, Berkeley, and Opera Omaha.

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ORPHEUM THEATER TICKETOMAHA.COM PRODUCTION SPONSORS Mary and Richard Parrish Robert E. Owen

FROM THE DIRECTOR Having witnessed the overwhelming devastation caused by the Second World War, exiled Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, expat British poet W.H. Auden, along with the American poet Chester Kallmann constructed their 1951 opera The Rake’s Progress as a parable of humankind’s misguided struggle with the desire for happiness. When the curtain rises, we find Tom Rakewell in a sort of Eden with the ruler of his heart, Anne Trulove. Anne’s father, however, insists that his daughter cannot be had for free, but must be earned with hard work. Rejecting this idea, young Tom sets his hope on trusting his will and the grace of fortune to give him whatever his ego desires. When Tom speaks out loud the words “I wish I had money,” Nick Shadow appears and tells Tom he has inherited a fortune, but that to claim it he must enter the big city. In his flight from hard work and responsibility, Tom is tempted by the entertainments and inventions of the modern world offered to him by Shadow, who, having cleverly induced Tom to dig his own grave, eventually reveals he is the Devil himself.

This production is the first in what was to be a significant part of David Hockney’s artistic output; his designs for opera. Subsequent designs for The Magic Flute, Tristan und Isolde, a Stravinsky Triple Bill (The Rite of Spring/Le rossignol/Oedipus Rex) and a French Triple Bill (Parade/Les mamelles de Tirésias/L'enfant et les sortilèges) for The Met, Die Frau ohne Schatten and Turandot followed, but none have been so regularly revived as The Rake’s Progress, now in its 50th year of revivals of John Cox’s staging.

Like Stravinsky himself, who was inspired by a series of Hogarth etchings, Hockney returned to these same drawings to create this now famous series of visual tableaux of his own, reflecting the various states of Tom’s descent from bucolic innocence to his end in Bedlam, all made vibrantly alive by John’s Cox’s concise and direct staging of the tale. How more apt than the present to contemplate the vision of artists like Stravinsky and Auden, who in some sense lived the tale of the opera themselves, and to be invited to reflect on how these themes continue play out in our own lives, and in our collective history.

LEER EN ESPAÑOL

— Roy Rallo

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The Rake’s Progress Music by Igor Stravinsky Libretto by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman Performed in English with English supertitles

February 7 & 9, 2025 Orpheum Theater, Slosburg Hall | Omaha, Nebraska First performance: Teatro La Fenice, Venice, Italy – September 11, 1951 Opera Omaha Premiere: February 7, 2025

CREATIVE

CAST

Steven White

Adrian Kramer

CONDUCTOR

TOM RAKEWELL

Roy Rallo

Liv Redpath*

DIRECTOR

ANNE TRULOVE

David Hockney*

Craig Colclough*

SCENIC & COSTUME DESIGNER

NICK SHADOW

Pablo Santiago

Margaret Gawrysiak*

LIGHTING DESIGNER

BABA THE TURK

Ronell Oliveri

Donovan Singletary*

WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER

FATHER TRULOVE

Rehanna Thelwell* MOTHER GOOSE

Brian Jeffers* SELLEM

Jesse Wohlman KEEPER OF THE MADHOUSE *Opera Omaha Debut

Steven White sponsored by Linda Burt Rebrovic and John Rebrovic Liv Redpath sponsored by Mutual of Omaha Rehanna Thelwell sponsored by Catherine and Terry Ferguson The Omaha Symphony Harpsichord | Lindsay Woodward* Opera Omaha Chorus | Josh Quinn, director Originally built by San Francisco Opera.

Scenery and Costumes provided by Pittsburgh Opera.

The performance runs approximately 3 hours with two 15-minute intermissions.

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

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS

SYNOPSIS ACT I SCENE 1

ACT II SCENE 1

Tom Rakewell, a young and penniless country gentleman, is in love with Anne Trulove, but her father, the squire, doubts Tom’s strength of character.

His suspicions are confirmed when Tom refuses his offer of steady employment in the city. Tom is content to put his trust in Fortune.

Tom has grown disillusioned by his life in London.

Nick exhorts him to marry Baba the Turk, the new sensation of Giles’ Fair – only if he acts freely can he be happy. To be free he must defy the tyranny of appetite and conscience – the bearded Baba is the antithesis of appetite, and he owes her no duty.

Therefore, she is the perfect agent for his happiness.

Tom allows himself to be persuaded by Nick and sets off to woo and win her as his bride.

A stranger, who announces himself as Nick Shadow, suddenly arrives with the news that an unknown uncle of Tom’s has died and left him a fortune. Tom must go at once to London to wrap up his uncle’s estate, and Nick offers himself as Tom’s servant and guide through the intricacies of London life. The question of his salary can be decided in due course – in one year and a day, Tom shall pay him what his services prove to have been worth. Tom takes leave of Anne and her father and sets off with Nick to London.

SCENE 2 Nick introduces Tom to some of the bawdier attractions of the big city, teaching him a new creed: to be guided by instinct rather than the rules, and to seek pleasure above all things. Tom is schooled in Nick’s lessons by Mother Goose, but when he struggles to banish his memories of Anne, the woman decides to take him in hand, and leads him off to introduce him to pleasure.

SCENE 3 Months have passed but Anne has heard no news of Tom. She senses that Tom needs her, and resolves to go in search of him in London.

LEER EN ESPAÑOL

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THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

SCENE 2 Anne finds her way to Tom’s house and sees him arrive home escorting a closed sedan chair. She greets him, but he begs her to return home and forget him. London has no use for her virtue. Anne reaffirms her love for Tom but leaves him, shamed, when she learns that the impatient occupant of the sedan chair is Baba the Turk, now his wife. Tom leads the veiled Baba to the house, as the townspeople crowd around the door begging for a glimpse of her.

SCENE 3 Baba sits at breakfast with Tom among the presents given to her on a series of triumphant European tours by her countless admirers. Tom is bored and infuriates her with his indifference. She accuses him of retaining his love for Anne and rages until Tom silences her.

He relapses into sleep – the last refuge of the bored.

Nick now prepares to complete Tom’s downfall by adding financial disaster to his moral and domestic ruin. He wheels in a fantastic, bogus machine for converting stones to bread. Tom wakes and tells Nick that he has been dreaming of just such a machine, believing that it will cure poverty, and bring happiness to the wretched. Thus, with charitable deeds, he may again be worthy of Anne’s love. He leaves to devote all his energies to this noble and philanthropic scheme.

ACT III SCENE 1 Tom’s financial bubble has burst, bringing ruin to himself and countless foolish investors. A crowd of inquisitive townsfolk flocks to attend the auction of his belongings. Anne arrives to ask news of Tom, but no one can tell her where to find him. The auctioneer, Sellem, begins to auction the contents of the house.

In due course he offers a mysterious object. It is Baba, who springs to the defense of her belongings, unconscious of the intervening time since Tom silenced her. Tom and Nick are heard singing from the street, mocking Baba. Anne returns at the sound of the voices. Baba tells her that Tom still loves her and that her love may still save him. Anne rushes out to look for Tom, and Baba decides to go back to her true profession, the stage.

SCENE 2 A year and a day have passed since Nick entered Tom’s service. It is time to claim his wages, Tom’s soul.

An open grave is waiting. He first offers Tom a choice of death by poison, steel, rope, or gun, and then proposes that they play cards to decide his fate. Nick attempts to cheat, but memories of Anne inspire Tom to win the game. Nick is enraged at being outwitted, but though cheated of Tom’s soul, he takes revenge by striking him with insanity.

SCENE 3 Tom is confined to Bedlam. He thinks himself to be Adonis, and when Anne comes to visit him, believes that she is Venus, whom he has long been seeking.

He asks her forgiveness for so long disdaining her love. She comforts him, and sings him to sleep with a lullaby. Her love is unaltered, but realizing that she can no longer help him, she sadly agrees to return home with her father. Tom wakes to find that Venus has gone, and his heart breaks.

EPILOGUE The moral of the fable: The Devil finds work for idle hands, and that includes us all.

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ARTIST

BIOGRAPHIES Steven White

Roy Rallo

Principal Guest Conductor Steven White has lead numerous Opera Omaha productions, including Così fan tutte, Faust, Eugene Onegin, Le nozze di Figaro, and most recently, La traviata. This season Mr. White returns to Merola Opera Program to lead their Grand Finale concert, followed by a return to the Academy of Vocal Arts for Gounod’s Faust. He additionally returns to the Metropolitan Opera for their holiday production of The Magic Flute. Mr. White made his acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut in 2010, conducting performances of La traviata starring Angela Gheorghiu.

In the past several seasons he has returned to the Met to participate as Assistant Conductor in critically fêted productions of 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, Detroit Opera, Baltimore Opera, New Orleans Opera, and many others. He also serves as the Artistic Director of Opera Roanoke.

Roy Rallo returns to Opera Omaha after assistant directing Carmina Burana/Pagliacci. Mr. Rallo has staged John Cox’s production of David Hockney’s The Rake’s Progress for Portland Opera, Utah Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera. He began his career as artistic administrator for Southern California’s Long Beach Opera, where he directed original productions of Mozart’s Lucio silla, Strauss’ Elektra, and Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle. In Europe he has directed new productions of Don Pasquale, an original music theater piece, Methusalem Project, for the National Theater Weimar, Ariadne auf Naxos for Opera National de Bordeaux, Der Rosenkavalier for Den Jyske Opera in Aarhus, Denmark, and co-directed Aida for the Deutsche Berlin, Carmen for the National Theater Mannheim, and Busoni’s Doktor Faustus for the Bavarian State Opera. As staff director at San Francisco Opera he has remounted revivals of The Barber Of Seville, Pique Dame, Il trovatore, Partenope. and his own staging of David Hockney’s design for Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten.

Pablo Santiago

Ronell Oliveri

Pablo Santiago returns to Opera Omaha after last designing lighting for Eugene Onegin. Mr. Santiago is a live performance and digital film lighting designer. He is the winner of the Kinetic Lighting Award for Distinguished Achievement in Theatrical Design, Henry Award, Richard Sherwood Award, Stage Raw Awards, and multiple Ovation Award nominations. Originally from Chiapas, Mexico, his designs aim to find evocative images that embody the emotional moment of the show and can spark the imagination of the audience to worlds beyond the stage. Mr. Santiago has worked at Opera Omaha, The Kennedy Center, Teatro Municipal São Paulo Brazil, Santa Fe Opera, LA Opera, Detroit Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Boston Lyric Opera, Long Beach Opera, Prototype Festival, The Industry, Opera Columbus, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Opera Santa Barbara, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Goodman Theater, Arena Stage DC, BAM-Harvey Theater, Geffen Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum, Denver Center, Los Angeles Theatre Center, Broad Museum, Kirk Douglas Theater, and Hollywood Bowl.

Ronell Oliveri has been designing wigs and makeup for opera, theater, ballet, and film for the past 20 years for such companies as MN 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 Chicago Lyric Opera, LA Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Boston Ballet. She was a Prime-Time 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 Opera Columbus’ Eugene Onegin, Pacific Symphony‘s La bohème, and Central City Opera’s 2024 summer festival. Upcoming engagements include Opera Omaha’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, Boston Lyric Opera’s Mitridate, and Opera Colorado’s Daughter of the Regiment.

Conductor

Lighting Designer

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Director

Wig & Makeup Designer

Adrian Kramer

Liv Redpath

Tom Rakewell

Anne Trulove

Adrian Kramer returns to Opera Omaha after last performing in Opera Outdoors 2023. Last season Mr. Kramer made his role and company debut with Israeli Opera as the Prince in Rusalka. His recent credits include: Cavaradossi in Tosca at Opera San José; Hoffegut in Braunfel’s Die Vögel at Pacific Opera Victoria; Don José in Carmen at Hogfish Summer Festival; Toby Higgins in Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny and the title role in Die Nase at Komische Oper Berlin; Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette at San Diego Opera; Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor at Opera Philadelphia; Ralph Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore at Edmonton Opera; Gérard in Les enfants terribles, Bill in Flight and Joe in La fanciulla del West at Opera Omaha; Don José in Carmen at San Diego Opera; and Borsa in Rigoletto, the Second Nazarene in Salome, Owen's Son in Cold Mountain, and the Second Bodyguard in Dr. Sun Yat-sen at Santa Fe Opera.

Soprano leggero Liv Redpath makes her Opera Omaha debut in The Rake’s Progress. Highlights of the 24/25 Season include a debut with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia as Agnès in Written on Skin, a return to Bayerische Staatsoper as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, joining San Francisco and Seattle Symphonies for Faure’s Requiem, a return to Danish Symphony Orchestra for Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, her debut as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Santa Fe Opera, a debut at the Philharmonie with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France for Debussy’s La Damoiselle élue, singing Boulez’s Le Soleil des eaux at the Lucerne Festival with Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, and the US Premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s Dream Requiem with the LA Master Chorale. Ms. Redpath has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Berliner Philharmoniker, Glyndebourne Festival, The Cleveland Symphony, La Monnaie/De Munt, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Los Angeles Opera, Staatsoper Hamburg, and Edinburgh Festival, among others.

Ms. Redpath is a graduate of Harvard University and The Juilliard School.

Craig Colclough

Margaret Gawrysiak

Bass-baritone Craig Colclough makes his Opera Omaha debut in The Rake’s Progress. Mr. Colclough begins the 24/25 Season with LA Opera, singing Juliette’s father Capulet in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and later makes his debut with Seattle Opera as Scarpia in Tosca. Highlights of his 23/24 Season included his first career performances of the title role of Wagner’s Der fliegende Höllander in a new production at the Göteborg Opera in Sweden, as well as a return to LA Opera for Leporello in Don Giovanni, and his debut at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw singing Alberich in Siegfried. Recent engagements include his Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Bayerische Staatsoper debuts as the title role in Verdi’s Macbeth; Telramund in Lohengrin and Pistola in Falstaff with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Alberich in Das Rheingold with Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde, Scarpia and Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West with English National Opera, and Scarpia for his debut with Canadian Opera Company.

Margaret Gawrysiak makes her Opera Omaha debut in The Rake’s Progress. Ms. Gawrysiak holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Western Illinois University, and is a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, Wolf Trap Opera, and Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program. For the 24/25 Season, she makes her debut at LA Opera as Gertrude in their production of Roméo et Juliette, and returns to the Metropolitan Opera, to cover Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro. Her 23/24 Season engagements included Verdi’s Requiem with the Madison Symphony, Marcellina with New Orleans Opera, and a concert with Opera Edwardsville.

The previous season included her 11th hour debut at the Met, singing the role of Auntie in Peter Grimes, the Marquise de Berkenfield in Minnesota Opera’s production of La fille du régiment, and Madison Opera for Marcellina.

Her notable engagements include Seattle Opera as Marcellina, Vera Boronel in The Consul, Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin, and Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Nick Shadow

Baba the Turk

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23

ARTIST

BIOGRAPHIES Donovan Singletary

Rehanna Thelwell

Bass-baritone Donovan Singletary makes his Opera Omaha debut in The Rake’s Progress. The GRAMMY Award-winning bass-baritone’s 23/24 Season included house debuts with Washington National Opera as Count Capulet in Roméo et Juliette and Pacific Opera Victoria as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, a return to Opera Carolina for Samson et Dalila, and symphonic engagements including Mozart's Requiem with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. His 22/23 engagements included a debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, a return to English National Opera for It's A Wonderful Life, debuts as Crown in Porgy and Bess with North Carolina Opera and Opera Carolina, a debut with Orchestra Iowa singing Verdi's Requiem, and concerts in tribute to Jules Bledsoe. After opening The Metropolitan Opera's 21/22 Season, performing two lead roles in Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up In My Bones, Mr. Singletary enjoyed debuts with Glyndebourne and the BBC Proms.

He also portrayed Antron McCray in Anthony Davis' The Central Park Five with Portland Opera.

Mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell makes her Opera Omaha debut in The Rake’s Progress. Following her tenure at the Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist program, she made a standout debut in the title role of Carmen at The Kennedy Center. This season, Ms. Thelwell will return to Opera Philadelphia for the American premiere of The Listeners, make her Portland Opera debut as Quickly in Falstaff, and join Nashville Opera as Kendra in The Cook Off! Last season, she appeared at San Francisco Opera, Atlanta Opera, Detroit Opera, and Finger Lakes Opera. Notable recent engagements include her debuts at Dutch National Opera, Madison Opera, and the South Florida Symphony. She also performed in Fire Shut Up in My Bones at Lyric Opera of Chicago and made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Exigence Vocal Ensemble. Ms. Thelwell studied at Northern Arizona University and the University of Michigan.

Brian Jeffers

Jesse Wohlman

Brian Jeffers makes his Opera Omaha debut in The Rake’s Progress.

Mr. Jeffers’ 22/23 Season was marked by exciting engagements, including his mainstage role debut as Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd and Lillas Pastia in La Tragedie de Carmen with Chautauqua Opera.

He also made his symphony debut with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. He took the stage at Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall in his Lincoln Center debut in Adolphus Hailstork's oratorio Done Made My Vow with the NY Philharmonic.

His 2024 engagements include the role of the Valet in Viardot's Cendrillon at Knoxville Opera, and he will sing Burrowing Mole in Fantastic Mr. Fox with Opera Omaha this summer. Mr. Jeffers has sung with numerous opera companies including Opera Saratoga, On Site Opera, Mostly Mozart Festival, New Amsterdam Opera, Axelrod Performing Arts Center, and City Lyric Opera

Baritone Jesse Wohlman returns to Opera Omaha after last performing in La traviata. Mr. Wohlman is a singer, actor, songwriter, and university instructor based in Omaha, Nebraska. Locally, he has had the pleasure of working with a variety of performing arts organizations including the Omaha Symphony, BLUEBARN Theatre, Opera Omaha, Vesper Concerts, Salt Creek Song Festival, and is a core member of Résonance. Recent credits include Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Résonance, the Beast in Beauty and the Beast with The Rose Theater, and the bass soloist in Bach’s “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” with the Omaha Symphonic Chorus. Mr. Wohlman received a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a faculty member of the Borland School of Music at Concordia University, Nebraska.

Father Trulove

Sellem

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Mother Goose

Keeper of the Madhouse

THANK YOU TO OUR HOSPITALITY PARTNER

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Alex Ritter

402-498-6130 rittersavagegroup.bairdwealth.com ARitter@rwbaird.com

©2025 Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated. Member SIPC

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

25

Hoff Center

April 12 & 13

Orpheum

April 26 & 27

Tickets:

amballet.org

OPERA OMAHA

ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION STAFF Kathleen Edwards*

Amanda Jones

STAGE MANAGER

COSTUME SUPERVISOR

Stephanie Smith

Gary Bosanek

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

WARDROBE COORDINATOR

Jack Meister-Lopez*

Candace Leyland

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

WIG & MAKEUP ASSISTANT

Ezra Rose

Bryan Stanley

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

SUPERTITLE OPERATOR

Katie Blice

Al Dusek+

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

HEAD PRODUCTION CARPENTER

Lindsay Woodward*

Scott Wasson+

REHEARSAL PIANIST

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.

Laura Peters PROPERTIES SUPERVISOR

Edgar Alamo* ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER

CHORUS SOPRANO

TENOR

SUPERNUMERARIES

Gretchen Crane

Graham Brooks

Clint Beaver

Crystal M. Dunning

Jon Gathje

Malik Deshon Fortner*

Carole Jeanpierre

Jackson Kissler*

John Ritland*

Cadie Lammers

Jason Pandelidis

Jay Srygley*

Darien Myers-Krommenhoek

Gavin Rasmussen

Leana Wolt

Daniel Schreiber

ALTO

BASS

Mary Carrick

Jon Hickerson

Jill Galvin

William A. Miller

Megan Parsons

Bret Olsen

Laura Petry

David Petry

Susan Pistillo Seamands

Emmanuel Sáenz

Judi Unger

Matt Weinrich Jesse Wohlman

*Opera Omaha Debut

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

27

OMAHA

SYMPHONY VIOLIN 1

CELLO

TRUMPET

Susanna Perry Gilmore, Concertmaster Ahra Cho, 1st Associate Concertmaster Henry Jenkins, 2nd Associate Concertmaster Christopher Hake, Assistant Concertmaster Rebecca Kia-Mills Phyllis Duncan Scott Shoemaker Tracy Dunn Anne Nagosky Ricardo Amador Melissa Pruss Juliet Yoshida

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

Scott Quackenbush, Principal Federico Montes, Associate Principal Christopher Haas

BASS

TUBA

VIOLIN 2

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

Keith Plenert, Principal 2nd Violin Frank Seligman, Associate Principal 2nd Violin Kevin Tompkins, Assistant Principal 2nd Violin Daniel Fletcher Lucy Duke Yi-Miao Huang Mary Perkinson Michael Keelan

FLUTE

VIOLA

CLARINET

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

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

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

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

BASSOON 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

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THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

TROMBONE Patrick Pfister, Principal Jason Stromquist Jay Wise

Craig Fuller, Principal

TIMPANI Jack Rago, Principal

PERCUSSION Derek Dreier, Principal Paul Matthews, Assistant Principal

HARP Janna Young, Principal

KEYBOARD Christi Zuniga, Principal

ORCHESTRA OPERATIONS Jennifer Boomgaarden, President & CEO Kyra Hansen, Director of Operations & Production Jimmy Lewis, Operations & Production Manager Emily E. Duffin, Orchestra Personnel Manager Erica Ostermiller, Operations Coordinator Tracy Bass, Head Librarian Nicholas Buonanni, Librarian John Coate, Stage Manager

Music makes life more fun!

SCAN THE CODE TO SIGN UP!

Studies show learning an instrument reduces stress and increases happiness.

If you’ve been looking to try something new and invigorating that fits into a busy schedule, here’s your sign — take up an instrument and enroll in lessons at the Omaha Conservatory today!

SIGN UP AT OMAHACM.ORG

@omaconservatory | 402.932.4978

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

Cindy & Mike Baumer

Julie Mead

Betty Beach

Patty Pandzik

Tom Burton

Christine & Patrick Peters

Gina Carusi

Valerie Proctor

Cody Cheshier

Dick Serpan

Kate & Chris Gannon–Tombrello

Margret Sexton

Bill Gaus

Brendy Shishido

Nora Mae & John Gibson

Saprina Thiesen

Patti Jaynes

Joe Torchia

Mark Kalal

Leslie Vann

Nancy Klepper

Annika Weber

Christine Lund

2024-2025 SEASON S TA R WA R S : RETURN OF THE MAESTRO

A TIGHTROPE ACROSS TIME

Friday, March 28 | 7:30 PM

Friday, April 25 | 7:30 PM

Lied Center for Performing Arts

Lied Center for Performing Arts

$20|$40 ADULTS $5 YOUTH

$10 YOUNG PROFESSIONALS $10 COLLEGE STUDENTS $10 MUSIC FACULTY

4 0 2 - 4 7 6 - 2 2 1 1 | L I N C O L N S Y M P H O N Y. C O M 30

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

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

AT LARGE BOARD MEMBERS

Lora Kaup

Dana Carlton-Flint

PRESIDENT

VP SOCIAL

Connie Kinnear

Lisa Hagstrom

PRESIDENT ELECT

COTILLION LIAISON

Deb Peterson

Vivian Davis

PAST PRESIDENT

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY

Sherry Taxman

Mark Maser

Connie Kinnear

Sara Young

VP EDUCATION

RECORDING SECRETARY

Kelly Sanford

April Nebel

VP FUNDRAISING

TREASURER

Lauren Garcia Christina Miller Mary Ellen Mulcahy

Betty Foster VP MEMBERSHIP

Appropriate

BY BRANDEN JACOBS-JENKINS TONY AWARD WINNER FOR BEST REVIVAL, 2024

FEBRUARY 6 – MARCH 2, 2025 Sponsored by:

Bruce Reneaud & Kerry Dobson Sara Foxley Ruth H. Keene ART BY KRISTIN PLUHACEK

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

31

MORE PERFORMANCES. MORE VENUES. MORE OPERA.

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

October 24 and 26, 2025 | Orpheum Theater Music by Gioachino Rossini | Libretto by Cesare Sterbini

Escape on a wild ride through the streets of Seville, where schemes unfurl, passions flare, and chaos occasionally reigns. Figaro, the mischievous barber, is at the center of it all, pulling strings and outwitting anyone who thwarts his plans to help Count Almaviva win Rosina’s heart.

SUSANNAH

January 30 and February 1, 2026 | Orpheum Theater Music and Libretto by Carlisle Floyd

Set in a stark Tennessee town, the young Susannah is targeted by suspicion and gossip that mounts in intensity. Floyd’s score is undeniably American and inspired by familiar folk melodies that underscore the complexity of human nature through Susannah’s search for beauty and one man’s lust for power.

HERCULES

March 13, 2026 | Orpheum Theater Music by George Frideric Handel | Libretto by Thomas Broughton

The English Concert returns to Opera Omaha, bringing Handel’s Hercules. Fresh from battle, Hercules returns home victorious, but his wife, Dejanira is consumed by fear that he has been unfaithful. With Handel’s soaring arias and powerful choruses, Hercules reminds us that the devastating consequences of mistrust can bring even the mightiest to their knees.

BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE

April 24 and 25, 2026 | Holland Performing Arts Center Music by Béla Bartók | Libretto by Béla Balázs

Opera Omaha and the Omaha Symphony join forces to produce 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 Bluebeard, dares to open his castle’s forbidden doors, drawing her closer to a horrifying secret.

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. Twenty years after a mysterious epidemic has left its survivors plagued by memory loss, Wyatt and Meridian reunite in a desolate theater using the only common language they can find: Shakespeare.

Explore the 25/26 Season at operaomaha.org/2526 Bluebeard’s Castle and UnShakeable not included in 25/26 Season subscription

ELEMENTS OF OPERA Opera is often described as a “total art form,” made up of many moving parts and a collaboration across multiple unique art forms. To keep opera at the heart of all we do, HCOF identifies the elements of opera in our community workshops and programming. We define elements of opera as music, movement, drama, art, and words. This visual represents those elements and is included in various ways within our day-to-day work.

MOVEMENT

MUSIC

DRAMA

WORDS

• The Fellowship accepts teaching artists from any artistic discipline with a connection to opera!

From opera singers, to classical musicians and stage directors, to actors and poets, Fellows have represented all of the unique elements of opera.

• Elements of opera within a workshop are labeled in conversations, lesson plans, and feedback surveys with each of our community partners.

Our hope is that over time, community partners will know more about opera.

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THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

ART

• The elements are highlighted with participants in our workshops too, as they learn and grow while having fun and experiencing creative time together.

• Programming often includes multiple elements of opera, and Fellows and participants are able to make connections between what we’re doing in the community and the collaborative way opera happens on stage.

Above: Fellows Alejandra Sandoval-Montañez and Aiden Poling teach music workshops at The Joslyn with middle school students.

Right: Gotta Be Me participants perform three crowd favorite songs during Opera Outdoors at Turner Park in September 2024.

24/25 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 THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

35

OPERA OMAHA

EDUCATION PROGRAMS

OPERA OMAHA EDUCATION PROGRAMS Each year Opera Omaha Education Programs serve over 1,200 students from early childhood to graduate school level at more than 50 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 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 jobs available within the 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 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 36

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OPERA OMAHA

PAGE TITLE

Now in its 8th year, the Poetry & Music Project connects student poets and their words with composers to create original music and explore the connections between poetry and music.

24/25 SELECTED POEMS

Opera Omaha and the Nebraska Writers Collective invited Nebraska and Iowa students in grades K-12 to submit works of poetry that explored how even though we all may be Nebraskans or Iowans, where we come from still has a profound effect on who we are. We asked for poems on the theme of “Neighborhood”, asking poets to think deeply about what community means to them and how it is formed.

Opera Omaha received 66 poem submission from students across Nebraska. Poets ranged from second graders to high school juniors, including first time poets and seasoned writers. All submitted poems will be available in the Poetry & Music Project Book, available online, and as part of the Omaha Public Library Collection.

“Fowler Street” by M Bonar, La Vista Middle School

While there were many outstanding poems submitted to the project, in the end, project composer Sidney Marquez Boquiren and hip-hop artist Lite Pole selected 14 poems that inspired them and created

“Footsteps” by Nora Barth, Duchesne Academy Omaha “Flying Home”, by Aalyn Friesz, Wheeler Elementary “Omaha’s Embrace” by Jackson Ward, Papillion Middle School “Invisible to Us” by Madelynn Torson, Swanson Elementary “My Neighborhood” by Madison Dornbusch, La Vista Middle School “Neighbor Behavior” by Addi Bryan, Woodbrook Elementary “Seasons in North Omaha” by Adeline Olsen, Sunset Hills Elementary “Our Beautiful Neighborhood” by Rishi Chundury, Brownell Talbot “Untitled” by Michaela Brown, Papillion Middle School “In the land of unknown” by Shevaani Rajith Varman Janani, Lewis & Clark Middle School “The Original Denny's” by Maren Ferguson, Platteview High School “De Donde Soy” by Gelen Ruiz, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands Join us for the premiere of these original songs at the Poetry & Music Concert May 3, 2025

original music with the poems as the lyrics.

OPERAOMAHA.ORG/POETRY THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

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OPERA OMAHA

DONORS It is our honor to recognize community members who, through their generosity to Opera Omaha’s Annual Fund, have enabled the company to triumphantly return to live, grand opera productions this season and deliver its groundbreaking, free community programming, including the nationally acclaimed Holland Community Opera Fellowship, that engage tens of thousands of people in meaningful, artistic experiences.

This listing reflects gifts received between July 1, 2023- December 1, 2024

CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE

$100,000+

Richard Holland* Constance B. Meunier Trust Mary and Richard Parrish Annette and Paul Smith

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE $50,000- $99,999

Anonymous Carol E. and David A. Domina Steve Menzies Jane and David Offutt Joan Gibson* and Donald Wurster

PRODUCER $25,000-$49,999

Anonymous Cindy and Mogens Bay Barbara Person and Scott Burger Catherine and Terry Ferguson Janet and H. Frederick Kuehl Robert E. Owen Linda Burt Rebrovic and John Rebrovic Polina and Bob Schlott Julie M. Schroeder Meredith and Drew Weitz Katie Weitz, PhD and Tim Wilson Kate and Roger Weitz

BACKER

$10,000-$24,999

Anonymous Jo Bartikoski and Don Westling Dr. Betty L. Beach Sara and Jawed Bharwani Sharon and Randy Blackburn Roger Blauwet Devin J. Fox, MD and Rob Block Dr. Anne and Stephen Bruckner Sandi and Bill Bruns Anna-Karin and David Dillard Carol L. Dworak Estate Frances and David Ertel Betty Foster Kyoko and Jonathan Fuller Jerry C. Gose Vivian and Allen Hager Vicki and David Krecek Pauline Quinn Jean and Eugene Stark Jr. Janet and Jerry Syslo Dr. and Mrs. James Tracy Ellen and Robert Vladem

BENEFACTOR $5,000-$9,999

Anonymous Linda Matson Andersen Dr. Debra Reilly-Culver and Robert Culver, Jr. Linda and David Gardels Anne Gardner Belle and Ryan Hansen Mary Jetton Vernie and Carter Jones Dr. Ali Khan Joanne and David Kolenda Paul Ledwon and Mark Allen Maser Sheila McNeill Sharee and Murray Newman

Ann and Paul O’Hara Connie Osborne Silvia Greene Roffman Howard B. Silberg Revocable Trust Donna and Coyner* Smith Mary Ann Strasheim Mary Beth and James Winner

GUARDIAN $3,500-$4,999 Ruth Keene Sharon McGill

SUSTAINER $1,500-$3,499

Linda Daugherty Joan Desens and Simon CarrEllison Brian Eaton Kiley and Mike Freeman Kate and Chris GannonTombrello Leslie Garth Bill L. Gaus Janeanne and Joseph Heidenreich Megan and Thomas Heidenreich Deana Liddy Matthew Messner and Neil Sechan Stephen Novick Rita and Donald Otis Deb and Eric Peterson Constance Ryan Shirley and Michael* Sorrell Jacqueline Sorrels and Alex Ritter Jill Steinberg Anne Stoddard Ginger Talbot Dr. Terry Tomcsik

PATRON

$750-$1,499

Anonymous Laura and Bryan Alexander Sarah Baker Hansen and Matthew Hansen Nicholas Bjornson Kathleen Joan Bradley Janet and Samuel Cohen Kris Vikmanis and Denny Creighton Gloria Dinsdale* Marlene and Larry Domina Rebecca and Brian Duncan Andrea and Donald Fineberg Christine and Mauro Fiore Joan Flesch Judy and George Haecker, Jr. Lisa Hagstrom Carol and James Healy Susan Thomas and Steven Hutchinson Jeffrey Johnston Sylvia Jones Constance Heiden Kammandel and Henry Kammandel Sandra and Jon Kayne Leslie Kuhnel Dominique Laffont John Yost and Wade Leak Katie and Craig LeDoux Lara Marcon Karen and Paul Mullen Karen and Larry Nelsen Elizabeth and Jerry Powell Lora Kaup and Michael Pray John Reed Barbara and Gordon Reisinger Lisa Sock Kara and Joe Spitzenberger Peter and Marika Stone Sherry and Jeff Taxman Shelby VanNordstrand Gail and Irving Veitzer

*Deceased

38

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

Paul Vladem Toby Bright and Nancy Ward Verne Weber Cindy Weil Kate Rahel and Dennis Whelan Laura Wilwerding

ADVOCATE $300-$749

Anonymous Eileen and Timothy Arkebauer Denise Arnold Paula Ashen Mayrene Bentley Sarah Billinghurst Solomon Ann and David Burkholder Murray Joseph Casey Bruce Chemel Mallory Schulte and Ryan Cwach Mary and Hal Daub Carolyn and David Diamond Sandy and Paul Epstein Mary and Ronald Ferdig Elizabeth and John Fullerton Jeffrey Grinnell and Daniel Gallagher Patrick Galvin Barbara Glauber John K. Green Joan Squires and Dan Hamann Shari Hofschire Stanton Hoppe Dr. Linda Matson and Mr. Michael Howland Anne M. Hubbard Susan and Craig Ihnen Bonnie and David Jaros Barbara Johnston Marilyn and Mark Kirchhoff Barbara and Marshall Kushner Ronna and Joseph Kutlas Helen and William Little Christine and Jim Medici Donald Moran Kevin Murray April and Jonathan Nebel Ashley Olson Mary Helms and Kenneth Olson Polly and Frank Partsch Judy Pfeifer Samuel M. Bierner and Joseph Pinson Lisa and Dan Prickett Silva Raker Tom Richter

Greta Vaught and John Ritland Jane and Carl* Rohman Sissy Katelman Silber Donald Slaughter David Sontag Kiley and James Thiele Pia Ulrich Ann Stephens and John Vasiliades Patricia Victor W. Bruce Warr Kimberly Hastie and Timothy Welch Ann and John Williamson James Wink Brad Woolbright Timothy Held and Jay Worden Melanie and John Wright

FRIEND $1-$299

Anonymous Gay and Steve Abraham Rebecca J. Noble and Keith Allerton Deisy I. Andrew Barbara Antonides Cheryl Arends Marco Ballarin Susan Baumert Erna Beach Kelli and Brian Bello Angela Bennett Laila Berre Eric Bildt Dawn Ann Boll Lyn and Stephen Bouma Shelia G. Brantley Katie and Corey Broman Shawntae Brown Michelle C. Bruckner Rob Buckley Janice and Mario Buda Valerie Bullock Janet* and Donald Bumgarner Frank Burnham Erin and Bob Busch Karen and David Campbell David Campbell Thomas Carr Elizabeth Case Felicia Cervantes Susan Chenoweth Christine and Bob Chilcoat Donna Christian Grace Chu Tiffiny Clifton

Mary Jo and Richard Coffey Diane and Howard Coffin Edward Cohn Elizabeth A. Collins Cora and Maurice Conner Caitlin F. Copenhaver Carmelita Cox Eleanor Shirley and Daniel J. Cox Eileen M. Crinklaw Rosemary J. Pauley and Timothy F. Daugherty Dorothy Davis Morrow and Jim Morrow Vivian and Spencer Davis Clifford Davis Carole DeBuse Michael Del Core Karla Ermel Chelsey Erpelding Karen and Richard Everett Viv and John Ewing Karen and Micah Fannin Mary Fieber Beverly Fleckten Patrick Fortney Terry and Mollie Foster Sandra Franklin Andrew Frost Karen Gahl-Mills Rose Glock Ann and Donald Goldstein Robert Griffin Jan Grimes Guy and Cathy Gronquist Jacqueline and Douglas Grote David Gunn Cindy Hadsell Erik Hanson Allison Hardy Ellen Hargus Darrel Harris Gretchen and William Harvey Katrina Thurman and Robert Hawkey Jane and Edward Hawks Cheryl and Joe Hazel Linda Henslee Marilyn Hoegemeyer Don Horn Ann and Don Hosford Connor Howard Rebecca Ihnen Xavier Jackson Gayle and Marlin Jeffers Debra and Byron Jensen Vibeke Jensen Jerry Johnson

Vanessa Kalil Donna and James Kalar Ruth Ann Keene Mary and Thomas Kerr Barbara Kuhn Piotr Andrzej Kissel Mike Klug Michele and Thomas Kluge Geri Knight Alexia Kniska and Bo Smith Maria Knudtson Mihaela and Brett Kobjerowski Stacy Kozisek Morgan Kreiser Julie and Joseph Lecci Sherryl and Hiram Lilley Linda Moorman and Douglas Little Billie D. Logan Gerald Lohman III Kathleen and John Lohr Jeffrey B. Loomis Lorraine Beadell and Greg Love Christine Lund Meredith Fuller and James Luyten Charles MacKay Maria C. Magana Karla* and John Marburger Marilyn and Robert Marion Martin Dr. Cliff Mason Ali R. McBride Jim McGough Dorothy* and Daniel McKinney Laura McLean Ann Meschery Ann Jansen Michelson and Brent Michelson Cindy Miserez Richard Morris Fred Mytty Ann and Kevin Naylor Diana Nevins Rodney Nordeng Tirimba Obonyo Neil F. O'Donnell Douglas D. Olson Chris Pantuso Jessica and Dennis Pate Jacob Pearson Lois Pesek Jean Ann Ballinger and Ward Peters Glen Peterson Sabrina Potterpin H. Margo Prentiss Natalie Prescott *Deceased

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

39

Abigail Kutlas-Prickett and Joseph Prickett James Pyrzynski Patricia and Robert Ranney TaTanisha Ranney Paula and William Rasmussen Cynthia and David Rector Toni Reese Victoria and Edward Roche Noyes W. Rogers Debra J. Romberger Kathleen Crawford-Rose and Robert Rose Rev. David Rykwalder Dawn B. Salsman David Sampson Tom Chandler and Bill Schaffer Libby Murphy and Ray Schueneman Rita and Dean Schechinger Nancy Schultz Margaret Sexton

Lori and Scott Shaddy Joan and Charles Shapiro Kay M. Shilling, M.D. Janelle Siffring Jane Stieren Kim Sosin Dr. Sandra Squires Glenda and George Steinsberger Del Stites Mike J. Stodden Lisa and Jeff Strohmyer Anna and Rock Sumner Greg Sutton Katherine and Joe Thomas Monte and Duane Thompson Jerry Tyrrell Deidre Vasquez Caitlin Volz Shannon and Michael Walenta Kathleen A. Ward Sarah Watson

Theresa and Edward Watson Marilyn Watson Carolyn B. Weber Kevin Wetzel Mathew Whitlock Wendi and Curtis Wilson Shelli Wingett Patricia Wise Wendy Wiseman Kimberly and Michael Wohlwend Bruce McKeefry and Geoffrey Yeomans Mary* and Anthony Yonkers Sara and John Young Edith and Robert Zahniser Susan and John Zeilinger Inna Zevakina

Saturday, March 22, 2025 Steelhouse Omaha

Steve Menzies, Chair Honoring Gail & Mike Yanney

“A Celebration of the American Diva” Performed by two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning soprano

Christine Goerke OPERAOMAHA.ORG/GALA

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THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

*Deceased

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 July 1, 2023- December 1, 2024

IN MEMORY OF: HARRIET BECKENHAUER

Opera Omaha Craftsman’s Guild

FRANK A. "SKIP" BLAZEK

Giger Foundation

MORRIS JAMES “JIM” BRUCKNER Mary Beth and Jim Winner

ANN GANYARD Mary Ann Strasheim

GLORIA DINSDALE Linda Matson Andersen

ELSA GRIESBACH

Geri Knight

RHONDA HALL

Opera Omaha Craftsman’s Guild

CHERYL SANWICK

Betty L. Beach Clare and Thomas Burton Opera Omaha Craftsman’s Guild Annika and Allen Weber

DR. MICHAEL SORRELL Mary Ellen Mulcahy

ELOUISE SQUIRES Sandra Kay Squires

PAUL TRANISI

Gina Tranisi

BROTHER WILLIAM WOEGER Bill Gaus

IN HONOR OF: SANDI BRUNS

JOHN HUTZLER

Joanne and David Kolenda

JODY KERSSENBROCK

Tiffiny Clifton

Christine and Jim Medici Sandra Kay Squires

CALEB JOHN CLIFTON

ANTHONY ROTH COSTANZO

MR. AND MRS. BILLIE F. LOGAN

Jill Steinberg

SANDY MATTHEWS

Joan Desens and Simon Carr-Ellison

Billie D. Logan

Heike and Adam Langdon Mary Ellen Mulcahy Kate and Roger Weitz

TOM ROGERS

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

CAROL DOMINA’S BIRTHDAY CAROL DOMINA

Joan Desens and Simon Carr-Ellison Patrick Galvin Connor Howard Ann Meschery Sabrina Potterpin Caitlin Volz

MALLORY HAYS Howard Coffin

HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOWS

Tiffiny Clifton

RUTH AND JAMES* KEENE

MARK MASER

Joanne and David Kolenda Wendy Wiseman

MARK MASER AND PAUL LEDWON Ray Schueneman and Elizebeth Murphy

MILES MYKKENAN Stephen Novick

MARY AND RICHARD PARRISH Betty L. Beach

SCOTT BURGER AND BARBARA PERSON Samuel M. Bierner and Joseph Pinson

SUE PEARSON

Jacob Pearson

JOE PRICKETT

Allan and Karen Dennis

JAMES PYRZYNSKI Bill Gaus

LINDA BURT REBROVIC AND JOHN REBROVIC Carolyn and David Diamond Mary and Tom Kerr

MARK AND KELLY SANFORD Marissa and Mitchell Sanford

ALLISON SWENSON

Joan Desens and Simon Carr-Ellison Rebecca and Brian Duncan Andrea and Don Finebergg Connor Howard Neil Sechan and Matthew Messner Caitlin Volz Brad Woolbright

ALLISON AND HUNTER SWENSON Charles MacKay Brad Woolbright

KATIE WEITZ

Ruth Ann Keene

Ana Lopez Shalla and Hassan Shalla

DR. ALI KHAN

MICHAEL AND GAIL YANNEY

Jessica and Dennis Pate

BILL AND MASAKO LOGAN Billie D. Logan

Heider Family Foundation Constance Ryan The Walter Scott Family Foundation

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

41

LA BOHÈME Giacomo Puccini

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

RIGOLETTO Giuseppe Verdi

THE TURN OF THE SCREW Benjamin Britten santafeopera.org 505-986-5900 photo by Robert Godwin

42

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

DIE WALKÜRE Richard Wagner

UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS

Jan. 4 — Feb. 16, 2025

Feb. 21, 2025 — March 23, 2025

March 7 — 30, 2025

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

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

43

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 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* 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 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 The Edgar Foster Daniels Foundation Weitz Family Foundation

Anonymous Adah and Leon Millard Foundation Baxter CL Werner Foundation Conagra Brands Foundation Jetton Charitable Fund Kiewit Corporation Mammel Family Foundation Mutual of Omaha Opera Omaha Craftsman's Guild Opera Omaha Guild University of Nebraska Medical Center University of Nebraska- Omaha

Amphion Foundation Backer Family Charitable Trust Burlington Capital Foundation Cobank Edward and Lida Robinson Charitable Trust Fraser Stryker Humanities Nebraska Koley Jessen P.C., LLC Lind Family Foundation Fund at The Dallas Foundation Nebraska Tourism Commission OPERA America Osaic Foundation Paypal Giving Fund Pledgeling Foundation Mark Sanford Group Soener Foundation Strauss Charitable Fund Streck, Inc The Pepsico Foundation US Bank

$100,000+

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE $50,000-$99,000

Anonymous Allan and Ann Mactier Charitable Foundation Omaha Steaks Peter Kiewit Foundation

PRODUCER

$25,000-$49,999

Anonymous FNBO Iowa West Foundation National Endowment for the Arts Nebraska Arts Council Nebraska Cultural Endowment Omaha Magazine Valmont Industries, Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

BENEFACTOR $5,000-$9,999

HDR, Inc. Husch Blackwell LLP Rose Blumkin Foundation Walter Scott Family Foundation Union Pacific Corporation Whitmore Charitable Trust Wintrust Financial Corporation

$1-$4,999

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

45

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

46

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

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

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

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

2023-24

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

2024-25

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

2019-20

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++

* 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

47

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 CFO – Finance and Administration

Michael S. Cassling, Vice Chair

Bianca Harley, Vice President of Human Capital & Inclusion

H. Dele Davies, M.D.

Sabrina Weiss, Vice President of Development

Meg Lauritzen Dodge

Andy Cassano, Vice President of Programming and Education

Scott C. Heider

Erika Hansen, Vice President of Commercial Entertainment

Todd L. Johnson

Ryan Murray, Associate Vice President of Operations

Rodrigo López

Alyssa Stieren, Associate Vice President of Finance

Sharlon Rodgers

Lee Turkovich, Vice President of Marketing and Communications

Rachel Werner

Ashley Voorhees, Vice President of Administrative Services

John Gottschalk*, Chair Emeritus John K. Boyer, Secretary

48

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

*Deceased

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 – easyaccess 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@opa.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.

LEER EN ESPAÑOL

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

49

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 preperformance 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 professional 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:

LEER EN ESPAÑOL

50

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS | FERUARY 2025

Gil Cohen, Omaha Publications Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing 402.884.2047- O 402.612.9378- C gil@omahapublications.com

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OMAHA MAGAZINE – it’s about all of us.

Omaha Magazine publishes stories about interesting people who live next door and fascinating former Omahans. It is the place to read stories about the arts, the food, the music, and the events that are making Omaha the cultural epicenter of the Midwest.

OmahaMagazine.com/Pages/Subscribe