Khaos, the Opera

Cranbrook and area residents have the opportunity to go to the opera this weekend.  This chance does not come our way very often.  You don't like opera you say - well in the words of Seuss, "Try it, try it and you may!"

From the Nelson Daily by Bill Metcalfe:
Khaos sold out four of five shows at the Capitol Theatre this past weekend. That's nearly 20% of the population of Nelson.  "The public response to Khaos has exceeded our wildest expectations," said Khaos producer Marty Horswill.

From the Globe and Mail:

In the Kootenays, they grow their own 
Opera, that is. A small town raises $50,000 - and a local cast - to fund an original new work

By MARSHA LEDERMAN
an excerpt:
Barber, as adviser, came out from Vancouver.
"My initial response was - to my embarrassment - the condescending and patronizing thought: Wow, this is awfully good for such a small town," says Barber. "That lasted for about an hour, and then I began to hear in the voices and see in the faces and witness in the interaction how very serious and very capable by any measure these people were and are."
There were extensive notes - and revisions followed, but not because the opera isn't strong. On the contrary, says Barber.
"The work is so worthy, the people are so good and the difficulties of creating new opera are so immense that you need to be as risk-averse as you can. And that means outside critical opinion."
The initial run in Nelson was a hit. Opera Canada reviewer Hilary Clark called it "a powerful work ... with a riveting libretto" and praised the performances.
It was a hit at the box office too: With three sold out shows and a held-over performance on Sunday, almost 2,000 people saw this work over four days - almost a quarter of Nelson's population.
There's more than an environmental moral to this whole Khaos tale. At a time when it's easy for opera companies to play it safe, to produce Carmen and La Bohème because the tickets will sell, a little town in the Kootenays has stepped up with an idea, money, determination - and a brand new opera.
Even if he wasn't blown away - and he was - by the workshop, Barber gives a standing ovation to the effort. "Our job [in opera], in my view, is to honour the tradition and to extend the tradition," he says. "Our job is not to run a musical mausoleum."

Have a listen or learn more:

http://www.khaosopera.com/?page_id=132