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Feb 11, 2025
Call for Artists - Baroque Entanglements
Call for Entries: "Baroque Entanglements" An Art Show Inspired by Giulio Cesare Opera Omaha, Wicked Raven Productions, and Joslyn Castle and Gardens proudly invite artists to participate in our upcoming art exhibition, "Baroque Entanglements." This exhibition celebrates the lush themes of Handel's Giulio Cesare through dynamic artistic interpretations, capturing the essence of love, power, and Baroque splendor. Theme: Artwork should explore the intrigue and emotion of Giulio Cesare, inspired by the passionate characters and ornate grandeur of the Baroque period. Artists are encouraged to convey themes of seduction, political intrigue, and the dramatic interplay of historical figures Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Artists Selection: Open to all ...
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Feb 6, 2025
Ruth Meints on The Rake's Progress
Going into this opera experience, I had zero previous knowledge of the opera The Rake’s Progress. I had some preconceived notions about what the music might be like, knowing that Igor Stravinsky was the composer. His other provocative works, like Rite of Spring, Petroushka, and Firebird Suite, gave the expectation of an intense musical score with rhythmic drive and emotional nuance. And it was definitely that! The orchestra was spectacular under the direction of Steven White. A special “shout out” to the brass moments throughout the opera: trumpet solos, impressive French horn passages, and difficult, repetitive rhythmic brass moments. The dark introduction in the lower strings that begins the final ...
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Jan 29, 2025
Know Before You Go | The Rake's Progress
Join us for The Rake's Progress Friday, February 7, 2025 | 7:30pm Box Office Open | 6:00pm Lobby Open | 6:30pm House Open | 7:00pm Sunday, February 9, 2025 | 2:00pm Box Office Open | 12:30pm Lobby Open | 1:00pm House Open | 1:30pm Orpheum Theater 409 S. 16th Street, Omaha, NE 68102 The performance runs approximately 3 hours 15 minutes with two 15 minute intermissions. Content Warning This production contains use of atmospheric haze. View performance details Before you arrive Please expect some construction around the Orpheum that may impact driving to the venue for The Rake’s Progress. There are currently lane restrictions on Harney Street from 19th to 17th Street for utility relocation work. Harney Street between 29th Street and 28th Street will be cl...
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Jan 29, 2025
24/25 Holland Highlights
Reflections on the work and daily wonders of the Holland Community Opera Fellowship 1/30/25 For our first HCOF workshop of 2025, we kicked things off with programming at the Sarpy County Juvenile Justice Center (SJJC). SJJC is a 30-bed, staff-secure housing facility that provides a variety of services for youth ages 12-19 years old and involved in the juvenile justice system. We love having the opportunity to provide a safe space for teens to express themselves and try new things, and also have some light-hearted fun and engage with opera and play at the forefront. Our groups at SJJC are always brimming with imagination! This month, we explored visual art, problem solving, ...
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Jan 24, 2025
Roy Rallo on The Rake's Progress
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 Truelove. 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 whatev...
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Jan 24, 2025
The Rake's Progress Study Guide
Student Dress Rehearsal Study Guide Created as a companion to Opera Omaha’s Student Dress Rehearsal of The Rake's Progress. The study guide includes information about the opera, articles about William Hogarth, Igor Stravinsky, an Opera 101, guiding questions for discussion, and resources for further exploration. Download the Study Guide
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Jan 23, 2025
Some thoughts on The Rake’s Progress
by Principal Guest Conductor, Steven White 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, a...
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Jan 14, 2025
Fun Facts About The Rake's Progress
Think you know The Rake's Progress? Boost your opera trivia knowledge with these tid bits on the history and creation of Stravinsky's neo-classical opera. Opera Omaha's production will be the first time The Rake's Progress is performed in Omaha, and will mark the 50th anniversary of David Hockney's iconic production. Igor Stravinsky wrote 8 operas in his lifetime, The Rake’s Progress is his only full-length opera The Rake's Progress is often seen as a pastiche of Mozart’s operas, particularly Don Giovanni. It also incorporates elements from other classical composers like Rossini and Verdi. Stravinsky and his librettists, W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman, embedded subtle references to psychoanalytic theory, part...
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Jan 6, 2025
The History of The Rake's Progress
Premiering in 1951, The Rake’s Progress stands out not only for its unique blend of 18th-century influences with 20th-century sensibilities, but also for its complex narrative and rich symbolism. The opera was directly inspired by a series of 18th-century engravings by British artist William Hogarth, also titled A Rake's Progress. Between 1732 and 1734, Hogarth published the series of eight narrative engravings serving as a moral tale warning against the perils of excess and moral decay, themes that resonated strongly with the social climate of 18th-century England. Hogarth was deeply inspired by the burgeoning consumer culture and the rise of the middle class in Georgian England. As a social satirist, he sought to...
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Jan 3, 2025
The Story of The Rake's Progress
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. 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 wind up his uncle’s estate and Shadow offers himself as Tom’s servant and guide through the intricacies of London life. The question of his salary c...
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