Media Contacts:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dianna Shuster / Executive Director / dianna@pocketopera.org
Kissa Mercado / Marketing Associate / kissa@pocketopera.org
415-927-8930
POCKET OPERA PERFORMS TCHAIKOVSKY’S EUGENE ONEGIN, APRIL 6 & 13
Pocket Opera presents Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the
Legion of Honor in San Francisco, and the Hillside Club in Berkeley.
Performances are scheduled for April 6 and April 13. Principal cast
features Donn Bradley as Onegin and Lindsay Thompson Roush as
Tatiana. Andrew Morgan directs with costumes by Mary Kay Stuvland.
In this English version translated by Artistic Director Donald Pippin,
Tatiana is introduced to the dashing, unconventional Onegin, who she
believes is the hero of her dreams. But he carelessly rejects her – with
tragic consequences.
Subscriptions are still available for the remainder of the season for
$148. Single tickets are $42 in advance and can be purchased at
www.pocketopera.org and (415) 972-8934. Discounted single tickets are
available for seniors and patrons 18 and under.
Lindsay Thompson Roush
as Tatiana
Photo credit: Bob Stafford
Production Information
EUGENE ONEGIN
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pocket Opera Production
Libretto: Original: the composer and K.S. Shilovsky; Adaptation: Donald Pippin
First performance: Moscow, March 29, 1879
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 45 mintues
Sung in English
Dates/Times:
Sunday, April 6, 2014, at 2:00pm in Berkeley
Sunday, April 13, 2014, at 2:00pm in San Francisco
Locations:
Berkeley: The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St, Berkeley, CA 94709
San Francisco: Legion of Honor, 100 34th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94121
Production Team:
Director
Costumes
Props
Andrew Morgan
Mary Kay Stuvland
Daniel Yelen
Cast:
Larina
Tatiana
Olga
Onegin
Lensky
Gremin
Filippievna
Zaretsky
Triquet
Sonia Gariaeff
Lindsay Thompson Roush
Elana Cowen
Donn Bradley
Mark Kratz
Richard Mix
Kathleen Moss
Ben Brady
Daniel Norburg
About Pocket Opera
Pocket Opera presents professional performances of operatic works in intimate, intelligible productions
at affordable prices.
Donald Pippin's approach to opera is to tell the story in the clearest manner possible. He once said that
there is "a whole category of operas where, if you don't know the story on the way to the theatre, you
won't know it on the way home, either." With Pocket Opera presentations it is really possible to know
the plot of the opera on the way home. Pippin brings the story to life via his nationally recognized
English versions of opera libretti, in which he translates the spirit of the work rather than word by word,
with complete fidelity to the composer's musical intentions.
For some operas, Pippin provides a personal spoken introduction to the opera or its individual acts and
scenes that offers a setting for and some explanation of the story. For others his English version of the
libretto carries the entire story and drama; no narrative or introduction is needed.
Pocket Opera is a theatre of the mind and of the heart. Productions are staged with minimal costuming
and without sets, using only the few practical props (a bench, a desk, a door, ...) that are essential to
convey the story. A few operas, for which staging would add little or nothing to the interpretation of the
story, are performed concert style. Through the use of Pippin's singable translations and narration,
through accomplished vocalists and small chamber orchestra, Pocket Opera presents the essence of
opera -- affordable, accessible opera of the highest musicality for contemporary audiences.
The Handel repertory is Pippin's one concession to original languages. In his words, "The arias are set
pieces with no action, just generalized feelings of love, jealousy, and revenge. English doesn't enhance
anything and it takes away musically. All the drama lies in the recitatives." These he dispenses with and
substitutes his own narrative between Handel's arias and ensembles, sung in their original Italian.
Pocket Opera performances are accompanied by the Pocket Philharmonic, a chamber orchestra of eight
to fifteen musicians, led by Donald Pippin from the piano.
Professionally trained singers perform for Pocket Opera. Pocket Opera alumni may be found in opera
houses around the world. Singer Auditions are held in San Francisco each fall.
About Donald Pippin
The musical career of Donald Pippin, Artistic Director and founder of Pocket Opera, has spanned over six
decades and as many time zones. Born in Zebulon, North Carolina and educated at Harvard University,
Donald began his career as a pianist/accompanist at Balanchine's School for American Ballet in New York
City. He moved to San Francisco in 1952 and has been an integral part of that city's artistic life since
then. Audiences have followed him loyally from his start at the 'hungry i' and Opus One in North Beach,
through nearly two decades of presenting a weekly chamber music series at the Old Spaghetti Factory,
to his present-day fame as the genius behind one of San Francisco's most popular operatic institutions.
Donald's first translation came in 1968, in the course of preparing Mozart's one-act opera Bastien und
Bastienne for performance as part of his chamber music series. The opera, and his singing translation of
it, were immediate successes with San Francisco audiences. From that point on, Donald dedicated
himself to the task of producing singable, intelligible, and literate English versions of both well-loved
classics and lesser-known gems of operatic literature. His repertoire has grown to include over sixty
translations, many of which have been used by the Washington Opera at the Kennedy Center, the San
Francisco Opera Center, the San Diego Opera, the Juilliard School of Music, and the Aspen Music
Festival, to name a few.