Cynthia Stokes

Theatre and Opera Director

• 
  
  
  • The Andrée Expedition
    SD City Opera
    "Haunting"
    
    " City Opera, a company launched in San Diego last summer, has turned Argento’s songs into a fully staged opera for three singers with costumes, scenery and evocative direction by City Opera’s co-founder Cynthia Stokes. With just four chairs, a few ropes, a cloudy backdrop and a blanket of paper confetti “snow,” Stokes’ creative flashback staging begins with Yeager’s Frænkel alone on the ice, giving silent testimony that he will uncover and preserve the mystery of the failed expedition. Yeager’s booming voice, charismatic stage presence and solid acting skills ground the story theatrically. Stokes ends the engrossing piece with a surprising and moving theatrical flourish that features a soulful and stylish reunion of the dead and dying.
    Opera is at its best when it’s visceral, and City Opera’s imaginative conception of the tragic, true story of the Andrée Expedition has proven to be a natural. "
    
    Pam Kragen
    San Diego Union Tribune