Opera Dives Deep: Monuments of Tone and Stone

This free series provides audiences with fresh insights from regional scholars and industry professionals to enrich appreciation and understanding of the operas in our season. Both established opera goers and curious newcomers alike are sure to make discoveries.

Monuments of Tone and Stone

Our “journey to Valhalla” will explore two cultural monuments from two eras—one in tone and one in stone: Der Ring des Nibelungen and Mount Rushmore, the so-called "Shrine of Democracy." At the conclusion of the evening, attendees will better understand how monumental artifacts inspire and influence cultural identities.

Ron Witzke has been a member of the voice faculty at William Jewell College since 1984 and now holds the title of Emeritus Professor of Music. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Southern Nazarene University (1978), and graduate degrees in music from the University of Texas at Austin (MM), from Indiana University (DMA), and a Certificate in Theology, Arts, and Culture from Fuller Seminary, Pasadena, CA.

Ron has premiered three works by William Jewell faculty members. Anthony Maglione’s Mystic Trumpeter was recorded on the Naxos label, and his The Wedding of Solomon was performed during the July 2018 National AGO convention. In May of 2019 he soloed in Ian Coleman’s Negro Spiritual cycle, which included texts based on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Langston Hughes. In the 2021-22 academic year, Ron joined the graduate students of William Jewell’s new Artist Diploma program in their productions of The Trial of Elizabeth Cree by Kevin Puts and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. Recently, Ron joined local singers in the premiere of Mother Noah by Kansas City composer Dale Ramsey. Ron is also on the chorus roster of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, as well as a member of Kansas City’s choral ensemble, Cardinalis, founded and conducted by Anthony Maglione.

Recently, Ron has devoted his attention to writing libretti/texts for choral works. In February 2020, the Dallas, TX choral ensemble Verdigris premiered Dust Bowl, a cantata with music by Anthony Maglione. Ron compiled primary source materials and wrote original poetry for the libretto, fashioning it into a multimovement work. Dust Bowl will be reprised by Verdigris in 2024, with a commercial recording to follow.

His interest in Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle has grown over the years, after attending Chicago’s cycle in 2005. He then developed and taught several undergraduate courses on the topic at William Jewell (to mostly non-music majors), which gave him the opportunity to lead two small groups of students to attend full Ring Cycle performances in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. In 2021 Ron’s article, "Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen – Another Look," was published in the spring issue of Christian Scholar’s Review.

Journey to Valhalla will appear at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts May 3-5, 2024. Get your tickets today. Learn more.

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