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Soper’s singular compositional voice returns to LBO after Voices from the Killing Jar (presented in 2021) with this premiere that blends an oft-neglected sense of comedy in opera with a genre-smashing adventure story of epic proportions. Soper, inspired by the namesake 13th Century poem, has created a boundary-breaking work that defies all categorization. In a thrilling opus that examines one Dreamer’s quest for a literal rose, The God of Love, Shame, Lady Reason, and their cadre of followers lull the audience into a dreamlike world that deftly highlights the profound juxtaposition of beauty and absurdity in our own human folly.
LBO Artistic Director and Chief Creative Officer, James Darrah, says “The Romance of the Rose is such a singularly unique creation that I hesitate to even call it an opera as it seems reductive. While it plays into our expectations of everything that a big opera with fantastic voices should offer us, it also mocks our own obsessions with narratives and our fear of abstraction. The work quickly plunges us headfirst into Kate Soper’s wild and wonderful sense of sound merging with voice to yield an overwhelmingly original evening of pure theater. She’s also not afraid of comedy and possesses an elegant self-awareness — which frankly seems very welcome in our current moment as audience members too.”
CAST AND TEAM:
The stellar cast will be led by Tony Award nominee actor and singer LUCAS STEELE. Steele, a multi-faceted artist, actor, composer, and creator who is well known for his award-winning portrayal of Anatole in Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 on Broadway, will make his Long Beach Opera debut in the leading role of The Dreamer. Moreover, Steele will continue a close collaboration with Darrah and Long Beach Opera as director and producer of a forthcoming film project to be announced and debuted at LBO’s Opera and Film Festival in June 2023.
LAUREL IRENE, heralded by the LA Times as “an astounding singer” in LBO’s 2021 Soper opera Voices from the Killing Jar, will star as Shame, and she will be joined by another Los Angeles favorite, soprano ANNA SCHUBERT as Lady Reason, recently described as “radiantly pure sounding” after her lauded performance in LBO’s Giustino.
THE ROMANCE OF THE ROSE DETAILS:
WORLD PREMIERE — NEW PRODUCTION
LOCATION and TICKETS:
Warner Grand Theatre
478 W 6th St
San Pedro, CA 90731
Single tickets, season tickets, and information are available at longbeachopera.org.
LONG BEACH OPERA
Established in 1979, Long Beach Opera (LBO) stands as the longest-running opera organization in the greater Los Angeles region. Having presented well over 100 productions in that time, LBO has carved out its space as a leader in constantly embracing the wide breadth of opera’s history while innovating boldly and daringly toward its future. With repertoire ranging from the early Baroque to the commissioning of new contemporary works and world premieres, the company embraces the idea that no experience of opera should be standard or traditional.
This commitment to the future of opera has earned critical acclaim, both locally and nationally, and also secured funding from institutions such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the County of Los Angeles, the City of Long Beach, the Mellon Foundation, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Knight Foundation, and countless others. LBO’s history demonstrates that its purpose is the advancement of opera and operatic repertoire as new experiences, embodied by stating that it creates “opera for a new era.”
LBOs highlights include a long list of premieres, monumental works, and a roster of both creative legends and up-and-coming talent which has resulted in accolades; including the 2019 commission and world premiere of Anthony Davis’ The Central Park Five, which consequently won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize. Other world premieres have included Stewart Copeland’s The Invention of Morel, Tobin Stokes’ Fallujah, and Stewart Wallace’s Hopper’s Wife. Also of note are many American premieres including works by Glass, Vivaldi, Mozart, Handel, Cherubini, Piazzolla, Szymanowski, and more. The company’s fierce commitment to collaborations with composers, vocalists, instrumentalists, dancers, filmmakers, curators, conductors, designers, community partners—as well as its commitment to the evolution of opera as an art form to be more equitable and accessible for all—has created a rich legacy at the company and provided a clear opportunity for growth in a new era of making work. The work of LBO continues as it enters a period with new artistic and musical leadership, with rising star composers like Shelley Washington as Artist in Residence and a multi-year creative partnership with the legendary Martha Graham Dance Company. LBO continues to evolve into a home for the boldest artistic innovators in production, directorial work, and music with a bright future that is abundant with potent and unprecedented creative possibilities.
FUNDING
Supported in part by funding from the City of Long Beach and the Port of Long Beach.
Long Beach Opera events are supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
Long Beach Opera receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts and Opera America.
