P R E S S R E L E A S E
Contacts:
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Amy Krane |
Cheryl Moreau |
North Cambridge Family Opera Company to Perform the U.S. Premier of "The Puzzle Jigs"
— Children's opera uses music and dance for entertaining lesson on how "prejudice never is cool" —
Cambridge, MA, February 13, 2003 — The North Cambridge Family Opera Company (NCFOC) announced that it will stage the U.S. premier of the children's opera "The Puzzle Jigs" at the M.E. Fitzgerald School at 70 Rindge Avenue, Cambridge. The show will be performed the weekends of April 4th, 5th, and 6th, and April 11th, 12th and 13th, with evening shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $5/children, $10/adults, $25 families, and $5/each for groups of 10 or more.
"The Puzzle Jigs" is a lively one-hour, 2-act opera about accepting people's differences. It was composed in 1989 by British composer David Haines and has been adapted with a new libretto by A.J. Liuba and David Bass. Bass, founder of the NCFOC, directs the all-volunteer cast of children and adults.
The opera tells the story of a little girl, Samphyre, who falls asleep and finds herself in the Jigsaw Puzzle World, which is inhabited by the magical "Puzzle Jigs" who create the puzzle. Samphyre is not a Puzzle Jig, so cannot find a place in the puzzle to fit in. The xenophobic Puzzle Jigs brand her a criminal and treat her as an outcast. Later, when the Puzzle Jigs venture into the Real World, they find there's "no room for cardboard cutouts!" After their rejection, the Puzzle Jigs realize that "prejudice never is cool, when someone is different, or a stranger," and they accept Samphyre.
"Don't be put off by the term `opera'," suggests Bass, who founded the NCFOC in 1999 as a way to involve his young family and their friends in music. "Opera is basically a story told by singing and acting, with little or no spoken dialog. Our productions are fast-paced and engaging to both adults and children, on and off-stage!"
Assisting Bass on this production are choreographer Deborah Mason of the Deborah Mason School of Dance, and set designer Dale Senechal, former technical director of the Boston Opera. All participants are volunteers, as is Bass, who studied music at Yale before taking up a career in chemical engineering.
Previous NCFOC productions include Bass's original compositions "Space Opera" – Featuring the hilarious sci-fi adventures of everyone's favorite robots, aliens, and heroes; and "The Coronation of Esther" – based on the Biblical tale of a young Jewish girl who finds herself unexpectedly Queen of Persia. Last year the group performed the US premier of British composer Graham Preskett's "Antiphony," which was commissioned in 1994 by the London-based W11 Opera for Youth.
Now in its fifth year of operation, the NCFOC began as an informal group of children and adults and is now incorporated as a non-profit organization. "We found the experience of singing opera to be a unique way to strengthen families, to build friendships, and to enhance the relationships between generations," says Bass. "The philosophy of the NCFOC is to welcome all who want to sing and perform."
About the North Cambridge Family Opera Company. The NCFOC is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is to provide children and adults the opportunity to experience and enjoy the telling of story through song. NCFOC performs contemporary light operas based on stories appealing to both children and adults, and are musically accessible to children but sophisticated enough to hold the interest of adults. Productions are financed through grants, donations, volunteerism and ticket sales. Participants are asked to donate money based on their ability to pay. In addition to regularly scheduled performances, the NCFOC is available to perform at schools and other organizations. For more information visit http://www.familyopera.com