Missy Mazzoli’s ‘Proving Up’ makes long-awaited Chicago-area premiere

•    Follows a canceled run at Lyric Opera of Chicago
•    Haunting tale of homesteading struggles based on Karen Russell short story 
•    Missy Mazzoli available for interviews ahead of opera’s Chicago-area premiere

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A new opera by accomplished composer Missy Mazzoli will finally make its Chicago-area debut Nov. 13 at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. “Proving Up,” a haunting and surreal opera, was scheduled to run at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2022 but was cancelled due to a surge in COVID-19.

Presented by Northwestern University Opera Theater, this production has four performances running Nov. 13-16. Directed by Joachim Schamberger, Bienen’s director of opera and artist-in-residence, and conducted by Alan Pierson, Bienen lecturer and artistic director of the groundbreaking ensemble Alarm Will Sound, this new staging brings to life one family’s desperate pursuit of the American Dream on the harsh Nebraska plains.

Missy Mazzoli’s “Proving Up”
Thursday through Saturday, Nov.13-15, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov.16, 3 p.m.
Ryan Opera Theater, 70 Arts Circle Drive
Joachim Schamberger, director
Alan Pierson, conductor
Contemporary Music Ensemble

About “Proving Up”

The Zegner family dreams of “proving up” in 1870s Nebraska by securing the deed to the land they have settled. The Homestead Act details the requirements they must meet to achieve their dream: five years of harvest, a sod house dwelling and a glass window — perhaps the most elusive element of all. With their eldest son incapacitated, Ma and Pa Zegner send their youngest child, Miles, on a mission to share this valuable commodity with distant neighbors who are expecting a visit from a government inspector. Miles sets off on horseback, the window wrapped in burlap, and gallops across the land — but the elements, both natural and otherwise, have other plans for him.

Performed in English, the opera runs approximately 90 minutes. Note: This production includes depictions of violence, assault, psychological trauma and alcohol abuse, as well as stage fog, blood and strobe effects.

After each performance, audiences are invited to stay for a post-show talkback in the Ryan Opera Theater with composer Missy Mazzoli, director Joachim Schamberger, conductor Alan Pierson and members of the cast.

Tickets are available online at concertsatbienen.org, by phone at 847-467-4000 or by visiting the Bienen School Ticket Office at 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston.