Events

El Paso Opera Young Artist Program presents Trouble in Tahiti a one-act opera by Leonard Bernstein

1950s America signaled a cultural shift obsessed with perfection. Affordable homes in suburbia gave young families an opportunity to reign over their own piece of paradise. Composer, librettist, and genius Leonard Bernstein – who’s brilliant works are being produced around the world this year in celebration of the centenary of his birth – saw the walls of these suburban tract homes as a means to conceal conflict and emptiness, especially marital. On the outside, perfect homes and families were falling apart. Unlikely material for an opera, he explored the perils of “keeping up with the Joneses,” supported by a characteristically “Bernstein” contemporary score influenced by Broadway musicals and jazz. Trouble in Tahiti follows a husband and wife, Sam and Dinah, who have settled into a soulless relationship in which each constantly irritates the other. A jaunty scat-jazz trio of singers, acting as a Greek chorus, brighten the mood in counterpoint by intermittently waxing on the virtues of suburbia in the style of the chipper radio advertising jingles of the period. Our Young Artist Program is eager to present this “day in the life” one-act opera in celebration of #BernsteinAt100

**** TICKET PRICES **** $20 General Admission + $1.00 facility fee per ticket + $2.50 processing fee per ticket

*** HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS ****** 1. www.epopera.org 2. Call our office at 915-581-5534 Monday - Friday 10:00am - 4:00pm 3. At the door