Opera Modesto’s Story Into Song Literacy Initiative is a nationally unique community partnership leveraging literature and the power of the performing arts to benefit the community.
The 2020/21 Story Into Song Literacy Initiative Opera will be produced as a movie!
THE RACE is a charming re-telling of tales as old as time. Commissioned by Opera Modesto from a talented female creative team, it will be vibrantly brought to life by a young female artistic team, performed by a diverse cast of 19 talented performers (11-19 years old) and produced by multiple award-winning filmmaker, The Creation Lab.
The Tortoise and Hare challenge each other to a race that takes them through California’s beautiful central valley. Along the way, the Hare alternately sprinting and napping and the Tortoise plodding, they encounter a bear and some bees, some frightened rabbits and frogs, a hungry fox, and a lamb being stalked by a wolf being stalked by a shepherd.
In the end they all look on as the exhausted Tortoise struggles past the sleeping Hare and collapses over the finish line. Everyone cheers the Tortoise while the Hare sings of his misery. The crowd carries Tortoise off on their shoulders while the Hare looks on, astounded.
Costume sketches created by Keilani Gleave