HARVEY MILK REIMAGINED To Have West Coast Debut At Opera Parallèle

Opera Parallèle will present the West Coast debut of Harvey Milk Reimagined, a bold and timely refreshed version of the groundbreaking opera originally composed by Stewart Wallace and librettist Michael Korie.

The newly conceived two-act production, presented in collaboration with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, will be given May 31-June 7 at the Blue Shield of California Theater for four performances. Harvey Milk Reimagined is the final opera of the company's highly successful 15th anniversary season.

In anticipation of this landmark production, Opera Parallèle announced today a dynamic roster of community engagement events designed to celebrate and reflect on the legacy of Harvey Milk, one of the most influential LGBTQ+ civil rights leaders of the 20th century. These activities will invite audiences of all backgrounds to explore the themes of identity, activism, and social justice that remain central to Milk's enduring impact.

Some of the planned proceedings include an invitation to an open stage rehearsal; an evening of reflection and commentary, song and screening of rare Harvey Milk video footage presented in partnership with KQED and Opera Parallèle; a robust celebration on May 22 with Harvey Milk Day: A Protest of Joy culminating in a 40th anniversary screening of the Academy Award-winning The Times of Harvey Milk at the Roxie Theater; an insightful interview with the composer Stewart Wallace at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco; exhibitions and more. (A complete calendar of ancillary events is attached.)

The production will be conducted by Opera Parallèle's founder and Artistic & General Director, Nicole Paiement, and staged by Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel, bringing new life and vision to the opera's powerful narrative. This refreshed staging will reintroduce audiences to Milk's remarkable journey—from his arrival in San Francisco, his political activism and election as California's first openly gay politician serving 11 months as city Supervisor before his tragic assassination and lasting legacy—in a way that resonates with today's social and political climate.

“Harvey Milk Reimagined transcends the operatic stage and is a true celebration of courage and resilience," said Paiement. “Through story-telling, music, and engaging community connection, we hope to honor Harvey Milk's deep legacy and spark dialogue across our city." 

Revised into two acts instead of three, with new music and a tighter cast from its sprawling original Houston Grand Opera premiere in 1995 and San Francisco Opera debut in 1996, this new iteration of Harvey Milk was originally intended for an earlier Opera Parallèle season, but was delayed by the COVID pandemic and subsequently presented in St. Louis in 2022. 

The formidable and tragic opera celebrates Harvey Milk's enduring legacy and contributions to the nascent LGBTQ+ movement, his early life in New York and relocation to San Francisco, later becoming the first openly gay man in 1978 to be elected to public office in California. Milk served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for 11 months before being assassinated, along with then-Mayor George Moscone, at San Francisco City Hall, by Dan White.

The highly talented cast for Harvey Milk features baritone Michael Kelly*in his company debut in the title role; tenor Christopher Oglesby* (Dan White); tenor Henry Benson* (Scott Smith); bass Matt Boehler (George Moscone); mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook (Mama); soprano Marnie Breckenridge (Dianne Feinstein); countertenor Matheus Coura* (Messenger); mezzo-soprano Gabriela Linares (Anne Kronenberg); soprano Chea Kang* (Henrietta Wong); baritone Bradley Kynard (Jack); and introducing Curtis Resnick* (Young Harvey).

Conducting the 30-piece orchestra and cast will be Nicole Paiement; with a creative team including Brian Staufenbiel, creative/stage director; Jacquelyn Scott, set designer; Mextly Couzin, lighting designer; David Murakami, projection designer; Alina Bokovikova, Costume Designer; Y. Sharon Peng, hair & makeup designer; Michael Mohammed, choreographer; Jaco Wong, chorus master and assistant conductor; and Rotimi Agbabiaka, assistant director. 

Performances are Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 7.30 p.m.; Sunday, June 1 at 3 p.m.; Friday, June 6 at 7.30 p.m.; and Saturday, June 7** at 5 p.m., Blue Shield of California Theater, YBCA, 700 Howard Street. Tickets begin at $50 and are available online at operaparallele.org/harveymilk.

Harvey Milk Reimagined is a co-commission by Opera Parallèle and Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and presented in collaboration with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The work is produced in two acts, one intermission, and sung in English with projected supertitles. This presentation coincides with what would have been Milk's 95th birthday (May 22) and marking the start of San Francisco Pride Month celebrations in June 2025.

Opera Parallèle's production of Harvey Milk Reimagined is made possible, in part, by the generous support of Lead Sponsors Bob Ellis and Gordon Getty, with additional support by Norby Anderson, The Bob Ross Foundation, Janet Cluff, The Future Fund, Philip Goward & Theodore Ueki, Robert Holgate, National Endowment for the Arts, Jack & Betty Schafer, The Shenson Foundation, and OPERA America.

Opera Parallèle is a San Francisco-based professional opera company that develops and performs contemporary operas. Since its founding by multi award-winning conductor and General & Artistic Director Nicole Paiement and creative/stage director Brian Staufenbiel, Opera Parallèle has been dedicated to expanding the operatic repertoire and engaging diverse audiences through innovative and compelling productions.

Highlights of past mainstage productions include the Philip Glass/Jean Cocteau trilogy of Orphée, Les Enfants Terribles and La Belle et la Bête; Glass' In the Penal Colony; Laura Kasminsky's Today It Rains; Terrence Blanchard's Champion; Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking; Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar, Fountain of Tears; Tarik O' Regan's Heart of Darkness; a double bill of David T. Little's Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera and Laura Karpman's Balls; Paul Moravec's The Shining; the West Coast debut of Fellow Travelers by Gregory Spears; the immersive graphic novel opera film Everest by Joby Talbot; and the co-commissioned world premiere of The Pigeon Keeper by David Hanlon and Stephanie Fleischmann.

In 2023, San Francisco Classical Voice readers voted Opera Parallèle as “Best New Music Ensemble.” SFCV added, “Ever since its creation 15 short years ago, which now feels like decades of distinction, Opera Parallèle has excelled in presenting pioneering and unusual repertory.” 

The Bay Area Reporter recently proclaimed, “Opera Parallèle just keeps getting cooler. The company's dedication to diversity and inclusion, not to mention recognition of LGBT artists is exemplary. Programming is eclectic, innovative and wildly entertaining.”