A New Look At Duke Ellington’s Opera

“Duke Ellington’s Queenie Pie, the jazz opera he left uncompleted at his death in 1974, some infectious music, a strange libretto and a satiric opera buffa style pose a considerable challenge. The consistently ambitious Oakland Opera Theater has taken it on in a fitfully engaging, overstuffed production, under Tom Dean’s artistic direction, that opened over the weekend at the Oakland Metro Operahouse.”