Claude & Marcel: Orchestral Preview

World premiere August 2027

Music by Alyssa Weinberg Libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann

August 23rd at 3pm
A 60 minute concert followed by reception at
The Phyllis Wattis Theater at SFMOMA
151 3rd St, San Francisco

Our latest commission, Claude & Marcel starring Nikola Printz as Claude Cahun and this year’s The Turn of the Screw’s star Laura Bohn as Marcel Moore - composed by Alyssa Weinberg with libretto from Stephanie Fleischmann and conducted by our own Jonathan Khuner, directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer - is becoming a brilliant work. The opera focuses on the complex creative relationship between surrealist photographers Cahun and Moore and their provocative resistance in a dangerous time of despots, 1945.

Get Tickets

Thank You For Making Summer Festival 2026 a Success

A woman with glasses and curly brown hair holding a screwdriver, surrounded by smoke, with the text 'The Turn Srew of the' overlaid at the bottom.

“The art of the thriller lies in managing its escalating sense of dread that comes as revelations accrue while ensuring the payoff is still a surprise. Few operas pull it off. But Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw stands at the top of that short list, and Mark Streshinsky’s current version for West Edge Opera ranks among its most compelling realizations.”

Digital illustration of a man with a beard and mustache in a superhero costume with blue and white lines, standing in front of a cityscape with skyscrapers, with the name 'RINALDO' in yellow text on a white background.

“This delightful Rinaldo confirms what West Edge audiences have known for years: In the company’s imaginative stagings, the unexpected is expected.”

A shirtless man standing with a white cloth draped over his lower body, using an arm to hold the cloth in front of him. The background features sketches of astronauts and space-related figures, with the text 'American Apollo' in the lower left corner.

“The new production of the 2024 chamber opera, which opened Saturday, Aug. 8, at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center, is well directed by Nataki Garrett, beautifully sung and acted, and emotionally moving”.

Explore this Season's Brochure

What happens when we feel called to be the hero of our own story and discover that the hardest challenges are often ourselves? These works explore love, fear, belief, and identity, showing how people struggle when faced with choices that could change everything.