I know what you’re thinking…”An opera about Zombies”?  Yes, it’s an opera with Zombies through November 6 at Pinckney Center at COCC..It’s also a serious piece of music with some top-notch singing. OperaBend continues its tradition of presenting first-class singers with, in this case, a talented local composer’s music.  This opera has great vocal melodies and is accompanied by a small professional orchestra of 4 strings and a piano.

“A Delicious 90 minutes of High Concept Pandemonium”…. OperaBend opens their season October 28th with an opera which was co-composed by born-and-raised local Benjamin Emory Larson. ‘Maelstrom, the Zombie Opera’ is being presented at Pinckney Center for the Arts on the Central Oregon Community College Campus. Directed by Larson, it is sung in English and features four guest artists, Alishia Garcia, Eric Asakawa, Evan Mitchell and Kelliann Wright from Eugene and Portland who are joined by 17 local performers: Janelle Decelles, Savannah Gardner, Nancy Scher, Aaron Fry, Dan Glover, Rob Kronberg, Eric McCaig, Alicia Wood, Angela Alvarez, Maia Denzler, Barbara Rich, Michael Axel, Joshua Clifton, Jason Jones, Justin Tilton, Stephanie Crespo and Gracie de Wilde.

Maelstrom is a fast-paced 90-minute hybrid of zombie movie, fine art, and stage dramedy. Conceived and written by Reed Reimer and Larson, this spooky chamber piece will make you laugh, cringe in fear, laugh some more, and probably run home to watch every zombie movie ever made afterwards. Their delightful score draws from influences as diverse as Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Vaughn Williams, Donizetti, and John Williams.

When: Friday, October 28 at 7pm Saturday, October 29 at 7pm Sunday, October 30 at 3pm Friday, November 4 at 7pm Saturday, November 5 at 7pm Sunday, November 6 at 3pmCost: $20-$25Tis: www.operabend.org or 1-800-838-3006