In 2001, classically trained operatic tenor, pianist and accordionist Eric Stern decided to renovate his art form by infusing it with flare, imagination and mass appeal.
He began performing on street corners across the U.S., playing the accordion and showcasing his vocal talents. He considered himself a vagabond, and, planting his roots in Portland, Ore., created the Vagabond Opera to propel the innovative approach to opera into Portland’s welcoming limelight.
The Vanguard recently interviewed Stern about his inspiration for lending the city such a unique spectacle.
“I wanted to put opera in a different context, to create a hybrid,” says Stern. “Portland is a wonderful place to do that.”
He recruited a smorgasbord of technically trained masters for his outfit. Bassist Jason Flores, student of world philosophy and jazz composition, is a connoisseur of Balkan, Turkish and Armenian music traditions. Mark Burdon, drummer and graduate of Berklee College of Music, has an impressive catalogue of improvisational talents.
Robin Jackson is a self-taught violinist and saxophonist, as well as a recognized songwriting talent. Skip von Kuske is a renowned cellist, formerly of the Escade String Quartet.
Though savants in their own right, the musicians compliment one another, creating a musical powerhouse of cadence, innovation and vivacious performance. At this point, Stern can be proud of what he began.
“My colleagues in the ensemble are just top notch,” he says. “We rely on each other, and we all do so much. It’s a true ensemble.”
The group also features rotating vocalists at performances across the U.S., Europe and Canada. Doused in everything from cabaret to Americana to belly dance to neoclassical interpretations, the opera promises a highly creative trip into a fairytale world of the zany and dazzling. They also pride themselves on their ability to provide each audience with an entirely unique show.
“It’s a loose form of improv where we might work some things out at rehearsal,” Stern says. “We have a map in our head about how we’re going to go from one place to another, then sometimes all we have is that map.”
So what are they? A highly imaginative band complete with costumes and spectacular demonstrations of talent? Or an unexpected operatic ensemble with a taste for the fantastic? According to Stern, and countless fans and critics, all of the above, and then some.
“It’s opera without the elite,” says Sterns. “We’re genuinely a hybrid musically, but also theatrically. Music takes precedence, but there are also the theatrics. I think it’s a very high degree of musicianship. This is a different beast, there’s no animal out there like it.”
Rather than taking a pretentious approach to the age-old intricacies of their craft, Vagabond Opera is fearless in their arrangements and intentions.
“[We want] to help cultivate musical biodiversity and to remind everyone that this is opera for the rest of us,” says Stern. “We’re refreshing opera and reminding people of the power and the visceral quality of the human voice and that music literally doesn’t have to be categorized. I think in some ways we’re also battling a kind of musical homogeneity and trying to remind people that this kind of fine art can actually work on all levels, across all cultures and classes.”
And Portland has provided the perfect home to do this in. Despite their international prestige, Vagabond Opera remains loyal to the city that nurtured their original and distinctive knack for the boisterous and bravura.
“The Portland community itself has been very supportive,” says Stern. “Portland is a musical science lab where you can [conduct] your experiments and try all different combinations. I feel very strongly that we’re a product of Portland, because of how Portland is. How quirky and supportive it is. It feels good to be based in this city.”