UrbanArias to Present New Opera BLUE VIOLA at Artisphere, 3/20-29

UrbanArias: DC's contemporary opera company presents the world premiere of BLUE VIOLA by composer Peter Hilliard and librettist Matt Boresi.

Based on true events in Chicago during the late 1990s; BLUE VIOLA tells the story of a priceless instrument that disappears after its owner, a player in the Chicago Symphony, accidentally leaves it on the street. It winds up in the hands of Vernon Addams, a junk dealer, who sees it as a lost treasure he is meant to rescue and care for.

His girlfriend, Arnita Seward, is more practical.
Growing up poor in Chicago has left her few options for a bright future; she has narrowly escaped the projects, but her job at a run-down Cookie and Hot Sandwich shop will never provide advancement, and she has to put up with the unwanted advances of her boss to boot. Arnita steals the viola from Vernon and brings in her boss, Mikey Stearns, as an accomplice in order to get the instrument appraised, and hopefully fenced. Mikey concocts an unlikely story about a rich aunt who willed him the viola, while Arnita dreams of a cushy future "someplace warm", financed by the proceeds of the instrument's sale. Will Mikey's story and Arnita's flirting convince Fritz Humboldt, a finicky rare instrument dealer to accept their offer to sell him this "priceless" instrument?

UrbanArias proudly presents BLUE VIOLA, a newly commissioned opera inspired by the unique sounds of the Chicago blues. Written by composer/librettist team Peter Hilliardand Matt Boresi, authors of the UrbanArias' 2012 hit comedy The Filthy Habit. Blue Viola first appeared in workshop as part of the prestigious Kogod Cradle Series at Arena Stage in Jan/Feb 2015.

The opera will have its official premiere at Artisphere in Arlington for six performances beginning March 20 through March 29, 2015.

The opera features an ensemble cast including rising baritone Jorell Williams as Vernon Addams, mezzo-soprano/award winning jazz vocalist Alicia Olatuja as Arnita Seward, DC theatre actorBenjamin Lurye as Fritz Humboldt, and veteran baritone Keith Phares as Michael "Mikey" Stearns. UrbanArias' Executive and Artistic Director Robert Wood leads members of the Grammy nominated INSCAPE Chamber Orchestra for all performances. Blue Viola will be directed by Emmy nominated African-American theatre and opera director Tazewell Thompson, making his debut with UrbanArias this season.

UrbanArias is pleased to commission Blue Viola and is grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for their generous grant in support of this new work. Watch and listen to a preview of BLUE VIOLA!

"We want people to have a genuinely exciting experience at the opera. We want them to laugh and we want them at the edge of their seat, and to hear a Blues-infused operatic score unlike anything they've ever heard. Opera in the 20th (and 21st century) has too often been alienating in its intellectualism and musical politicking. This, we hope, will be a beautifully sung and played work of lyric theatre." - Peter Hilliard (composer)

"We think the story, aside from a darkly comic thriller, provides a jumping off point for a discussion about class and classical music. We explore the impressions people without easy access to the classical world have about high art." - Matt Boresi (librettist)

Tickets for Blue Viola are $28 (General Admission) and on sale at www.urbanarias.org. You may also purchase tickets through Artisphere's box office at www.artisphere.com or call (888) 841 2787.

Performance dates are:
March 20, 2015 at 8:00pm
March 21, 2015 at 8:00pm
March 22, 2015 at 2:00pm
March 27, 2015 at 8:00pm
March 28, 2015 at 8:00pm
March 29, 2015 at 2:00pm

Note: Doors Open at 7:30pm (1:30pm matinées). There is an audience talkback with cast and creative immediately following each performance. Address: The Black Box Theater at Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22209.

UrbanArias is a modern opera company dedicated to producing short, contemporary operas. Founded in 2009 by conductor Robert Wood; the company's mission is to expose DC-area audiences to engaging, accessible, entertaining operas, and to provide a venue at which both established and emerging composers can present their shorter works. By "short," we mean 90 minutes or less; and by "contemporary," we mean written within the last forty years.UrbanArias performs principally in the black box theater at Artisphere; some projects have taken the company to other spaces, such as the Kennedy Center, IOTA Club and Cafe, Strathmore Mansion, Atlas Performing Arts Center, Busboys and Poets, and Arena Stage. In addition to its regular season, UrbanArias presents master classes and community outreach events at schools, music festivals, and performance venues throughout Washington, D.C. The year 2014 saw the very successful productions of Jake Heggie's chamber opera Three Decembers and Mark Campbell's comic double bill Bastianello and Lucrezia, with music by John Musto and William Bolcom. In January of 2014, UrbanArias was invited to revive its production of Paul's Case at the PROTOTYPE Festival in New York City. Paul's Casewas directed by Kevin Newbury and written by composer Gregory Spears. The production garnered significant critical acclaim from The New York Times, The New York Observer, The New Yorker and Wall Street Journal. In addition to the world premiere of Blue Viola in 2015; UrbanArias premieres another new opera,The Whole Truth by Mark Campbell and composer Robert Paterson as part of the Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival. In recent seasons, UrbanArias has supported works by composers Ricky Ian Gordon, Tom Cipullo, Daniel Felsenfeld, Jake Heggie, Thomas Pasatieri, and Conrad Cummings among others.

Robert Wood (Executive and Artistic Director) has conducted for the San Francisco Opera, Vancouver Opera, Minnesota Opera, and Opera Colorado among others.