The bitter yet hopeful American opera “Street Scene” will be presented by the Wichita State University Opera and Musical Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, March 5-7, and 3 p.m. Sunday, March 8, in Miller Concert Hall, Duerksen Fine Arts Center.

Kurt Weill, who arrived in the United States in 1935, wanted to write an American opera using traditional European forms but with roots in the Broadway musical theater.

He believed he had achieved that with ''Street Scene,'' his 1947 work based on Elmer Rice's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1929 play, with a libretto by Rice and lyrics by Langston Hughes.

''Street Scene'' earned Weill the 1947 Tony Award for Best Musical Score.

For more, go to http://www.zeffin.com/.

Scenic design is by WSU alum J. Branson. Now a resident of Chicago, Branson’s designs have been seen at Second City, Music Theatre of Wichita, Denver Theatre Center and Big League Theatricals.

Photos of his many productions are at http://dv8dznr.tripod.com/.

“Street Scene” is considered an eclectic standout among Weill’s groundbreaking works, which include the legendary “Threepenny Opera.”

There are moments of Italian opera pastiche, brief patches of Wagnerian orchestral writing, overt Gershwin references and even hints of Weill's early European style.

The action takes place among the ethnically diverse population of the lower East Side melting pot.

As “Street Scene” begins, the neighbors complain about the heat, but turn to gossip about Mrs. Maurrant, who is believed to be having an affair with the milkman. Anna Maurrant turns out to be not a brazen adulteress, but rather a lonely, sensitive woman whose husband, Frank, is a bullying lout.

Her daughter Rose, too, is quietly desperate: Pursued by the wrong men, she would love to escape with Sam Kaplan, her ardent admirer. But she also suspects that happiness is beyond her grasp, and when her father murders her mother and the milkman, she resolves to leave the neighborhood.

In addition to Hollis as Frank Maurrant, the large cast includes sopranos Cearria Turner and Jessica Walkup alternating as Anna Maurrant; Emily Therrien and Amanda Brown as Rose. Jacob Ray-Allen and Jacob January alternate as Rose’s would-be lover, Sam.

Aaron Short is Lippo, the gelato man. A.J. Kellison is designing the lighting, Brandy Jacobs designs costumes. Linda Starkey is the stage director, and Mark Laycock conducts the WSU Symphony Orchestra.

“Street Scene” is rated PG.