Lack of regional cooperation or outright collaboration has been a decades-long hobby horse of mine: I never understood why meager resources are not being pooled.
But now Palo Alto's West Bay Opera and Walnut Creek's Festival Opera join to present Verdi’s Otello in both of their respective theaters, in the same production, with the same cast.
David Gustafson will sing the title role, Cynthia Clayton appears as Desdemona, and Philip Skinner sings Iago. Each company will use its own orchestra and chorus, Michael Morgan conducting Festival Opera, José Luis Moscovich his West Bay Opera. Daniel Helfgot directs.
"The companies intend to expand awareness of the production and opera in general with performances on both sides of the Bay" says the announcement. "They also plan to reduce some of the high cost of presenting a fully-staged opera by sharing a number of production expenses."
Cynthia Clayton will sing Desdemona
West Bay Opera is presenting Otello for the first time since 1969; it is a premiere for Festival Opera. The schedule: May 24 to June 2 in Lucie Stern Theatre, and two performances in Lesher Center for the Arts on June 28 and 30.
For Festival Opera, still in crisis mode, the project is vital. Says Executive Director Sara Nealy:
It's been a really rough couple of years for Festival Opera, with some bumps and bruises, but not without some small triumphs as well. We faced staggering debt at the end of our 2011 season, but have reduced that debt by more than half, and we even managed to show signs of life and growth.
During our "virtually dark" 2012 season, we managed to bring some of our greatest alumni talents onto the stage for a benefit concert in what was a joyous stand for the company and the art form. It inspired many of us to recommit and persevere.
David Gustafson appears in the title role
We used our reduced resources to stage Opera in the Park to give back to our community, and we dipped our toes into the waters of contemporary, smaller-scale chamber opera as we worked to get back on solid financial footing.
We look ahead with a plan to reunite our opera family with a new vision for the future: a Festival Opera that presents fully-staged standard repertory opera productions, stages a free Opera in the Park event, explores new formats and venues with a smaller-scale work each year — and an occasional commission of new work by a promising emerging composer — along with providing meaningful community engagement activities (mini-operas, demonstrations, and other programs) in schools and other community settings.
