New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On Monday, November 13, 2023, at 7:00 p.m., Opera Mississippi will present the next performance in their Duling Hall Concert Series for Season 78. "Stages: My
Journey with Stephen Sondheim," features sopranos Maryann Kyle and Mila Owen, with the Tyler Kemp Trio.
The show follows an aging actress reflecting on her career and love life as she nurses a "vodka stinger" after a series of complicated and problematic relationships. She revisits her younger self and past actions. Identifying with each Sondheim character she became, she ponders the trail of beautiful and broken relationships by remembering her life through those she played. As she looks back, was it that she was just too anxious "mapping out a sky" while she missed the meaning and fullness of her own life?
Created by Maryann Kyle, she describes the show as about life and all of its twists and turns along the way. "All of us make choices throughout our lives, and for a performer of Broadway musicals there is no better vehicle for that journey than the complicated lyrics and music of Stephen Sondheim," stated Kyle. "Sondheim put it best in Sunday in the Park with
George with the lyrics: 'I chose, and my world was shaken. So what? The choice may have been mistaken. The choosing was not.' "
Stephen Sondheim was born in New York on March 22, 1930, and is widely acknowledged as the most innovative, influential, and important composer and lyricist in modern Broadway history. For more than 50 years, Sondheim set an unsurpassed standard of brilliance and artistic integrity in musical theatre. His accolades included an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer) including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, multiple
Drama Desk awards and a Pulitzer Prize.
The Opera's "Duling Hall Concert Series" features a wide range of performances in a comfortable and casual atmosphere that presents entertaining and enlightening musical experiences and tribute concerts that highlight Mississippi performers and some of the most influential musical artists of all time. From Jazz to Broadway, Country to Soul, and everything in between...There is something for everyone at Duling Hall in Jackson's historic Fondren neighborhood. Come as you are. No need for stuffy tuxes now! Arrive early and enjoy Opera Happy Hour at 6:00 p.m., with specialty cocktails, a cash bar, cuisine from Saltine restaurant and new this season: OPERA-tizers! These are special pre-show entertainment by fantastic Opera Mississippi artists!
For more information on all events and to purchase tickets, visit www.operams.org or call the office 601-960-2300.
Opera Mississippi, founded in 1945, is the ninth oldest continuously operating opera company in the United States, and Mississippi's only professional opera company. Opera Mississippi's mission is to entertain, educate, and enlighten Mississippi audiences through opera, musical theatre, and popular music experiences; to enhance Mississippi's cultural and economic landscape by presenting accessible, high-quality performances; to identify and develop regional operatic and singing artists; and to promote the understanding and appreciation of opera through education, outreach, and audience development that reflects community awareness, connection, and culture.
