When the Boston-based ensemble, Guerilla Opera, wanted to commission a new work, they looked to Andy Vores, Chair of Composition at The Boston Conservatory. And soon enough, Vores presented to them his chamber opera No Exit. In 2008 it opened in Boston and No Exit became the second opera ever to be commissioned by the Guerilla Opera.
So why do Florida audiences care about what happened in Boston six years ago? Florida Grand Opera takes its show on the road, so to speak with No Exit, and performs the opera in a very likely, but unlikely place, a South Beach lounge.
As part of its Unexpected Operas in Unexpected Places series, FGO will be “in residence” at the Arena (formerly NoWhere Lounge), 653 Washington Ave., Miami Beach beginning Feb. 27th
"One of our primary objectives is to help cultivate a new operatic repertoire, so we’re elated when one of our pieces gets produced by another company," says Rudolf Rojahn, co-artistic director of Guerilla Opera.
Caitlin McKechney, who plays the role of Inez, and who performed the same role with Chicago Opera Vanguard in 2009 says, “By choosing a lounge venue, Florida Grand Opera is providing a unique opportunity for Generations X, Y and Z Miamians to have perhaps their first operatic experience. . . and have a cocktail while doing it.”
Vores adapted his opera based on Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s 1944 celebrated play of the same name. No Exit is about three damned souls, Inez, Estelle, and Garcin, that are condemned to spend all of eternity together in a room with no exits, which they eventually discover is hell.
“No Exit is both rich and empty at the same time, and that gave me the chance to make some tight and grizzly musical statements along with sections of dark, acid humor, and others of loss and sadness,” says Vores.
The Unexpected Operas initiative is supported with a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, with the intention of expanding the demographic reach of opera in South Florida. Bold and modern productions are presented in non-traditional venues.
Conductor Michael Sakir believes that the Arena is the perfect venue for this opera’s “infernal setting.” He continues: “And Vores’s noisy, raucous score allows for no better way than to tell the story of three strangers stuck in Hell together.”
Casey Finnigan, who plays the role of Garcin, describes the opera as “a dark comedy with the emphasis on dark. It’s a grungy look at human interaction, and an insight into the mind of the sociopathic. But most of all, it is a spectacular piece of theater not to be missed.”
It’s all that and so much more, believes Susan Danis, FGO General Director and CEO. “I think putting opera in a place where no one would expect to see it is a great way to start to break down all those stereotypes of what the art form is.”
Night owls will appreciate the 10 p.m. start time; those who believe hell is staying up past 9? You better reset your internal clock.
BeginsFeb. 27 and runs through March 1, 10 p.m. Arena Lounge, formerly NoWhere Lounge, 653 Washington Ave., Miami Beach.
$25, two-drink minimum suggested. 800-741-1010 or FGO.org.
