UNL Opera on tour in March with ‘La Traviata’

The opera program in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Glenn Korff School of Music will go on tour in Nebraska with three performances of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata” in March in Ord, Lincoln and Scottsbluff.

The performances are:

• March 5, 3 p.m., The Golden Husk Theatre in Ord. For ticket information, click here.

• March 22, 7:30 p.m., North Star High School Auditorium in Lincoln, free and open to the public.

• March 25, 7 p.m. The Midwest Theater in Scottsbluff. For ticket information, click here.

The tour is made possible by The James C. and Rhonda Seacrest Tour Nebraska Opera Fund.

“La Traviata” is one of the most beloved theatrical works of all time, combining a romantic story with memorable music. Verdi’s vibrant masterpiece contrasts spectacular party scenes with tender, intimate moments.

“La Traviata” tells the story of the tragic love between the courtesan Violetta and the romantic Alfredo Germont. Played out against the hypocrisy of upper-class fashionable society, Alfredo and Violetta’s love threatens to shame his family. When his father directly appeals to Violetta to relinquish her one chance of happiness, Violetta submits in an act of heart-wrenching self-sacrifice, making her one of opera’s most glorious heroines, a woman of boundless humanity and emotional depth.

UNL Opera’s touring production of “La Traviata” features an evocative projection design created by the university’s emerging media arts faculty. Staged by Suna Gunther, assistant professor of music (voice), the opera will be presented with costumes and singing by UNL Opera voice students, accompanied by a chamber ensemble enhancing the intimacy of the story. The opera will be sung in its original Italian, with English supertitles.

William Shomos, Richard H. Larson Distinguished Professor of music and director of opera, began to realize his dream of touring opera through rural Nebraska in 2016 with a touring production of “The Marriage of Figaro” throughout the state.

In addition to “Figaro,” UNL Opera has toured productions of “The Ballad of Baby Doe,” “The Tender Land” and “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” including performances in Friend, Ord, Wayne, Norfolk, Central City, Red Cloud and North Platte.

In 2019, UNL Opera presented the world premiere of Tyler White’s “The Gambler’s Son” in Cozad — the locale of that opera’s setting. After a brief delay due to the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNL Opera’s touring program resumed in December 2021 in a collaboration with the Ord community to produce “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at the Golden Husk Theatre.

This season’s production of “La Traviata” returns UNL Opera to Ord’s Golden Husk and marks a first-time engagement with Scottsbluff’s Midwest Theatre.

The James C. and Rhonda Seacrest Tour Nebraska Opera Fund is dedicated to supporting the production, promotion, travel and other expenses incurred for outreach opera events, both artistic and educational, across Nebraska, especially in rural venues.

Learn more.