January 2020: Proving Up by Missy Mazzoli
Presented at Boston Court Pasadena
For its fifth production, Pasadena Opera presents Proving Up, an 80-minute chamber opera by one of the world’s most sought after and exciting creative teams: composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek. Proving Up tells the story of the Zegner family, pioneers in 1870s Nebraska, who have finally met all five conditions of the Homestead Act, including securing a coveted glass window. This haunting story is a fitting allegory for many contemporary American families who are learning the hard way that desire and hard work do not guarantee the attainment of the American Dream.
We are proud to present this production as part of LA Opera’s Eurydice Found festival. For more details with regards to the festival, click here.
Creative team
Director - Indre Viskontas, Conductor - Dana Sadava
CAST
Julia Metzler, Daniel Cilli, Jonathan Smucker, Valerian Ruminski, Sharon Kim, and Madeleine Lew
with orchestra
Photo credits- Craig Schwartz
March 2018: The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Michael Nyman
Presented at Caltech's Dabney Lounge in Dabney Hall of the Humanities
based on the case study by Dr. Oliver Sacks
The opera tracks Oliver Sacks on a journey through one of his most baffling cases. Based on his extraordinary book, this intimate chamber opera invites you into the living room of "Dr. P", a renowned singer experiencing some odd problems with his ability to recognize objects. As Sacks solves a medical mystery, he teaches us about the astonishing power of music and the counterintuitive nature of the brain. Director and neuroscientist Dr. Indre Viskontas introduced the opera, drawing on her personal connection to the late neurologist.
Creative team
Director - Indre Viskontas, Conductor - Dana Sadava
Set and Costume Design - Indre Viskontas, Lighting Design - Phillip Powers
Projections - Indre Viskontas & Alex Broun
Production Assistant - Alexandria Flynn, Poster Design - James Saturnio
CAST
Dr. S - William Grundler, Dr. P - Ian Walker, Mrs. P - Julia Metzler
with chamber orchestra
Photo credits- Adam Isaak
January 2017: Così fan tutte by W.A. Mozart
design by Curtis Bailey
Presented at Pasadena’s A Noise Within Theater
Pasadena Opera set Mozart's classic comedy in a time and place of a great cultural shift in America: 1967 San Francisco. Two wealthy sisters suffer an unexpected blow when their fiancées are drafted into the Vietnam War, finding themselves launched into the Summer of Love.
Creative team
Director - Jonathan Lynn, Conductor - Dana Sadava, Associate Director - Indré Viskontas
Designer - Sheiva Khalily, Lighting Designer - Phillip Powers, Costume Designer - Jacqueline Saint Anne
Poster Design - Curtis Bailey
CAST
Fiordiligi - Julia Metzler, Dorabella - Michelle Rice, Despina - Karin Mushegain, Ferrando - Jonathan Smucker, Guglielmo - Jonathan Beyer, Don Alfonso - Gregorio Gonzalez
with chorus and orchestra
Photo credits- Carin Yates
January 2016: Susannah by Carlisle Floyd
poster design by Joyce Ann Martin
Presented at Pasadena’s A Noise Within Theater
Set in the American South, Susannah is the timeless tale of a young, beautiful woman oppressed by her small-minded community. It has been said that Floyd was influenced by the latent anxiety permeating McCarthy’s America in the 1950s while writing of the piece. It seems even more relevant today, when fear of foreigners is growing and women around the world are the victims of unfounded aggression. Stage Director Sara Widzer was drawn to the work “in part because it exposes how a mob mentality can crush something beautiful and sully the innocent. Seemingly innocuous gossip might foster cohesion in a community, but at what expense?” She notes too, that ‘the story is ever more potent as it is housed within the magic of summer in the Appalachians – where beauty resides next to a force so dark and destructive.” Serving the company’s mission to bring accessible, contemporary and relevant opera to Pasadena, Susannah is a compelling work, ripe with Appalachian folk songs and hymns. "Susannah is a great show for opera newbies,” says Artistic Director and conductor Dana Sadava. “It's simple, beautiful storytelling."
Creative team
Stage Director - Sara Widzer, Music Director - Dana Sadava
Set Design - Catherine Sowa, Lighting Design - Phillip Powers, Costume Design - Jacqueline Saint Anne
Stage Manager - Rick Moreno
Photo credits- Brian Biery
January 2015: Candide by Leonard Bernstein
Presented at Pasadena’s A Noise Within Theater
Bernstein’s Candide is a popular operetta chosen for its great music and exuberance. It is written in English, thereby guaranteed to engage and delight audiences of all ages. Candide does address some adult themes. Pasadena Opera presents the 1974 “Chelsea” version, through arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
Music by Leonard Bernstein. Book by Hugh Wheeler. Lyrics by Richard Wilbur, with additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and John Latouche, based on the book by Voltaire.
Creative team
Director - Stacey Fraser, Conductor - Dana Sadava, Stage Manager - Rick Moreno, Choreography - Sandy Sooter, Pianist - ChoEun Lee, Fight choreography - Terry Smith, Costume Design - Jacqueline Saint Anne, Costume Assistant - Krista Thomas-Scott, Lighting Design - Brandon Hawkinson, Properties - Chloe Diaz, Lighting technician - Ofelia Valencia, Projection Design - Curtis Bailey, Projection Photography - Jessica Isaac
CAST
Gregg Lawrence, Jonathan Smucker, Shawnette Sulker, Daniel Scofield, Suzanna Guzmán,
Karin Mushegain, Kevin Blickfeldt, Jennifer Wallace
with chorus and orchestra
Photo credits-