West Edge thrilled with new home
After a few years of shopping for a new home, West Edge Opera has finally found an ideal one.
On July 30, the company under general director Mark Streshinsky launches its 2016 summer season at Oakland’s Abandoned Train Station. Three operas are on the schedule. With a longawaited, fully staged production of Thomas Adès’ “Powder Her Face” bookended by Janácek’s “The Cunning Little Vixen” and Handel’s “Agrippina,” performances run through Aug. 14.
West Edge discovered the Abandoned Train Station last summer and presented one production of its three-opera season there — a sensational revival of Alban Berg’s “Lulu” led by music director Jonathan Khuner. The venue was an instant hit with audiences.
“Everyone loved it,” recalls Streshinsky, who says that he and Khuner immediately agreed that the entire 2016 season should happen there.
The 1912 Beaux Arts building has it all, says Streshinsky — ample space for audience seating, good acoustics, plenty of parking and an atmosphere he describes as “a crumbling, Miss Havisham’s train station feel.” This year’s festival brings improvements to the venue, most notably a new stage. Other additions include the Festival Pavilion, an outdoor space which will serve beer and wine. Boxed meals are available for preorder on the company’s website. Historical tours of the station and post-performance receptions are on the schedule.
Moving to the new venue was a gamble, says Streshinsky, who took the reins of the company formerly known as Berkeley Opera in 2010. With a new name and a fresh mission, he led the group on a quest that saw seasons in the El Cerrito Performing Arts Theater as well as productions in the Oakland Metro, Berkeley’s Ed Roberts Theater and Oakland’s American Steel (with the company’s offseason “Opera Medium Rare” series at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage and Oakland’s Mills College). But taking up residence at the Train Station — which has also been used as a location for weddings, fundraisers, Burning Man parties and films such as “Rent” and “Hemingway and Gelhorn” — gives West Edge the opportunity to settle in and expand its artistic horizons.
This year’s productions reflect the company’s adventurous spirit. Opening weekend begins with “The Cunning Little Vixen” in a new staging by New Yorkbased director Patrick Diamond, conducted by Khuner with soprano Amy Foote in the title role. Streshinsky says that Janácek’s opera has been on his “to-do” list for some time.
“It’s a great opera,” he says. “Janácek’s music is amazing, and I love the connection between the opera’s forest creatures and humans. There’s a real sense of longing in this opera; it’s also very funny and charming.” For many operagoers, the season’s main attraction is “Powder Her Face.” Two decades after it was written, Adès’ bold, sexy portrait of Britain’s Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, remains one of the opera world’s most daring works. Laura Bohn sings the title role, with Emma McNairy — last season’s Lulu — as The Maid. The production is a collaboration with the Bay Area’s own Earplay ensemble. Earplay’s music director, Mary Chun, is the conductor, and Elkhanah Pulitzer, who staged “Lulu,” returns to direct.
“Agrippina” completes the lineup. Streshinsky, who recently directed Handel’s 1709 opera in Boston, says he couldn’t wait to revisit it.
“It’s a hysterical comedy set in ancient Rome, one that fits perfectly with the theme of crumbling infrastructure,” says Streshinsky, who directed Monteverdi’s “Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria” last season. Jory Vinikour, making his West Edge debut, conducts from the harpsichord; the cast includes Sarah Gartshore (Agrippina), Celine Ricci (Nerone), and Hannah Stephens (Poppea.) As he prepares to launch the season, Streshinsky says he’s excited about the productions — and thrilled to be presenting all three in one place.
“I’ve always had this yearning to have a place that people could come back to each year,” he said. “I guess I equate an opera company with a physical space. The Train Station feels like home. I hope we can be there for a long time.”
Details: West Edge Opera presents “The Cunning Little Vixen,” “Powder Her Face,” and “Agrippina,” July 30-Aug. 14, Abandoned Train Station, 18th and Wood, West Oakland; individual tickets $57-$96; packages $146-$270; limited number of $19 obstructed view seats per show, 510841-1903; www.westedgeopera.org.