Cedric Westphal from SFist – interview with composer Jonathan Dove
“As a respite to the disheartening stories about refugees being stranded at airport, we offer an opera about a refugee stranded at an airport. And this one is a comedy, just what the doctor ordered, both politically relevant and fun…. Opera Parallèle always picks modern operas with a ton of topical relevance, and their creative team (Nicole Paiement and Brian Staufenbiel) always puts together vivid musical performances and inventive and impressive stagings. Flight was written by British composer Jonathan Dove, and we chatted with him over the phone from his home in England. Dove penned Flight as a commission for the prestigious Glyndebourne opera house and it has since been produced many times all over the world, a rare feat for a modern opera.”
Read the full SFist article HERE
Joshua Kosman from the SFChronicle announces Flight
“British composer Jonathan Dove took [refugee] Nasseri’s strange stretch in diplomatic limbo as the inspiration for a comic opera, “Flight.” Now that opera makes its first appearance on a local stage, thanks to the enterprising folks at Opera Parallèle.”
Read the full SFChronicle announcement HERE
Cheryl North from Mercury News writes about the relevance of Flight to our current headlines
“How often does one get a chance to attend an opera on a subject that actually parallels current newspaper headlines? The opera “Flight” is about what it means to be stranded — and this is exactly what is happening to many people as the result of the new U.S. president’s ban on immigration from seven primarily Muslim Middle Eastern countries.”
Read the full Mercury News article HERE
Trevor Gillis from Opera Sense speaks with Countertenor Tai Oney who plays the Refugee
“San Francisco’s Opera Parallèle is one of the hottest young opera companies in the nation. Since 2007, the company has focused on producing contemporary opera in intimate settings. Next week, San Francisco audiences will have the opportunity to see Opera Parallèle’s newest production: Jonathan Dove and April De Angelis‘ Flight, an English opera in three acts. This fascinating work looks at a day in the life of the Refugee, a character based on Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian refugee who lived in Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, France from 1988 to 2006.”
Read the full Opera Sense article HERE
Composer Joseph Colombo from the Center for New Music conducted an interview with Director Brian Staufenbiel about his concept for Flight
Read the full C4NM interview HERE
Lou Fancher from SF Classical Voice writes about Flight, its relevance, and lead Tai Oney
“More than anything, life’s hard knocks and high happiness cause us to believe that love and loss are next-door neighbors, even bedfellows. Holding onto a belief in something larger than ourselves helps us to share the love and get through the loss. These and other timeless truths are at the heart of Opera Parallèle’s production of English composer Jonathan Dove’s 1998 cynical comedy, Flight.”
Read the full SFCV article HERE
KQED Announces Flight as a recommended contemporary opera this weekend!
Read HERE