by Timothy Rutt
The Pacific Opera Project will perform Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado this coming weekend, Sept. 6-8, but with a Japanese pop twist.
The performance at Porticos Art Space (2033 E. Washington), inside St. James United Methodist Church, transports the opera from the days of Japanese royalty in silk kimonos to the neon-colored world of Harajuku, the modern mix of colors and styles that symbolize young people in modern Japan.
Since the opera itself was a thinly-veiled skewering of then-current British nobility and politics, POP carries on the tradition with some slightly revamped lyrics about contemporary life.
POP has previously performed Cosi fan tutte, Sweeney Todd, and Le nozze di Figaro, all to sold-out audiences at the space.
The Mikado features a 14-piece chamber orchestra and 19-voice chorus. Creative team Josh Shaw (production design and stage direction) and Stephen Karr (musical direction), have put together a cast of mostly homegrown talent featuring some POP veterans and many newcomers — all hailing from greater Los Angeles or San Diego. who have performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Los Angeles Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Palm Beach Opera, San Diego Opera, Santa Fe Opera Southern Illinois Music Festival and Union Avenue Opera, among other venues.
As part of their stay at Porticos, the opera company will perform for students from Eliot Middle School and Sierra Madre Elementary School on Wed., Sept. 4. Following the weekend's shows, the production moves to Santa Monica for seven performances.
General admission is $30 and $20 for Students/Seniors. It is POP's mission to bring affordable, accessible, and ENTERTAINING opera to audiences across Los Angeles.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit pacificoperaproject.com, write to info@pacificoperaproject.com or call the Pacific Opera Project hotline at 323-739-6122.
