019: Nicole Paiement

Opera Parallèle was founded in 2010, first as “Ensemble Parallèle” to create space for contemporary opera in the performing arts landscape and make it accessible and relevant to a wide audience. Since storytelling and music taps into our innate human nature, we believed that opera could have a transformative power to help raise collective awareness of contemporary issues. Opera Parallèle brings relevant stories to the stage using the aesthetic of our day. We are continually exploring ways to challenge traditional operatic norms by incorporating multimedia elements, technology, and unconventional staging. We seek ways to break the boundary of audience and performers by creating immersive experiences and use space as an integral part of our creative design.We produce high-quality contemporary operas in intimate venues, fostering direct emotional contact with the stories and the performers. Our name originated from the strong belief that collaboration is essential in creating art that has impact. Working “in Parallel” with our time and with our community is part of our DNA.

How has the organization evolved over the years?

OP began with a small group of like-minded artists who came together to create art that would resonate with the world of today and have an impact on our community. From our initial presentation in 2007 to when we incorporated as a 501c3 in 2010 we have always been humbled and inspired by the support of our board members, the artists we engage and the community at large. Though we are still a relatively young company, we have quickly developed a reputation for our innovative productions and our work in pushing the boundary of the art form. We have become leaders in the industry in finding new ways to perform opera that will speak to a wide audience – making opera an active participant in our society. As we approach our 15th season, we are proud to be collaborating with many other organizations around the nation to co-produce new productions and commission new works that continue to push these boundaries.

What has been the biggest milestone for Opera Parallèle since it started?

Like many living art organizations, the Pandemic was a challenging time. Forced out of live performance theaters, OP transformed this challenge into a positive by creating the first ever Graphic Novel Opera Film of the opera Everest by composer Joby Talbot and librettist Gene Scheer. Working with Illustrator Mark Simmons, Cinematographer David Murakami, and Sound Engineer Miles Lassi, OP combined the power of musical storytelling with the dynamic visuals of graphic novels. The first step was to record and mix the singers over an orchestral soundtrack that was created with a sound engineer in London. The singers were then filmed over a period of two weeks in March 2021, during which their authentic performances were captured through the groundbreaking technology of emotion capture process which formed the animation. Once all of these elements were edited into a film, the film was presented on The Dallas Opera Network, then received the Jury Award for Creative Achievement at the Arizona Film Festival. We transformed the Graphic Novel Opera experience into a fully immersive environment and presented 14 screenings of that project at Z Space in San Francisco in February 2022. We are presently developing a third phase of the graphic novel opera immersive project, designed to be presented in Planetariums around the country.  

Conductor Nicole Paiement is the Founder and Artistic Director of Opera Parallèle (OP) in San Francisco. Ms. Paiement has gained an international reputation as a conductor of contemporary music and opera; her numerous recordings include many world premiere works. She has served as the Artistic Director of the BluePrint Project at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) where she has commissioned, premiered, and recorded works from many living American composers. Ms. Paiement previously served as the Director of Ensembles at the University of California – Santa Cruz (UCSC), where she was awarded the UCSC Eminent Professor Award in 2014. In addition to being a leader in the world of contemporary opera, Ms. Paiement is also a specialist in early 20th Century French music and regularly conducts music from the Baroque and Classical repertoire.

Nicole Paiement is an honoree of the 2023 Community Alliance Awards // Changemaker Award which recognizes an organization or individual that applies art, technology + research to tackle societal problems while also providing resources for growth to other communities in the Bay Area.