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John!

"Dido doesn't ask for permission. She's taking fate into her own hands."

Trailblazing mezzo-soprano ([link removed]) Michaela Larsen ([link removed]) has graced stages across the US, Italy, and Austria, but makes a triumphant return to Wichita to take on a role she's daydreamed about for years.

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We sat down with Michaela to talk about playing a woman who chooses death before dishonor, what it means to sing music written 350 years ago like it's happening right now, and why Dido's final aria might be the most vulnerable thing she's ever performed.
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On what drew her to the role:

"Dido is regal, elegant, yet terrified of letting down the ones she loves and is responsible for. In a world that proves time and time again to be unjust and unfair, she is committed to staying true to her integrity and never compromising. Her struggles between what her people expect from her and what lies in her heart strike a nerve that makes my heart ache for her. This is a story about a war between logic and love, what is and what could be, power and vulnerability. She fights her demons and ghosts of the past bravely and constantly, but doesn't want anyone to know or see. I'm a lot like her in that way."

On Purcell's music:

"Purcell's music is so stunning, uncomplicated, and vulnerable. There's nothing to hide behind musically, everything Dido sings is exposed, yet decisive–a perfect mirror to her outward, performative strength and internal struggle. It's simply not enough to sing it perfectly–each note has to be drenched in meaning, emotion, and gravitas. I'll never forget the first time I heard Dido's lament (her final aria)–I was 18 and had never even seen an opera , but my heart broke listening to that haunting melody. That feeling has stayed with me, even ten years later. I can't believe I get to sing it, and will pour my entire heart into every moment because that's what this music and our audiences deserve."

On what audiences should expect:

"Watching a trainwreck in slow motion with no way to stop it. Heartbreak, betrayal, and clinging desperately to the story of ourselves that we want to be told after we're gone. Did I do enough good in this life to overshadow my shortcomings? How will I be remembered? Will I be remembered? There's nothing more haunting, more human than that."

WHY YOU NEED TO BE THERE

Michaela's bringing incomparable singing, regal fire, and a spellbinding embodiment of Dido to Fisch Haus February 20-22.

This is her show. Her moment. Her demise.

See her reign on stage and perish in power:

🎟 Friday 2/20 @ 8pm
🎟 Saturday 2/21 @ 8pm
🎟 Sunday 2/22 @ 3pm
GET TICKETS BEFORE THEY'RE GONE! ([link removed])

Warmly,

Zeffin Hollis

Executive Director, Opera Kansas

[email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=undefined&body=undefined) | (316) 246-6212

PS
Every ticket supports Opera Kansas and live arts in Wichita. Can’t attend? Gift a ticket to a student or veteran.
Honor the Art. Power the Future. ([link removed])

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