The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: Opera Parallèle
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* Notes * Opera Parallèle revived last year's production of The Little Prince this weekend at the Marines' Memorial Theatre. The opera is perfectly charming and the feminist twist of having mostly female principals worked well. I had a better appreciation for Nicholas Wright's libretto this time around — it is concise — condensing some 90…
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* Notes *This weekend Opera Parallèle is in Carmel for In the Penal Colony as part of the Days and Nights Festival. Philip Glass' potent chamber opera from 2000 is a perfect match for this company and the production gets to the nightmarish core of the short story from Kafka. Maestra Nicole Paiement conducted the…
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* Notes *Opera Parallèle is performing a very charming production of Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti again, this time presented with Jake Heggie's At the Statue of Venus as a single narrative. As an added bonus, we heard some Bernstein songs from West Side Story as people milled around the museum setting for the Heggie…
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* Notes *Opera Parallèle has opened another near impeccable production with Jonathan Dove's Flight, which has a three performance run this weekend at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Featuring an ensemble of 10 vocalists, the cast, mostly alumni of the Merola Opera Program, is incredibly strong. The small orchestra of 29…
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* Notes *Opera Parallèle has opened yet another impressive production with Peter Maxwell Davies' chamber work The Lighthouse, which has a three performance run this weekend at Z Space in San Francisco. Scored for only about a dozen instrumentalists and three singers, the music is rich and vivid. The tense atmosphere of the narrative, which…
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* Notes *Champion: An Opera in Jazz had an impressive opening last night in San Francisco. As always, Opera Parallèle, which co-produced the 2013 work with SFJAZZ, gave an impeccable performance as far as playing, singing, and production values. Based on the life of bisexual boxer Emile Griffith, Terence Blanchard's music has much to recommend…
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My Q&A with composer Christopher Pratorius about his children's opera Amazing Grace commissioned by Opera Parallèle is on KQED Arts. 4th and 5th grade students of St. Martin de Porres Catholic School in Oakland will perform the opera on November 12 at 6pm and November 14 at 11am and 1pm. Performances are free and take…
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* Notes *Opera Parallèle is holding the first North American performances of Tarik O’Regan’s Heart of Darkness at Z Space in San Francisco this weekend. The challenge of taking a well-known text must be great. Tom Philips condensed Conrad’s novella into a spare libretto. The ninety minute work is relentless, there is no intermission, but…
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* Notes *Opera Parallèle opened the 2015 season with a chamber version of Dead Man Walking at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco last night. Opera Parallèle again makes a compelling case for contemporary works, and the appeal of Jake Heggie’s first opera is obvious. Artistic Director Nicole Paiement conducted a lush…
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Opera Parallèle presents the world premiere of My Head is Full of Colors, a children's opera composed by Chris Pratorius with libretto by Nicole Paiement. The free performance will be held during National Opera Week, on Saturday, November 1, at 11 am in the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street.…
The Opera Tattler 