Upcoming World Premiere at Berkeley Opera

Haven’t seen much advance publicity about this, so I thought I’d mention it for any Bay Area folks who are reading this.

Berkeley Opera has paired Berkeley composer Clark Suprynowicz with playwright John O’Keefe for a new commission. Chrysalis opens April 22nd, featuring soprano Marnie Breckenridge, mezzo Buffy Baggott and baritones Igor Viera and John Minagro

Chrysalis is a comedy, and from the plot synopsis, it sounds promising.

Wickedly funny, dreamily evocative, Chrysalis explores a neighborhood not far from our own, where identity is up for grabs and beauty is something purchased over the counter.

(More detail here…)

I’m looking forward to being there on the 22nd.

Julia Morgan Theater
Saturday, April 22nd, 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 26th, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 28th, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 30th, 2:00 p.m.

Tickets: (925) 798-1300

Mark Adamo on NewMusicBox

I say “hooray!” to Alex Ross for recognizing Mark Adamo as one of “the best opera composers of the moment”. (I disagree about Adams, but that’s a whole other thing. Adés I don’t know from Adam’s off ox.)

Mark is a brilliant guy. If you have the slightest interest in opera or any music for the stage, please read this interview with Mark on NewMusicBox. You’ll see that, not only is he popular and successful, but he actually knows what he’s talking about.

Sondheim Sings, Vol. II

The track listing for the next volume of Sondheim Sings has been announced. More information at Playbill.com .

These volumes consist of selections from Sondheim’s private collection of home recordings he made of his own songs over the years. Volume I , which was released earlier this year, consists of recordings made between 1962 and 1972, so there is a lot of familiar material on it.

Volume II is comprised of much earlier work, including a Christmas greeting for Oscar Hammerstein from 1943 when Sondheim was 13 years old. Many of the tracks are from his student works of the ’40′s and early ’50′s that pre-date Saturday Night and West Side Story. Being a crazed Sondheim lunatic myself, I had an opportunity a few years ago to hear Track 9, “A Star Is Born”, which he wrote in 1954 for some friends when they had a baby. The lyrics are dizzying, and you can’t believe anyone could come up with this stuff, let alone a 24-year-old.

It can be ordered in advance from Amazon.com.