June 5-7
UNSHAKEABLE
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DEAR FRIENDS:
Welcome to UnShakeable, the second installment in Opera Omaha’s Family Opera Series.
Thank you for being here! Your role in this performance is very important. Without your help, our heroes Meridian and Wyatt won’t be able to find and remember each other. Be sure to pay attention when you learn “The Wishing Star Chorus,” and be ready to sing!
Together, we explore the mystery of memory through the lens of Shakespeare. Who and what do we remember, and why? How do we find common language when we don’t understand each other or when we are afraid?
This is Opera Omaha’s first production at the Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center, and we are grateful to be in this beautiful venue where we have enjoyed creating the world of UnShakeable with designers Steven Williams and Lora Kaup. This is a new production, which means we built it just for you.
We are also delighted to welcome the librettist of UnShakeable, Andrea Fellows Fineberg to experience the show 10 years after its premiere and to share her process with you before each performance. Thank you, Andrea, for this poignant and meaningful story that resonates with audiences of all ages.
Next year, join us for the continuation of the Family Opera Series with The Pigeon Keeper, a new opera by composer David Hanlon and librettist Stephanie Fleischman, on January 28, 29, and 30, 2027 at The Rose Theater. The Pigeon Keeper features a children’s chorus and a youth in a lead role, all from Omaha, alongside internationally known artists and the Omaha Symphony. Don’t miss it!
My first opera was at age 11 with my parents. Making opera a family experience could very well change your child’s life. Thank you for trying opera, whether this is your first or thousandth show. You are part of our region’s cultural identity, and your participation matters.
Sincerely,
Allison Swenson GENERAL DIRECTOR
The Nebraska Cultural Endowment is proud to support Opera Omaha
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kiley Freeman CHAIR
Barbara Person VICE CHAIR
Dr. Ali Khan SECRETARY
Linda Burt Rebrovic TREASURER
Dr. Jawed Bharwani 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
Terrence J. Ferguson
Robert E. Owen
Mary Ann Strasheim
ADVISORS
Linda Andersen
Jo Bartikoski
Dr. Jawed Bharwani
Nicholas Bjornson
Roger Blauwet
Sandra Bruns
Michael Chase
Dr. Karen Fannin
Betty Foster
Lauren Garcia
Dr. Fred Hanna
Ryan Hansen
Dr. Hamza Haqqi
Lora Kaup
Mark Allen Maser
Sheila McNeill
Patty Pandzik
Deb Peterson
Alysia Radicia
Dr. Debra Reilly-Culver
Dr. Jeffrey Robinson
Karl Schwent
Mary Ann Strasheim
Jerry Syslo
Dr. James Tracy
Jim Winner
Connie Kinnear
OPERA OMAHA GUILD PRESIDENT
Chris Tombrello
CRAFTSMAN’S GUILD PRESIDENT
Allison Swenson GENERAL DIRECTOR
ADMINISTRATION
Shannon Walenta CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Jenny Daggett
FINANCE CONSULTANT
April Hartman
HUMAN RESOURCES CONSULTANT
Cydnea Hoff OFFICE MANAGER
ARTISTIC
Katrina Thurman
DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION
Trisha Berquist
ARTISTIC OPERATIONS COORDINATOR
Josh Quinn
HEAD OF MUSIC & CHORUS DIRECTOR
Steven White
PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR
DEVELOPMENT
Joe Prickett
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Rebecca Ihnen
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Laura Jaros
DEVELOPMENT DATABASE & ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER
ENGAGEMENT
Lauren Medici
DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIPS & PROGRAMS
Wendy Kaiser
COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOWSHIP MANAGER
Abz Cameron
HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOW
Tobias J. Garcia
HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOW
Chloe Janae Gormley
HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOW
Pat McEvoy
ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR
Aiden James Poling
HOLLAND COMMUNITY OPERA FELLOW
MARKETING
Kyle Thomas DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Rachel Austin
ART DIRECTOR
Howard Coffin
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT & SALES MANAGER
PRODUCTION
Kate Whitecotton DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION
Tim Combs
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
OPERA OMAHA STAFF
We are committed to giving back to the community. Our charitable giving supports o r g a n i z a t i o n s w i t h h i g h - i m p a c t p r o g r a m s that focus on alleviating food insecurity. E v e r y o n e D e s e r v e s t h e R i g h t t o H e a l t h y a n d N u t r i t i o u s F o o d
Conagra Brands Foundation is proud to invest in Omaha and its future.
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
PRODUCTION SPONSORS
Giger Foundation
Dr� James and Susan Tracy ARTIST SPONSORS
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
GENEROUS PUBLIC SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
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.
Anonymous
Allan and Ann Mactier Charitable Foundation
Jetton Charitable Fund
Firefly Scientists Foundation
Adah and Leon Millard Foundation
Whitmore Charitable Trust
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
FROM THE COMPOSER
There is plenty of great music inspired by Shakespeare, depicting love, romance, pride, sorrow, pageantry, battle, jealousy, insanity, joy, madcap comedy, psychological exploration of power, and many more aspects of Shakespeare's brilliance. Every composer approaches Shakespeare in a different way, and each of these works, whether an opera or a tone poem, deals with a single play. UnShakeable, on the other hand, includes scenes from six different Shakespeare plays, so there are many moods and characters, and they shift quickly. I wrote it in a style that would allow the singers freedom of declamation, as actors have in a play.
In a piece about memory, it was important to distinguish musically between Meridian and Wyatt's conversations, which often reflect Meridian's confusion, and their well-rehearsed Shakespeare scenes, in which Meridian is confident and on top of her game. Andrea and I were also able to shift back and forth within the Shakespeare scenes when they blur with Meridian and Wyatt's real lives. The musical language is mostly tonal and tuneful, complex enough to be interesting and simple enough to create expectations which are sometimes met and sometimes not. This is not to frustrate the listener, but rather to keep them engaged.
Andrea was prescient to imagine a global pandemic three years before COVID. Now, it feels like she also had second sight about our current time, when people who would normally get along may have difficulty connecting with each other on ideological grounds. Our opera requires the participation of a larger community with a unified purpose to bring Meridian and Wyatt back together. Everyone singing as a community to restore a broken love may not heal the world, but it's a good start.
— Joe Illick
FROM THE DIRECTOR
My grandmother lives with dementia and hasn’t recognized me for many years. Despite the changes she has undergone, she remains unmistakably herself. She is charismatic, loves to talk about food and music, and has a mischievous streak. My son, by contrast, is two years old and only just beginning his journey of self-discovery. He cannot articulate who he is, and yet he is undeniably himself. He is shy one moment, then fearless the next, and he is already revealing quirks and instincts that feel uniquely his own. At both ends of life, I am reminded that identity exists beyond our ability to neatly name or narrate it. When memory or language is lacking, we do not lose ourselves altogether. We persist in fragments: sensation, instinct, and connection.
UnShakeable unfolds from this premise. After contracting a mysterious malady known as Erasure, Meridian has lost her memory and is desperately searching for anything that might help her piece together who she is. Wyatt, her former romantic partner, has spent that same time searching for her, clinging to the memory of someone who helped define his own life before the pandemic. And yet, when they finally meet again, they are strangers. Meridian cannot remember Wyatt, and Wyatt, in turn, cannot fully recognize the person Meridian has become, even if he can glimpse fragments from her past self. Deprived of a shared understanding, they begin instead to build a shared reality through
the words of Shakespeare - the language they once shared together. In Shakespeare’s text, they find not only safety and familiarity but a framework through which to rediscover themselves and one another. The theater becomes a ritual space where words can summon memory, transform reality, and make strangers known to one another.
In this way, UnShakeable is not simply a story about memory loss, but an exploration of the construction of identity. Young people, in particular, are already engaged in the process of testing language, trying on roles and relationships, and making meaning from the fragments they gather. As I observe my family at their various stages of life, I find myself reflecting on the process I went through to figure out who I am, a process that was at times painful and disorienting. It took years of reflection with the help of a very skilled therapist to help me understand myself and communicate who I am to others. It is also a process that remains ongoing, if significantly more peaceful these days. So as I look both backward to my grandmother and forward to my son, I am struck by the same truth: our identities are never fixed. They are assembled and reassembled over time through stories, through relationships, and through the people who reflect us back to ourselves - our own Wyatts and Meridians.
— Aria Umezawa
UNSHAKEABLE
Music by Joe Illick Libretto by Andrea Fellows Fineberg
Performed in English with English supertitles
June 5, 6 & 7, 2026
Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center | Council Bluffs, Iowa
First performance: Santa Fe Opera – April 9, 2016
Opera Omaha Premiere
CREATIVE
Josh Quinn
MUSIC DIRECTOR & PIANIST
Aria Umezawa* DIRECTOR
Alicia Washington* ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Lora Kaup*
COSTUME DESIGNER & WARDROBE SUPERVISOR
Steven L. Williams* SET & LIGHTING DESIGNER
Hannah Clark*
PROPERTIES DESIGNER & SUPERVISOR
CAST
Teresa Castillo* MERIDIAN
Joseph Lim* WYATT
*Opera Omaha Debut
Joseph Lim sponsored by Dr� James and Susan Tracy
The performance runs approximately 40 minutes.
The use of flash equipped cameras, audio recorders, video cameras or any other recording device during the performance is strictly prohibited.
SYNOPSIS
The world is still reeling from a devastating epidemic known as Erasure, a viral catastrophe that has stripped countless people of their memories. Three years after the outbreak, society is fractured, the past is unstable, and identity itself has become uncertain.
Wyatt wanders into the theater, searching the deserted building for supplies.
Suddenly, he encounters Meridian, an actress who has survived Erasure but at terrible cost. Much of her former life has vanished from her mind. Meridian has made the abandoned theater her refuge and guards it fiercely against intruders.
Wyatt, startled by her ghostlike presence, responds in the only language that seems to bridge the distance between them, Shakespeare. Meridian answers in kind. The game begins. What begins as a wary confrontation becomes an intricate exchange of remembered scenes, roles, and fragments of performance. The theater, though ruined, briefly comes alive again as the two move through famous moments of drama, fencing with language even as they test one another’s intentions.
As their verbal dancing continues, Wyatt realizes that Meridian is not a stranger at all. She is someone he knew and loved before Erasure shattered the world. Meridian, however, does not recognize him. She senses something familiar in him but cannot place it.
Their shared theatrical language creates flashes of intimacy and instinctive connection, yet each moment of closeness is shadowed by loss. Wyatt is forced to confront the painful imbalance between them. He remembers their bond, while she can feel only traces of it, like warmth from a life she can no longer see clearly.
Listen closely for lines from:
The Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Hamlet
Macbeth
Romeo & Juliet
Wyatt gradually abandons playful evasion and speaks plainly about the world they inhabit. Meridian describes what Erasure has done to her: family, friendships, love, and the entire shape of her past have been swallowed into blankness. Wyatt explains that he too endured the chaos of fractured thought and nearly lost himself, but he held fast to one memory, then another, until he found a path back. For him, remembrance has been an act of survival. For Meridian, memory remains elusive, painful, and unfinished.
Believing that love may reach where reason cannot, Wyatt tries to awaken Meridian’s memory through a song tied to their past, the song of their “wishing stars.” It is more than a melody. It is a vessel of shared feeling, a thread joining their former life to the present moment. Wyatt hopes the music will restore what Erasure has stolen. For an instant, it seems possible. Meridian responds to the tune, humming along, touched by something she cannot fully explain. Yet the effort also overwhelms her. Her mind slips again into confusion, and she begins to fracture under the strain of trying to remember what will not come.
At his breaking point, Wyatt desperately calls out to the wishing stars, pleading for their help to rekindle memory, love, and faith against the emptiness consuming Meridian’s past. Their voices join his, surrounding her with the song that once belonged to them both. Supported by Wyatt’s devotion and the chorus’s insistent remembrance, Meridian slowly begins to return. What first emerges is not a complete recovery of her history, but something more fundamental: recognition. Through the music, through tenderness, and through love’s persistence, she finds her way back to Wyatt.
Amid ruin, performance becomes remembrance, remembrance becomes love, and love proves itself unshakeable.
WISHING STARS CHORUS
Hamlet
The Tempest
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Joe Illick Composer
Joe Illick returns to Opera Omaha after last conducting The Pirates of Penzance. Mr. Illick is the Composer-in-Residence and the Music Director Emeritus at Fort Worth Opera. He has also served as the Executive and Artistic Director of Performance Santa Fe, the Artistic Director of Lake George Opera (now Opera Saratoga), the Artistic Director of Shreveport Opera, the Artistic Director of Pittsburgh Opera Theater, and the Director of Voices of Change, the new music ensemble of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. His other operas include Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, Stone Soup, Bernadette's Cozy Book Nook, Ricky, I Think That I Shall Never See (all with Mark Campbell), Feel the Tango (with Susan Westfall), Stand Up! (with Sheran Keyton), Zozobra - The Revenge (with Douglas Preston), Ralph the Rat (with Steve Aiken) and Color Planet (libretto by the composer.) He is also active as a pianist, accompanist, conductor, coach and speaker.
Andrea Fellows Fineberg Librettist
Andrea Fellows Fineberg makes her Opera Omaha debut with UnShakeable. Ms. Fellows Fineberg was with Santa Fe Opera over 33 years and Director of Community Engagement from 1993-2024. Her love for the performing arts shows in her work as administrator, educator, producer, co-host for the award-winning podcast Key Change, and librettist. As librettist, she additionally collaborated with John Kennedy and Stephen Paulus. For Dayton Opera she has written dialogue for The Magic Flute and The Abduction from the Seraglio and, in 2022, premiered Finding Wright with Laura Kaminsky. As a collaborative artist she co-founded Lifesongs, writing musical narratives with individuals in hospice care. In 2024, she was named Distinguished Alumni for the University of New Mexico. She also received the City of Santa Fe Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Max Coll and Catherine Joyce Coll Award for Distinction in Arts Education, and served as commissioner to UNESCO and on the Obama Arts Policy Committees.
Josh Quinn Music Director & Pianist
Josh Quinn is Head of Music and Chorus Director with Opera Omaha. Previous appointments include the Music Director of the Janiec Opera Company (Brevard Music Center), Director of Opera Studies at North Park University, and vocal coach at DePaul University and Roosevelt University in Chicago. He has served on the music staff of St. Petersburg Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera Baltimore, Sioux City Symphony, and Chicago Opera Theater, where he participated in the world premieres of eight new operas. As a recital pianist, he has collaborated with artists including Anthony Roth Costanzo, Christine Goerke, Ryan Speedo Green, William Guanbo Su, and Liv Redpath. Quinn holds degrees in Vocal Performance and Collaborative Piano from New England Conservatory, and is an artist member of Music for Food, a musician-led initiative dedicated to fighting hunger in our local communities.
Aria Umezawa Director
Aria Umezawa makes her Opera Omaha debut with UnShakeable Ms. Umezawa’s work evokes wonder and challenges the longestablished traditions of opera and classical music. The stage director, producer, and writer is a co-founder of Amplified Opera, the independent opera company and former Disruptor-in-Residence at the Canadian Opera Company. Aria was the Artistic Director of Opera 5 from 2012-2017. Recent engagements include Toshio Hosokawa’s The Raven with Opera Philadelphia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Vancouver Opera, Madama Butterfly with New Orleans Opera, and a new production of L’incoronazione di Poppea with the Atelier Lyrique at l’Opéra de Montréal. An advocate for safe, equitable practices in the opera and performing arts industries, Aria is in demand as a presenter and educator. In 2018, she developed Safe to Run: Bystander Intervention Training for the Rehearsal Room with Opera McGill and the San Francisco Opera Center, and has run the workshop at opera companies across North America.
Alicia Washington Associate Director
Alicia Washington makes her Opera Omaha debut in UnShakeable. Ms. Washington is an award-winning Ogden-based arts administrator and community organizer. She is the founder and co-director of Good Company Theatre, the only Black-owned and operated producing theatre in Utah. Since opening in 2012, GCT has coproduced more than 60 plays and musicals and received numerous honors, including a 2021 Utah Governor’s Mansion Artist Award. Her recent directing credits include the world premiere of The Delta King’s Blues (INseries Opera, Washington, D.C./ Baltimore) and the Utah premieres of Coach Coach and God Kinda Looks Like Tupac (GCT). Beyond her work in the performing arts, Alicia has collaborated on community-centered movements and coalitions across the Wasatch Front, including the Do Right By Marshall White campaign and Town Hall Conversations on Race. She has also served as a Victim Advocate with YCC of Ogden’s Victim Response Team, a Behavior Interventionist at Ben Lomond High School, and a board member of the ICCJ of Utah, among other roles. In 2025, Alicia was elected the first Black woman to serve on the Ogden City Council and was sworn into office in January.
Lora Kaup Costume Designer & Wardrobe Supervisor
Lora L. Kaup makes her Opera Omaha debut with UnShakeable Ms. Kaup has been a professional costume designer for over 20 years with many local theaters: Bellevue Little Theatre, Great Plains Theatre Commons, Blue Barn, Nebraska Theatre Caravan, SNAP!, Shelterbelt, and Witching Hour. In addition, she worked as an educator and costume designer at Creighton University, Iowa Western Community College, and Dana College. She also designed costumes for a Minneapolis based dance and devising company, Dance & Other Behaviors, featured in Minneapolis Fringe Festival and The Southern Theatre. She is currently an instructor and costume designer at Creighton University. She served as a volunteer with Nebraskans for the Arts, Theatre Arts Guild, Omaha Chamber's Young Professionals Council, and the Opera Omaha Guild.
Steven L. Williams
Set & Lighting Designer
Steven L. Williams makes his Opera Omaha debut with UnShakeable. Mr. Williams is a Professor of Theatre at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and an accomplished freelance scenic, lighting, and graphic designer with more than 150 professional credits. His work has been featured at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, Omaha Community Playhouse, The Rose Theater, Theatre Aspen, Heritage Repertory Theatre, Indiana University, Brown County Playhouse, and McLeod Summer Playhouse. Since 1998, he has served as Scenic Designer for Thorn Productions, creators of The Thorn, one of the largest touring church productions in the nation. He recently served as Production Designer and Theatre Consultant for the filmed, globally distributed production of The Thorn. His most meaningful work includes the design of a police investigation and training facility for Project Harmony in Omaha.
Hannah Clark Properties Designer & Supervisor
Hannah Clark makes her Opera Omaha debut with UnShakeable. Ms. Clark, MFA, works as a Professor of Theatre at Creighton University. Hailing from Denver, Colorado, she practices storytelling and technical theatre across the Midwest. Her recent local work includes American Midwest Ballet's Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella, Shelterbelt's Stuck with Lemons and Buried Phoenix, and Great Plains Theatre Commons' Stains. A co-founding member of
Old School Shakespeare Omaha, Ms. Clark has performed over 20 of the Bard's works, and aspires to discover the intersection between ancient art and modern craft, and what it can teach us about being human today.
Teresa Castillo Meridian
Costa Rican-American soprano
Teresa Castillo makes her Opera Omaha debut in UnShakeable
Recent highlights include Amina in La sonnambula with Teatro Nuovo, a return to The Metropolitan Opera to cover the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Nuria in Ainadamar, and Frasquita in Carmen, and stepping in on short notice as Maria in Francesca Zambello’s production of West Side Story with Houston Grand Opera. Additional roles include Clorinda in La Cenerentola with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring with Chicago Opera Theater, and La Comtesse Adèle in Le comte Ory with Opera Southwest, and Sara Turing in the world premiere of The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing with Chicago Opera Theater.
Joseph Lim Wyatt
Korean baritone Joseph Lim makes his Opera Omaha debut in UnShakeable. Mr. Lim has been engaged by the Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Nashville Opera, Opera Carolina, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Opera Roanoke, and Opera Birmingham. He has performed at Ravinia Music Festival, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Seoul Arts Center in Korea, Grant Park Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Palm Springs Opera Guild, Festival of the Aegean in Greece, and more. His many roles include Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, De Valvert in Cyrano de Bergerac, Thom in The Listeners, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Wang Wu in Stuck Elevator, Le Dancaïre in Carmen, Silvio in Pagliacci, Marcello in La bohème, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos, Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, and Escamillo in Carmen
Callista Veaughn-Payne*
STAGE MANAGER
Erin McNeley-Phelps* ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Kenzie Jensen*
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Nick Preston*
WARDROBE ASSISTANT
Byron Farrar
SUPERTITLE OPERATOR
COVERS
Karina Brazas
MERIDIAN
Tanner Engeseth
WYATT
+IATSE Local 42
Wardrobe Services are provided by IATSE Local 831.
Opera Omaha is a member of OPERA America.
*Opera Omaha Debut
Opera Omaha productions are made possible, in part, with significant support from the Craftsman’s Guild.
Cindy & Mike Baumer
Dr. Betty Beach
Ian Bugeja
Tom Burton
Gina Carusi
Kate & Chris Gannon–Tombrello
Bill Gaus
Melissa Gebauer
Nora Mae & John* Gibson
Mark Kalal
Christine Lund
Dean Manternach
Julie Mead
Patty Pandzik
Christine & Patrick Peters
Hilarie Price
Valerie Proctor
Rebecca Reed
Margret Sexton
Toni Shelton
Kent Standerford
Janet Syslo
Saprina Thiesen
Leslie Vann
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
VICTORIAN TEA
Lora Kaup
SPRING LUNCHEON
Connie Kinnear
COTILLION
Lisa Hagstrom
PATRON PARTY
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
AT LARGE BOARD MEMBERS
Dana Carlton-Flint
Kathy Gross
Laura Hale
Marilyn Martin
Sherry Taxman
Sara Young
ONE PASSION.
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Now in its 9th 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.
The Opera Omaha’s 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. Over the last 8 years, more than 1,000 poems have been sent to the Poetry & Music Project.
Last fall, Opera Omaha and the Nebraska Writers Collective invited Nebraska and Iowa students in grades K-12 to submit works of poetry exploring the theme of memory. Writers were asked to share memories — big and small — that made an impact on them, forever changed them, that are worth reliving, that they want to gift to others. Opera Omaha received 87 poem submissions from students across Nebraska and Iowa. Poets ranged from second graders to high school seniors, including first time poets and seasoned writers.
While there were many outstanding poems submitted to the project, in the end, project composers Sidney Marquez Boquiren and James Schroeder selected 14 poems that inspired them and created original music using the poems as lyrics. Poets and composers worked together with Opera Omaha musicians during music workshops this spring, and these original songs premiered at the Poetry & Music Concert on May 9, 2026.
All submitted poems are available in the Poetry & Music Project Book, and recordings of the songs from the concert are available online at OperaOmaha.org/Poetry.
25/26 SELECTED POEMS
“Good Company”
“A World of Pure Imagination”
“Friends Like Them”
“Making Memories”
Nora Barth Duchesne Academy
Adeline Olsen Westside Middle School
Allison Billau Liberty Middle School
Briana Brown Northside Elementary School
“Saltwater Taffy (Best If Used By 2018)” Lily (Emery) Jobst Lincoln East High School
“A Simple Thank You”
“Little me”
“The Simple Things”
“Untitled”
“Shadow guide”
“My Tears”
“Enough Exactly as I Am”
“Piercing through the Dark”
“A Cabin in the Woods”
Maren Ferguson Platteview High School
Juliett Flores Fierro Andersen Middle School
Sophie Dudek Papillion Middle School
McKenna Songster Platteview Senior High School
Allison Kriz Palmer Public School
McKinley Coe Lewis & Clark Middle School (Omaha)
London Krumwiede Meridian Public Schools
Emery Lausterer Wahoo Public High School
Alice Tripp Kiewit Middle School
Themes and submission details for the 26/27 Poetry & Music Project will be announced in September 2026!
AUG 29
2026
7:00PM
Stinson Park Free
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.
NOV 13
2026
7:30PM NOV 15 2026 2:00PM
Orpheum Theater Subscription Package
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.
MAR 19 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.
SEPT 27 2026 7:00PM Slowdown Add On
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.
JAN 28 2027 6:30PM JAN 29 2027 6:30PM The Rose Theater Add On JAN 30 2027 2:00PM
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.
APR 30 2027 7:30PM 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.
SUPPORTING GIRLS' CREATIVITY IN THE COMMUNITY
Girls Inc. has been inspiring girls in Omaha to be strong, smart, and bold for decades. Through a variety of programs and services, they build leadership in elementary school through high school aged girls. Over the past several seasons, the Holland Community Opera Fellowship and Girls Inc. have collaborated to support the strength, creativity, and unique expression of girls attending both the Katherine Fletcher Center in North Omaha and the Emma Lozier Center in South Omaha. Community based workshops have focused on exposing the girls to the music, words, drama, visual art, and movement of opera while developing social emotional skills like managing emotions, showing respect for others, and building strong peer relationships.
RECENT WORKSHOPS INCLUDED
• Examining characters and developing original puppets that represent how they see themselves. Girls showed off their puppet creations and shared their unique hairstyle, clothing, and accessory features!
• Making connections between emotions and colors. Girls thought critically about what colors they would give to basic emotions and how those colors create mood.
• Using mini stages to visualize a scene and imagine how characters might move together. Girls were challenged to think about how a character might stand, dance, jump, and make use of space.
• Creating a collaborative piece of visual art that required girls to communicate openly and work together toward a shared vision.
ELEMENTS OF OPERA
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
WORDS MUSIC MOVEMENT DRAMA ART
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.
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 November 15, 2024-April 15, 2026.
CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE
$100,000+
Steve Menzies
Mary and Richard* Parrish
Julie M Schroeder
J Allen Soderlund Irrevocable Trust
Donald Wurster
PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE
$50,000- $99,999
Jane and David Offutt
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
Cindy and Mogens Bay
Kyoko and Jonathan Fuller
Polina and Bob Schlott
Kara and Joe Spitzenberger
BACKER
$10,000-$24,999
Anonymous
Sara and Jawed Bharwani
Roger Blauwet
Barbara Person and Scott Burger
Frances and David Ertel
Catherine and Terry Ferguson
Betty Foster
Jerry C� Gose
Vivian and Allen Hager
Vicki and David Krecek
Janet and H Frederick Kuehl
Susan F Morris
Sharee and Murray Newman
Silvia Greene Roffman
Constance Ryan
Janet and Jerry Syslo
Gail and Irving Veitzer
Katie Weitz, PhD and Tim Wilson
Jo Bartikoski and Don Westling
Gail and Michael* Yanney
Charese E Yanney
BENEFACTOR
$5,000-$9,999
Anonymous
Dr Betty L Beach
Devin J Fox, MD and Rob Block
Anne and Robert Bothe
Dr Anne and Stephen Bruckner
Sandi and Bill Bruns
Tina and John Cherica
Anna-Karin and David* Dillard
Carol E and David A Domina
Linda and David Gardels
Belle and Ryan Hansen
Vernie and Carter Jones
Ruth Keene
Dr Ali Khan
Mihaela and Brett Kobjerowski
Joanne and David Kolenda
Ann and Paul O'Hara
Rita and Donald Otis
Deb and Eric Peterson
Pauline Quinn
Jacqueline Sorrels and Alex Ritter
Ava and Bruce Ross
Jill Slupe and Kerry Finnegan
Marika and Peter Stone
Mary Ann Strasheim
Dr and Mrs James Tracy
GUARDIAN
$3,500-$4,999
Linda Matson Andersen
Mark Maser and Paul Ledwon
Sheila McNeill
Connie Osborne
Mary Beth and James Winner
SUSTAINER
$1,500-$3,499
Laura and Bryan Alexander
Sidney Marquez Boquiren
Dr� Samuel Cohen
Eleanor Shirley and Dan Cox
Debra Reilly-Culver and Robert Culver, Jr�
Jennifer and James Davenport
Hillary Nather-Detisch and John R Detisch
Dawn and Sid Dinsdale
Kate and Chris GannonTombrello
Leslie Garth
Judy and George Haecker, Jr�
Carol and James Healy
Tim Held and Jay Worden
Susan Thomas and Steven Hutchinson
Mary Jetton
Ruth Ann Keene
Mr� Alfred G� Kelley
Wade Leak and Jay Yost
Marilyn and Robert Martin
Mrs Sharon McGill
Matthew Messner and Neil Sechan
Karen and Larry Nelsen
Elizabeth and Jerry Powell
Lora Kaup and Michael Pray
Dr Jeffrey A Robinson, M D
Sarah Billinghurst Solomon
Anne Stoddard
Dr Terry Tomcsik
Anne and Arnold Weitz
PATRON
$750-$1,499
Eileen and Timothy Arkebauer
Yoko and Tom Arthur
Bridget Barron
Natalie and Chris Bartling
Joshua Bassan
Samuel Bierner and Joseph Pinson
Ashley Shickell and Nicholas Bjornson
Teri and David Black
Ann and David Burkholder
Murray Joseph Casey
Jesse Espinosa
Bev and Dick Fellman
Hal France
Bill L� Gaus
John Green
Sarah Baker Hansen and
Matthew Hansen
Jane and Edward Hawks
Stanton and Julia Hoppe
Joachim Voss and Don Horn
Anne Marie Hubbard
Jeffrey Johnston
Connie and John Kinnear
Molly Burns and Thomas Klein
Stacy and Jay Kozisek
Susan and Alan Langnas
Deana Liddy
Timothy Markel
Dr Linda Matson and Mr
Michael Howland
Karen and Paul Mullen
Kevin Murray
Stephen Osberg
Polly and Frank Partsch
Jessica and Dennis Pate
Alysia Radicia
Greta Vaught and John Ritland
Kelly and Mark Sanford
Donald Slaughter
Sherry and Jeff Taxman
Kiley and James Thiele
Shannon and Michael Walenta
Paula Wallace
Verne Weber
Ann and John Williamson
Laura Wilwerding
Brad Woolbright
Melanie and John Wright
Patricia Wright
Shirley Young
*Deceased
ADVOCATE
$300-$749
Anonymous (2)
Kelli and Brian Bello
Ang Bennett
Mayrene Bentley
Jerry Brabec
Kathleen Joan Bradley
Nancy Ward and Toby Bright
Bill Brosius
Melanie and Jeffrey Chapman
Joan and Don Cimpl
Mary and Hal Daub
Linda and Tim* Daugherty
Rosemary J Pauley and Timothy F Daugherty
Spencer and Vivian Davis
Carolyn and David Diamond
Kathleen Doak Pyper
Mark Draper
Karla Ermel
Karen and Richard Everett
Mary and Ronald Ferdig
Abigail Kutlas-Prickett and Joseph Prickett
Autumn Foland
Tamara and Thomas Foley
Elizabeth and John Fullerton
Cathy and Guy Gronquist
Joan Squires and Dan Hamann
Marilyn Schooley Hansen
Allison Hardy
April Hartman
Katrina Thurman and Robert Hawkey
Andrea and Donald Fineberg
Shari Hofschire
Annette and Steven Huff
Susan and Craig Ihnen
Susan Rae Jensen
Donna and James Kalar
Mary and Tom Kerr
Marilyn and Mark Kirchhoff
Barbara and Marshall Kushner
Ronna and Joseph Kutlas
Julie and Joseph Lecci
Lourdes Secola and Sheldon Lerner
Stephanie Liekhus
Kathleen and John Lohr
Christine Lund
Peter Lundberg
Meredith Fuller and James Luyten
Bruce McKeefry and Geoffrey Yeomans
Dorothy* and Daniel McKinney
Ann Jansen Michelson and Brent Michelson
Cindy Miserez
Donald Moran
Jessica Olsen
Mary Helms and Kenneth Olson
H Margo Prentiss
Mary Fieber
Lisa and Dan Prickett
Cynthia and David Rector
Tom Richter
David Sampson
Terri Sanders
Callie and Karl Schwent
Joan and Charles Shapiro
Janelle Siffring
Sissy Katelman Silber
Jara and Kenley SturdivantWilson
Jillian Tuck
Pia Ulrich
Patricia Victor
Sarah Watson
James Wink
Mary* and Anthony Yonkers
Sara and John Young
FRIEND
$1-$299
Anonymous
Gay and Steve Abraham
Demetrio Aguila
Cindy and Rod Anderson
Tim Anderson
Cheryl Arends
Ronald and Maria Bailey
Susan Baumert
Erna Beach
Richard Berkland
Shana Bernache
Laila Berre
Duane Bier
Eric Bildt
Dawn Ann Boll
Trevor Borton
Lyn and Stephen Bouma
Olivia and Jeff Brockman
Christina and Dale Broekemeier
Stanford Brown
Janice and Mario Buda
Janet* and Donald Bumgarner
William Bunderson
Michael Bykerk
Ann Caldwell
Deborah Cameron
Karen and David Campbell
Joan Desens and Simon CarrEllison
Alexander Cayetano
Amy Cerra
Felicia Cervantes
Edward Chaperon
Susan Chenoweth
Christine and Bob Chilcoat
Jeannine Christensen
Donna Christian
Julie Clawson
Tiffiny Clifton
Andrew and Mary Helen Cockle
Diane and Howard Coffin
Alec Colgan
Deborah Cooper
Caitlin Copenhaver
Denise Cotton
Carmelita Cox
Kris Vikmanis and Denny Creighton
Eileen Crinklaw
Ms Celann LaGreca and Dr
Timothy J� Crowley
Donna Dahlsten
Sarah Davis
Andrea Deer
Susan and Stephen Dolezal
Trudy Eblen
Amy and Matthew Epp
Allison Evans
Michael Faust
Sarah Marie Ferneding
Andrew Frost
Mollie and Terry Foster
Sandra Franklin
Danie and Steven Frazee
Morgann Freeman
Karen Gahl-Mills
Daniel Gallagher and Jeffrey Grinnell
Judith Gannon
Rose Glock
Cheryl Goodrich
Mary Green
Jan Grimes
Natasha Gromak
M Kathlyn and R Michael Gross
EmmaRose Grothaus
Andi Grubb
Carol and Peter Gwilt
Hamza Haqqi
Ellen Hargus
Melanie Hartman
Dr Gerald Christensen* and Ms
Mary Clare Haven
Mary Jo Havlicek
Lisa Hawk
Cheryl and Joe Hazel
Anne Hellbusch
Holly Herman
Kasey Hesse
Mary Hewitt
Megan Hilger
Marilyn Hoegemeyer
Margaret Horvath
Ann and Don Hosford
Nikolas Huffman
Megan Hunt
Bonnie and David Jaros
Anita Jaynes
Gayle and Marlin Jeffers
Marti Baumert and Richard
Jeffrey
Vibeke Jensen
Debra and Byron Jensen
John Johnson
Barbara Johnston
Alice Jorgensen
Neil Jouvenat
Madison Kaulfuss
Sandra and Jon Kayne
Viktor Khanzhyn
Julia Kleinschmit
Geri Knight
Wende and John Kotouc
Mary J� Krance
Candida Kraska
Mike Kreikemeier
Adam Kucirek
Barbara Kuhn
Robert Kuzelka
Heike and Adam Langdon
Mathew Leaf
Alison Lee
Elaine Leise
Patricia and Edmund Leslie
Cindy Rickard and Derek Leslie
Donna and Mark Lett
Ka'ai and Rob Li
Sherryl and Hiram Lilley
Douglas Little
Lori Liu
Billie D Logan
Lorraine Beadell and Greg Love
Cedric Ludlow
Kathryn and William Lydiatt
Charles MacKay
Jodie and William Mackintosh
Monika and Terry Maides
Heidi Malowski
Thomas Manning
Karla* and John Marburger
Karen and Michael Markey
Eric Martens
Dr� Cliff Mason
Amy Mather
Molly Mattingly
Cyndi and Wayne Mattson
Catherine and Marcus Maydew
Susan and Michael McGillick
Linda and Terry McClain
*Deceased
Catherine Biddulph and Keith
McClure
Theresa McCrackine
Jackie McLellan
Susan and John McMannama
Christine and Jim Medici
Bill Miskell
Tom Murnan
April and Jonathan Nebel
Ann Nelson
Jon Nelson and Jerry Tyrrell
Diana Nevins
Shawn and John Newman
Dawn and John Nielsen
Patricia and Anthony Nogg
Robert Nordt
Neil O'Donnell
Kathleen and Louis O'Konski
Duane Ostlund
Sean Otterberg
Erin Owen
Pablo Pacheco
Mike Pape
Diane and Robert Peabody
Christopher B� Pedersen
Lois Pesek
Margery Radek Pope
Kathleen Pyper
James Pyrzynski
Jacqueline Quigley
Silva Raker
Tina Ray
Toni Reese
Kate and James Ritter
Victoria and Edward Roche
Jheam Rodriguez
Britt Roeder
Dr� Debra J� Romberger
Kathleen Crawford-Rose and Robert Rose
Alexis Rothenberg
Diana Roucka
Courtney Rudick
Lee Emma Running
Rev� David Rykwalder
Marissa Sanford
Barbara and Daniel Scanlan
Scott Schroetlin
Mr Ray Schueneman and Mrs
Libby Murphy
Michelle and Brett Scollard
Susan and Craig Seamands
Margret Sexton
Kay M Shilling, M D
Tom Simmons
Ellen and Richard Slosburg
Shannon and John Slowiaczek
Alexia Kniska and Bo Smith
Kim Smith-Ferguson
Neil Solomon
Leslie Kuhnel and James Somers
Kim Sosin
Stacy Spale
Eric Spruth-Janssen
Dr� Sandra Kay Squires
Tami Steensma
Glenda and George Steinsberger
Joe Stubler
Mary A � Sturek
Karen and Robert Sundell
Allison and Hunter Swenson
Ginger Talbot
Melani Torrez
Gina Tranisi
Mitch Treu
Maureen and Steven Turner
Barbara Van Dyke
Ann Stephens and John Vasiliades
Jaymi and Jaymi Victor
Trilety Wade
Carolyn Weber
Annika and Allen Weber
Kevin Wetzel
Mathew Whitlock
Melanie and Nicholas Wilwerding
Patricia Wise
Kathleen Wittbrot
Sarah Woodhouse
Edith and Robert Zahniser
Inna Zevakina
Melissa Zierke
Michael Zimmerman
Matthew Zwick
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 November 15, 2024April 15, 2026.
IN MEMORY OF:
GLORIA DINSDALE
Linda Andersen
JOHN GIBSON
Hal France
Bill Gaus
Kathleen Pyper
CONNIE HEIDEN KAMMANDEL
Cindy and Rod Anderson
Linda Matson Andersen
Cindy and Mogens Bay
Anne and Robert Bothe
Dr� Anne and Stephen Bruckner
Sandi and Bill Bruns
Andrew and Mary Helen Cockle
Cheryl Goodrich
Kathy and Michael Gross
Annette and Steven Huff
Ruth Keene
Mary and Thomas Kerr
Jodie Mackintosh
Timothy Markel
Susan and John McMannama
Marilyn and Robert Martin
Susan and Michael McGillick
Bill Miskell
Mary Ellen Mulcahy
Jessica and Dennis Pate
Barbara and Daniel Scanlan
Ellen and Richard Slosburg
Shannon and John Slowiaczek
Mary Ann Strasheim
Karen and Robert Sundell
Maureen and Steven Turner
Mary Beth and James Winner
JOHN HUTZLER
Christine and Jim Medici
JODY KERSSENBROCK
Dr Sandra Kay Squires
MR. AND MRS. BILLIE F. LOGAN
Billie D Logan
JANET MCCRAE
Elizabeth and John Fulller
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 Davis
Tamara and Tom Foley
Polly Goecke
Kathy and Michael Gross
Janet and H Frederick 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
Sandy and Paul Epstein
Mike Klug
Mark Maser and Paul Ledwon
Sharon L McGill
Dorothy Davis Morrow and Jim Morrow
Mary Ellen Mulcahy
Jean Ann Ballinger and Ward Peters
Pauline Quinn
Dr Greg Sutton
Shannon and Michael Walenta
ALICE ROTERT
Marilyn Hansen
Joanne and David Kolenda
RICHARD (DICK) SERPAN
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
Mark Maser and Paul Ledwon
BROTHER WILLIAM WOEGER
Bill Gaus
Opera Omaha Craftsman’s Guild
IN HONOR OF:
LINDA ANDERSEN’S BIRTHDAY
Anne Hellbusch
DR. 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
BRUCE CHEMEL
Ann Caldwell
HOWARD COFFIN
Lourdes Secola and Sheldon Lerner
CAROL AND DAVID DOMINA
Joan Desens and Simon Carr-Ellison
Connor Howard
Ann Meschery
Caitlin Volz
CAROL DOMINA
Patrick Galvin
CAROL DOMINA’S BIRTHDAY
Joan Desens and Simon Carr-Ellison
HAL FRANCE
Lourdes Secola and Sheldon Lerner
CATHERINE AND TERRY FERGUSON
Joanne and David Kolenda
NADIA AND NABEEL HAKKI
Mahjabeen and Samin Hakki
MALLORY HAYS
Howard Coffin
REBECCA IHNEN
Lourdes Secola and Sheldon Lerner
DR. ALI KHAN
Dr Anne Marie Hubbard
MARK MASER
Joanne and David Kolenda
Wendy Wiseman
MARK MASER AND PAUL LEDWON
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
CHARLES PIGOTT
Barbara Johnston
DEB PETERSON’S RETIREMENT
Helen Burns
Susan Estep
Linda Lynch
Monika and Terry Maides
JAMES PYRZYNSKI
Bill Gaus
JOSH QUINN
Bill Gaus
LINDA BURT REBROVIC
Jessica and Dennis Pate
LINDA BURT REBROVIC AND JOHN REBROVIC
Carolyn and David Diamond
Mr and Mrs Tom Kerr
KELLY AND MARK SANFORD
Marissa and Mitchell Sanford
ALLISON SWENSON
Connor Howard
Neil Sechan and Matthew Messner
Caitlin Volz
ALLISON AND HUNTER SWENSON
Charles MacKay
Brad Woolbright
ALOYSIUS VANDERSLICE III
Pia Ulrich
GAIL AND MIKE* YANNEY
Heider Family Foundation
Constance Ryan
The Walter Scott Family Foundation
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
Sara and Jawed Bharwani
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*
J� Allen Soderlund*
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
CORPORATE, FOUNDATION & GOVERNMENT DONORS
CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE
$100,000+
Anonymous
Applied Underwriters, Inc�
Douglas County Board of Commissioners
Fred and Eve Simon Charitable Foundation
Holland Foundation
Omaha Steaks/Simon Legacy Ventures LLC
Weitz Family Foundation
PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE
$50,000-$99,000
Anonymous
FNBO
National Endowment for the Arts
Nebraska Cultural Endowment
Peter Kiewit Foundation
PRODUCER
$25,000-$49,999
Anonymous
Allan and Ann Mactier Charitable Foundation
Heider Family Foundation
Nebraska Arts Council
Omaha Magazine
Sherwood Foundation
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Valmont Industries, Inc
BACKER
$10,000-$24,999
Adah and Leon Millard Foundation
Americans for the Arts
Baxter
Conagra Brands Foundation
HDR, Inc
Hearst Foundations
Kiewit
Mutual of Omaha
Opera Omaha Craftsman's Guild
Opera Omaha Guild
Owen Foundation
Union Pacific Corporation
BENEFACTOR
$5,000-$9,999
CL Werner Foundation
Giger Foundation
Koley Jessen P�C�, LLC
Security National Bank
The FS Foundation Inc
University of Nebraska Foundation
University of Nebraska Omaha
Walter Scott Family Foundation
Whitmore Charitable Trust
ADVOCATE
$1-$4,999
Backer Family Charitable Trust
Baird Foundation Inc
Edward and Lida Robinson Charitable Trust
Fraser Stryker
Heritage Omaha
Humanities Nebraska
Husch Blackwell LLP
Lincoln Financial Foundation, Inc�
Paypal Giving Fund
Strauss Charitable Fund
The Flatiron Luthier Cooperative
The Fred and Sally Bekins Foundation
REPERTOIRE HISTORY
1958-59
Madama Butterfly
Tosca
Oklahoma!
Hansel and Gretel
1959-60
Carousel
Pagliacci/Quivera
1960-61
Die Fledermaus
La traviata
1961-62
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
1966-67
Il Trovatore
The Ballad of Baby Doe
1967-68
Tosca
La bohème
1968-69
La traviata
Carmen
1969-70
Faust
Cavalleria Rusticana/ Pagliacci
1970-71
Aida
Die Fledermaus
1971-72
Rigoletto
The Tales of Hoffmann
1972-73
Madama Butterfly
Romeo and Juliet
Un Ballo in Maschera
1973-74
Tosca
The Marriage of Figaro
The Elixir of Love
1974-75
La bohème
Lucia di Lammermoor
La Périchole
1975-76
La traviata
Manon
Bilby’s Doll
The Barber of Seville
1976-77
Aida
The Merry Widow
Don Pasquale
Don Giovanni
1977-78
Madama Butterfly
The Abduction from the Seraglio*
The Bartered Bride
1978-79
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
1982-83
Don Pasquale
Faust
Madama Butterfly
1983-84
Aida*
The Tales of Hoffmann
Don Giovanni
1984-85
Tosca
Falstaff
Gianni Schicchi/Pagliacci
1985-86
Turandot
Lucia di Lammermoor
The Marriage of Figaro
1986-87
La traviata
The Barber of Seville
Porgy and Bess
1987-88
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
Samuel Ramey in “A Date with the Devil”
Samson et Dalila
Tosca*
2000-01
Amahl & the Night Visitors*
Carmina Burana/Pagliacci
Falstaff
Man of La Mancha
2001-02
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*
2008-09
The Blizzard Voices***†
The Pirates of Penzance La bohème
2009-10
Night for American Song
Pagliacci
Brundibár
The Marriage of Figaro So in Love with Broadway*
2010-11
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***
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 ++
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
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*
2025-26
Opera Outdoors*
The Barber of Seville
Susannah
Hercules
Bluebeard's Castle*
UnShakeable*
* New production + American Premiere *** World Premiere † Commissioned Work ++ Film/Digital Premiere
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
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.
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.
VOLUNTEERS
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.
SUPERNUMERARIES
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
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.
For Opera Omaha program book advertising, please contact: Kyle Thomas Director of Marketing and Communication
402.346.7372 X300 kthomas@operaomaha.org
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