ENSEMBLE PARALLÈLE CHANGES NAME TO OPERA PARALLÈLE
2012-13 SEASON HIGHLIGHTED BY
BAY AREA PREMIERE OF OSVALDO GOLIJOV’S AINADAMAR,
AN EVENING DOUBLE BILL OF LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S TROUBLE IN TAHITI AND SAMUEL BARBER’S A HAND OF BRIDGE
AND A WORKSHOP READING OF
COMMISSIONED OPERA FROM DANTE DE SILVA
IN ADDITION TO SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
Tickets for Ainadamar Go On Sale October 15
San Francisco, October 15, 2012 – The acclaimed San Francisco opera company, Ensemble Parallèle, has formally changed its name to Opera Parallèle and expanded its offering to a full season of activities. Opera Parallèle’s 2012-13 Series is highlighted by the Bay Area premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar February 15, 16 and 17, 2013 at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. On April 26, 27 and 28, the company presents the San Francisco premiere of Garth Sunderland’s re-orchestration of Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti in a double bill with Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge at ZSpace. The season closes June 7 at San Francisco Conservatory of Music when Opera Parallèle presents a public workshop reading of the company’s first commission, Dante De Silva’s Gesualdo, Prince of Madness.
“As Opera Parallèle, we are enlarging our presence in the world of contemporary opera,” said Artistic Director Nicole Paiement, “and I am thrilled that we are able to offer the community three fully staged operas from such highly respected composers as Golijov, Bernstein and Barber, in addition to giving a first hearing to the world premiere commission from Dante De Silva. With the popularity of our past productions, we realize that there is a pressing interest for both high quality performances of contemporary opera and for community activities that expand knowledge and appreciation of this art form. Changing our name to Opera Parallèle better reflects who we are now and gives us a broader platform in which to serve the passionate opera audiences here in the Bay Area.”
For Osvaldo Golijov’s riveting opera, Ainadamar, Artistic Director Nicole Paiement again collaborates with Stage Director and Concept Designer Brian Staufenbiel. Inspired by the confrontation between poet Federico García Lorca and the Fascist regime during the Spanish Civil War, the opera artfully combines singing, visual arts and flamenco. This poignant story, with a libretto by award winning playwright David Henry Hwang, is told in flashback through the eyes of Catalan actress Margarita Xirgu, Lorca’s muse and most fervent advocate. Soprano Marnie Breckenridge, La Princesse in Opera Parallèle’s spring 2011 production of Philip Glass’ Orphée, heads the cast as Margarita Xirgu. Mezzo-soprano Lisa Chavez, who recently portrayed Maria in Frank Loesser’s widely successful The Most Happy Fella in New York City, is featured as the poet and playwright Federico. Casting also includes soprano Maya Kherani, St. Settlement in Opera Parallèle’s summer 2011 production of Four Saints in Three Acts, as Nuria; bass John Bischoff, Compère in Opera Parallèle’s Four Saints in Three Acts, as Tripaldi; internationally acclaimed gypsy flamenco singer Jesus Montoya as Ruiz Alonso; and members of the San Francisco Girls Chorus for the chorus of girls, or niñas. Brian Staufenbiel will be joined by a strong artistic team including scenic and lighting designer Matthew Antaky, video artist Austin Forbord, costume designer Christine Crook, choreographer La Tania, wig and make-up artist Jeanna Parham and props artisan Valerie Niles.
One of Opera Parallèle’s primary ambitions is to attract new and younger audiences for opera through intimate performances of contemporary masterworks given in settings appropriate to the music and staging. ZSpace is an ideal venue for an evening featuring two operas, both of which deal with the intricacies and struggles of married life. Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, with a libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, will serve as a 10-minute snapshot opener into married life followed by Garth Sunderland’s chamber orchestration for 15 musicians of Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti. The composer’s bitingly ironic one-act opera speaks of a couple in a troubled marriage, desperate to find the way back to the “Quiet Place” of their love for one another.
Opera Parallèle closes the 2012-13 performance season June 7, 2013 at the Sol Joseph Recital Hall in San Francisco with a workshop reading of its first commission, Gesualdo, Prince of Madness, a new opera by Los Angeles composer Dante De Silva. The two-act opera examines the sometimes flexible nature of justice through the figure of Carlo Gesualdo, a 16th century composer accused of murder who escaped prosecution because of his noble status.
During the fall, Opera Parallèle launches its program of significantly expanded community engagement activities beginning with a return visit on October 26 to the popular Friday Nights at the de Young program. In November, the opera company joins efforts with Drew School to initiate Hands-on Opera, a pilot program designed to expose students to the world of opera, both as a performance art and as an entrée to global culture. Under the direction of Ms. Paiement and Stage Director Brian Staufenbiel, Opera Parallèle will lead a group of young performers from the Drew School, guided by Maya Kherani and Brendan Hartnett, to prepare and perform Ronald Perera’s children’s opera The Araboolies of Liberty Street for selected audiences of elementary school students on November 1 and 2 and for family members and the general public on November 2 and 3. Both The Araboolies of Liberty Street and the de Young Museum performances are presented as part of Opera Parallèle’s support for Opera America’s National Opera Week.
Later in the year, as part of another pilot program, Engage in Opera, Ms. Kherani will visit both Lowell High School and San Francisco School of the Arts to present interactive experiences based on Golijov’s Ainadamar. Opera Parallèle will also continue its Opera on Display activities, where the public is invited to peek behind the scenes at events that serve as introductions to works currently in progress. This season’s activities will include two Sneak Previews in advance of Ainadamar and Trouble in Tahiti with A Hand of Bridge where excerpts from upcoming productions are performed by the cast with commentary from key members of the creative team, open rehearsals where the audience is invited to witness in real time the interaction between the conductor, stage director and cast members followed by a Q & A session, pre-concert talks prior to the performances and free student matinée of Ainadamar for invited student groups.
Opera Parallèle is a professional opera company-in-residence at San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the only organization in the Bay Area that presents contemporary opera exclusively. Most recently, Opera Parallèle presented the world premiere of Jacques Desjardins’s re-orchestration of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby. In collaboration with SFMOMA, the company presented the critically acclaimed production of the rarely performed Four Saints in Three Acts by composer Virgil Thompson and librettist Gertrude Stein and the world premiere of Luciano Chessa’s A Heavenly Act. In spring 2011 the group produced the Bay Area premiere of Philip Glass’ Orphée and in 2010, the chamber version of Alban Berg’s 20th century masterpiece Wozzeck. In February 2007, Opera Parallèle presented the world premiere of Lou Harrison’s opera Young Caesar in conjunction with what would have been the late composer’s 90th birthday. In prior years, with its mission more broadly focused on contemporary music, Opera Parallèle presented 125 performances including 28 world premieres, released 12 recordings and commissioned 19 new works.
As a non-profit 501(c)(3) arts institution, Opera Parallèle must raise support and funds throughout the year to be able to present contemporary opera to a wide audience at affordable prices. This year, for the second time, Opera Parallèle is among the rank of noteworthy arts organizations that receive funding from San Francisco’s Grants for the Arts. Other foundational support comes from the Columbia Foundation, Zellerbach and Fleishhacker. Additional information is available at operaparallele.org.
Don’t miss this opportunity to experience Opera Parallèle’s next presentation, Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar on February 15, 16 and 17, 2013 at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ Lam Research Theater. Tickets priced from $35 to $85 will go on sale October 15. They can be purchased in person at the YBCA’s box office located inside the Galleries and Forum Building, 701 Mission Street at Third, over the phone at (415) 978-ARTS (2787) or online at ybca.org.
Cast List and Biographies of the Artists
Full biographies of the artists and production team can be found on Opera Parallèle’s website at operaparallele.org.
CALENDAR EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:
Opera Parallèle and the de Young Museum
What: Friday Nights at the de Young: An Evening of Contemporary Opera Arias
Music by Bernstein, Harbison, Britten, Floyd, Golijov, Ravel and Weill.
Led by Nicole Paiement, the performance will feature Kelly Rubinsohn, Maya Kherani (sopranos), Erin Neff (mezzo), John Bischoff (bass), Keisuke Nakagoshi (piano).
Where: The de Young Museum
When: October 26 at 6:30-7:15 PM and 7:30-8:15 PM
Tickets: Free and open to the public
Opera Parallèle and Drew School
What: Hands-on Opera Program: The Araboolies of Liberty Street
Music by Ronald Perera, libretto by Constance Congdon, based on the popular book by Sam Swope.
Opera Parallèle interns, guided by Paiement and Staufenbiel, work with Drew School students creating a lineage: Maya Kherani (musical preparation), Brandon Hartnett (stage director), Ian Scarfe (piano), McKenzie Camp (percussion).
Where: Drew School
When: November 2 and 3 at 7 PM
Tickets: Free and open to the public
Opera Parallèle’s Sneak Preview of Ainadamar
What: Opera on Display Program
Informal lecture by Artistic Director Nicole Paiement and Concept Designer Brian Staufenbiel. Musical excerpts from cast members Marnie Breckenridge, Lisa Chavez, Maya Kherani and John Bischoff. Introduction to flamenco dance with choreographer, La Tania.
Where: Sol Joseph Recital Hall, San Francisco Conservatory of Music
When: January 30, 2013 at 6 PM
Tickets: Free and open to the public
Opera Parallèle Presents Ainadamar
Music by Osvaldo Golijov, libretto by David Henry Hwang.
Inspired by the confrontation between poet Federico García Lorca and the Fascist regime during the Spanish Civil War, the opera artfully combines singing, visual arts and flamenco.
Where: Yerba Buena Center for the Performing Arts’ Lam Research Theater
When: February 15 and 16, 2013 at 8 PM and February 17, 2013 at 2 PM
Tickets: $35 to $85 with a 10% discount for YBCA members and students
The Cast
Margarita Xirgu, Marnie Breckenridge
Federico García Lorca, Lisa Chavez
Nuria, Maya Kherani
Tripaldi, John Bischoff
Ruiz Alonso, Jesus Montoya
Bullfighter, Andres Ramirez
Teacher, Ryan Bradford
Niñas, San Francisco Girls Chorus
Women’s Chorus, SFCM New Music Ensemble
Flamenco dancers, led by La Tania
Artistic and Production Team
Conductor, Nicole Paiement
Stage Director/Concept Designer, Brian Staufenbiel
Scenic and Lighting Designer, Matthew Antaky
Video Artist, Austin Forbord
Choreographer, La Tania
Costumer, Christine Crook
Wig and Make-up Artist, Jeanna Parham
Props Artisan, Valerie Niles
Opera Parallèle’s Sneak Preview of Trouble in Tahiti and A Hand of Bridge
What: Opera on Display Program
Informal lecture by Artistic Director Nicole Paiement and Concept Designer Brian Staufenbiel with musical excerpts from cast members.
Where: Sol Joseph Recital Hall, San Francisco Conservatory of Music
When: April 11, 2013 at 6 PM
Tickets: Free and open to the public
Opera Parallèle Presents Trouble in Tahiti and A Hand of Bridge
Music by Bernstein and Barber.
Two short gems from the 20th century that deal with the lives of troubled couples.
Where: ZSpace
When: April 26 and 27, 2013 at 8 PM and April 28, 2013 at 2 PM
*Casting and ticket information to be announced at a later date.
Opera Parallèle Presents Workshop Reading of Gesualdo, Prince of Madness
Music by Dante De Silva and libretto by Mitchell Morris.
Where: Sol Joseph Recital Hall, San Francisco Conservatory of Music
When: June 7, 2013 at 7 PM
*Casting and ticket information to be announced at a later date.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Ames Communications
Cassandra McCook: Email
Kristin Schellinger: Email
Karen Ames: Email
(415) 641-7474