A senior executive with over a decade of experience in leadership positions, Stephanie O’Dear serves as Vice President - Government Markets for Empower Retirement in Overland Park, Kansas. Stephanie O’Dear also formerly served on the board of directors for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, an opera and performing arts center that presents live operatic performances. The opera company also engages in outreach and education initiatives such as the Lyric Opera Express program.
The Lyric Opera Express program allows students to perform alongside professional opera singers. Performances are held at the school, and the Lyric Opera Express Troupe provides all necessary props, costumes, and set pieces. Before work on the production begins, teachers attend a workshop and receive educational materials to help students prepare for an operatic performance. Students rehearse on their own or during class time, and the Express Troupe joins them for a final dress rehearsal on the day of the performance.
For the 2019 season, students in second through sixth grade will perform in Susan Kander’s opera She Never Lost a Passenger, which recounts Harriet Tubman’s acts of bravery while leading people through the Underground Railroad. The Express program also offers a performance of Héctor Armienta’s bilingual children’s opera The Coyotes and the Rabbits for students in second through fifth grade.
