by Yayra Sanchez, Lister Reviewer On September 17th, Center Stage Opera (CSO) kicked off their 12th Season with a production of Gioachino Rossini’s masterpiece, La Cenerentola. The Performing Arts Center of Reseda High School became the setting for this marvelous tale as the audience found their seats, eager to enjoy the adaptation of this beloved … Read more
by Jonathan Keplinger Redlands Opera Theatre’s recent production of Charles Gounod’s immortal masterpiece, Faust, was presented in Kimberly Hall of the First Congregational Church of Redlands, with standard minor cuts to slightly shorten its great length, and with a single intermission after the third act. It was clear that Redlands Opera Theater, though a small … Read more
by Carolyn Val-Schmidt, guest reviewer Olé to the Center Stage Opera’s Carmen, which was magnifíque! The San Fernando Valley’s Madrid Theatre was packed with enthusiastic audience members for the final production of their 2014-2015 season and the culmination of the 10th year for the diverse and growing company. Co-artistic director Dylan Thomas directed and stage managed this snappy presentation, … Read more
Celestial Opera Company returned to the stage this spring with the classic double-bill pairing of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci. Executive director Judith Townsend assembled a full team to relaunch the company after a nearly three-year hiatus, with Andrea Renée Fuentes as Artistic Director and Producer; Timothy León as Musical Director; and Josh Shaw as Stage … Read more
by Jenna Friedman, guest reviewer Independent Opera Company, an exciting local company that started in the spring of 2012, put on a wonderful production of Enrique Granados’s Goyescas and accompanying opera scenes on Saturday, February 28th. Galina Barskaya, the company’s talented music director, chose a program that focused on the theme of love and served as … Read more
By Yayra Sanchez, Guest Contributor It’s easy to imagine that neither Mozart nor Da Ponte would have thought of outer space as the setting for their opera Le Nozze di Figaro, but a couple of hundred years later, that’s exactly where Independent Opera Company decided to take it. Opening the show with a clever, Star … Read more
Orphée Arts has a potion just for you After a concert appearance last spring with the Palisades Symphony and a successful crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo, new opera company Orphée Arts has been creating some serious buzz. Now that their first fully staged production is coming to Westwood this weekend, the rest of us can see … Read more
The Redlands Opera Theatre closed their 2013-2014 season with a charming program entitled “The Bard Meets Opera.” The selections of music were inspired by the works of William Shakespeare. Some of the pieces were directly taken from his writings (Othello, Macbeth) while others were an adaptation and updating of the plots (Kiss Me, Kate!, West Side Story.) By … Read more
Sometimes when disaster strikes, wonderful things result. The story of Independent Opera Company‘s (IOC) opening of The Merry Widow on January 18 started about two hours before show time, when the producers learned that the singer playing one of the roles, Baron Zeta, would not be able to perform. The big question: as this was … Read more
Redlands Opera Theatre brought a wonderfully spooky production to the stage on October 25 and 26. The program included unusual fare for their audience, double-billing a one-man play about Edgar Allen Poe, entitled Lord Help My Poor Soul, alongside Gian Carlo Menotti’s two-act opera, The Medium. Artistic director Tiana Dye and music director Christa Stevens … Read more
