Opera Parallele to Present THE SHINING in June

Opera Parallèle, San Francisco's leading producer of contemporary opera, will present the West Coast premiere of The Shining, the critically acclaimed opera by the Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning team of composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell, for three performances June 2, 3 and 4 at the Blue Shield of California Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 700 Howard Street.

Based on Stephen King's iconic novel, a psychological thriller with supernatural overtones, Opera Parallèle will present The Shining in a new multi-media stage production and feature the premiere of a newly created chamber music orchestration by the composer. Moravec and Campbell's work has been hailed as "a thoroughly spectacular opera ... gripping from beginning to end," (Bachtrack) and "... it stands out as one of the most effective new operas." (Kansas City Independent)

Deep in the shadows of the Colorado Rockies, miles from where anyone can hear you scream, lurks the Overlook Hotel. For its new caretakers, the Torrance family, the only thing more unnerving than their profound isolation is the realization that they are not the hotel's only guests. Their young son Danny, with his spine-tingling sixth sense, endures the house of horrors while his father faces demons - past and present, real and remembered - that hastens his descent into madness. What started as a desperate search for financial and marital sanctuary, spirals into a terrifying battle for sanity and survival.

Opera Parallèle's highly talented and diverse cast for The Shining features Robert Wesley Mason*, Kearstin Piper Brown*, Tenzin Forder* and Michael Thompson*, Kevin Deas*, David Walton*, Nathan Granner, Timothy Murray*, Daniel Cilli, Molly Mahoney*, and Christabel Nunoo. The extensive cast includes an ensemble of Bay Area singers in multiple supporting roles.

The singers and orchestra will be conducted by Opera Parallèle's General and Artistic Director Nicole Paiement. The creative team includes director and concept designer Brian Staufenbiel; scenic designer Jacquelyn Scott; costume designer Alina Bokovikova; lighting designer Jim French*; projection designer David Murakami; and hair & makeup designer Y. Sharon Peng. Joining the production team are assistant conductor Jaymes Kirksey and assistant director David Toro. Sung in English with projected supertitles, the two-act opera has a running time of two hours, twenty minutes with one intermission.

The Shining was originally commissioned by Minnesota Opera and premiered in 2016 to sold-out audiences, and has since enjoyed popular encore presentations by Opera Colorado and Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Opera Parallèle is the first company to create a new stage production - in collaboration with Hawaii Opera Theatre and Portland Opera - following the success of the premiere. King's famous novel of 1977 was the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's celebrated award-winning film of 1980, which starred Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duval and Danny Lloyd. Mark Campbell's opera libretto is based on King's novel and not the film screenplay

Opera Parallèle has a number of informative and behind-the-scenes ancillary events planned for the community in order to take a deeper dive into this extraordinary opera; online registration required. Individual tickets for The Shining performances are $40 to $180, with $20 student tickets, and may be purchased online via City Box Office at https://bit.ly/opshining or operaparallele.org/theshining/.

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