Opera Parallèle's Birds and Balls

* Notes *
Opera Parallèle gave a splendid performance of two comedic one-act operas yesterday at SFJAZZ. Done in one go, the evening began with David T. Little's Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera (pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken), which was followed by Laura Karpman's Balls. It was impressive how cohesively these works were presented together, both visually and musically.

Director Brian Staufenbiel put us in a 70s telecast of these two very disparate sporting events, with Mark Hernandez as sports announcer Howard Cosell engaging the audience and even the conductor. There were projections surrounding us, and the live-image capture was especially effective. As always, Maestra Nicole Paiement deftly held the orchestra and singers together. It was fun to hear her conduct a bit of Verdi's Triumpal March from Aida in Balls, when Billie Jean King enters. At one point in this opera nearly all the musicians stopped playing their instruments and clapped beats with their hands, they were all very much synchronized, Paiement keeps everything very precise.

Vinkensport is about Flemish folk sport of Finch-Sitting, in which trained finches try to sing the most "susk-e-wiets" in an hour as possible. In this opera there are six competitors, all the finches have very amusing names. Soprano Jamie Chamberlin gave a very vulnerable and human performance as Holy St. Francis's Trainer, she's had quite a lot going on in her personal life, while soprano Chelsea Hollow's character of who trains Farinelli is actually just using a tape recorder, since her bird is deceased. Hollow's voice is crystalline and very beautiful. Soprano Shawnette Sulker as Sir Elton John’s Trainer drinks many martinis and is very funny, her bird-like voice seems very apropos. Tenor Nathan Granner is likewise entertaining as Han Sach’s Trainer, his nice light sound is very pretty. Rich-toned bass-baritone Chung-Wai Soong is more somber as Prince Gabriel III of Belgium’s Trainer, we learn he inherited his role as trainer from his father.  Baritone Daniel Cilli as Atticus Finch’s Trainer is also serious, setting his bird free in the end.

Balls (pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken) tells the story of "The Battle of the Sexes" tennis game between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973 with a surrealist bent, Susan B. Anthony is a character, and at one point Billie Jean King dons a tricorn hat.

Many of the singers in the first opera were also in the second, but Balls has the jazz singer Tiffany Austin as King's secretary, Marilyn. Austin has a lovely voice that stood out. Tenor Nathan Granner is again very humorous as Bobby Riggs. Mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz was compelling as Billie Jean King, their sound is resonant and powerful.

* Tattling *
The audience was mostly quiet, but as Billie Jean King sang about the pressure of tennis, someone dropped some plastic cups in the Left Terrace, Row TJ.