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Scott Horton Communications
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OPERA PARALLÈLE PRESENTS UP CLOSE AND PARALLÈLE, ITS 2018 GALA BENEFIT, FEATURING “CREATIVE REBELS” THEME HIGHLIGHTING THE UPCOMING SEASON AND HONORING PHILIP GLASS
COCKTAILS, DINNER, FUND A NEED, AND PERFORMANCE TO BENEFIT OPERA PARALLÈLE’S PRODUCTIONS, EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS
OCTOBER 10 AT WAR MEMORIAL GREEN ROOM IN SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco, August 20, 2018 – Acclaimed Opera Parallèle (OP) will present its annual gala benefit, Up Close and Parallèle: “Creative Rebels”, Wednesday, October 10, at 5:30 pm, at the War Memorial Green Room, 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco. The centerpiece of the evening will be a montage opera conceived by OP’s Artistic team celebrating such operatic heroes as Harvey Milk, Georgia O’Keeffe, Steve Jobs, Julia Child, and Sister Helen Prejean, sung by mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti, baritone Robert Orth, and bass Kenneth Kellogg, accompanied by OP resident pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi. The evening will culminate in a special performance by guest of honor Philip Glass. The gala will also include cocktails, wines, hors d’oeuvres and dinner and a lively fund a need. Tickets are priced from $300 to $500, with tables and sponsorships available for $5,000 to $15,000; all proceeds benefit Opera Parallèle’s productions and community engagement programs. For tickets and information, visit www.operaparallele.org or call 415.626.6279.
The October 10 gala celebrates Opera Parallèle’s 2018-2019 season, which includes the world premiere of Today It Rains—an opera inspired by a pivotal event in the life of artist Georgia O’Keeffe—a continuing relationship with composer Philip Glass and a new production of his In the Penal Colony at the Days and Nights Festival in Carmel, the return of Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince and a new production of Christopher Pratorius Gomez’ Xochitl and the Flowers. The creative team for the season will be headed by founding Artistic Director/Conductor Nicole Paiement and Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel, and the season runs from October 5, 2018, through May 18, 2019, with performances in San Francisco and Carmel.
About Opera Parallèle
Award-winning Opera Parallèle develops and performs contemporary operas in a dynamic balance of known and new works, in new productions that shed light on their subject matter and engage audiences’ senses and sensibilities. Opera Parallèle presents fully cast and staged contemporary operas and commissions new orchestrations of contemporary grand operas, to give a sense of intimacy to its productions and to give a new life to works which might not otherwise be performed. Opera Parallèle’s interactive community engagement programs are dedicated to reaching increasingly diverse communities.
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