Two of Tulsa’s top performing arts groups will spend this Saturday celebrating some of America’s contributions to the worlds of opera and orchestral music to open their respective seasons.
Signature Symphony’s “New World, New Voices”
The Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College begins its 48th annual season — its fifth under the leadership of artistic director Scott Seaton — with “New World, New Voices,” a program that reflects a range of influences on American music.
The performance is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 at the VanTrease PACE, 10300 E. 81st St., on the TCC Southeast Campus. Tickets are $29-$65.
Guest saxophonist Lance Bryant will join the Symphony for “Three Black Kings,” the final major work by composer and jazz artist Duke Ellington. It is a tribute to Balthazar, traditionally one of the three Magi who followed the star to present gifts to the infant Jesus; the biblical king Solomon; and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
Also on the program is “Umoja Unbound,” by flutist and composer Valerie Coleman. Coleman originally created the work as a simple song for a women’s choir, building on the meaning of “umoja,” the Swahili word for unity and the first principle of the African Diaspora holiday Kwanzaa.
Coleman later arranged the work to be performed by the wind ensemble the Imani Winds of which she is a member. Some two decades later, Coleman created the orchestra version of the work.
The final work on the program is Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, “From the New World,” a piece that incorporates musical influences Dvořák discovered during a three-year stint in America.
“This concert has everything I love about live orchestral music — rhythm, color, incredible melodies, a phenomenal guest artist, a saxophone or two, and even a few surprises,” Seaton said in a statement. “Lance Bryant is absolutely electrifying in Ellington’s ‘Three Black Kings,’ and then we finish with the sheer power and sweep of Dvořák’s ‘New World’ Symphony. It’s joyful, soulful, and exhilarating — and exactly the kind of night I want to open a season with.”
Tulsa Opera’s “Voices After Dark”
Tulsa Opera is presenting the first production of its chamber opera series, “Voices After Dark,” with a double-bill of short operas, both by American composers, that address the topic of “Love On Hold.”
The first is Gian Carol Menotti’s “The Telephone,” which debuted in 1947 as a companion piece to the composer’s dramatic work, “The Medium,” which Tulsa Opera presented in 2023.
In contrast to the darkly tragic “The Medium,” Menotti’s “The Telephone” is a light comedy that will prove surprisingly relevant to modern audiences.
The story follows Ben, a young man on a mission to propose to his girlfriend Lucy before he has to leave on a trip. But his romantic overtures are continually thwarted by Lucy’s obsessive attention to her telephone, answering every ring and engaging in long conversations with whomever calls.
Tenor Sam Briggs and soprano Margaret Stall, both members of the opera’s Filmstrip Resident Artists Company, portray Ben and Lucy, with Tulsa Opera artistic director Aaron Beck accompanying the performance at the piano. Jason Sirois directs.
Also on the program is “At the Statue of Venus,” a collaboration between composer Jake Heggie, best known for his opera version of “Dead Man Walking,” and award-winning playwright Terrence McNally.
This one-person show stars Filstrup Resident Artist Stephanie Washington as a woman waiting for her blind date to meet her at a museum by the titular work.
“I love intimate shows where the set is sparse and the performer has to use everything (he or she has) to fill in the blanks,” said director Machele Miller Dill. “ And this opera is so completely relatable to anyone. We get to be voyeurs in a modern woman’s complete breakdown, and (her) realization that she deserves so much more than she has been trained to want.”
Beck will again accompany the performance at the piano. Both operas will be performed in English.
“Love on Hold” is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 in Baden Hall of the Laven Sowell Opera Center, 1610 S. Boulder Ave. Tickets are $45. To purchase and more information, visit tulsaopera.com.
James Watts is a freelance contributor to the Tulsa Flyer.
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