“When we started this ten years ago,” Lang says, “we wanted to have a really proper execution. The executions of criminals have always been very public and grisly and joyous and kind of voyeuristically exciting affairs where huge numbers of people would show up to see justice being done and to drink beer and eat sausage and listen to music.”

That’s just the beginning of Anatomy Theatre, which makes its world premiere June 16 at RedCat at Walt Disney Hall. There is an “execution” (it doesn’t take place in the theatre), and what follows is a 75-minute examination of the role of evil in society.

“The opera, set in 18^th century England, begins with the confession of this woman who is about to be hanged,” Lang says of the story. “She’s a prostitute who killed her husband and children. She’s definitely guilty, yet she explains her situation to you so it’s clear she had no other choice. The person who is set up as the grand evil person is the anatomist, who goes from town to town to supervise the dissection of criminals looking for signs of evil within their bodies.”

“The issue in this piece is, how do you protect yourself in a dangerous world?” Lang says. “It’s such a horrible thing that happened in Orlando. Art can’t approach that. I do think that there are things in life that make it impossible to close our eyes. Part of being alive is being open to seeing these things when they happen. We try to forget them. That is a little bit what this opera is about.”

Lest you think all operas are stuck in one tradition, Lang assures that though he loves and teaches the art form, that doesn’t mean Anatomy Theatre is your grandparents’ opera. “The idea that classical music was frozen and got stuck in time, I think there are a lot of people working to counter that idea. Composers have a job, and their job is to refresh the field. There are people in the world who aren’t getting the message that music and theatre can be connected in this visceral and powerful way, and they are not the people to see opera in that place. It isn’t just my job to write it, but to build the environment, audience, players and the way of talking about it to do everything to make the world a better place for the music I want to make.”

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Mitchell, who prefers to be called “Stokes,” is bringing his show In Character to Disney Hall on February 6. He’ll perform feature songs from his last album, Simply Broadway, and selections from the Broadway shows that he’s starred in, including Ragtime, Kiss Me, Kate (for which he won a Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical) and Man of La Mancha—all alongside the LA Philharmonic.

“I wanted to expand Simply Broadway for orchestra,” he says, noting that the only prominent instrument on the album is piano. “Because this is my first time with the LA Phil, I’m mixing it up a little more than usual.” While the first act will focus on the record, the second will be a little more varied and eclectic. “No matter what song I’m singing, I try to take on a certain spirit or persona to make it like a one-act mini play,” Stokes says. “Each song becomes its own thing.”

As one of the leading stars on Broadway, Stokes has more recently been selective about doing shows. There was a gap between Man of La Mancha (2003) and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2010). He’ll next appear in this spring’s Shuffle Along, a revival of the 1921 Broadway hit that was one of the earliest musicals starring, written, and directed by African Americans. Amongst his co-stars in Shuffle Along is Audra McDonald. He and McDonald were in Ragtime together and have made multiple concert appearances. “Something magical seems to happen between our two voices when we sing,” he says. “It’s bigger than the individual voices. We think about music the same. We think similar things about life. Our approach is so similar. But we have these two very different kinds of voices. They complement each other, and something else happens. I just leave it at that.”

Despite his connection with McDonald, the prospect of returning to the grind of a Broadway production weighs on Stokes. “During Man of La Mancha my wife was in the cast with me, and she got pregnant,” he says. “I took a sabbatical. I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to work on Broadway, but it doesn’t give me an outside life. So I decided to go into the concert world. I do 40 to 50 shows. That takes one to three days a week, and I’m home the rest of the time. Doing eight shows a week is hard. I’m not looking forward to it, frankly. It’s an incredible cast, show, group of people, and it’s a magical experience. I love everything about it, but the prospect of eight shows a week—that’s making me think about it.”

The modern staging of Shuffle Along has taken on a subtitle: Shuffle Along, Or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. It is a restaging of Eubie Blake’s original musical paired with a new book written by director George C. Wolfe, which will include scenes that reveal the saga surrounding the show’s creation. Stokes feels the revival will resonate with audience members of all races. “That’s the magic of art and the magic of theatre,” he says. “It has the power to transform an audience, an individual or en masse, to transform them and give them an epiphanal experience that changes their life, opens their hearts and their minds and the way they think. I love when you walk out and realize we’re the same and we want the same thing.”

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