A new American opera centered on five sister-wives in a polygamist sect will be presented at Oklahoma City University from Feb. 17-19.
The two-act opera “Dark Sisters” will be presented by OKCU’s award-winning Oklahoma Opera and Music Theater Company by a cast of 19 and a 19-member orchestra. Created by composer Nico Muhly and Tony Award-winning writer Stephen Karam, the work will make its Oklahoma premiere in three performances: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee in Kirkpatrick Auditorium.
Set against a landscape of revelations, dark prophets and white temples, “Dark Sisters” is Muhly’s first collaboration with Karam, winner of the 2016 Tony Award for Best Play for “The Humans.”
Inspired by the Arizona-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, “Dark Sisters” charts a woman’s quest for self-discovery and her dreams of a new life in a world where personal identity is forbidden.
Muhly will be in residence for rehearsals and for opening night, and will be featured in the Feb. 17 free 7:15 p.m. pre-show talk. The youngest composer ever commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, Muhly saw his debut opera, “Two Boys,” performed by the Met in 2010.
Tickets for the Oklahoma City University production of “Dark Sisters” are $14-28 and available by calling 405-208-5227 or visiting okcu.edu/tickets.
Each performance will be preceded by a discussion, led by Director David Herendeen, 45 minutes before curtain.
Matthew Mailman, who will conduct the performances, is the first cousin of Muhly. The composer will attend Eric Garcia’s rehearsals of the OKCU Symphony Orchestra’s Feb. 25 performance of his “It Remains to Be Seen.”
OKCU’s Oklahoma Opera and Music Theater Company, celebrating its 65th consecutive year, was honored earlier this year by the National Opera Association with three honors in its annual nationwide production competition. Herendeen’s sweep marked the first time one director has won three awards in a single season.
