Opera Parallele presents premiere of 'Amazing Grace' children's opera
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Nov. 12, 6 pm; Nov. 14, 11 am and 1 pm
As part of its unique annual Hands-on-Opera education and youth performance program, Opera Parallele (OP) will present the world premiere of Amazing Grace, by OP composer-in-residence Christopher Pratorius. Based on the children's book of the same name by Mary Hoffman and with a libretto by Opera Parallele's Brian Staufenbiel and Roma Olvera, three free performances will be presented November 12 & 14 at the African American Art & Culture Complex in San Francisco. The fully staged and costumed production will be developed during an innovative eight-week residency with fourth and fifth grade students at Saint Martin de Porres Catholic School in Oakland, assisted by the Opera Parallele creative team and professional singers. The production will be directed by Krista Wigle, and conducted by David Gordon.
Grace loves stories. She loves listening to them, she loves reading them, and she loves making them up. Most of all, Grace loves to act them out - and she has always given herself the most exciting role.
So when her class decides to put on a play of Peter Pan, Grace knows exactly which part she wants. But her classmates don't understand - how can a girl be Peter Pan? When her Nana tells her a true story of her Aunt Janet, based on the life of Janet Collins, the first African American to be a principal ballerina for the Metropolitan Opera, Grace's confidence is restored and she sets out to prove she can do anything she puts her mind to... and the results are amazing indeed!
Free
Presented by Opera Parallele.