WEST EDGE OPERA
1700 SHATTUCK AVENUE NO 312, BERKELEY, CA 947091631 www.westedgeopera.org

---

Organizations Filed Purposes: TO PRESENT OPERA AS LIVELY, COMPELLING MUSICAL THEATER, FUSING MUSIC AND DRAMA TO DELIGHT, MOVE, AND CHALLENGE OUR AUDIENCES, WHILE REMAINING ACCESSIBLE, AFFORDABLE AND ENGAGING.

FESTIVAL 2015: OUR MAJOR ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF THREE PERFORMANCES OF EACH OF THREE OPERAS, FULLY STAGED. THIS YEAR WE PERFORMED "LULU" BY ALBAN BERG, "ULYSSES" BY CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI & "AS ONE" BY LAURA KAMINSKY. "LULU" WAS STAGED IN A MANNER SUGGESTIVE OF BERLIN IN THE 1920S, AND WAS THE AMERICAN PREMIERE OF A NEW ORCHESTRATION. ALL PERFORMANCES SOLD OUT AND REVIEWS WERE RAVES, NOT ONLY FROM LOCAL REVIEWERS, BUT ALSO FROM "OPERA NEWS" MAGAZINE, THE PREMIER NATIONAL JOURNAL IN OUR FIELD. "ULYSSES" WAS AN ADAPTATION OF MONTEVERDI'S "IL RITORNO D'ULISSE IN PATRIA", FIRST PERFORMED IN 1640. AGAIN, THE REVIEWS WERE UNANIMOUS IN THEIR PRAISE OF THE SINGERS, THE STAGING AND THE HISTORICALLY INFORMED MUSIC. "AS ONE" PREMIERED AT THE BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC IN SEPTEMBER 2014. OURS WAS ITS THIRD PERFORMANCE. IT IS SEMI-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL, TELLING THE STORY OF A BOY CHILD WHO GROWS INTO MATURE WOMANHOOD. REVIEWERS PRAISED THE VOICES AND MUSIC; DIFFERENT REVIEWERS LIKED AND DISLIKED DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE STORY AND LIBRETTO.

OPERA MEDIUM RARE: ANOTHER ANNUAL PRODUCTION THAT, IN 2015, FEATURED CONCERT PRODUCTIONS OF THREE LESSER KNOWN BEL CANTO OPERAS WRITTEN BY THREE FAMOUS COMPOSERS, USING REDUCED ACCOMPANIMENT. "ZELMIRA" WAS COMPOSED BY GIOACHINO ROSSINI AND PREMIERED IN 1822 IN NAPLES. IT TELLS A STORY OF WAR, LIES, TREACHERY, DOUBLE-CROSSING AND MURDER OF THE INNOCENTS -- STANDARD FARE FOR GREEK & TROJAN WARRIORS. THE CRITICS PRAISED THE SINGERS, ROSSINI'S MUSIC AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE REDUCED ORCHESTRATION. "POLIUTO" BY GAETANO DONIZETTI WAS FIRST PERFORMED IN PARIS IN 1840. SET IN 3RD CENTURY ROMAN-RULED ARMENIA, IT TELLS OF A ROMAN CITIZEN WHO BECAME A CHRISTIAN AND WAS FED TO THE LIONS ALONG WITH HIS JUST-CONVERTED WIFE. CRITICS PRAISED THE VOICES, THE MUSIC AND THE ORCHESTRATION. "I DUE FOSCARI" BY GIUSEPPI VERDI WAS FIRST PERFORMED IN ROME IN 1844 AND WAS SUCCESSFULLY RECEIVED THERE. A MAN IS FALSELY ACCUSED AND BANISHED; HE DIES AND HIS INNOCENCE PROVEN. CRITICS PRAISED THE VOICES, VERDI'S EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC AND THE ORCHESTRATION.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH: IN ADDITION TO THE PUBLIC PERFORMANCES OF THE THREE OPERA MEDIUM RARE PIECES IN BERKELEY, THEY WERE PRESENTED AT A SENIOR HOUSING COMMUNITY, ROSSMOOR, IN THE TOWN OF WALNUT CREEK, ABOUT 40 MILES FROM SAN FRANCISCO. THEY WERE VERY WELL RECEIVED AND RESIDENTS GOT TOGETHER TO ATTEND THE FOLLOWING YEAR'S PRODUCTIONS IN BERKELEY AND OAKLAND. A NOON TALK WAS PRESENTED AT THE BERKELEY PUBLIC LIBRARY, FEATURING THE COMPOSER AND CO-LIBRETTISTS OF "AS ONE", ONE OF OUR 2015 FESTIVAL PRODUCTIONS, BEFORE THE FIRST PERFORMANCE OF THAT OPERA. THE PRESENTATION WAS WELL ATTENDED AND WELL RECEIVED. WE ESTABLISHED A TECHNICAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS INTERESTED IN A CAREER IN MUSICAL THEATER. EIGHT STUDENTS WERE ACCEPTED AND SPENT FOUR WEEKS EACH IN LEARNING ABOUT AND PARTICIPATING IN THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE PRODUCTION OF THE THREE OPERAS OF OUR SUMMER FESTIVAL. A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE U. OF CA. MEDICAL SCHOOL EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN HAVING A FEW OF OUR SINGERS PRESENT DURING THEIR GRAND ROUNDS, TO SEE IF THIS MADE THE EXPERIENCE LESS DIFFICULT FOR THE PATIENTS. IT DID.

---

---

Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (public 990 form dataset) from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/201602289349301890_public.xml