Come tune in to the showcase of new opera music written for Really Spicy Opera’s Aria Institute: Duet/Trio Edition! Featuring duets and trios written by Caroline Cao, Tiffa Foster, Jodi Goble, Jamey Guzman, Lauren McCall, Mona Washington, and Jane Wong.
Free and open to the public.
What would an operatic version of Star Wars: The Last Jedi sound like? What about Sharknado the Opera: COVID Spring Break? What would happen in the operatic version of meeting your old crush (and 100% douche) from high school? What if you could hear Aphra Behn tell off a theatre critic, 17th-century opera style? How about just giving opera more puppies and tigers?
Find out the answers to these and other forbidden opera subjects in the livestreamed concert showcase of The Aria Institute: Soprano Edition this Thursday, 7/30 from 5-6 PM Central Time.
Featuring brand-new works by:
Administered by Tess Altiveros, Basil Considine, and Anne Wieben.
With performances by Suzanne Karpov (soprano) and Steven Seigart (collaborative piano).
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
On Tuesday, March 17, 2020 – just a handful of days after an order from the Governor of Minnesota closed the state’s theatres – Really Spicy Opera put out a call for interest for a Quarantine Opera (Scenes) Initiative. Two dozen composer-librettist teams and a few composer-librettists responded and were given a set of prompts to write off of in just 48 hours. Submissions soon came pouring in of great comedic, musical, and dramatic quality, forcing our judges to extend the reviewing window to arrive at the final list.
After due consideration, the judges have selected four submissions to stage and virtually perform. The selected scenes for Really Spicy Opera’s Quarantine Opera Initiative are:
Look for these scenes to be brought to life in video form, coming soon to an Internet near you!
Today’s featured educational outreach activity is a cooperative venture with the Audio Production program at Hennepin Technical College. As part of this venture, musicians from Really Spicy Opera traveled to Eden Prairie, MN to perform in-studio and provide feedback on recording, editing, and mixing techniques. This provides students with invaluable experience in working with live musicians and approaching different projects with a variety of goals.
Hot on the heels of its second revival of A Pickle, Really Spicy Opera heads to Washington, DC for the Intersections Festival. RSO will present the children’s theatre outreach half of The Princess Pirate Party Musical, a new show currently under development.
The Intersections Festival is hosted and curated by the Atlas Performing Arts Center. The Intersections Festival runs February 22-March 11, and is now on its 9th season. RSO’s appearance is part of the festival’s educational theatre outreach program for the very young, and will feature Victoria Erickson (The Clever Artifice of Harriet and Margaret) and Basil Considine.
The Princess Pirate Party Musical will play on Saturday, 3/3 @ 9 AM at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC. Tickets are available online.
Update: Due to blizzard conditions, this performance has been rescheduled for Monday, February 26 at Sabes JCC.
Really Spicy Opera’s award-winning production of Deborah Yarchun’s A Pickle will return January 22 for a special performance at the Sabes Jewish Community in St. Louis Park, MN. A Pickle will appear as part of the Twin Cities Jewish Humor Festival, with Angela Timberman reprising her role as Doris.
A Pickle is based on the real-life story of Doris Rubenstein and the Minnesota State Fair’s pickle-making contest. The play won the Twin Cities Arts Reader’s Best of Fringe award for the 2017 Minnesota Fringe Festival, a BroadwayWorld Regional Award for Best Original/New Work, and a BroadwayWorld Regional Award for Best Actress.
Tickets are $12 in advance, $14 at the door. 7:30 PM performance.
