MIT is without doubt a place with the ability and tendency to attract and foster individuals with lofty goals and diverse talents. Our group, Pocket Opera Productions, is just yet another confluence of such a group of individuals. Pocket Opera Productions started out as a simple idea of a few members and friends of the MIT Chamber Chorus from Spring 2023. “How about we do some singing over the summer?” An innocent enough idea. Little did we know at the time the proportions to which this would grow.
In the Fall of 2023, Pocket Opera Productions put up its first ever performance: a semi-staged performance of Gioachino Rossini’s La Cenerentola ossia La bontà in trionfo. An ambitious enough undertaking as it was, it was also an incredible learning experience, given that it was about two and a half hours of music sung in Italian being taken up by non-music majors who are exceptionally talented at keeping themselves busy with a gazillion other things! In the Spring of 2024, taking things to the next level, we performed Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto that presented many more challenges and opportunities to explore and grow. Along our journey, we have been fortunate to have had the support of MIT MTA as well as CAMIT who provided us with a seed grant in the Fall of 2023 and a full grant in the Spring of 2024.
From here on, things only get bigger and better. We already have plans for our 2024-2025 season with rehearsals and planning underway, involving more elaborate staging, costumes, lighting, and a chorus! We are truly excited to see what is in store for the group and are excited to be able to share a glimpse of our success and story with you.
Rossini’s La Cenerentola | Fall 2023
Verdi’s Rigoletto | Spring 2024
Funded by the Council for the Arts at MIT.