For Tickets

     Mini Subscriptions are now available for the 2009-2010 Season on a Grand Scale: The Elixir of Love, Feb. 13th and 14th; Carmen, Mar. 27th and Coppélia, Apr. 27th. Mini subscriptions can be purchased for $225 for our best seating,$153 for our better seating and $93 for or good seating.

     In addition to our mini subsctiptions, single seats are also available. Ticket prices are:

• Best Seating: $85
• Better Seating: $58
• Good Seating: $35

     For more information or Tickets, call 316.262.8054

Intoxicating Elixir for Valentine's Day

European star tenor Otokar Klein makes his United States debut as Nemorino in the new WGO production of The Elixir of Love.

 

WICHITA, January 19, 2010 - Wichita Grand Opera will open the curtains on its new Valentine’s Day production of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love on Saturday, February 13 at 7pm and Sunday, February 14 at 3pm at Century II. As WGO’s fourth production of the season, this lighthearted romantic comedy is sure to bring a smile to every face. The opera will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.

One of the most popular comedies in the history of opera, the plot should be instantly familiar to anyone who’s ever been in love. A backward country boy, tired of being taunted by the girl he adores, spends all his money on a bottle of fake love potion hocked by an unscrupulous traveling salesman, disquised as a doctor. Foibles abound in this non-stop zany misadventure, where the only sure thing is a happy ending for all. The score features the favorite tenor love song “Una furtiva lagrima,” among the most commonly performed in the operatic repertoire.

European tenor Otokar Klein makes his United States debut as Nemorino, the charming country boy. Klein has made a name for himself singing leading roles at some of the most prestigious opera houses in the world, including La Scala, the State Opera of Berlin, the Vienna State Opera, the Zurich Opera, the State Opera Budapest, the Prague Opera, the Royal Theater of the Mint in Brussels.

Soprano Emily Truckenbrod will be singing Nemorino’s love interest, the playful beauty Adina. Returning for her second season at WGO, Truckenbrod has a clear voice that makes “the angels sigh with envy” (The Dispatch). She debuted with Wichita Grand Opera in the role of Oscar in A Masked Ball. Other roles in her repertoire include Adele in Die Fledermaus, both The Queen of the Night and Papagena in The Magic Flute, Marie in La Fille du Regiment, and Yum Yum in The Mikado.

The Wichita Grand Opera Chorus sings “L'Elisir di si Perfetta”, the theme of Donizetti’s romantic comic opera.

 

The traveling charlatan Dr. Dulcamara will be sung by rising star Jorge Ocasio, who “steals the show in 'Elixir…like the great singing actor Tito Gobbi,” according to a recent reviewer in The Italian Review. Wichita native Michael Nansel returns to WGO from Washington Opera, where he sang in recent productions of La Boheme and Andrea Chénier as well as the American premiere of Sophie’s Choice. The baritone will sing the role of the cocky Sergeant Belcore.

Stage director Patrick Hansen will helm the production in his debut with WGO. In addition to making his WGO debut, this season he will also debut at the Kennedy Center with Puccini’s Turandot and at Opera Memphis with Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. Margaret Pent, WGO Artistic Director and accomplished designer, will design the production. Highlights of her work in Wichita include directing and designing Carmen on the Lake at Bradley Fair, as well as the 2007 production of Tosca and the 2008 production of Faust, both starring Sam Ramey, among others.

The orchestra for The Elixir of Love will be under the baton of Slovakian National Opera principal conductor Martin Mázik. In addition to conducting more than 100 operas each year at SNO, he regularly appears with major orchestras and opera companies in Europe, Japan and The United States. He made his U.S. opera debut at Wichita Grand Opera in 2004 with Don Giovanni, and has returned every year since.

Season Subscriptions are available for the following productions until February 10, 2010, saving 11%: The Elixir of Love – Feb. 13 & 14; Carmen – Mar. 27; and Coppélia – Apr. 27. Single tickets for this production are $35, $58, and $85, with special discount prices available for seniors, students, military personnel, and groups of 10 or more. In addition, WGO and Hawthorn Suites are offering a collaborative package for out-of-town patrons: two “Better” tickets and a one-evening stay at the East Wichita location will cost a total of $150. For reservations, call the WGO Box Office at the number listed below.

For season subscriptions, single tickets or group discounts:

• Visit WGO Box Office, 3rd Floor of Century II Concert Hall at 225 W. Douglas, Wichita, KS between the hours of 9am and 5pm
• Call the Box Office at 316.262.8054
• Visit any local Select-A-Seat outlet at local area Dillons stores (no group discounts available)
• Order online at http://www.selectaseat.com (no group discounts available)

For more information about this performance or the remainder of the 2009-10 season, visit the website at www.WichitaGrandOpera.org. This Production is sponsored in part by The Cessna Foundation, the Kansas Health Foundation, and Mrs. Pete Armstrong.

About Us

The Wichita Grand Opera is pleased to annouce its dazzling eighth season for 2009-2010, and it offers something for everyone to enjoy. Season subscriptions are currently on sale with a choice of three plans. General Director Parvan Bakardiev says, “This season will be filled with some of the great classics of Opera and ballet, with six productions featuring a perfect blend of comedy, drama, romance and grace.” Here is the spectacular lineup:

Ukrainian National Dance Co. My Ukraine! – October 10, 2009 Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado – November 7 & 8, 2009 Gaetano Donizetti’s Elixir of Love – February 13 & 14, 2010 Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto – January 15, 2010 Georges Bizet’s Carmen – March 27, 2010 Leo Delibes’s ballet Coppélia – April 27, 2010

The season opens in October with the high spirited 80 dancers of the My Ukraine!. Back by popular demand in November is the crazy Gilbert and Sullivan opera about the endearing hearts that run afoul in the hilarious The Mikado. Then in January is the heart wrenching opera about the wrath of a vengeful father in Verdi’s Rigoletto. For Valentine’s Day we offer you the romantic comedy where a love potion collides with true love in Donizetti’s Elixir of Love. In March it’s the seductive and fiery romantic tragedy of Bizet’s Carmen. And to conclude the season, is the classical ballet about a doll so real it can reunite two broken hearts in Delibes’ Coppélia. Season Subscriptions offer the most affordable way to enjoy WGO’s performances, saving up to 20% off the regular ticket price. There are three plans from which to choose:

Season Subscriptions: Best Better Good Plan A – Save 20%            All 6 Productions $408 $279 $168 Plan B – Save 17%            Choose 5 Productions $373 $241 $145 Plan C – Save 14%            Choose 4 Productions $292 $200 $120

To purchase tickets call Wichita Grand Opera Box Office. 316.262.8054 or online at www.selectaseat.com