Part of Virginia Opera’s Variations Series
One Hour – Three Acts – #NoFilter is a sharply funny, hour-long program featuring three short operas that dive headfirst into the comic untangling of modern relationships. From phone-obsessed couples and entwined love lives to pandemic-era family drama, these bite-sized works reveal what happens when the truth gets too close for comfort by examining how love and connection are tested in today’s world. The program includes Service Provider by Christopher Weiss and John de los Santos, The Whole Truth by Robert Paterson and Mark Campbell, and Cinderella 99 by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer.
Service Provider
Music by Christopher Weiss
Libretto by John de los Santos
Commissioned by the Washington National Opera at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and first produced at the Kennedy Center during the 2015/2016 Season.
Service Provider is a sharp, one-act chamber opera that satirizes our tech-obsessed culture and its toll on love. Commissioned by Washington National Opera and dubbed “the crowd pleaser” by The Washington Post at its Kennedy Center debut, this 20-minute gem has captivated audiences nationwide.
Set in a posh restaurant, a couple’s anniversary dinner spirals into chaos as constant phone interruptions expose the cracks in their relationship. Blending biting humor with emotional depth, Service Provider is a fast-paced, modern opera for four voices that hits disturbingly close to home in the digital age.
The Whole Truth
A Chamber Opera in Seven Scenes
Music by Robert Paterson
Libretto by Mark Campbell
Based on the short story of the same name by Stephen McCauley
By arrangement with Bill Holab Music
The Whole Truth is a fast-paced comic opera that dives into the double life of Megan, a young married woman hilariously torn between denial and honesty. Split into two personas—Megan A (soprano), who dodges the truth, and Megan B (mezzo), who craves it—she juggles lovers, lies, and a clueless husband, all while a single baritone plays every man in her chaotic orbit.
Told in seven witty scenes, the opera follows Megan’s tangled web of deceit—from dodging a psychiatrist’s questions to romancing a carefree carpenter—until her carefully constructed life threatens to collapse. But in this sharp, satirical world, a stylish lie might just be better than the messy truth. Composed by Grammy-winner Robert Paterson, named Composer of the Year at Carnegie Hall, The Whole Truth is a wickedly smart exploration of love, identity, and the little fictions we tell ourselves.
Cinderella 99
A Micro-Opera
Music by Jake Heggie
Libretto by Gene Scheer
By arrangement with Bent Pen Music, Inc.
Sole Agent: Bill Holab Music
Cinderella 99 is a sharp, heartfelt opera by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer that captures the chaos of family life during lockdown. It’s March 2020, and a couple’s dream of an empty nest is crushed when their college-aged kids move back in. As the family navigates the tension of nonstop togetherness, the parents reveal a surprising secret coping mechanism—shocking their children and turning quarantine upside down.
Funny, relatable, and deeply human, this pandemic-era opera shines a light on the joys and strains of family life when there’s nowhere to hide.
