Aesopera

And now for something completely different- 5 short operas based on Aesop's Fables. I can't imagine this would convert the non-opera-inclined, but the music is beautiful and the singers are pros. fringeblog.webs.com... full review

Opera Lovers should appreciate this unique and daring show. Though I must confess Grand Opera is not my thing, yet I could see - and certainly hear - the talent in this company. Drawing loosely from a number of lesser-known Aesop’s Fables, this truly bravura ensemble engages us in a series of life-lessons. My definite favorite was the man who wants to create a flying machine and goes to the Oracle who asks him three questions about life. When he answers them correctly, she gives him the secret of flight. However, by pondering these enigmatic questions he realizes his invention can be used in war and, when his own son marches off seeking glory, the man wisely destroys his invention. Other parables were often difficult to follow as, sadly, muc... full review

Silly me. Here I went into “Ǽsopera” expecting a wild and wacky parody of an opera, and what I got, well was opera. Five tales by Aesop the ancient Greek fabulist are presented here as operettas. Some like “The Frogs Who Desired a King” are delivered as the fables themselves. Others like “The Dog and its Reflection” seem to have been adapted with the intention of posing a more modern moral to the audience. Composer & librettist Jonathan Price in partnership with librettists Jeff Goode and Jan Michael Alejandro have done solid work in presenting pieces that are both entertaining and assessable to even an “Opera-lite” audience (of which I count myself) Directors Kirk Arnold-Smith and Alison Eliel Kalmus serve the evening splendidly as ... full review