SNAPSHOT 2024

Saturday, March 2nd, 7 PM, Hillside Club in Berkeley

Sunday, March 3rd, 3 PM, Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco

“Once again West Edge’s Snapshot proved that you never know to what heights or depths new operas might take you." -Steve Winn, SFCV

Nu Nah-Hup reimagines the extraordinary Agai-Dika/Lemhi-Shoshone woman who was a crucial member of the historic 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition, from her Agai-Dika Indigenous perspective and oral history of her familial descendants.

A woman in traditional Native American attire, with long braided hair, wearing jewelry including a necklace and earrings, and a feather in her hair.
Smiling man with light brown hair wearing a teal collared shirt against a dark blue background.
Older Indigenous woman wearing a colorful traditional dress and earrings, holding a fan, outdoors with plants and mountains in the background.

Hovia Edwards, Composer; Justin Ralls, Composer; Rose Ann Abrahamson, Librettist; Sacajawea’s great-great-grand-niece

Unearthed by Linnard's son, the celebrated bay area actor Dean Linnard, this piece is the first documented musical work about the AIDS crisis - written here in San Francisco. Least of My Children explores a catholic family's confrontation with a new disease in 1989, and the miracle of 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' in 1531.

Black and white photo of two men, one standing behind and resting his arm on the shoulder of the other, both looking at the camera.

Loren Linnard, Composer; Donald Briggs, Librettist

Madame Theremin, an opera based on the true story of Black ballet dancer Lavinia Williams, who was married to the Russian electronic music pioneer Leon Theremin. In their excerpt, Lavinia and historic Black activist Noble Washington have attempted a night on the town but strange things keep happening.

Smiling older man with glasses, wearing a green shirt over a black t-shirt, holding a long wooden stick outdoors.
A smiling man with long dreadlocks outdoors with trees in the background.

Kennedy Verrett, Composer; George Kopp, Librettist

Michigan, 1907: well-heeled health nuts flocked to John Harvey Kellogg’s elite health spa, the Battle Creek Sanitarium, to take “the cure.” Based on T. C. Boyle's novel, The Road to Wellville follows a Dickensian cast of characters in pursuit of the magic pill of longevity—and the profit to be had from manufacturing it.

Portrait of a man with a beard and a shaved head, wearing a purple polo shirt, looking directly at the camera.
A man with dark hair and a beard, wearing a black jacket, standing outdoors with blurred green foliage in the background.

Matt Boehler, Composer; Tony Asaro, Librettist