Evenings in Quarantine: The Zombie Opera

Happy Halloween to the “Birthplace of the Zombie”, Pittsburgh!!!!

Are you craving some Zombie Opera action this spoooky season?  Our show may not be running but we’re not dead yet!

Celebrate the three year anniversary of the premiere of Zombie Opera with the Bootleg Premiere Recording and Studio Album (available in downloadable mp3 format on CdBaby.com, iTunes and Amazon.com) or purchase the Premiere DVD with Bonus audio commentary track!

Visit our Merchandise Page for more information on our audio albums and dvd!

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Zombie Opera founders/ artistic directors/ composers Bonnie Bogovich and Liz Rishel (aka “Ronnie” and “Izzie” in Zombie Opera) are both starring in the upcoming Pittsburgh Savoyards production of “Princess Ida”

Bogovich and Rishel are both double-cast in the role of Lady Psyche, Professor of Humanities of Castle Adamant. They rule their classroom with an iron riding crop, a hatred for mankind, and a passion for Darwinism.

Check out this classic Gilbert and Sullivan production October 11th-20th at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall in Carnegie, PA.  All shows 8pm, except Sunday Matinees which are at 2:30. Tickets on sale online and at the door.

Pittsburgh Savoyards – Princess Ida Info and Cast Breakdown
Ticket Information Page
Savoyards on Twitter
Facebook Event

Some of you are familiar with a set of criteria known as the Bechdel Test, named after cartoonist Alison Bechdel, which is a set of rules for identifying the presence of gender bias in a work of fiction. The rules are as follows:

1. Are there 2 or more female characters?
2. Do they talk to each other?
3. About something other than a man?

If a work of fiction can answer yes to all three questions, then it can be said to having strong female characters. Fiction that fails the Bechdel test isn’t necessarily bad, it just means that male and female characters aren’t balanced.

The Zombie Opera would like to proudly declare that this work passes the Bechdel test. The two main characters are Ronnie and Izzie, two women with a healthy friendship. Their main focus in the story is survival, and that’s what they mostly talk about. While Ronnie is the leader, their friendship is pretty well balanced- Ronnie is the fighter, while Izzie is the muse. In one of their two largest scenes together, Izzie convinces Ronnie to keep surviving by describing imagery of beauty in dark times- neither one of them ever uses love or romance as their motivation. Read the rest of this entry ?

Craving some Zombie Opera during the springtime season?

You can still enjoy The Zombie Opera in the privacy of your own home with the Bootleg Premiere Recording and Studio Album (available in downloadable mp3 format on CdBaby.com, iTunes and Amazon.com) or purchase the Premiere DVD with Bonus audio commentary track!

Visit our Merchandise Page for more information on our audio albums and dvd!

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Were you one of our fabulous zombie extras in The Zombie Opera?  Have you ever been a zombie extra in a film shot in Pittsburgh?  Check out this amazing opportunity to share your ‘horror’ stories with the world:)

ATTENTION ALL Actors, Actresses, Extras and Crew who were part of any Pittsburgh made films with Zombies over the past 45 years…

I am looking for your personal on and off set memories as a zombie or zombie killer or zombie maker to be included in my new book project: MEMORIES OF THE LIVING DEAD.  

Please message me or email me with your stories and attach any photos you may have that I can include. Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks. Bob Michelucci

As we near the end of October, several members of The Zombie Opera are celebrating as yet another terrifying project nears completion.  Scream Park, the new Pittsburgh-based horror project by writer/director Cary Hill, is an independent film that was designed to hearken back to the simpler era of the 1980’s.  This tongue-in-cheek slasher is supported behind the scenes by Cinematographer Nathan Fullerton (Zopera’s assistant camera/ digital effects), Wardrobe Supervisor Liz Rishel (Zopera’s “Izzie”, Artistic Director/co-creator), Special effects and appliances Supervisor Arvin Clay (Zopera film/makeup effects), and Assistant Cameraman Edwin Huang (Zopera Director of Photography).

Also featured in Scream Park, are beloved horror icons, Doug Bradley, and Skinny Puppy‘s Kevin “Ogre” Ogilvie.

The first completed cut of the film will debut tomorrow, Halloween night, at 7 pm at the Meadville Movies complex in Meadville.

For more details about advance tickets for the screening, please visit Scream Park’s website

If you found The Zombie Opera‘s operatic-style singing compelling, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh is showcasing several promising singers in a local competition for the “Opera Champion of Pittsburgh.”  And among the eight female soloists selected, is Zombie Opera co-creator, Elizabeth Rishel (7th video down) who has taken a break from singing “Evenings in Quarantine” to try her hand at Rossini’s “Una Voce Poco Fa.”  The final candidates will be selected by a public vote.  All of these artists show exceptional talent, so we encourage you to check them all out, and if you want to vote for Liz, she is always grateful for the support of her fellow grave-crawlers!

You can vote for the final candidates online at:  http://otsummerfest.org/champ.  Voting closes 9am Saturday October 27th. Best wishes to all those competing!

Update 10/29/12:

Liz made it to the Semi-Finals! Best wishes to our zombie girl as she competes for a spot in the finals.

Craving some Zombie Opera during spooky season?

You can still enjoy The Zombie Opera in the privacy of your own home with the Bootleg Premiere Recording and Studio Album (available in downloadable mp3 format on CdBaby.com, iTunes and Amazon.com) or purchase the Premiere DVD with Bonus audio commentary track!

Visit our Merchandise Page for more information on our audio albums and dvd!

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This weekend and next, Zombie Opera participants will storm the stage in The Microscopic Opera Company‘s fall production of “Riders 2 the Sea” – a dramatic work of loss and acceptance on the Aryan Islands of Ireland.  This feature runs coupled with Thomas Albert’s “Lizbeth” – the tragic story of Lizzy Borden.  Keening in the chorus of will be Bonnie Bogovich (“Ronnie”, Artistic Director), Liz Rishel (“Izzie”, Artistic Director), Kate Hammill (“Female TV Interviewer”), Susan Blackman (Production support) and Gwen Schmidt (Production support). (facebook event)

Coming in October, Zombie Opera participants will also take part in The Pittsburgh Savoyards production of “Yeomen of the Guard,” the rare Gilbert and Sullivan work where all does not end well for the inhabitants of the Tower of London.  Performing in a variety of parts will be Bonnie Bogovich (“Ronnie Tomaston”, Artistic Director), Liz Rishel (“Izzie Bower”, Artistic Director), Jordan Speranzo (“Aidan Bower”), Ed Griffiths (Lighting Designer), Andrea Carriker (Stage Manager), Jim Newsome (Film actor, production support), Brian Bogovich (Film actor, production support, merchandise manager), Chris Carter (Feature film zombie, stage zombie), Mari Storch (Feature film zombie, stage zombie) and Gwen Schmidt (Production support). Ticket info

Wherever grief, murder, deception, tourture, death, and sharp things prevail, The Zombie Opera is thrilled to participate!

It’s been a crazy summer for the cast and crew of Evenings in Quarantine: The Zombie Opera.

This weekend and next, Liz Rishel (“Izzie”, Artistic Director) and Dustin Wickett (“Professor Thalamus”) will appear side by side in the ensemble for Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, performed by Stage 62 at the Carnegie Library and Music Hall in Carnegie PA. (facebook event link)

Starting in August, Zombie Opera cast and crew members Bonnie Bogovich (“Ronnie”, Artistic Director), Liz Rishel (“Izzie”, Artistic Director), Emily Swora (“Angela”), Jonathan McNellis (Production Manager), Kate Hammill (“Female TV Interviewer”) and many members of the Zopera Studio Choir will be performing with Undercroft Opera in their rendition of Susannah, by Carlisle Floyd. (facebook event link)

Both of these shows are magnificently dark, and we are very excited to partake in more musical projects throughout the Pittsburgh community!