Arts & Events

This month has seen the revival of many Bay Area arts organizations which were in forced hiatus because of the pandemic. One of them, Berkeley Chamber Opera, will be presenting a double bill of one-act operas at Berkeley’s Hillside Club this coming weekend.

Eliza O’Malley, the director, who also sings a soprano role, says that the two have been chosen to be “Covid proof “, short with small casts. The three performances (Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 7 pm) are double cast in case any singer should test positive.

Both operas are by Russian composers from the beginning of the 20^th century, but they are quite different from each other.

The director says that “this may well be the West Coast Premiere of Prokofiev’s Maddalena, since it was lost for decades.”

Even after the score was re-discovered in publishers’ archives in the 1950s, ownership disputes delayed production until the 1980s.

It’s based on a play by Magda Gustavovna Lieven-Orlov. When the play was originally published, she wrote under the male pseudonym “Baron Lieven” because the ultra-dramatic content was considered too daring and immoral for a woman.

The Stravinsky opera Mavra is a contrast, a short and sweet comic favorite which is frequently performed.

Audience members are required to be well-vaccinated and boosted with strong masks. For a cast list and tickets: click here

Berkeley Hillside Club
2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley CA

Friday June 17th 7pm
Saturday June 18th 7pm
Sunday June 19th 7pm

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