When:
Thursday, November 13, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM CT
Where: Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, Ryan Opera Theater, 70 Arts Circle, Evanston, IL 60208 map it
Cost: Tickets are $18 for the general public and $8 for students with valid ID.
Contact:
Concert Management Office
(847) 467-4000
events.music@northwestern.edu
Group: Bienen School of Music Concerts and Events
Category: Fine Arts
Description:
Chicago-Area Premiere
Joachim Schamberger, director; Alan Pierson, conductor; Contemporary Music Ensemble
This performance includes a post-show talkback with composer Missy Mazzoli, director Joachim Schamberger, conductor Alan Pierson, and cast members.
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. Run time: approximately 90 minutes.
Audience Advisory: This production includes depictions of violence, assault, psychological trauma, and alcohol abuse as well as stage fog, stage blood, and strobe effects.
When:
Friday, November 14, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM CT
Where: Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, Ryan Opera Theater, 70 Arts Circle, Evanston, IL 60208 map it
Cost: Tickets are $18 for the general public and $8 for students with valid ID.
Contact:
Concert Management Office
(847) 467-4000
events.music@northwestern.edu
Group: Bienen School of Music Concerts and Events
Category: Fine Arts
Description:
Chicago-Area Premiere
Joachim Schamberger, director; Alan Pierson, conductor; Contemporary Music Ensemble
This performance includes a post-show talkback with composer Missy Mazzoli, director Joachim Schamberger, conductor Alan Pierson, and cast members.
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. Run time: approximately 90 minutes.
Audience Advisory: This production includes depictions of violence, assault, psychological trauma, and alcohol abuse as well as stage fog, stage blood, and strobe effects.
When:
Saturday, November 15, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM CT
Where: Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, Ryan Opera Theater, 70 Arts Circle, Evanston, IL 60208 map it
Cost: Tickets are $18 for the general public and $8 for students with valid ID.
Contact:
Concert Management Office
(847) 467-4000
events.music@northwestern.edu
Group: Bienen School of Music Concerts and Events
Category: Fine Arts
Description:
Chicago-Area Premiere
Joachim Schamberger, director; Alan Pierson, conductor; Contemporary Music Ensemble
This performance includes a post-show talkback with composer Missy Mazzoli, director Joachim Schamberger, conductor Alan Pierson, and cast members.
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. Run time: approximately 90 minutes.
Audience Advisory: This production includes depictions of violence, assault, psychological trauma, and alcohol abuse as well as stage fog, stage blood, and strobe effects.
When:
Sunday, November 16, 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM CT
Where: Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, Ryan Opera Theater, 70 Arts Circle, Evanston, IL 60208 map it
Cost: Tickets are $18 for the general public and $8 for students with valid ID.
Contact:
Concert Management Office
(847) 467-4000
events.music@northwestern.edu
Group: Bienen School of Music Concerts and Events
Category: Fine Arts
Description:
Chicago-Area Premiere
Joachim Schamberger, director; Alan Pierson, conductor; Contemporary Music Ensemble
This performance includes a post-show talkback with composer Missy Mazzoli, director Joachim Schamberger, conductor Alan Pierson, and cast members.
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. Run time: approximately 90 minutes.
Audience Advisory: This production includes depictions of violence, assault, psychological trauma, and alcohol abuse as well as stage fog, stage blood, and strobe effects.