A Novel Idea Kicks Off
Posted By: Liz Goodrich
Date Posted: 4/25/2008
As part of the Deschutes Public Library’s A Novel Idea … Read Together, the Deschutes Public Library Foundation presents The Obsidian Opera Company on Saturday, April 26 at 2:00 pm at the Bend Public Library and on Sunday, April 27 at 2:00 pm at the Sunriver Area Public Library. The presentations are the kick off events of the 2008 Novel Idea … Read Together, community-reading project offered by Deschutes Public Library and the Deschutes Public Library Foundation. During the kick off events, The Obsidian Opera Company will be performing excerpts from the musical, Fiddler on the Roof.
Fiddler on the Roof, originally titled Tevye, is based on the Yiddish folktales of Sholem Alechem. The tale of Tevye and his five daughters is set in Tsarist Russia in 1905 and follows his struggles to maintain his family’s traditions while outside influences throw his world into turmoil. A painting by Marc Chagall was the inspiration for the musical’s title. His surrealistic paintings depicting Eastern European Jewish life often included a fiddler. The Fiddler is a metaphor for survival, through tradition and joyfulness, in a life of uncertainty and imbalance. The musical, which has enjoyed numerous Broadway revivals, was made into a movie in 1971. The film received three academy awards, including best picture.
The Obsidian Opera Company is the premier regional vocal company providing educational and performing opportunities for artists, students and the community at large and promoting the arts through community collaboration. Obsidian Opera began in 1997 with a mission to develop community through the sharing of vocal music. Serving Central Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, the company has provided singers and audience members with productions ranging from full length operas and one-act comedies to scenes incorporating repertoire written by the great opera masters as well as composers of Broadway musicals. This diverse approach has included singers from age 7 to 75 and audience members who never before realized that opera can be fun! During the 2005-2006 season The Obsidian Opera Company staged performances of Fiddler On The Roof. The outstanding performances coupled with amazing community support made Fiddler the must see event of the Bend cultural scene.
Now in its fourth year, “A Novel Idea...Read Together” has become the premier community reading program in Oregon. This month-long reading and discussion event is organized by the Deschutes Public Library and funded by the Deschutes Public Library Foundation with the support of other community sponsors. The purpose of the event is to build community by broadening and deepening appreciation of literature through reading, participation, and discussion.
The 2008 selected book, The World To Come by Dara Horn. Through the life of former child prodigy Ben Ziskind, Horn tells an amazing story that weaves art, history, religious and cultural Judaism together into a canvas as colorful, symbolic, and rich as a Marc Chagall painting. From the orphanages of Soviet Russia to the suburbs of New Jersey, Horn takes readers deep into the traditions of Yiddish literature and Jewish mythology. More than 20 programs will highlight this year’s book, each of which is designed to enhance the participant’s knowledge of the book and the man whose legacy touched our lives in a variety of unexpected ways.
People with disabilities needing accommodations(alternative formats, seating or auxiliary aides) should contact Liz Goodrich at312-1032 or Lisa McGean at 312-1034 one week prior to event.
For a complete listing of Novel Idea programs, please call 312-1032.
Page Last Modified Wednesday, March 8, 2023