Missy Mazzoli's Proving Up

Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 7:30pm

Ryan Opera Theater

Joachim Schamberger, director; Alan Pierson, conductor; Contemporary Music Ensemble 

Based on a short story by Karen Russell with libretto by Royce Vavrek, Missy Mazzoli’s surreal and haunting 2016 opera Proving Up has received critical praise from multiple corners, with the Washington Post declaring, “As powerful as it is bleak, it cannot leave audiences cold.” The story follows the Zegner family, who dream 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 living child, Miles, on a mission to share this valuable commodity with their 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. 

Tickets are $18 for the general public and $8 for students with valid ID.