New Opera in Development Previews Scenes at San Francisco Conservatory of Music

On October 9, 2016, Festival Opera in collaboration with the respected new works incubator, American Opera Projects (AOP), and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) will present staged scenes from Rated R for Rat, a new chamber opera in development by Festival Opera's 2016-17 composer in residence, Wang Jie. The workshop will be at held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 9, 2016, at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Rated R for Rat will premiere at Festival Opera in fall 2017. The opera portrays strong artists contending with an oppressive bureaucracy, with the latter represented as characters of the Chinese Zodiac. The workshop features the creative team of music director and conductor Michael Morgan, composer-librettist Wang Jie, and stage director Mo Zhou. The cast features recent Merola alumnus and current Juilliard School graduate student in Voice Performance, bass-baritone Cody Quattlebaum, and two current SFCM voice students: soprano Alexandra Gilliam and mezzo-soprano Jasmine Johnson.

The workshop and livestream has received an Art Works award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the opera in development has received support from OPERA America, the Dean and Margaret Lesher Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bernard Osher Foundation, and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation.

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Festival Opera's workshop of excerpts from Rated R for Rat will be presented Sunday, October 9 at 3:00 p.m. in the Osher Salon in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco, CA. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets. General seating is limited. Prices are $15, and $5 for SFCM students. For more information, visit www.FestivalOpera.org. All artists and programs subject to change.

About Festival Opera

Festival Opera is one of the most respected opera companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and is among the top professional performing arts companies based in Walnut Creek. Founded in 1991, the non-profit organization provides opportunities for emerging artists, including San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows and Merola Program artists. Festival Opera strives to make opera accessible to a diverse audience. www.festivalopera.org

About American Opera Projects

Founded in 1988, Brooklyn's American Opera Projects is at the forefront of the contemporary opera movement, commissioning, developing, presenting, and producing opera and music Theatre Projects, collaborating with young, rising, and established artists, and engaging audiences in unique and transformative theatrical experiences. AOP has produced over 30 world premieres and has developed dozens more operas that have premiered with AOP partners around the world. www.aopopera.org

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