PARK OPERA
BY WOJTEK BLECHARZ

“The protagonist of the opera is listening itself.”

PARK OPERA was commissioned by the Theater Powszechny, and was adaptated for Balboa Park by Project [BLANK] and Wojtek Blecharz.

PARK OPERA is sponsored by
Havea, Halen, and Zyla.

OPERA INSTALLATION IN BALBOA PARK

MAINSTAGE SERIES: MAY 10, 2025, 4:00 - 7:00 PM → BALBOA PARK
Begin at the MORETON bay FIG TREE

To fully experience the work, we ask that you bring your own headphones and smart phone. You’ll be invited to listen to a series of sound meditations on your personal device throughout the evening. We also recommend arriving no later than 6:00 PM to experience the work in its entirety.

ACT 1: FOYER at the Moreton Bay Fig Tree
ACT 2: OVERTURE FOR FOUR INSTRUMENTS at the Botanical Garden EAST & WEST Lawns
ACT 3: ARIA FOR MERMAID at the Lily Pond
ACT 4: BALLET at the El Prado Promenade
ACT 5. STAGE SET "I AM ALL EARS" at the Zoro Garden
ACT 6: ARIA. DUET. at the Zoro Garden
ACT 7: BINOCULARS FOR SOUND at the Bea Evanson Fountain
ACT 8: RECITATIVO at the Desert Cactus Garden
ACT 9: CHORUS OF BLUEBIRDS at the Desert Cactus Garden
ACT 10: THE UNICORNS at the Rose Garden
ACT 11: THE GONG at the Rose Garden

CREATIVE TEAM

WOJTEK BLECHARZ, composer
LESLIE ANN LEYTHAM, production manager
JOE CANTRELL, technical director
ARMANDO DE LA TORRE, stage set “ESTOY TODO OíDOS"

PERFORMANCES BY

AMY CIMINI, viola
ANITA CHANDAVARKAR, flute
ARIANA WARREN, clarinet
ASHLEY ZHANG, toy piano
BATYA MACADAM-SOMER, violin
BRENDAN NGUYEN, toy piano
DANIELLE PERRAULT, contralto
LESLIE ANN LEYTHAM, mezzo-soprano
NATALIA MERLANO GOMEZ, soprano
NATALIE KOSKI-KARRELL, ballet
TINA CHONG, toy piano

Special thanks to Theater Powszechny in Warsaw and Music Export Poland, for supporting Park-Opera in Balboa Park.

Note from the Composer, Wojtek Blecharz

PARK OPERA, 2024, Austria
photo by Kathrin Schulthess

A public park is a fully acousmatic environment in which one can hear many sounds. Some are commonplace and ordinary. Others are mysterious and unexpected. The soundscapes of nature mingle with more percussive sounds of the city that surrounds it, with all the bustle and activity of people going about their lives. This is the magic of a park…

PARK OPERA is about how we listen to our environment. It is about how nature activates our senses, so we become deep listeners, we become “all ears.” It also encourages us to listen to each other, and to consider the sounds that our own presence leaves on the landscape.

Why an “opera”? Opera is perhaps the first truly interdisciplinary art form, encompassing music, theater, dance, and the visual arts. When we think about opera in previous centuries, we realize that it functioned primarily as a means of social gathering: people would go to the opera to show off, meet with others, gossip, do business, eat, drink, and — of course, eventually — listen to music and be moved by storytelling and spectacle. 

Today the relationship between traditional opera and audiences is much different. Opera houses function as prestigious and exclusive "temples of music", where a patron is supposed to sit in silence for a number of hours and only watch and listen. PARK OPERA reverses this relationship and makes the experience more democratic. It is locally specific — dedicated to the people of the community and the public spaces in which they live and interact — where everybody can join and participate, in the process becoming part of the opera themselves.  

In PARK OPERA, the “stage” is the park and the “protagonists” are the listeners. Audience members can listen to the music from the opposite side of a lake, or wander through the forest and follow the sounds from behind the trees. The music is noninvasive and composed in respect to the natural environment of the park, but its echo can be heard at various distances and in surprising ways. The installations of visual art encourage park-goers to see the environment with fresh eyes, to ignite the imagination of children and adults alike.

PARK OPERA was commissioned in 2016 by Theater Powszechny in Warsaw, Poland. In 2020, it was reimagined for a park near Basel, Switzerland as part of the Rümlingen Festival, and was performed again in Austria in 2024. The work can be adapted to any other space and arranged in a new order depending on the nature of the landscape and the community that surrounds it. I am excited to now bring PARK OPERA to San Diego, a city where I lived for many formative years, and to adapt the work specifically for Balboa Park, a place where I have spent many happy hours. My friends and colleagues at Project [BLANK] are the perfect collaborators to re-create this work for a new space and new audiences. Thank you for joining us on this journey of discovery.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

WOJTEK BLECHARZ, COMPOSER

Photo Cred. Marta Gillner

Born in Gdynia (Poland) in 1981, Wojtek Blecharz graduated with honors from the Frederic Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw in 2006 (Master of Arts). In 2015, he received a Ph.D. in music composition from the University of California, San Diego, and has been living in Berlin since then. From 2012 to 2019, Blecharz curated the Instalakcje music festival at Warsaw’s Nowy Theater, showcasing non-traditional music formats such as sound installations, performative installations, sound sculptures, music videos, and music theater. In 2025, he co-curated the final concert of MaerzMusik in Berlin ("I AM ALL EARS"), continuing his efforts to redefine the traditional concert format. Blecharz has directed three of his opera-installations: Transcryptum (2013), commissioned by the Grand Theater–National Opera in Warsaw; Park-Opera (2016), commissioned by Theater Powszechny in Warsaw; and Body-Opera (2016), commissioned by the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Additionally, in 2018 he composed OPERA FIASKO, commissioned by Staatstheater Darmstadt; and in 2019, Rechnitz.Opera for six actors and four cellos, based on a text by Elfriede Jelinek, commissioned by the Warsaw Autumn Festival and TR Warszawa.

Blecharz composed pieces for Kwadrofonik Ensemble (Warsaw), Forbidden City Chamber Orchestra (Beijing), Klangforum Wien (Vienna), Royal String Quartet (Warsaw), Aviva Endean (Melbourne), Jenn Torrence (Oslo), Ryan Muncy (New York), Rupert Enticknap (Berlin), Rei Nakamura (Freiburg), International Contemporary Ensemble (New York), Musiques Nouvelles (Brussels), Collegium Novum Zurich, KNM Ensemble (Berlin), Asian Art Ensemble (Berlin), Staatstheater Darmstadt, TR Warszawa, Warsaw Autumn Festival, Szczecin Philharmonics, Roskilde Festival, Eklekto (Geneva), &TD Theater (Zagreb), JEMP Festival/Arts Territory (London), Radialsystem (Berlin), Museum of the History of Polish Jews POLIN (Warsaw), ensemble mosaik (Berlin), Hashtag Ensemble (Warsaw), Spółdzielnia Muzyczna Contemporary Ensemble (Cracow), Jewish Culture Festival (Cracow), Disappearing Berlin-Schinkel Pavillon, The National Orchestra of Polish Radio (Katowice), Rei Nakamura and others.

Recently his works were performed at Warsaw Autumn Festival, Maerz Musik, Salzburg Biennale, Museum of Modern Art in Tel Aviv, Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music (Australia), MATA Festival (New York), Mostly Mozart Festival (New York), Klangwerkstadt (Berlin), Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (England), Rainy Days (Luxembourg), Time of Music (Viitasaari, Finland), ImpulsTanz (Vienna), Sacrum Profanum (Cracow), Festival of the Premiers (Katowice, Poland), SummerCourses for New Music in Darmstadt, Donaueschinger Musiktage and others.

AMY CIMINI, VIOLA

Amy Cimini is a musicologist, violist, teacher and Associate Professor of Music at UC San Diego. She works on questions of power, community and technology in 20th & 21st century experimental music, sound art and auditory culture. She is the author of Wild Sound: Maryanne Amacher and the Tenses of Audible Life (Oxford University Press 2022) and co-editor of Maryanne Amacher: Selected Writings and Interviews (Blank Forms Editions 2020) with composer and theorist Bill Dietz. In other writing, she explores race and digital art curation; debates about feminist music theory, embodiment and epistemology; listening, surveillance and border militarization and other topics. As a violist, Amy makes solo music that engages with archives and soundscapes in the San Diego-Tijuana borderlands. Her first solo album, titled See You When I Get There, will be out in June 2025 on the Relative Pitch Imprint. She is also happy to play in Yvette Janine Jackson’s Radio Opera Workshop and the San Diego-based noise band Necking.

ANITA CHANDAVARKAR, flute

Flutist (improviser, interpreter and composer) Anita Chandavarkar has collaborated with Ensemble Dal Niente, members of Yarn/Wire, ALEA III, Callithumpian Consort, and Brooklyn Raga Massive, and has worked alongside such luminaries as Tony Arnold, Raven Chacon, John Adams, and Henry Threadgill. She also plays bansuri bamboo flute in the Hindustani classical tradition, and studies with Lyon Leifer, disciple of Pandit Devendra Murdeshwar. Anita earned an MM in flute performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, studying with Fenwick Smith and Paula Robison. She also holds a BM in Flute Performance, having studied with Walfrid Kujala, and a BA in Spanish Literature from Northwestern University. Anita is currently a DMA student at UC San Diego, studying with Wilfrido Terrazas.

ARIANA WARREN, CLARINET

Dr. Ariana Warren is a woodwinds artist and educator in San Diego, CA. A multifaceted performer, Dr. Warren can be heard performing in ensembles including Joe Garrison and the Night People, A Hundred Ghosts, Basser, City Ballet Orchestra, and San Diego Musical Theater. As an educator Dr. Warren teaches at Cuyamaca College and has a private studio both in person and online. Dr. Warren holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from UC San Diego, as well as Masters and Bachelors of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of the John’s Hopkins University.

ARMANDO DE LA TORRE, SET DESIGN

I am a Fronterizo artist and activist using alternative materials to tell stories which are entwined with place, borders, and Identities, offering a possible new world. I was born in Tijuana and raised in San Diego by a single mother. I joined the military and served with the 82 Airborne Division when I was 23 years old with two duties overseas, Germany and Korea. I attended Santa Monica community College where I earned an associates degree in Art, I then graduated much later from San Diego State University in the multimedia Art Department, Currently I'm enrolled at University of New Mexico for an MFA in art and ecology. I have been performing and teaching puppetry through the San Diego Guild of Puppetry for a long time, I also have a long history of making art in the San Diego Tijuana region with exhibitions at MCASD, SDMA, ICA San Diego, Centro Cultural de la Raza, and The Front Cultural Center in San Isidro. I leverage my exhibitions by supporting marginalized communities through a teaching practice.

ASHLEY ZHANG, PIANO

A pianist with “impressive technical skill and innate musicality” (Unsuk Chin), Shoai Ashley Zhang is an active musician and educator. A champion of contemporary music, Dr. Zhang has premiered dozens of new works and collaborated closely with composers including Helmut Lachenmann, Jalalu Kalvert-Nelson, and Unsuk Chin. Dr. Zhang was Instructor of Piano at University of California San Diego, and currently presents recitals featuring both new and old piano repertoire. Recent engagements include appearances at Tanglewood Music Festival, Lucerne Festival, as well as concertos with Palimpsest Ensemble and UC San Diego Chamber Orchestra. Zhang is currently an Emerging Artist for the LA concert series Piano Spheres.

BATYA MACADAM-SOMER, VIOLIN

Batya MacAdam-Somer is a violinist, violist and vocalist specializing in collaboration and experimentation. Her work spans across classical, avant-garde, folk, and popular music practices, taking her to venues throughout the United States, Mexico, The United Kingdom and Europe. Batya has collaborated with ensembles including wasteLAnd, Bang On A Can All-Stars, PARTCH Ensemble, Wild Up, and ICE, appearing on stages at the Ojai Music Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, and Festival Vértice. She resides in San Diego, where she works often with organizations such as Project [BLANK], Art of Elan, The Hutchins Consort, San Diego Baroque, Camarada and Bach Collegium San Diego.

BRENDAN NGUYEN, PIANO

Brendan Nguyen is a versatile pianist, artist, and producer whose bold programming, use of technology, and immersive concert concepts push musical boundaries while reimagining the classical canon. He has performed at venues and series including REDCAT at Disney Hall, Zipper Hall, Monday Evening Concerts, Merkin Hall, The Stone, wasteLAnd, Ensemble Echoi, and UC San Diego’s Palimpsest Ensemble, and has recorded with Carrier and Populist Records. Brendan has worked closely with George Crumb, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Lewis Nielson, and premiered works by Wojtek Blecharz, Aaron Helgeson, Nicholas Deyoe, Clint McCallum, Josiah Oberholtzer, and Roger Reynolds. He has appeared at the Bowdoin and Shandelee International Music Festivals, earning fellowships and scholarships recognizing his artistry. Brendan is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Project [BLANK].

DANIELLE PERRAULT, CONTRALTO

Caribbean-American contralto Danielle Perrault  has been praised for her “rich and stunning voice” and “great expressive power”. She is comfortable in a wide range of repertoire from opera and oratorio to jazz and folk styles, and her performing has taken her from coast to coast and abroad. Some favorite operatic roles include Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Flora in La Traviata, Ruggiero in Alcina, and Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti. Solo oratorio appearances include Beethoven’s Mass in C, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Missa Cellensis, Handel’s Messiah, and the modern world premiere of Manuel Garcia’s Mass in D Major in Spain. Initially trained as a dancer, Danielle began her musical career in the theater, and continues to be an avid performer of musical theater. Favorite roles include Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar, Sarah in Ragtime, Woman 2 in Songs for a New World, and the mezzo soloist in Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill. Danielle holds a Master of Music in Opera Performance from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from California State University San Bernardino. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Simpson University and is continuing her education in Somatic Therapy this fall. Her aim is to engage both audiences and students in exploring the human condition through visceral awareness and vocal expression.

leslie ann leytham, mezzo-soprano

Leslie Ann Leytham is a San Diego-based mezzo-soprano who actively commissions mutli-media narrative vocal works, and collaborates with composers not only as a singer and actor, but as a director and producer as well. Ms. Leytham has premiered works by and worked closely with numerous composers, including Gabriela Lena Frank, Nicolas Reveles, Carolyn Chen, Marti Epstein, Andy Vores, Nicholas Deyoe, and many more. She has performed as a featured artist with San Diego Opera, Industry Opera (Los Angeles), WildUp (L.A.), Noon 2 Midnight concert marathon produced by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Monday Evening Concert Series (L.A.), La Jolla Symphony, wasteLAnd concert series (L.A.), Bach Collegium, San Diego Baroque, City Opera of San Diego, and Guerilla Opera (Boston). Ms. Leytham has also been featured in installation performances at NOWY Teatr (Warsaw), the Mengi (Reykjavik), Space4Art (SD), and Bread and Salt (SD). Leslie is co-founder and Artistic Director of Project [BLANK]. 

NATALIA MERLANO GOMEZ, soprano

Natalia Merlano Gomez is a musician, singer, vocalist, improviser, and creator. She has been captivated by experimental music, worldwide folk music, improvisation, graphical notation, explorations with electronic devices, and extended vocal sounds. Additionally, she is curious about theatrical performance and explorations around video and photography. She earned an M.A. in Contemporary Music - Singing at Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, Germany, being part of different multidisciplinary projects combining music, theater, dance, literature, and visual arts. Yielding good results, she did her undergraduate program at the Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas in Bogota, Colombia. She is pursuing a Doctorate in Music Arts at the University of California San Diego. Since 2009, she has premiered many works by composers worldwide and commissioned new pieces. In 2021, she presented her first album called Resonancias Entrelazadas. It includes 15 works written by female composers and improvisations with female performers. Also, in 2022, she premiered the project CINCO with audiovisual pieces by Latin American composers written primarily for her.

NATALIE KOSKI-KARELL, DANCER

Natalie Koski-Karell is a dancer, urban planner, and psychedelics policy advocate based in San Diego. She organizes offerings at the intersection of dance, theatre, and ceremony through her production platform The Ouroboros Collaborative.Most recently, she's been initiating "Presence": site-specific, improvised dance/film collaborations in public spaces around San Diego. Find her on IG @natalieunherd to join a future meet-up.

Tina chong

Hailed as “… a deity of elegance” by the New Brunswick Beacon, Dr. Tina Chong is an international award-winning pianist and teaching artist. A native of Banff, Canada, Tina has been described as, “…mature and yet fresh, imbued with tradition and yet inhabited by individuality, the marks of an artist” (The Herald Times). 

She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music at San Diego State University and performs regularly with the San Diego Symphony as a keyboardist. Tina’s recital career has brought her to such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and Sala Chopin in Mexico City. She has been featured in La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest, the Portland International Summer Festival, and the WFMT Series of Chicago. Under the management of Jeunesses Musicales of Canada, Tina has gone on extensive concert tours throughout Canada. She is the prizewinner of several international competitions, including the Montreal International Musical Competition and the Jacques Klein Piano Competition in Brazil. 

Tina is a Yamaha artist with degrees from Indiana University and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Tina is also a passionate advocate of alternatively-sized keyboards for pianists with small hands.

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