Nikola Printz as Billie Jean King in Laura Karpman's Balls
Opera Parallèle, April, 2024
Photo by Kristen Loken, courtesy of Opera Parallèle
This weekend, Opera Parallèle is presenting four performances of a charming double bill called Birds & Balls, consisting of David T. Little and Royce Vavrek's Vinkensport (about the Belgian sport of counting the mating calls of finches) and Laura Karpman and Gail Collins's Balls, which is about the 1973 tennis match between (the very closeted) champion Billie Jean King and (the asshole former amateur champion) Bobby Riggs. I saw the second performance, yesterday afternoon.
I always want more operatic comedies, and this pairing is definitely a winner. Both works have good music and good to great performances; they are knit together by extremely funny patter from Howard Cosell (some of you will remember him) as a presentation of ABC's Wide World of Sports. (Does it still exist? I have no idea.) The standout performances are Nikola Printz as King and Nathan Granner as Riggs, with a great contribution by Tiffany Austin as King's secret lover Marilyn and the always-terrific Shawnette Sulker as Susan B. Anthony. Honestly, everyone was excellent, and Nicole Paiement conducted with her usual precision and drive. The two operas are not perfect, per Joshua Kosman's review, but I enjoyed them greatly despite the flaws.
There's one performance left, today, Sunday, April 7, at 2 p.m. Go if you can!
Review roundup:
- Joshua Kosman, SF Chronicle
- Jeff Dunn, Aisle Seat Review
- Michael Anthonio, Parterre Box
- Rebecca Wishnia, SFCV
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