EDITOR’S NOTE
Claude Debussy said, “In opera, there is always too much singing.” Surely tongue-in-cheek coming from a composer who thought Tristan und Isolde was the greatest piece of art ever made, but as someone who likes my stage drama talky, I actually agree. So UCSC’s new “semi-opera”—a phrase I had never heard until reading Christina Waters’ cover story this week—is kind of perfect for me. And best of all, the spoken dialogue of The Fairy Queen, a fascinating 17th century work from composer Henry Purcell, is from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Between this and Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s upcoming premiere of local playwright Kathryn Chetkovich’s The Formula—based on the same work—it’s going to be a Midsummer summer around here. I won’t give away any more about what Sheila Willey and UCSC Opera have in store with The Fairy Queen; be sure to read Christina’s cover story to find out.
We also have more election coverage this week, and will wrap it up in next week’s issue. I’ve been buried in reader response to last week’s Measure D issue; thank you to everyone who wrote in and commented online. I will get as many of those letters in as possible before the election!
STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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GOOD IDEA
RACE INFORMATION
The June 7 election is coming up, and time is running out to learn more about the candidates vying for a spot on the County Board of Supervisors—luckily, Community Bridges is hosting a free forum to get you caught up. Hear about the 3rd and 4th District Santa Cruz County Supervisorial candidates’ views on Santa Cruz County support for food security, health care, early childhood education, fire recovery and other important issues. The forum is on May 25. To participate, contact in**@cb******.org.
GOOD WORK
BIG SMILESTONE
Dientes Community Dental Care, the nonprofit offering access to low-cost oral health care, just hit a milestone. On May 19, Dientes officially celebrated 30 years of providing affordable and high-quality dental care for patients who are on public insurance or uninsured. The nonprofit has helped 50,000 patients, many who live at or below the poverty level. Having good teeth is an important part of being healthy and having confidence, so huge thanks to Dientes for making oral healthcare more equitable.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“No good opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible.”
— W.H. Auden
