Contact: Ellen McDonald
(816) 213-4355
publicity@kcopera.org
For Tickets: kcopera.org or (816) 471-7344
Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Announces
THE SHINING
World-Premiere Recording
Physical Release April 2024
Digital Release April 12, 2024
KANSAS CITY, MO (March 27, 2024) — Lyric Opera of Kansas City General Director
and CEO Deborah Sandler Kemper today announced the world-premiere recording of
Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s opera The Shining (2016). Based on the iconic 1977
novel by Stephen King, this opera “elevates the tale from horror story to a human
drama” (The Wall Street Journal ) thanks to Moravec’s atmospheric, electrifying score
and Campbell’s deft libretto.
The Pentatone physical recording will include a two-disc clamshell. Both digital and
physical recordings will be released on April 12, 2024. See kcopera.org for full list of
retailers and streaming providers.
Based on the novel by Stephen King, this operatic adaptation made its Kansas City debut
in March 2023 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. This opera by Pulitzer
Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec and Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Mark
Campbell (Silent Night, Lyric Opera, 2015; As One, Lyric Opera, 2018; The (R)evolution
of Steve Jobs, Lyric Opera, 2022) was met with critical acclaim. The all-star cast
included Edward Parks and Kelly Kaduce. Making his Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut,
Gerard Schwarz, the internationally renowned, highly respected, and award-winning
(14 GRAMMY Awards and eight Emmy® Awards) American conductor, conducted the
Kansas City Symphony. Baritone Aubrey Allicock, baritone Malcolm MacKenzie, and
tenor Roger Honeywell also made their Lyric Opera debuts.
Sandler Kemper stated, “We are thrilled to present this new recording of The Shining,
a brilliantly conceived and crafted opera that deserves its place in the opera canon.
Our distinguished cast, conductor, and exceptional collaboration with the Kansas City
Symphony guaranteed an outstanding performance and recording. When the idea was
suggested, we leapt at the opportunity to showcase Lyric Opera of Kansas City and
highlight the cultural richness of the Kansas City region.”
About Pentatone
One of the leading classical music labels in the world, Pentatone presents a diverse
range of world-class artists, and is dedicated to premium quality productions captured
in exceptional sound. The label works together with today and tomorrow’s leading
artists to provide timeless recordings of core, fringe, and lesser-known repertoire, with
Pentatone’s uncompromising attention to the best possible quality in artistry, design and
recording technology.
The label was founded in the Netherlands in 2001 by three former Philips Classics
executives, with the ambition to offer classical music in the highest quality including
surround sound.In its first years, Pentatone engaged Mikhail Gorbachev, Bill Clinton, and
Sophia Loren in a GRAMMY-winning recording of Prokofiev’s Peter & the Wolf (released
in Spanish with Antonio Banderas), with Kent Nagano conducting the Russian National
Orchestra. Another early success was a recording of the official music performed during
the wedding ceremony of the then Dutch crown prince (now king) Willem-Alexander to
Máxima Zorreguieta. The Music from the Royal Wedding sold more than 75,000 copies,
thereby attaining the unique “triple platinum” status in the Netherlands.
During its first decade, the label released several award-winning recordings with violinist
Julia Fischer and several complete cycles: Beethoven’s symphonies conducted by Philippe
Herreweghe, Beethoven’s piano sonatas performed by Mari Kodama, and Bruckner’s
symphonies under the baton of Marek Janowski. Violinist Arabella Steinbacher left her
mark on these years and continues with several acclaimed recordings. Later, Pentatone
recorded Wagner’s ten mature operas, the only such label to take on this task in the 21st
century.
From 2013, with a new management team, the label focused on embracing the digital
era and expanding its repertoire. New artists and ensembles defined the label’s second
decade, including conductors Vladimir Jurowski, René Jacobs and Esa-Pekka Salonen,
singers Piotr Beczala, Lisette Oropesa, Javier Camarena, Ian Bostridge and Magdalena
Kožená, pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Francesco Piemontesi, cellist Alisa
Weilerstein, as well as the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Gewandhausorchester
Leipzig and the Czech Philharmonic.
In recent years, Pentatone has won multiple awards. In 2017, John Corigliano’s The
Ghosts of Versailles won Best Opera Recording and Best Engineered Album at the 59th
GRAMMY Awards. Two years later, the premiere recording of the Mason Bates opera,
The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, won a GRAMMY for Best Opera Recording.
Pentatone was awarded Label of the Year in 2019 by Gramophone Magazine and in
2020 by the International Classical Music Awards. Pentatone’s third decade promises
to be even more exciting and innovative as we expand our growing and diverse roster
of artists, producing the most thrilling recordings in the world.
About Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Established in 1958, Lyric Opera of Kansas City is one of the world’s premier regional
opera companies and brings high-quality live operatic performances to the Kansas City
region. Renowned for its dedication to excellence, Lyric Opera presents a diverse
repertoire featuring original language productions from the traditional opera canon
alongside contemporary and American operas. Lyric Opera is committed to lifelong
learning through robust education, family, and community engagement programming.
Through innovative initiatives and commissions, these programs deepen humanistic
connections, artistic literacy, and social-emotional learning. Lyric Opera of Kansas
City remains an integral part of the cultural fabric of Kansas City and the surrounding
region.
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Direct media inquiries to Ellen McDonald, (816) 213-4355
For Tickets: kcopera.org or (816) 471-7344
