Opera Parallèle’s 15th Anniversary season will continue with the World Premiere of a co-commissioned opera, The Pigeon Keeper, by the artistic team of composer David Hanlon and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann who have created a timely work sure to resonate with audiences exploring the subject of otherness, belonging, compassion, and the meaning of family.
Three performances of The Pigeon Keeper will be presented at the Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, Friday March 7 – Sunday March 9, 2025. The opera will be presented in one act with multiple scenes and performed without intermission; the approximate running time is 75 minutes. The opera will be sung in English with projected supertitles.
The ensemble cast of highly talented singers includes returning soprano Angela Yam (The Emissary), along with the company debuts of tenor Bernard Holcomb and baritone Craig Irvin. The production will feature members of the award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus.
On the podium leading the musical forces—including the 8-piece orchestra—will be Opera Parallèle’s internationally renowned Artistic and General Director, conductor Nicole Paiement. The creative team comprises innovative director and designer Brian Staufenbiel; set designer Jacquelyn Scott; the company debut of lighting and projection designer Jessica Ann Drayton; and costume, hair and makeup designer Y. Sharon Peng. Jaco Wong is the Assistant Conductor.
An informative pre-performance lecture will be offered to all ticket holders beginning one hour prior to curtain. Complementing the new opera’s story and narrative, Opera Parallèle has invited Oakland-based organization, ARTogether, to present a curated exhibition and arts market in the theater lobby featuring Bay Area refugee and immigrant artist stories on the subject of belonging and resilience.
The opera was originally commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera’s “Opera for All Voices Initiative,’ and co-commissioned by Opera Parallèle, Opera Omaha, and Canada’s Opera on the Avalon, Newfoundland.
The Pigeon Keeper is made possible, in part, by Lead Sponsor Gordon P. Getty, with additional generous support from Norby Anderson, Andrea & Don Fineberg, Aaron Hoffer & Emi Wang, Elizabeth McMillan & George Varian, and Jack & Betty Schafer.
Opera Parallèle will present the World Premiere of The Pigeon Keeper Friday, March 7 at 7.30 p.m., Saturday, March 8 at 7.30 p.m., and Sunday, March 9 at 3 p.m., at the Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, 2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco. Performance tickets are available online at www.operaparallele.org/thepigeonkeeper.
The season will be further distinguished on Thursday, March 27 with the company’s presentation, In Pursuit of a Dream: A 15th Anniversary Benefit Celebration Honoring “Composer of the Year” Jake Heggie. The benefit evening will be held at the elegant City Club of San Francisco and will begin with a champagne reception at 6 p.m., followed by a seated dinner at 7 p.m. World renowned mezzo-sopranos Susan Graham and Frederica von Stade, along with company singers Shawnette Sulker, Cathy Cook, Matheus Coura, and pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi, will perform. Gordon P. Getty and Diane B. Wilsey are the Honorary Chairs. For benefit tickets, visit online at www.operaparallele.org/benefit.
Later this spring, Opera Parallèle will give the highly anticipated West Coast debut of Harvey Milk: Reimagined by composer Stewart Wallace and librettist Michael Korie, May 31-June 7 at the Blue Shield of California Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Presented on the eve of San Francisco’s Pride Celebration month, the newly revised opera in two acts will feature the company premiere of singers Michael Kelly, Joshua Dennis and Henry Benson. Nicole Paiement will helm the musical forces in this new production created and directed by Brian Staufenbiel. Harvey Milk: Reimagined is a co-commission by Opera Parallèle and Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and is presented in collaboration with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Tickets are available now at www.operaparallele.org/harveymilk.
Since the company’s founding by French Canadian conductor Nicole Paiement, Opera Parallèle has earned numerous awards and enthusiastic critical and public acclaim. Recent recognition includes OPERA America’s 2024 Award for Digital Excellence in Opera Noteworthy Projects for the company’s highly innovative Everest: An Immersive Experience. The company’s pioneering work was acknowledged with the San Francisco Classical Voice 2023 Audience Choice Award as “Best New Music Ensemble.” For more information about the season including artist biographies, visit www.operaparallele.org.
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The Still Point: An Immersive Experience SOMArts Cultural Center (7/16-7/25) |
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark SPARC (7/03-7/26) |
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Hadestown (Non-Equity) Orpheum Theatre San Francisco (1/07-1/10) |
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Pamela Gaye Walker’s Little BIG Mouth The Marsh Berkeley (7/12-8/02) |
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Elizabeth Du Val’s For When Things Fall Apart The Marsh (8/15-8/16) |
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JAD Experience presents LUNAE Tara Firma Farms (7/17-7/26) |
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Josh Kornbluth’s What Is To Be Done?: Fighting Fascism and Depression The Marsh San Francisco (6/19-7/31) |
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The Cottage Cloverdale Performing Arts Center (8/01-8/16) |
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Dear San Francisco Club Fugazi (9/16-9/30) |
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The Phantom of the Opera San Jose Center for the Performing Arts (10/07-10/18) |