This I know about Randall Wong: among those who call themselves male
sopranos (not counter-tenors or anything else), few in the world can equal
him. I will never forget his Peter Maxwell Davies performances some years
ago.

What I didn't know about Wong is that he has taken the exotic tradition of
a handful of 19th and 20th century operas and musicals anthropomorphizing
kitchen utensils to new heights. (The heights part is speculation, of
course, because I haven't had the good fortune of actually hearing this.)

According to Wong's announcement today, the Z Space Studio, in SF, will
host the world premiere of his opera on March 23.

The work, called "Household Opera," is set in a Victorian toy theater built
by Wong. The characters are all miniature versions of common household
appliances, with an alarm clock and a toaster in the leading roles. "The
lovers are menaced by an evil eggbeater in an epic journey that takes them
through fire and water, to heaven and to hell, all the while dodging a band
of malevolent condiments."

As to the music, Wong expresses his gratitude for the "posthumous
cooperation of Jacopo Peri, Claudio Monteverdi, Barbara Strozzi, G.F.
Handel, W.A. Mozart, Franz Schubert, Eric Satie, Maurice Ravel, Arnold
Schoenberg and Alban Berg." Nothing like a contemporary opera, built
solidly on the past.

The work, according to the release, was developed through a Wattis
Residency from Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, with three workshop
performances hosted at The Z Space last year. Wong composed and arranged
the opera, adapted existing texts and wrote additional Italian doggerel,
he sings the roles of the Toaster and Mustard, plays the harp and one
of the toy pianos, and he designed and built the production himself.
"The tiny sets are constructed of wood, paper, gauze, cellophane, and a
scavenged sparkly cocktail dress." Perhaps the fiery finale has to do with
the toaster getting turned on while wearing that dress. One has to see the
work to be certain.

To study the libretto, see http://www.mbed.com/fibo/hop/lib1.html.

Janos Gereben/SF, CA
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