New Camerata Opera Brews Up Halloween Performance In Heart of Greenwich Village
By David SalazarAs Halloween evening unfolds, the tumult of people on Cornelia Street in the heart of Greenwich Village starts to build in anticipation of the annual Halloween parade.
But in the catacombs of the Cornelia Street Cafe, the New Camerata Opera was brewing up its own little celebration for the final day in October.
“We were intrigued by the notion of doing some Halloween programming, and fellow Co-Founder Stan Lacy thought of Cornelia Street Cafe, because of its location in the West Village,” tenor and New Camerata Opera Artistic Chair Erik Bagger told OperaWire. “Its excellent piano, performance space, atmosphere, and staff. It seemed like a natural fit, and indeed it was perfect for the program.”
The Halloween concert pooled together repertoire from a wide range of composers with the intention of creating a mystical evening that both frightened and enlightened its modest though immersive audience. Starting with Schubert’s “Erlkönig,” audiences were taken on a journey that also included lied and arias from such composers as Ravel, Verdi, De Falla, Poulenc, and Leoncavallo, among others.
“Co-Founder Eva Parr was the programmer for this event. She emailed the entire cast, requesting suggestions of creepy art song and opera from their own repertoires. From that long list of material, Eva carved out an eclectic and engaging program,” noted Bagger about the program’s selection.
The concert included many of the New Camerata Opera mainstays that are currently set for the company’s upcoming double bill of “Venus & Adonis / Sāvitri,” at The Flea Theater.” Other singers were brought in from the Camerata Piccola children’s opera roster of artists, while still others were singers that “had been on our horizon as folks we wanted to work with in the future, and this seemed like a fun introduction to the company.”
In addition to the double bill, which will be directed by Jennifer Williams, the company is set to showcase productions of Kamala Sankaram’s “Enchantress” as well the production of holiday content for its YouTube channel. There is also continued production on a new children’s holiday opera called “Cleo The Messenger Penguin” that is set to premiere next season.
“It’s also possible that an impromptu ‘pop-up’ holiday concert might occur, this winter.”
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