Kansas City’s Lyric Opera has had, since 1958, a spectacular tradition of producing many of the classic operas in European history—from Aida to Turandot and, more recently, newer works like the haunting Turn of the Screw and Never Lost a Passenger: Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. For the company’s 61st season, a beloved American musical—inspired by both William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy and the 1867 French opera, Roméo et Juliette, by Charles Gounod—West Side Story will receive the kind of larger-than-life staging that the creators (composer Leonard Bernstein, lyricist Stephen Sondheim, and librettist Arthur Laurents) dreamed about, also including the original choreography by the legendary Jerome Robbins. It’s an American masterpiece that transcends all musical categories. Directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by David Charles Abell, West Side Story will usher the Lyric Opera into its 6th decade with great style and color. Performances from September 22 through September 30.