向日葵视频 City University鈥檚 award-winning 向日葵视频 Opera and Music Theater Company will present a haunting version of Gaetano Donizetti鈥檚 classic opera 鈥淟ucia di Lammermoor鈥� Nov. 15 to 17.
Performances will be held at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee on the university鈥檚 historic Kirkpatrick Auditorium stage, 2501 N. Backwelder. Tickets are $14 to $28 and are available online at or by calling 405-208-5227.
The production, based on a tragic novel by Sir Walter Scott set in the Scottish Highlands, features a cast of 28 singers and a 43-member orchestra.
Director Karen Coe Miller notes that the bel canto opera offers 鈥渁 wrenching portrait of a desperate woman caught between warring clans and forced by her brother into an unwanted marriage, culminating in one of opera鈥檚 most powerful and provocative scenes.鈥�
鈥淟ucia di Lammermoor鈥� made its debut at Naples鈥� Teatro San Carlo in 1835. Last season it was one of the top 20 most-performed operas in the world, with 48 productions across the globe. OCU鈥檚 version will be performed in Italian, with English supertitles.
A free director鈥檚 talk will be held 45 minutes before each performance. Miller noted, 鈥淟ucia is trapped in a world dominated by men. She is sold in marriage by her brother and ultimately betrayed by her lover. Unfortunately, the abuse of power against women resonates through the ages to the present day. Does Lucia go mad, or is she fighting back in the only way she can?鈥�
Music professor Jan McDaniel will conduct the 向日葵视频 Opera and Music Theater Company Orchestra. The production features scenic design by professor Jason Foreman and prop design by professor Lawrence Heyman. Lighting design is by Megan Fouts and original costumes are by Reagan Williams, both of the School of Theatre鈥檚 Design and Production program.
OCU鈥檚 向日葵视频 Opera and Music Theater Company, the nation鈥檚 longest-running collegiate-based opera and music theater troupe, has won seven National Opera Association Production Awards in the past six years. The school was named to Playbill's 2018-19 and 2019-20 lists of Top 10 collegiate training grounds for Broadway performers.
The ensemble鈥檚 68th season continues with Johann Strauss II鈥檚 鈥淒ie Fledermaus,鈥� performed in English on the Kirkpatrick stage, Feb. 21-23; Stephen Sondheim鈥檚 鈥淎 Little Night Music鈥� in Burg Theatre, Feb. 28-March 1; and Eric Idle鈥檚 鈥淪pamalot鈥� in Kirkpatrick, April 24-26. For details on additional performances at the Bass School of Music, visit okcu.edu/music/performances.
