A West Edge Opera Commission
World Premiere 2027
Claude & Marcel
Alyssa Weinberg, Composer
Stephanie Fleischmann, Librettist
The opera tells the story of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore: two women – romantic and artistic partners - Jewish activists and surrealist photographers who used their art to magnify resistance against Nazi Germany.
Says librettist Fleischmann, ‘When I first came across the iconic image of Claude Cahun in boxing garb, with the words “Don’t kiss me, I’m in training” inscribed across their chest, I felt I had found my hero. Delving deeper into their body of work, which encompasses surrealist writing and collage as well as chameleonic feminist self-portraiture prefiguring Cindy Sherman by half a century, I was transfixed by their collaboration with lifelong partner Marcel Moore and the way these two women—camouflaged as a pair of cat-loving spinsters—harnessed their inquiry into gender and identity to implement a resistance on the Isle of Jersey during World War II that was perceived by the Germans as the work of a small army. Larger than life, infused with a dream logic and a heightened, angular theatricality, their story was crying out to be opera.’
Claude & Marcel is the third complete length opera to be commissioned and developed by West Edge Opera. Claude & Marcel was commissioned in 2023 and will premiere in August 2027.
Commissioners & Supporters Include: Norm Abramson, Hilary Honore, Terry McKelvey & Heli Roiha, Erica Nietfeld & Royce Kelley, Michael Walsh, and The National Endowment for the Arts
The development of Claude & Marcel is taking place over the course of four years, with a series of milestones built into the process including:
September 2024 | A libretto workshop at The Chan National Queer Arts Center in San Francisco, led by director Elkhanah Pulitzer.
November 2025 | A piano-vocal workshop of Claude & Marcel, led by conductor Jonathan Khuner.
April 2026 | Preview Performance at The Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco.
October 2026 | Complete Piano Vocal Workshop, location TBD
August 2027 | World Premiere with West Edge Opera Summer Festival in Oakland, CA.
World Premiere: August 2027
Lead Creative Team
Composer: Alyssa Weinberg
Librettist: Stephanie Fleischmann
Conductor: Jonathan Khuner
Director: Elkhanah Pulitzer
Dramaturg: Felix King
Claude & Marcel is a part of West Edge Opera’s Pacific Opera Initiative (POI) - an integrated platform for new opera commissions, development, programming, and partnerships that approaches the creation of new American opera with a fresh take.