Blog

Bluebeard pays a visit to his young lady neighbors and during a hunting party he declares his love to one of them. Bluebeard’s marriage. Bluebeard goes on a journey and warns his wife not to open a certain room. She cannot restrain her curiosity. But what a fright! Mrs. Bluebeard tries in vain to rub the bloodstains from the keys. She flees from her husband, who has discovered the bloodstains. Having reached the tower turret, she cries for help. Just as Bluebeard seizes his wife to behead her, her brothers rush to help, save her, and punish the cruel villain. Check out Bartok’s take on the psyche of this...

Judith arrives at Duke Bluebeard’s castle as his new wife, having left behind a safer, familiar life to be with him. She is struck at once by the chill darkness of the great hall and by the sense that the building itself is alive with secrets. Bluebeard urges her to accept the castle as it is and even offers her the chance to go while she still can, but Judith insists that love should bring light, warmth, and openness. She demands the keys to the seven locked doors that surround them, convinced that opening them will transform the castle and reveal the truth of the man she has chosen. Un...

ACT I In Dejanira’s palace, anxiety has curdled into certainty. Hercules has been gone for a long campaign, and an ominous oracle convinces Dejanira that his end is near. Grief overwhelms her, while their son Hyllus tries to steady her and vows to search the world for his father. News suddenly breaks the spell. Lichas, the herald, arrives to announce that Hercules lives and is returning in triumph after overtaking Oechalia. Yet victory brings a shadow. A procession of captives follows the conqueror, and among them is Iole, princess of Oechalia, whose beauty and sorrow draw immediate sympathy from Hyllus. Iole herself mourns her ruined world and the loss of...

DEAR FRIENDS: Welcome to Hercules and the return of The English Concert to Omaha. If you attended their performance of Handel’s Giulio Cesare last year, you know to expect world-class musicianship and theatricality in this semi-staged interpretation of another great work by Handel. Without sets and costumes, the singers and orchestra give unencumbered performances that embody a range of emotions, notably the intense feelings of jealousy that drive the plot of Hercules. Here, Handel is ahead of his time with the character of Dejanira who descends from paranoia into full-blown psychosis, a precursor to the operatic “mad scene” trope. It is a tour-de-force for a mezzo-soprano, and I know you wi...

Join us for Hercules Friday, March 13, 2026 | 7:30pm Box Office Open | 6:00pm Lobby Open | 6:30pm House Open | 7:00pm Orpheum Theater 409 S. 16th Street, Omaha, NE 68102 The performance runs approximately 3 hours, including one 20-minute intermission. NOTE: Because this is a one night only performance, your usual seats might be different. Be sure to check your tickets for seat information. View performance details Before you arrive Construction Please give yourself extra time to navigate construction near the Orpheum Theater. There are numerous lane restrictions and closures for Omaha streetcar construction. For the most up-to-date information, search for the Orpheum Theater in the city’s Road Closures & Lane Restrictions Map. Parking Multiple surface an...

Ask ten people what “the story of Hercules” is, and you may get ten different answers. Ancient writers treated Hercules (Greek: Heracles) like a legend you could zoom in or out on: sometimes he is a monster-slayer doing public feats, and sometimes he is the center of a family tragedy. Handel’s work (libretto by Thomas Broughton) is based mainly on Sophocles’ Women of Trachis and Book 9 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Hercules of Legend: The Public Figure The labors (lion, hydra, boar, and so on) are the Hercules most people recognize: feats performed under command mixing brute strength with endurance, cleverness, and sometimes help from others. Different ancient frameworks emphasize different ...

Announcing Youth Auditions for the 26/27 Opera Omaha Season! Opera Omaha will hold auditions for the following PAID roles: -Opera Omaha Children’s Chorus Roster for the 26/27 Season, to participate in Puccini's La bohème (in Italian) and Hanlon and Fleishmann's The Pigeon Keeper. -The role of Kosmo in David Hanlon and Stephanie Fleishmann’s The Pigeon Keeper  (A cover, otherwise known as an understudy, for the role of Kosmo will also be cast). Details for the children’s chorus and named roles: -Age Range: 10–18 years old (younger children with the ability to read music and a strong vocal range will also be considered) -Vocal Range: Treble -No gender preference for these roles ...

DEAR FRIENDS: We are so pleased to welcome you to the first production of the New Year, Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. As both the composer and librettist for Susannah, Carlisle Floyd was one of the first successful American opera composers. And this opera is quintessentially American. It takes place in rural Tennessee, and you will hear the influence of Appalachian folk melodies and colors in the score and instrumentation. 2026 is the centennial of Carlisle Floyd’s birth, and we are honored to partner with The Carlisle Floyd Foundation in a national celebration of his legacy. Susannah may be one the first successful American operas, but new operas are written by Amer...

Join us for Susannah Friday, January 30, 2026 | 7:30pm Box Office Open | 6:00pm Lobby Open | 6:30pm House Open | 7:00pm Sunday, February 1, 2026 | 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 2 hours, including one 20-minute intermission. Content Warning This production contains a gunshot in Act Two. This production contains appearances of firearms and spoken references to violence and sexual assault. View performance details Before you arrive Construction Please give yourself extra time to navigate construction near the Orpheum Theater. 14th Street is closed between Douglas and Farnam Streets for Mutual of Omaha construction. The Farnam Street bridge is closed until ...

Carlisle Floyd's Susannah sits close to my heart: it draws me to my identity as an American, as a woman, as a member of society at large, as a singer (when I was only 20 years old, it was the very first operatic role I ever performed!), and now it extends its pull on me as a director. Rediscovering this story (loosely based on the Apocryphal account of "Susanna and the Elders" from the Book of Daniel) inspired me in terms of not just its relevance of depicting a community buried in dogma, narrow-mindedness, and intolerance but also, because of the connection between the tale’s truth and the ro...