The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Fresco Opera Theatre and TAPIT/New Works are eastside neighbors and tonight premiere their inaugural collaboration about Urban Development of a convenience store on the streets of Madison. Plus, you can check in on Day 8 of the WYSO tour to Argentina.

ALERT: The Youth Orchestra under University of Wisconsin-Madison conductor James Smith (below), of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO), is into Day 8 of its 10-day tour to Argentina. Here is a link to the live blog:

wysotour2014.blogspot.com

By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following word from Jeff Turk of Fresco Opera Theatre, who is a loyal follower of and contributor to this blog:

“Good Day, Jake —

“Fresco Opera Theatre has teamed up with our next door neighbor, “TAPIT/New Works,” in developing a piece that incorporates music (specifically, opera), theater and history.

“Convenience” is a production that includes a walking tour of our neighborhood, the Schenk’s Corners neighborhood on Madison’s far east side.

Here is a description from our press release:

Summer’s here, and the time is right for singing and acting in the streets -– at least on Madison’s east side.

Next-door neighbor arts organizations TAPIT/new works Ensemble Theater and Fresco Opera Theatre are teaming up to celebrate their shared neighborhood in Convenience, a new production opening at 1957 Winnebago St. at 7:30 p.m. on tomorrow night, Friday, Aug. 1.

Other performances at 1957 Winnebago Street, on the city’s east side, are at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, Friday, Aug. 8; and Sunday, Aug. 9; and at 4 p.m. on Sundays, Aug. 3 and Aug. 10.

General admission is $20, $15  for students and seniors. Details are below.

Combining comedy, opera and a walking tour of Schenk’s Corners, “Convenience” tells the story of a fictionalized, east side convenience store and its eccentric customers, including a developer and an activist, as well as conspiracy theorists, musicians, know-it-alls and assorted neighborhood characters.

When the developer and the activist hatch competing plans for the store, the stage is set for conflict – and a most unlikely romance.

Here is the trailer for the production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUPo07eKYc8

And here is the ticket information: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/763023

If you have the opportunity, we would love a mention in “The Ear.”

Thanks for your consideration, Jake!”

Jeff Turk

President, Board Of Directors, Fresco Opera Theatre

The Ear says the cooperative production sounds very intriguing, no? It seems like a  new kind of multi-media production, one worthy of Mad City for its social, economic, political and artistic relevance, all of which aspects — given the 1 Percent Movement and concerns about gentrification and urban development in general — sound like they may once again become important values in art, much like they were in the 1930s, 1960s and 1970s, to say nothing of earlier eras.

Here is a video preview — with tap dancing and singing to whet the appetite — of the new collaborative production that seems to combine Verdi and tap dancing: