(By Katherine Buerke ’26, staff writer)
The LVC musical theatre program is hosting its first-ever operatic production this weekend. Trios of Temptation and Trickery is a showcase of three short operas: The Filthy Habit, A Hand of Bridge and Signor Deluso.
Professor Jonathan Walker-VanKuren, assistant professor of music and director of the production, hopes Trios of Temptation and Trickery can be a gateway into opera for newcomers.
“All the operas are in English, so they are very accessible,” Van-Kuren said. “The folks that have never seen opera before can understand and enjoy it.”
The production prioritizes contemporary operas, which allows for personal interactions between the composers and performers. “Peter Hilliard, the composer of The Filthy Habit, came to campus and worked directly with our students,” Walker-VanKuren said.
Showtimes are on Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7:00 p.m. in Leedy Theater. The production will be about an hour with a brief intermission in between The Filthy Habit and A Hand of Bridge.
Walker-VanKuren hopes the opera will become a long-standing tradition at LVC. “The intention is to host an opera every fall,” he said, “and the musical theatre department musical every spring.”