Houston Opera Vista Festival Threatened

From Joe White:

HOUSTON – The organizers of the second annual Opera Vista Festival suspected one of their featured operas would draw controversy. But when an anonymous letter threatening the founders of the Nova Arts Project arrived at founding director Amy Hopper’s doorstep, she realized the show had potential to ignite a firestorm.

“We received this letter that was all about ignorance and hate, and that’s the whole point of this opera – to confront ignorance and hate. It makes it even more important to tell the story,” Hopper said.

The opera is “Edalat Square,” one of two works that won Opera Vista’s inaugural festival competition in 2007 (think “American Idol” for opera composers). Written by Atlanta‐based composer R. Timothy Brady, the opera recounts the true story of Mahmoud Asgari, 17, and Ayaz Marhoni, 16, who were hanged in Iran in 2005 for the crime of lavaat, or sex between two men. Brady was inspired by the story to craft a poetic work that offers an unblinking look at bigotry, but is also prayerful and mystical, said Viswa Subbaraman, artistic director and co‐founder of Opera Vista. “It’s an amazing appeal to the soul,” Subbaraman said. “It’s some of the most poignant music and lyrics in opera. I don’t know how you could watch it and not be moved.”

Because of its exploration of two hot‐button topics – radical Islam and homosexuality – performances of “Edalat Square” have faced opposition before. At its world premiere at Emory University, the university’s president contemplated canceling the show because of complaints. Some critics have said the show is persecuting the Islamic faith, which festival organizers say it doesn’t. Others object to the homosexual content.

On May 5, Amy Hopper found out the show was already pushing buttons here in Houston. She opened her mailbox to discover a hand‐stenciled, anonymous letter that said: “You are pigs to mix Islam with gays. You must stop! We will not let you do it.”

The festival’s organizers actually are glad the opera could spark debate or criticism. That’s part of the purpose of the performing arts – to provoke discussion and ignite the emotions, they said. “Great art should open a discussion, and I think that’s what this opera does,” Subbaraman said. “Art has never existed in a vacuum – it often has a political bent, and that’s as it should be.” “Edalat Square” will open the Opera Vista Festival at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 21, in the Wortham Theater Complex at the University of Houston. For more information and a schedule of operas being performed at the festival, visit www.operavista.org or www.novaartsproject.com/shows/ovf. Nova Arts Project is a Houston based, not‐forprofit performing arts organization that seeks to recreate classics and inspire new works in a fearlessly theatrical way.

Opera Vista is dedicated to continuing the growth of the operatic tradition by producing fully‐staged versions of new and contemporary operas, giving living composers a performance venue, and establishing and developing an audience for new opera. Opera Vista is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.