Ellen St. Thomas and Open Opera: Class act cheap thrills in Berkeley, bring the dog

July 2, 5:22 PMSF Opera ExaminerCindy Warner

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Gifted singers with sharp minds from UC Berkeley's Young Musicians Program

Ellen St. Thomas brings opera to the people and people to the opera:

OPEN OPERA TO STAGE MOZART’S ‘THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO’ JULY 25 & 26 in Berkeley;

UC Berkeley's Young Musicians Program performed at Caffe Melanio in Balboa Park (pictured above with teacher David Tigner and Caffe Melanio host Melanio Duarte)

Open Opera announces two free performances of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, fully staged with orchestra, on July 25 and 26 at 3 p.m. in Berkeley’s John Hinkel Park. In Italian with English supertitles, the performances are open to all—opera lovers, babies, and dogs.

As other arts organizations close their doors, Open Opera has enshrined free admission in its charitable aim. Supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and private contributions, Open Opera’s three founders remain undaunted by the organization’s ambitious mission: to bring free, professional opera to Bay Area parks and use public space to build community through the arts.

The Bay Area’s newest opera company is just getting started, but has launched a master class series with Soprano Evelyn Lear and has ‘Opera in the Park’ concerts scheduled around the Bay Area through October (openopera.net).

Rendering opera accessible to singers and audiences

Open Opera co-founder and artistic director Olivia Stapp cites the informal origins of opera as a primary inspiration for returning opera to venues in which a music lover can listen, walk around, eat—and even unwrap a mint in peace. Stapp’s own decades-long international career as a soprano did not leave her seeking performance opportunities, but now she sees many talented professionals with nowhere to sing. Co-founder and Executive Director Ellen St. Thomas argues that opera’s extravagance and formality render it inaccessible to many—and she wants to change that.

The company’s May 30 ‘Concert in the Park’ in Alameda illustrated the audience expansion Open Opera is seeking: mothers with their infants, retired couples on bikes, picnicking families, dating couples, and solitary music fans all together under a brilliant blue sky. Reflecting on the Alameda concert, Open Opera creative director and co-founder Elizabeth Baker remarked “Open Opera is bringing opera to the public for free in a time of economic uncertainty, and using the commons to unite musical, environmental, and social threads. Children were listening from the trees!”

Local singers and period costumes will grace the WPA-era amphitheater while a new, local food purveyor will challenge audience members to skip the infamous stale cookie typical of theater concessions. Chez-Panisse alum Sylvan Brackett will prepare local, organic Japanese lunchboxes and snacks for between $5 and $15 (eatpekopeko.com).

Whether or not you know Mozart’s most popular opera, Open Opera’s The Marriage of Figaro is bound to be this summer’s class-act cheap thrill.

More class act cheap thrills from Ellen St. Thomas: 

Caffe Melanio's live opera by the gifted and the young of UC Berkeley's Young Musicians Program

I ventured into Balboa Park's Cafe Melanio with it's happy locals (pictured above) last Friday night for a live performance.  David Tigner accompanied four of his gifted students on piano as they performed favorites which brought out their personalities and talents:

Kendra Dodd (pictured top of article, center)

Whenever I hear those high notes I spontaneously cry.  David [Tigner] gave her those arias for that reason.  That is part of his genious.  Great teachers know exactly what repetoire to give their students.