Birds and Balls in San Francisco

“I was invited to come and watch Birds & Balls at The Jazz Center in S.F. The Balls was about the “Battle of The” & Billie Jean King. I’ve never seen a contemporary opera so it was different & interesting. I enjoyed meeting the cast especially my character with Howard Cosell
Gabriella.

Birds & Balls

Balls is a multimedia opera dramatizing the famed 1973 tennis game between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. The match, dubbed “The Battle of the Sexes,” changed not only the perception and treatment of women in sports, but significantly advanced the women’s rights movement. The opera features a live tennis match as a central narrative device, along with actual commentary from the 1973 broadcast. Balls incorporates electronic sampling entwined in the score, and creative time-hopping – key figures such as Larry King and Howard Cosell are joined by American Suffragette Susan B. Anthony.

Birds & Balls

Vinkensport Composer David T. Little | Vinkensport Librettist Royce Vavrek
Balls Composer Laura Karpman | Balls Librettist Gail Collins