蜜柚直播

So the company pivoted.

Instead of mounting on a virtual stage as part of its reimagined 2020-21 season, Joseph Specter and his all-female production team made it into a feature film.

Next week, 蜜柚直播 Opera will premiere 鈥淭he Copper Queen鈥� in a 蜜柚直播 movie theater instead of 蜜柚直播 Music Hall.

鈥淭here has been an explosion of creativity in opera during the pandemic. 蜜柚直播 Opera is not alone in that regard, but I do think we鈥檝e done something very special with 鈥楾he Copper Queen,鈥欌�� said Specter, the company鈥檚 general director. 鈥淭he things we are able to accomplish with film relative to the stage 鈥� with the camera, you are really able to be there in the middle of this intense action. It couldn鈥檛 have worked out better.鈥�

鈥淭he Copper Queen鈥� will have two showtimes daily 鈥� at 2 and 7 p.m. 鈥� Oct. 29 through Nov. 4 at 蜜柚直播鈥檚 two 鈥� the Spectrum on the south side and 蜜柚直播 Pavilions in Marana 鈥� before the company posts the movie on its website for on-demand viewing.

蜜柚直播 Opera teamed up with Phoenix-based to turn 鈥淭he Copper Queen,鈥� the company鈥檚 second commissioned opera after its 2017 world premiere of 鈥淩iders of the Purple Sage,鈥� into a movie. After a few pandemic-prompted delays 鈥� they had hoped to film in fall 2020 but put it off because of rising coronavirus infection rates 鈥� 蜜柚直播 Opera spent fives days in May filming from its Roma and Raymond Wittcoff Black Box theater in Phoenix.

It is the first movie for the company, which also scored another first with 鈥淭he Copper Queen.鈥� It was the first time it has had an all-female creative team: conductor director , assistant director , set designer and costume designer .

Working on an all-woman team was 鈥渓ike having a good conversation with old friends,鈥� Pi帽eiro said. 鈥淚 think the female point of view was specific for the subject matter, as well.鈥�

鈥淭he Copper Queen,鈥� which 蜜柚直播 Opera commissioned in 2015 from composer and librettist , is a story told in two centuries through two women鈥檚 experiences in Room 315 of Bisbee鈥檚 .

In 1910, Julia Lowell uses the room to satisfy the men of Bisbee, which is not by her choice. She is being held in the room and forced to service the men in town. In 2010, Addison Moore, seeking to heal from the recent passing of her grandmother, checks into Room 315 and is haunted by Julia鈥檚 ghost, which roams the room and recounts her brutal existence at the hotel and her violent death.

The story, which has some disturbing scenes of violence 鈥� although they are tame by today鈥檚 Hollywood standards 鈥� and some sexual innuendo, is one of redemption, connection and friendship. All of the action takes place in Room 315, which Pi帽eiro created in the 5,500-square-foot Black Box theater. The goal, she said, was to maintain the dramatic and theatrical feel in the film version.

鈥淲e never wanted to lose sight that we were taking a theatrical approach to the film,鈥� said the Puerto Rico-based Manich, a veteran opera stage director who has dabbled in film shorts but had never made a feature film before 鈥淭he Copper Queen.鈥� 鈥淚n the film we actually ended up using some theatrical devices that we would have done on stage.鈥�

鈥淭he Copper Queen鈥� is not the first opera to be made into a movie. That credit goes to Italian-American opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti, whose 1951 film 鈥淭he Medium鈥� was the first known feature-length movie based on an opera.

鈥淏ut maybe this opera is unique in that it was never intended to be a film,鈥� Manich said. 鈥淚t was intended to be on stage, but now it鈥檚 debuting as a film. And I鈥檓 hoping that this film will really inspire people who want to create opera strictly for the film medium.鈥�

Manich also hopes that new audiences will discover opera from the experience of seeing it in a movie theater.

鈥淚 want them to be moved. I want them to feel,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he impact of the story and the music will resonate. I鈥檓 really excited for people to get invested into the story.鈥�

鈥淚 think this film will be able to get audiences excited. I think it鈥檚 a good introduction鈥� to opera, added Pi帽eiro. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not musical theater. We have seen so many musicals that have become films. I think this is a good moment for opera to do this version. It is not a recording of a live performance; it is a movie.鈥�