April 26, 2005 --- Opera Pacific is announcing that The Pirates of Penzance, scheduled for August 2005 at Pacific Amphitheatre has been cancelled. Subscribers will be sent information about alternative exchange benefits in early summer.  Also, the planned new production of Aida for April 2006 is being replaced with a production from L’Opera de Montreal.

 

Robert C. Jones, President and Executive Director of Opera Pacific, said, “The fiscal health for the organization has been the paramount concern since my arrival five months ago.   This has been a time of great challenge for Opera Pacific – there was the real possibility of dissolution and our largest goal is to stabilize the company financially.  Together, canceling Pirates and using an existing production of Aida will result in a net savings to the company of over $1 million for next season.” 

 

Opera Pacific is currently preparing the final opera of the 2004-2005 season, La Traviata.  It will have four performances at Segerstrom Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, on May 17, 19, and 21 at 7:30 pm and May 22 at 2:00 pm.  Opera Pacific Artistic Director John DeMain conducts May 17, 19, and 21; Assistant Conductor Kelly Kuo conducts the May 22 matinee.

 

Opera Pacific has just announced a new offering targeted for smaller, informal audiences during the run of La Traviata.  Called Opera in the Raw, it will be a performance of the major musical sequences of La Traviata for an audience of 300, cabaret style with piano accompaniment, with the artists in their casual rehearsal attire, in Founders Hall for one performance on Wednesday, May 18 at 8:00 PM.  John DeMain narrates the evening, and Opera Pacific Assistant Conductor Kelly Kuo conducts.

 

In October 2006, Opera Pacific will participate in the opening celebration of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

 

Opera Pacific will present George Gershwin’s operatic masterpiece Porgy and Bess in concert for two performances October 4 and 5, 2006 at the new Concert Hall.  Porgy and Bess, often called the “great American opera,” has music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin.

 

Artistic Director John DeMain will conduct.  He has been associated with Porgy and Bess since 1976 when he conducted the piece, presented by Sherwin M. Goldman and Houston Grand Opera, as part of the bicentennial celebration.  After years of being considered a Broadway musical, this groundbreaking production ensured Porgy and Bess its rightful place as a truly great work of American opera.

 

The cast includes Donnie Ray Albert, Porgy of the 1976 production, and Gregg Baker, who joined Mr. Albert in the 1987 Opera Pacific cast, a revival of the original, 1976 production.  Angela Brown will be making her debut as Bess, and Henrietta Davis, seen frequently as Bess in recent stage productions of the work, will debut the role of Serena in these performances. The Opera Pacific Orchestra and Chorus will join the cast.

 

Finally, with new funding made available expressly for the purpose, Opera Pacific will establish a new program entitled O.P.E.R.A. (Opera Pacific’s Education Repertory Artists) in the fall of 2005.  This performing troupe will give year-round visibility to Opera Pacific and will enable the company to expand its education and community programming. The O.P.E.R.A. performers will be selected from auditions of professional singers from Southern California. Auditions will be scheduled in September 2005.

 

Jones said, “In the midst of these program changes, there is much good news about the activities of Opera Pacific.  We are very encouraged with our participation in the opening of the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Hall as well as the gifts that will allow us to enlarge our outreach with the O.P.E.R.A. program.”

 

Tickets for La Traviata and the Opera in the Raw performance of La Traviata are available by calling 1-800-34-OPERA  (1-800-346-7372), or by visiting the Orange County Performing Arts Center Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, or online at www.operapacific.org.  For information, go to www.operapacific.org.  For groups, call (714)830-6361.