Vegas City Opera is thrilled to partner with the City of Henderson to revive the HIT immersive operatic experience created for Meow Wolf's Omega Mart . This whimsical interpretation of, The Love for Three Oranges by Prokofiev brought opera to over 2,000 patrons in 2024. The farcical fairy tale is a rarely performed operatic treat with a fabulously imaginative score and story. A quest for life, love and happiness, The Love for Three Oranges sits within the Omega Mart exhibition as a stand-alone, interactive performance for patrons that exists as its own divergent reality within the multiverse. Sung in the original French with VCO’s brand of twisted English and Gibberish, the story is nuanced for the seasoned opera fan but simple enough for the curious visitor. With multiple characters and storylines to follow, patrons can travel several storylines through the daily repeated presentations or make a return visit for a completely new experience as the characters fill the space and engage with visitors.
This immersive experience will take place throughout the City of Henderson's Art Festival on May 9th at the junction of Water St. & Army St.. We encourage you to wander and find pieces of reality and story as you travel throughout the location, as the story will unfold around you.
Ginger Land-van Buuren, Creator & Director, Executive Director Vegas City Opera
Jae Ahn Benton, Musical Reductions
Tyler Gordon, Conductor
As originally created for Meow Wolf
About THE CAST
Dina Emerson, Fata Morgana
Dina Emerson (Mezzo Soprano) first came to Las Vegas in 2000 for a temporary contract to replace the lead singer at O by Cirque du Soleil, and to her surprise, is still here 22 years later. She migrated over to Mystère by Cirque du Soleil where she sang more than 5000 shows and earned the nickname “The Iron Lung” from the lighting crew. Before settling in Las Vegas, Dina lived in NYC for over a decade and was known for her versatility and commitment to new and unusual works (The Village Voice called her a “vocal chameleon”). Most notably, she spent 15 years touring the world as a member of MacArthur Genius award winner Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble. Dina is also co-curator of VCO's new music series SOIREE ECLECTIC (last Sunday of the month at Core Contemporary Art Gallery). Currently she is back at O as the alternate lead singer and is thrilled to be a part of this production.
Keith Milkie, Truffaldino
Keith Milkie most recently starred in Vegas City Opera's production of The Threepenny Opera as MacHeath, and is scheduled to perform Sergeant Sulpice in Daughter of the Regiment and The Comendatore in Don Giovanni this season among other concert works, including Bass soloist in Handel's Messiah at Green Valley Presbyterian Church with the Las Vegas Sinfonietta. Keith graduated from the William Esper Conservatory for Acting in New York City in 2015. Since then he has appeared as a soloist at Zankel and Weill Halls at Carnegie Hall and performed with The Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice, The Regina Opera Company, The Italian Opera Company, The Long Island Opera Company, The West Side Opera Company, and Vocal Productions NYC. His was the voice of the Bruce Weber-produced Versace “Chicago is my Beat” video fashion campaign of 2016. Vocal performances have taken place in such far-flung locations as Milan, Salzberg and the Hunan Provence in China. Just before the pandemic, he mastered all the classic 24 Italian Songs and Arias in a solo recital at St. Johns in the Village NYC, directed by his voice teacher, Susan Baum. Staged roles have included Don Giovanni, Dr. Bartolo and Figaro from Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Valentine from Faust and Scruples from The Impresario. He is an avid practitioner of mixed martial arts and plays guitar and piano. In 2021, he released a number of his original songs in an album entitled “Buying Time” which is available on all online streaming platforms.
Kayla Wilkens, Princess Ninetta
Kayla Wilkens is delighted to return to Vegas City Opera to portray the many Queens of Try Me, Good King. Most recently, she’s appeared as Millie O’Brien in the US Tour of We’ll Meet Again: A New American Musical, Cinderella in R&H’s Cinderella with Vegas City Opera and Super Summer Theatre, Littler Zegler in Proving Up with Opera Las Vegas, Polly Peachum in The Threepenny Opera with Vegas City Opera, and in the Final Fantasy XIV Eorzean Symphony concert. Kayla is honored to have worked with Libby Larsen in concert for Try Me Good King during the 2011 Festival for the Twentieth Anniversary of the Founding of the Linfield Chamber Orchestra, and as the soprano soloist for the world premiere of Libby Larsen’s vocal orchestral work The Moabit Sonnets. www.kaylawilkens.com
Miguel Alsace, Prince
Miguel Alasco is a tenor, classically trained since 2007. He has sung in ensembles and minor roles for UNLV Opera Theater including Carmen, L'elisir d'amore, and Ariadne auf Naxos. In 2016, he served as the cover for the role of Rodolfo, as well as singing in the chorus, in UNLV's Spring production of La bohème, and has performed roles with Sin City Opera, in their 2017 production of L'Etoile - The Star as Tapioca, and in their 2018 production of Pirates of Penzance as the cover for Frederic, as well as a pirate and policeman. He also recently performed in his first musical theater role, playing the Padre in PS Production’s 2017 production of Man of La Mancha.
Ginger Land-van Buuren, Creator & Director
Before moving to Las Vegas from New York City Ginger was a Portland Opera Resident Artist. While in NYC Ginger was well received by The New York Times and Opera News in the New York debut of An Incomplete Education, with The Bronx Opera, in which she sang the lead role of Gontron le Comte. In her professional operatic career Ginger performed with Palm Beach Opera, Dicapo Opera Theater, Pacific Opera, Opera In The Heights, Natchez Opera Festival, Portland Opera, Opera Astoria and the National Lyric Opera, singing the roles of Queen of the Night, Lucia di Lammermoor, Donna Anna, Madame Goldentrill, Constanza, Gilda, Cunegonda, Miss Wordsworth, Violetta, Musetta, Lady with a Hand Mirror, and Nella among others. Ginger is also a member of AEA & SAG-AFTRA and has performed as Irene Molloy in Hello Dolly, Madame de le Grande Bouche (The Wardrobe) in Beauty and the Beast, Ellie Mae in Showboat, Lucy in The Telephone, Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel , Velma in Chicago, Rose Murrant in Street Scene, and Clara in Passion. Ginger is thrilled to return to the stage with Vegas City Opera with this explosive work of music.
Jae Ahn-Benton, Musical Reductions & Orchestration
Jae Ahn-Benton, born in Seoul, South Korea, moved to Las Vegas,
NV at the age of 10. Having first studied piano from Roger Bushell,
he continued to study piano at UNLV with Mykola Suk. In addition to his busy musical career he is also a part-time real estate agent and software contractor. Jae has given several solo concerts for various
causes. As a collaborative pianist, he has serviced over 800
individual clients since 2010. Since 2014, he has been invited to
work as an accompanist at the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices
in Reno, NV, a program founded by renowned opera singer Dolora Zajick.
Tyler Gordon, Conductor
Tyler Gordon is a dynamic musician immersed in the vibrant music scene of Las Vegas, Nevada. His musical journey spans across roles as a bassist, violist, and conductor, where he has become a regular performer in several Nevada ensembles including the Las Vegas Sinfonietta, Las Vegas Philharmonic, and the Reno Philharmonic.
Beyond performing, Tyler plays administrative roles as the Operations Manager and Librarian for the Las Vegas Sinfonietta, as well as Assistant Librarian for the Las Vegas Philharmonic. He is also on the bass faculty at the Nevada School of the Arts.
Tyler pursued his musical education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in double bass performance under Professor Brycen Ingersoll. Currently in a master’s degree program in orchestral conducting, Tyler is dedicated to honing his craft at UNLV under Professor Taras Krysa.