“The Halloween Opera Festival has always been a dream project of mine,” Jarrar told OperaWire. “I have quite a few chamber operas around themes we associate with Halloween. Of my 12 operas, 4 are adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe which I wrote the score and libretto for. Two of these, ‘The Oval Portrait’ and ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ are short works that could be programmed together on a program because of their similar, sinister themes. My 7th opera, ‘Patience & Pearl,’ with a libretto by Bea Goodwin, is about a medium and her ghost that presents a new, empowering narrative for female ghost stories. Another short opera, I thought all three of these works would showcase familiar and new representations of what Halloween means to me. These works are prefaced by my acapella tenor song ‘The Tree: an Old Man’s Story,’ which is a setting of a grim Thomas Hardy poem.

“‘Patience & Pearl’ and ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ were virtually premiered by BARN OPERA in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and ‘Oval Portrait’ was virtually premiered by Opera Elect in 2021 as well. However, none of these operas (outside of the live premiere of ‘Patience & Pearl’ this past August), have received fully-staged, live productions. This hour-long production is immersive, so if audiences want to come dressed in their Halloween costume, they should feel free to – there is no pressure! This festival not only marks the start of a showcase for my pieces that I hope to develop over time, but also gives me an outlet for quarantine pet-projects to be brought to life in all of their scares, thrills, and spookiness in-person. “