Lawrence Opera Theatre (LOT) will present the first opera of their 2024 season, “The Path to Heaven” by Adam Gorb and Ben Kaye, at the Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation (LJCC).
The opera, set during the Holocaust, will be performed on Aug. 11 at 2:30 p.m.; an optional pre-show talk presented by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education (MCHE) will start at 1:30 p.m. MCHE staff will discuss the historical and social context surrounding the Nazi's rise to power and the options for agency of the average person.
Tickets are for sale at lawrenceopera.org/buy-tickets.
The opera will be presented in English with a runtime of two hours with an intermission. Parking is available at the LJCC, and there will be concessions for sale before the show and during intermission.
“The Path to Heaven” premiered in 2018 and follows the stories of two sisters, Sarah and Hanna, their family friend Magda, and Sarah’s fiancé, Dieter, in Berlin, Germany. Their lives are shattered when they catch the attention of the Nazi authorities; Sara’s family is branded with Jewish heritage, leading to her and her loved ones being deported to a concentration camp. Amid the horrors, Sara is faced with a heart-wrenching choice: to sacrifice herself to save her sister, niece and lover.
This season marks the 15th anniversary of LOT, which was founded by tenor Hugo Vera and Holly White. LOT emerged from a shared vision to fill a void in the summer arts scene of Lawrence and Topeka.
