Nine Rising Opera Singers Featured in Contemporary Mini-Operas at Sierra Madre Playhouse

The Opera Buffs will present a program of contemporary “bite sized” operettas featuring nine emerging opera singers at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. Performances will take place over two evenings, with each program showcasing short operatic works sung in English and staged in an intimate setting.

The program includes sopranos Oriana Falla, Joanna Kim, Emily Scott, and Rachel Yeo; mezzo-sopranos Ashlyn Brown and Sarah Wang; tenors Arnold Livingston Geis and Daniel Voigt; and baritone Adrian Melendrez. Pianists Sky Lee and Younghwa Ha will provide accompaniment, along with a violinist.

Matt Cook, artistic and executive director of Sierra Madre Playhouse, noted that the close proximity between performers and audience creates a distinctive operatic experience within the venue.

The evening opens with A Tall Order, a short comic opera about a dinner date, with music by John Greer and libretto by Sheri Wilner. Also featured are Jean Ann’s Remembrance, commemorating the Korean War; Rapture by David Wolfson; Lost in the Scroll by Luca Sutto, which centers on social media “doom scrolling”; Grief House by Roydon Tse and Rachel Gray; and Attached Is Your Invoice by Zac Flasch, a comedic operetta focused on a graduate student composer navigating the contemporary music world.

Founded in 1983, The Opera Buffs is a Los Angeles–based nonprofit organization that supports emerging opera singers as they transition from training to professional careers. The organization provides financial assistance and performance opportunities, having supported more than 700 singers through grants and programming.

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