California

Contra Costa

Concord

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Mission Statement
Solo Opera is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit opera company and a Professional Company Member of Opera America. Founded in 2000, our mission is to educate, entertain, and enrich the community through our main stage opera productions, concerts, and outreach programs. In addition to performing traditional operatic and musical repertoire, Solo Opera also focuses on 20-21st century chamber opera, short one act operas, opera in English, and new works by Bay Area composers. We have an active diversity, equity, and inclusion policy that motivates us to work to uplift marginalized groups in our community as well as continue to grow as an organization. As part of our mission, we continue to work to diversify our board of directors, staff, audience, and those we hire. Our company also has a special interest in fostering a new generation of opera lovers and bringing opera to those who may not normally be able to attend due to physical or financial limitations. With the help of grantors and sponsors over the years, we have been able to offer many outreach programs and free tickets to youth, seniors, and disadvantaged/disabled persons/groups. We are proud to collaborate with many wonderful local businesses and other organizations to further our mission and DEI policy including local children’s choruses/dance groups, rotary and other service clubs, senior centers, retirement homes, food banks, other local arts organizations and nonprofits, etc. In 2016, Solo Opera and our Artistic Director/Founder were awarded the Arts Recognition Award from the Arts and Culture Commission of Contra Costa County for our years of dedicated service to the community. This year Solo Opera was named Best Performing Arts Company by Diablo Magazine.

History
Solo Opera has achieved wonderful success producing eighteen high quality fully staged operas at the beautiful Lesher Center for the Arts and around the Bay Area including The Telephone (2000, 2003), The Medium (2000), Amahl and the Night Visitors (2001, 2002, 2003), Riders to the Sea (2003), The Old Maid and the Thief (2004), A Hand of Bridge (2004), Bastien and Bastienna (2004), The Impresario (2004), Chip and His Dog (2014), Hansel and Gretel (2014, 2015), The Computer Kid’s Magic Night (2016), The Gift of the Magi (2018), Scalia/Ginsburg (2021) and The Four Note Opera (2022). We have a special interest in fostering a new generation of opera lovers and enjoy producing shows that are accessible to children / families and involve youth in the cast. Our Storybook Opera series is a wonderful example of this. We also have an active outreach program to the community. Our traveling group, S.O.L.O. (Scenes from Opera and Light Opera), produces concerts and scenes taking opera to youth in the schools and elderly in retirement homes, as well as parade entries in the Concord Fourth of July Parade. In addition, we have collaborated the past four summers with the Orinda Rotary Club, producing a yearly free Opera in the Park at Orinda Community Park (2016-2019). This concert brings the joy of opera to approximately 500 to 1000 persons (of all ages) per year and introduces newcomers to the art form in an informal setting. This past Dec. 14, 2019 we also performed a public holiday concert and fashion show at Macy’s Concord called The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Future Goals
A look to the future for 2023, we will present The Three Feathers, a magical opera for families and children with music by award winning composer, Lori Laitman, and libretto by local poet laureate, Dana Gioia. Based on a fairytale by the Brothers Grimm, the opera follows Princess Dora, not as a damsel in distress, but as a heroine. A magic feather leads the shy, self-doubting princess to an enchanted Underworld ruled by a giant Frog King. Here, she summons her courage and compassion to face a series of mysterious and comic adventures that change her life. Completing her quest, she saves her father’s kingdom from the plots of her selfish sisters and earns her right to the crown. We chose this opera, not only for its beautiful music and charming libretto, but for the important messages it shares about the power of women, being inclusive, and finding real treasure in life. It is our hope that our audiences will leave with a gained understanding of these truths. The opera invites us to be more inclusive, open our hearts and minds, and work to connect with those who are different than us.

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