From the Artistic Director

West Edge Opera Season 2011 / 2012

As I continue to explore this art form and consider new directions it can be taken, I think more and more about the audience. Opera folk are always trying to come up with gimmicks to get new audiences in the theater, but I think it is equally important to think about the step after that. Namely, how to make opera performances speak to a modern audience that is already enticed to the theater.

Productions that I have done in the past few years, most notably Don Giovanni and Xerxes, have focused on this. I believe that if we consider opera to be not just great art, but great entertainment as well, then we will demystify the art form. Many people are hesitant to come and enjoy a performance because of pre-conceived notions about opera. It is my goal to break those pre-conceptions. If we expose people to complex music by embracing the current norms of popular culture, we all win.

For that reason, this season we present what I am calling "The Popera Season". A bit obvious, I know, but why not? We start with Ariadne auf Naxos, an opera that examines the effect of a mixture of Classical and Popular performance. Next we present a beloved classical opera, The Magic Flute. We will offer this very confusing piece in a pop culture production inspired by Japanese Anime and Manga art. Scott Marley returns to the company to turn the piece on end and re-imagine the story so that our confusion about the piece can become clear. Scott plans to bring an immediacy to the piece that will focus on storytelling. For the summer, we present two one-act operas. Mahagonny Songspiel by Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht, which premiered in Germany in 1927, and Vera of Las Vegas by Daron Hagen and Paul Muldoon, which premiered in New York City in 2003. I hope you enjoy this season and encourage your friends to join us.