2021 | 2022 Season

Opera Parallèle presents

Sophia’s Forest

Music by Lembit Beecher

Libretto by Hannah Moscovitch

An immigrant family’s story of hope & the healing power of imagination.

Performances

February 24, 2022 – 8:00pm
February 25, 2022 – 8:00pm
February 26, 2022 – 5:00pm & 8:00pm

Sung in English with supertitles

Running time approx 60 minutes with no intermission

Venue

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

VIEW PERFORMANCE PROGRAM

COVID HEALTH & SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

All audience members, staff, and artists ages 5 and up must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Prior to entering the Grace Cathedral, you will be asked to provide proof of vaccination through a QR code generated by Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record Website, or an original physical vaccination card or photograph of it, along with a valid government-issued photo ID (a Student ID for minors under the age of 18 is also acceptable).

With the rise of new variants such as Omicron, OP STRONGLY ENCOURAGES all audience members who are eligible to get a Vaccine Booster shot at least 10 days prior to your ticketed event.

OP requires wearing a non-vented N95, KN95, or KF94 mask at all times for maximum protection while inside Grace Cathedral.

Please be aware that singers will perform without masks.

Open Rehearsal

Join us on February 15, 2022, 6-7:30pm at Saint Joseph’s Arts Society for sneak peek behind the scenes of the rehearsal process for this brand new opera. Hear from the artists, creative team and the composer about their work on this exciting new production. Registration required.

Pre-Show Talks – Free for all ticket holders

Join Artistic & General Director Nicole Paiement, Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel, and composer Lembit Beecher 1 hour before each performance at Grace Cathedral for insights into the production.

Sophia’s Forest explores the lasting effects of the immigrant experience on families and the ways children use their imaginations to cope with trauma and find healing. The innovative opera tells the story of a nine-year-old recent immigrant to the US who, through a traumatic journey, escaped the chaos of a civil war in her homeland.

Nine electronically-controlled sound sculptures, designed and operated by composer Lembit Beecher, placed across the stage are a direct outgrowth of Sophia’s memories: bike wheels recall Sophia’s youthful adventures with her sister Emma, and wine glasses become a central part of her mother Anna’s coping once the family moves to America.

When Sophia’s mother dies, Sophia confronts half-forgotten traumas from her childhood. Sophia and her sister Emma grew up in a war torn country. The two young girls escape their grim circumstances – the adult world of war, death and displacement – through the lens of fairy tales. As the fighting draws nearer, the family is forced to flee their home and make a dangerous journey into a forest. Sophia’s child’s-view version of their flight includes mystical horrors. As Sophia tries to protect her sister Emma from the evil in the forest, she makes a fatal mistake that forever changes the course of their lives.

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Cast

Click on an artist below to learn more

Maggie Finnegan

'Sophia' - Soprano

Charlotte Fanvu

'Young Sophia' - Actor

Kindra Scharich

'Anna' - Mezzo-Soprano

Samantha Fung-Lee

'Emma' - Girl Soprano

Bradley Kynard

'Wes' - Baritone

Victoria Ko

'Emma' - Girl Soprano

Composer & Librettist

Lembit Beecher

Composer

Hannah Moscovitch

Librettist

Creative Team & MUSICIANS

Nicole Paiement

Conductor

Aaron Curry

Lighting Designer

Brian Staufenbiel

Director

Marisely Cortés Fonseca

Costume Designer

Jessica Bejarano

Assistant Conductor

Del Sol String Quartet

Instrumental Ensemble

Jon Altemus

Set Designer

Divesh Karamchandani

Percussion

Supporters

Major support for this production has been provided by Bob Ellis, Stephen & Diane Heiman, and Paul L. King, with support from Producers Circle members Donna Dubinsky and Len Shustek.

Major institutional and corporate support for Opera Parallèle has been provided by Adobe, JW & HM Goodman Family Foundation, Horizons Foundation, The Lemala Fund, Sam Mazza Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, City & County of San Francisco Grants for the Arts, and The Shenson Foundation.