Trouble in Tahiti by Bernstein and A Hand of Bridge by Barber April 26, 2013

8 p.m. April 26 and 27, and 2 p.m. April 28

Opera Parallele presents its second production of the season: a double bill of Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti and Samuel Barber's A Hand of Bridge. Opera Parallele's orchestra is conducted by Artistic Director Nicole Paiement. Concept Designer and Stage Director Brian Staufenbiel brings both stories to life with a backdrop inspired by the 1960's Mad Men gestalt, magazine covers of the period and the bygone era of B movie classics. Performances will take place 8 p.m. April 26 and 27 as well as 2 p.m. April 28 at Z Space located at 450 Florida Street in San Francisco. Opera Parallele's community engagement activities continue with an Open Rehearsal offered to the public free of charge 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday April 20 at Z Space.

Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti from 1951 offers a candid portrait of the troubled marriage of a young suburban couple and features some of Bernstein's most haunting music. The cast is led by baritone and former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow Eugene Brancoveanu as the disillusioned Sam with mezzo-soprano Lisa Chavez as his estranged wife Dinah. Krista Wigle, Andres Ramirez and Randall Bunnell are featured in a sort of jazz chorus of bystanders providing satirical commentary.

Samuel Barber's A Hand of Bridge will be presented before Trouble in Tahiti as a prologue, introducing similar concepts of marital discord and disharmony and featuring Eugene Brancoveanu, Lisa Chavez, Krista Wigle and Andres Ramirez. With a running time of approximately ten minutes, A Hand of Bridge features two couples, in various stages of boredom and dissatisfaction, playing their customary game of bridge. During the game, each character has a short arietta reflecting on the state of his or her life and relationship. With a libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, the first performances of A Hand of Bridge took place at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto in 1959.

Official Website: http://operaparallele.org/leonard-bernsteins-trouble-in-tahiti/