OPERA PARALLÈLE ANNOUNCES TENTH SEASON FEATURING NEW PRODUCTION OF STEWART WALLACE’S HARVEY MILK HONORING HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY YEAR; BON APPÉTIT!, THE JULIA CHILD FOODIE OPERA; A RECITAL BY TENOR WILLIAM BURDEN, MEZZO-SOPRANO FREDERICA VON STADE AND PIANIST KEISUKE NAKAGOSHI; PLUS “BECAUSE OF YOU” ANNUAL BENEFIT GALA

San Francisco, CA June 4, 2019 – Continuing its decade of innovative and provocative commitment to socially relevant, artistically superb opera, Opera Parallèle (OP) has announced its 2019-2020 tenth anniversary season. The Company’s founders—Artistic Director and Conductor Nicole Paiement and Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel—have scheduled an ambitious and re-imagined version of Stewart Wallace’s and Michael Korie’s 1995 Harvey Milk in celebration of the activist and martyred San Francisco Supervisor who was murdered in 1978, a milestone event in the continuing struggle for LGBTQ rights in America. Wallace and Korie have worked with OP to re-imagine a new two-act version of the work 25 years after its premiere to make it an even more impactful and intimate look at the civil rights icon, his life, and inspiration. In addition, OP will remount Lee Hoiby’s 1989, Bon Appétit! based on two television episodes of culinary icon Julia Child’s The French Chef at San Francisco’s famed Hayes Street Grill. The evening, featuring dinner and cocktails during the performance, will culminate in this one-woman tour de force featuring Catherine Cook as Julia Child. The season opens with a recital by tenor William Burden, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and OP’s own resident pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi, and also features the annual benefit gala. The season runs September 19, 2019, through May 17, 2020, with performances at The Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA, Hayes Street Grill, Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the War Memorial Green Room. Season details and ticket information may be found below. For more information, visit www.operaparallele.org .

“For our tenth season we are exploring American storytelling with works by American creators about the lives and work of two very different, game-changing Americans,” says Nicole Paiement. “The story of Harvey Milk is one of self-exploration, struggle, oppression, and enduring inspiration. Julia Child’s story is about the insight, inventiveness, and artistry of a powerful and generous woman who changed how America eats. In addition, we celebrate charismatic singing actors William Burden and Frederica von Stade and our supporters with a gala inspired by Oscar Hammerstein’s song, “Because of You”, to share a decade’s worth of gratitude for helping Opera Parallèle thrive.”

Season Sponsors include the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation and Jones Day Foundation.

OPERA PARALLÈLE 2019-2020 TENTH SEASON

Bill and Flicka: Generous Spirits

William Burden, Tenor

Frederica von Stade, Mezzo-Soprano

Guest Christabel Nunoo, Soprano

Keisuke Nakagoshi, Piano

Venue: Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall at SFCM

Date and Time: September 19, 2019, 8 pm

Tickets: $35-$150  City Box Office        


Because of You

Annual Benefit Gala

Venue: The Green Room, San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center

Date and Time: October 2, 2019, 5:30 cocktails, 6:30 dinner

Tickets: $300, $500 (individual)$5k, $10k, $15k (tables of 10)

Performers: Marnie Breckenridge, soprano; Catherine Cook, mezzo soprano; Bojan Knezevic, baritone; Keisuke Nakagoshi, piano

Bon Appétit!

Music: Lee Hoiby

Libretto: Julia Child and Mark Shulgasser

Venue: Hayes Street Grill restaurant, San Francisco

Dates: February 16 (Cocktails 5pm, Dinner 6pm); February 17 (Cocktails 6pm, Dinner 7pm), 2020

Tickets: $200 (includes cocktails and dinner)

Performers: Catherine Cook, mezzo-soprano, and Keisuke Nakagoshi, piano

Celebrating its 10th season, Opera Parallèle, in partnership with San Francisco’s legendary Hayes Street Grill restaurant, is pleased to present a two-night-only special event: the one-act opera Bon Appétit!, starring mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook as culinary icon Julia Child. Taken from two episodes of Child’s popular TV series, this delightful one-woman opera focuses on the flamboyant master chef making a classic French chocolate cake — Le Gâteau au Chocolat L’Éminence Brune — which is then served to the audience as dessert after a delectable dinner complete with specially-paired wine. The evening includes cocktails and dinner.                   

Harvey Milk

Music: Stewart Wallace

Libretto: Michael Korie

Venue: The Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA

Dates: May 15-17, 2020

Tickets: $35-$120   City Box Office

Hailed at its 1995 premiere as one of the best new American opera in many years, Harvey Milk by Stewart Wallace with libretto by Michael Korie, has been absent from San Francisco’s opera stages for nearly 25 years.

As the centerpiece of its 10th season, Opera Parallèle is proud to revive this modern classic. Librettist Korie has honed his compelling libretto into two acts and composer Wallace’s has re-orchestrated his eclectic mix of the American musical vernacular for 31 musicians, capturing the whirlwind energy of Harvey Milk as he transforms from Wall Street stockbroker dropout to the leader of one of the most influential civil right movements of the 20th century.

The premiere of this radically reimagined opera at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will coincide with city-wide celebrations planned to honor Milk’s 90th birthday in May 2020. This truly San Francisco story is a timely and potent call to action as it evokes the power of Milk’s activism and challenges us to come out for justice. OP will present a series of public events beginning in December 2019 leading up to and surrounding the performances.

CREATIVE TEAM

Conductor: Nicole Paiement

Director/Production Concept: Brian Staufenbiel

Assistant Director: David Toro

Set Designer: Sean Riley

Lighting Designer: Alexander V. Nichols

Media Designer: David Murakami

Costume Designer: Alina Bokovikova

Wigs /Makeup: Sophia Smith

Props: Hayley Parker

CAST

Harvey Milk: Matthew Worth

Dan White: David Walton

Scott Smith: Christian Sanders

George Moscone: Matt Boehler

Messenger: Tai Oney

Dianne Feinstein: Marnie Breckenridge

Mama: Catherine Cook

Anne Kronenberg: Kindra Scharich

Chorus: Carol Ruth Silver, Ella Hill Hutch, Robert Gonzales, Gordon Lau, Drag Queens, Castro Residents, Gay Pride Paraders, Opera Couples, Men at the Opera, Concentration Camp Deportees, Stonewall Rioters, Milk Train, Power Brokers, Candlelight Mourners

Sponsored by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, the Jones Day Foundation, Nancy Livingston and Fred Levin and the Sam Mazza Foundation