Riverside Lyric Opera’s production of John Adams "A Flowering Tree", a contemporary magical tale of love and redemption, accompanied by destruction and betrayal, comes to the UCR Culver Center on November 11 and 13.

Manuel Alberto Aybar is the Artistic Director of the Riverside Lyric Opera and Principal Guest Conductor of the Hunan Symphony Orchestra in China

Guiding the audience through this magical tale will be Bass Nicholas Shelton, who lands the role of The Storyteller in The Riverside Lyric Opera’s production of “A Flowering Tree”.

Cast in lead role of Kumudha, soprano Gian-Carla Tisera brings depth and emotion to the Riverside Lyric Opera’s production of John Adams “A Flowering Tree”.

Tenor Jorge Garza is set to wow audiences as he takes on the role of The Prince in the Riverside Lyric Opera’s production of John Adams “A Flowering Tree”.

(RIVERSIDE, Calif.) Described as a magical tale of love, destruction, betrayal and redemption, the Riverside Lyric Opera will present the Inland Empire debut performance of “A Flowering Tree” by John Adams, at the University of Riverside’s Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts on November 11 and 13.
“A Flowering Tree” is the latest opera from celebrated composer John Adams, described by The New Yorker as “…the most vital and eloquent composer in America.”   His works include Nixon in China, Short Ride in a Fast Machine and On the Transmigration of Souls – a 9/11 memorial piece for which he won the Pulitzer Prize.

“A Flowering Tree” was inspired by Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and is based on an ancient folktale from India, telling the story of Kumudha, a poor but beautiful girl, who in order to help her family transforms into a flowering tree, whose blossoms bring her both joy and pain, love and redemption.
With its acquisition of this production, the Riverside Lyric Opera takes a commanding step forward in the national and international world of classical music. The opera is co-created by composer John Adams and director Peter Sellars and the company becomes only the tenth city internationally to have the privilege of featuring this acclaimed production.

With this production, the Riverside Lyric Opera joins the ranks of such select venues as Vienna, Berlin, Tokyo, London, Lisbon, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Cincinnati.

“Performing this particular opera makes the statement to the classical community that the Inland Empire has arrived, “ said Manuel Alberto Aybar, Artistic Director of the Riverside Lyric Opera. “Our production of this enchanting tale is very cutting edge and is totally different from any production performed previously. The entire Southern California area is really in for a treat.”

Aybar has been a guest conductor of orchestras and symphonies throughout Latin America, Europe, China and the United States. In addition to his work with RLO, he is Principal Guest Conductor of the Hunan Symphony Orchestra in China where he also regularly conducts the Zhejiang, Henan and Guangxi Symphony Orchestras.

In Latin America he has guest conducted the national orchestras of Nicaragua, El Salvador and Uruguay, along with the Leon, Granada, Guanajuato and Monterrey Symphonies in Mexico.

In October of 2010, Aybar and the Riverside Lyric Opera also performed at the grand opening of the University of California Riverside’s Culver Center of the Arts in downtown Riverside, which will serve as the venue for their production of “A Flowering Tree”.

The Culver Center of the Arts has become a major architectural feature of Riverside’s downtown Historic Arts district, and serves as an ideal location to feature this contemporary opera. Symbolizing a new cosmopolitanism, the Culver Center embraces the future as well as the past, with an unprecedented mix of private research spaces and public galleries and facilities

“I’m delighted that UCR ARTSblock is collaborating with Riverside Lyric Opera to bring this production to the Culver Center’s Atrium,” said Jonathan Green, executive director of UCR ARTSblock.

“While John Adams’ opera has been performed on many large and prestigious stages, in many ways the Culver Center Atrium, with its delicate, magical architecture and radiant skylight, is the most fitting and transformative space to tell this vibrant tale,” continued Green.

Green describes the venue, as affording each member of the audience the rare opportunity to have immediate and direct contact with both principals and chorus, creating an intimate setting that personally draws them into the shared shimmering space for the story and the music.

More than a mere use of an existing space, the Riverside Lyric Opera’s production at Culver Center represents a collaboration of creative individuals.  Jeff Cain, UCR ARTSblock exhibition designer, has designed the artistic Flowering Tree for this production, which will be enhanced by the Culver Center’s light designer Nikolay Maslov.

“The collaboration epitomizes the Culver Center’s commitment to work in partnership with Riverside’s most innovative artists and performers,” continued Green. “Our goal is to bring world-class productions to Riverside, and to continue to explore and define the imaginative potential of the stunning Culver Atrium.”
With seating available for no more than 140 people per performance, the Culver Center Atrium has adapted this intimate setting into a dramatic presentation in the round.  Unlike the concert versions previously produced, a unique feature of this production calls for only one major set piece – the tree.

“The set was designed to be an instrumental component within the performance, which will transform the performer and the space into an immersive and almost hallucinogenic flowering tree,” said Cain.
Designed as an overhead canopy that descends to the center of the space and envelops the performers, the “tree” was constructed with modern architectural materials that will radically change appearance depending on lighting, allowing the audience to place themselves in the structure and imagine their own to transformation.

“We have been given the opportunity to really present this story about the power of love from a brand new creative perspective, with contemporary music and designs enhanced by dramatic lighting,” said Aybar. “We have assembled an outstanding cast and I am sure the Southland is in for a truly great performance.”

One of those performances will come from Gian-Carla Tisera, a soprano recently cast in the lead role of Kumudha. A fantastic performer, Tisera has been hailed as being gifted with a stunning power and warmth in her presentation, performing before audiences in world-renowned concert halls such as London’s Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Tisera’s rich soprano tones express an effortless representation of her musical ability, and are well suited for the role as Kumudha, where her beauty may only outmatch her voice.

“A Flowering Tree” is full of symbolism and duality – dark and light, extreme joy and extreme pain, innocence and wisdom, purity and sensuality, spirituality and carnality. Symbolism and duality permeates the text, the music and the characters. Rich in harmonic and textural color, with contrast as the key to the main message, “A Flowering Tree” is a very moving story, with stunning dialogue, intense sensual / erotic scenes, beauty and sadness.

Delivering the concept of transformation throughout various dimensions – music, text and human elements, Tisera sees the same theme embodied in her role as Kumudha.

“I look at the role of Kumudha in this same way – with an extreme duality,” said Tisera. “She is wise yet extremely innocent, young yet old, physically pure yet extremely sensual, strong yet broken, loved yet hated. My approach will be to discover her strengths and weaknesses, then weave them into the character that she is. Most importantly – I don’t want her nor the opera to be MY interpretation of the events. Rather, I want to find universal truths within her and the story, portraying them faithfully.”

Cast in the role of The Prince is tenor Jorge Garza. A graduate of the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music, he has participated in the country’s most prestigious young artists programs including Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Wolftrap Opera, the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program and finally Los Angeles Opera’s Young Artists program.

“My first impressions of the music was awe inspiring,” said Garza “It is unlike other modern operas, whose harmonies can be quite disjunctive and abrasive to the common listener, John Adams incorporates a musical language full of tonal modalities and melodic themes that are a pleasure to listen to. Lush, sweeping, and most importantly, beautiful in a traditional sense is how I would describe the score.”

Often described as a beguiling singer, possessing a musical honeyed tone voice, Garza is sure to captivate the audience with his phrasing and elegant presence in this role, and give a glimpse of how he will characterize this performance.

“My approach is to be engaging and honest to all of the qualities, some perhaps not so likable, of The Prince,” said Garza.  “Yes, he is passionate and completely in love with his bride. However, as a Prince he is stubborn, arrogant and gives off a sense of entitlement. In the end he shows remorse for his selfish acts and portrays some redeeming qualities, which I hope the audience will see.”

Taking on the role as The Storyteller will be Nicholas Shelton. Beginning his singing career at the urging of a vocal professor who overheard his speaking voice while a sophomore Biology major at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA., Shelton has become a rising American bass and resident artist with the Riverside Lyric Opera.

Shelton is sure to bring a commanding authority with a powerful tone to this role, as he has garnered unanimous accolades for his dark, piercing voice, refined musicianship, and commanding stage presence.
Those qualities are sure to enhance his portrayal of The Storyteller, an all-knowing narrator, which is a very different experience for him than most other roles.

“As the Storyteller, I will immediately become involved intimately with the other characters on an emotional level, yet completely outside of the action as a spectator,” said Shelton. “In short, he acts as an intermediary between the audience and the action of the story, giving commentary and helping to move the story forward.”

“Adams has created music that is beautiful to hear, but more than that, it truly draws the listener into the action,” continued Shelton. “I absolutely believe that this production will be a moving and memorable artistic experience for the cast and audience members alike.”

“We have really put together a great cast as well as created some cutting edge artistic elements that will complement this contemporary opera,” said Aybar. “This intimate performance will be a visual and audio delight, presented in a way that you are sure to remember for years to come.”

For more information about “A Flowering Tree” and other Riverside Lyric Opera events, visit their website RiversideLyricOpera.Org or call (951) 781-9561. Tickets for ” A Flowering Tree” will be available through the Culver Center box office at www.culvercenter.ucr.edu.

About Riverside Lyric Opera

The Riverside Lyric Opera is a professional regional opera company, based in Riverside, California, whose mission is to enrich lives through operatic performances, community development and educational programs that involve our Inland Empire communities in all aspects of productions, while reaching out to the larger operatic community for artistic support and recognition.
Under the guidance of artistic director Manuel Alberto Aybar, Riverside Lyric Opera performances included full orchestra and professional principals from the region, staged within the local community.

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