The Four Note Opera
Tom Johnson

Director​​ | 2023
Conrad Prebys Music Center Experimental Theater​ | University of California San Diego (San Diego, CA)

"The [Four Note Opera] enjoyed a compelling revival... in performances that were surprisingly lush, varied and skillful. ... A captivating performance of an underperformed piece, ... this is a generous work — rich in humor and interest." 

Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune ​

     Supremely well-crafted for the vocalists and written in the minimalist style,  Tom Johnson’s The Four Note Opera is a joyous and bouyant look at the idosyncracies of the beloved genre of opera, as well as the charming foibles of those who perform it.  The work was first performed in The Cubicolo Theater in New York City on May 11, 1972. "The Cube," as it was affectionately called, was an intimate seventy-five seat theater in which experimental works of all genres were performed including Johnson's sixty-minute chamber opera for voices and piano, constructed with only four pitches. By some happy accident of fate, our production also references “The Cube” explicitly through production design and by embracing wholeheartedly the spirit of joyous experimentation so essential to the lifeblood of the Department of Music at UC San Diego.

Photography by Robert Bui