Wichita Grand Opera's Special Pre-Season Concert Production of Rossini's "Stabat Mater"

Following capacity crowds with Britten’s Noah’s Flood and “A Musical Salute to our Freedoms”, a patriotic outdoor concert on July 2nd, Wichita Grand Opera returns to the Holy Cross Lutheran Church for a third time with a Pre-Season performance of Rossini’s gorgeous mass: Stabat Mater on September 10, 2017 at 3:00pm as part of the church’s 75th Anniversary.
Rossini’s vocal writing, as always, requires singers of impeccable skill, and the WGO is pleased to have an outstanding quartet of soloists ready to take on Rossini’s glorious piece, and WGO's production will be no different. Starring in "Stabat Mater" will be Korean soprano Yunnie Park, American tenor Kirk Dougherty, American mezzo-soprano Suzanne Hendrix, and internationally-renowned bass-baritone Alan Held, with Maestro Martin Mazik conducting.

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The Stabat Mater is not a mass. It is a telling of Jesus' crucifixion from His mother Mary's perspective. The text is not biblical and came into being in the 13th century. I find it very interesting that a Lutheran church is presenting this particular concert, beautiful though the music is, commemorating their anniversary. The Lutheran church's founder, Martin Luther, severed ties with the Catholic church for reasons such as these non-Biblical texts and dogmas.