10th Year Anniversary Season!
Join SBLO
as we venture into
our biggest season yet!
Interested in learning more about the South Bend Lyric Opera and its history? More information can be found here.
2025-2026 Season
Songs In Flight
Shawn E Okpebholo
Songs in Flight is an artistic response to The Freedom of the Move database, an extensive catalogue spearheaded by Cornell University that houses over 30,000 historical newspaper advertisements seeking to locate enslaved people who had self-emancipated. These dehumanizing ads, often placed by enslavers or jailers, presented individuals as property, offering vivid descriptions of their physical traits, clothing, mannerisms, stories, and last known whereabouts. This work reframes the original intent of these ads by using the detailed descriptions of these individuals to instead emphasize and reaffirm their individuality and humanity. As The New York Times noted, this set of songs "takes these murky, dehumanizing documents and illuminates them, shifting their perspective to reveal the person hidden in plain sight."
Friday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m.
La Bohème
Giacomo Puccini
La Bohème is an opera by Giacomo Puccini that follows the lives of young, impoverished bohemians in 1830s Paris. At its core, the story centers on the passionate yet fleeting romance between the poet Rodolfo and Mimì, a fragile seamstress, set against the vibrant yet harsh backdrop of artistic and financial struggle. The opera captures the themes of love, loss, and the bittersweet nature of youth, blending moments of beauty and tragedy as the characters navigate life, art, and the inevitability of change.
Friday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m.
Past Events
South Bend Lyric Opera's 1st Annual Gala
Delight in world-class performances, indulge in gourmet appetizers, and support the arts in our community. Your attendance helps sustain the beauty and passion of opera for generations to come.
Wednesday, October 9 at 6:00
Morris Park Country Club
The Scarf & Bon Appetit
by Lee Hoiby
in partnership with Ensemble CONCEPT 21
In a remote farmhouse kitchen on a snowy February night, Miriam, trapped in a loveless marriage with the oppressive Reuel, finds unexpected passion with a young Postman who seeks shelter from the storm. Miriam weaves a magical red scarf to win his love, recounting her farm childhood by the fire. When he departs, she wishes for his return, but the scarf ends up around Reuel's neck instead. In a frantic struggle, Miriam inadvertently kills Reuel, haunted by her unintended act of violence.
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A light-hearted musical monologue that tells the listener how to make a chocolate cake
(in a roundabout way). A comic culinary extravaganza that taps the wit and antics of one
of America's best-loved television personalities.
Friday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Campus Auditorium of
Indiana University of South Bend
Puccini Around the World
Puccini, a leading figure in the verismo style, embraced realism, which emerged from the Italian literary scene of 1875-early 1900s. Verismo, meaning 'realism', focused on depicting everyday life and human dramas like illness, lost loves, and marital conflicts, as seen in La bohème. Unlike earlier epics and myths, verismo explored the lives of ordinary people, particularly the poor. Puccini frequently adapted successful plays and novellas for his operas, such as Madam Butterfly, based on a 1898 short story, and Tosca, derived from Victorien Sardou’s 1887 play 'La Tosca'.
Friday January 24, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday January 25, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Merriman’s Playhouse
South Bend Lyric Opera and
South Bend Symphony Orchestra
join forces again, March 2025
