Friends University will put on an opera performance at the Sedgwick County Zoo Thursday, Friday, and Sunday evenings this weekend. Tickets will be just $15 per person, or $10 for seniors, students, and zoo members.
The opera is Alcina by G. F. Handel. Performances are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 8, Friday, October 9, and Sunday, October 11, 2020.
The show will be performed on the zoo’s Main Stage. Audience members are asked to wear a mask, unless you’re eating from the provided concession stand while maintaining social distance from other patrons.
The zoo exhibits are closed during the event, but some animals may make an appearance to watch the show.
Doors open at 6 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit friends.edu/fineartstickets. (Some tickets may be available to purchase at the door.)
About the opera at the zoo:
“Alcina is based on an excerpt from Ludovico Ariosto’s epic poem, Orlando furioso, in which the hero, Ruggiero, arrives on an island enchanted by the sorceress, Alcina. The beautiful Alcina seduces every knight that lands on her island, but soon tires of her lovers and changes them into wild animals, stones or plants. Alcina places Ruggiero under a love spell but soon falls deeply in love with him. When Ruggiero’s betrothed arrives on the island to rescue him, conflict eventually ensues.
The production will feature an English language translation prepared by Amanda Holden for the English National Opera. Dr. Matthew Schloneger is the producer and stage director; Dr. Jamie Knight is the music and orchestra director and Andrea Vazquez-Aguirre is the director of ballet.”
Dates: Oct. 8, 9, and 11
Time: 6:30 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.)
Location: Sedgwick County Zoo, 5555 W. Zoo Blvd., Wichita, KS 67212
Cost: $15; $10 for seniors, students, and zoo members
For more information, call the Friends Fine Arts box office at (316) 295-5677 or email finearts@friends.edu
