The West Edge Opera’s Snapshot has announced it will present excerpts from new, previously unproduced operas by West Coast composers and librettists on Feb. 24 and 25, 2018. This year’s Snapshot will showcase a diverse group of local and national artists in new works by West Coast composers, Cyril Deaconoff, Larry London, Brian Rosen, Katherine Saxon, and Erling Wold. The works include “The {…}
If Mary Shelley bumped into Libby Larsen at West EdgeOpera, at the final matinee of “Frankenstein,” what would she have said? “Good job, Girl. Another new vista. A moving monster and a compelling draw away from the axe Viktor Frankenstein had to grind?” Or, “What on earth are you talking about – my monster and his maker, a 21st century {…}
If you read last weekend’s preview, this week’s might look awfully familiar. The reality? A lot of the same companies are going strong and showcasing the same repertoire. But before we dive into those, let’s look at the new addition of the weekend, Seagle Music Colony’s production of “My Fair Lady,” which will play on Friday throughout the day. The Bard {…}
Of course, it is impossible – to rewrite, even for opera, Shakespeare’s masterpiece. It is untouchable, even if the Bard wouldn’t have sized up the various Folios and Quartos and come up with a right-as-rain manuscript. But, for Ambroise Thomas, in 19th century France, (1868) to tackle the probing young man and make him sing for his supper – well, {…}
A romp, a fiesta, a “lotta” fun, and musically, young-voice rich – that’s West Edge Opera’s production of “The Chastity Tree,” the 18th century comedy, à la Mozart, by Vicente Martin Y Soler. One of the trio of Summer Opera Festival performances by the “edgy” West Edge Company, founded in 1979, as Commedia dell’Opera, then as Berkeley Opera, has added {…}
The festival season keeps on rolling along with a number of performances across the states. At the Glimmerglass Festival you can get your helping of bel canto with “The Siege of Calais” or modern opera with “Scalia Ginsburg” on Friday. You can enjoy a musical in the form of “Oklahoma” or Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” on Saturday with an offering {…}