Featured
A one-act chamber opera exploring faith, superstition, morality, kinship, and destiny, with a folk-inspired score by composer Kamala Sankaram and story by librettist Jerre Dye. The story follows Kayla, a young woman working at Save-Mart in Gulf Shores, Alabama, who returns home after learning her estranged father, a snake-handling Pentecostal preacher, has been dangerously bitten by one of his snakes. The West Coast debut stars baritone Matthew Worth as Daddy, soprano Christabel Nunoo as Kayla, and soprano Aisha Campbell as Nelda, conducted by Nicole Paiement and directed by Brian Staufenbiel.
Cast and Creative Team for Taking Up Serpents at Z Space
Cast
Sasha Cooke
Sylvie
Richard Croft
Abbé Faria
Christabel Nunoo
Kayla
Aisha Campbell
Nelda
Creative Team
Nicole Paiement
Founder and Artistic Director
Nicole Paiement
Conductor
Brian Staufenbiel
Creative Director
Brian Staufenbiel
Director
Joby Talbot
Composer
Gene Scheer
Librettist
Ben Foskett
Orchestrator
Kamala Sankaram
Composer
Jerre Dye
Librettist
Julian Schnabel
Director
News About Taking Up Serpents at Z Space
Cast Set For Opera Parallèle's 2026-27 Season Lineup
August 05, 2026 Opera Parallèle announced casting and creative teams for three contemporary operas, including the world premiere of SALT & SPIRIT and West Coast debuts of two other works, in San Francisco.About the Theatre
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In a Memory Palace (07/30/26-08/01/26)
Gender Reveal Party (Trans Artist Initiative Launch) (05/16/26-05/16/26)
The Day The Sky Turned Orange (09/09/25-10/05/25)
A RED CAROL (12/14/24-12/29/24)
WILDFIRE (09/07/24-09/08/24)
ATOMIC COMIC (06/30/23-07/08/23)
THE SUPERS A Science-Fiction Magical Realism Human Cartoon Opera (02/19/20-02/29/20)
MORE GUNS! A Musical Comedy about the NRA (01/30/20-02/01/20)
Dorothea and Artemisia (06/01/19-06/02/19)
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