Vagabond Opera will give Truckee audiences a rare opportunity to enjoy one of the country’s most unique ensembles for free. At Moody’s, the six-piece, Portland, Oregon-based band will deliver an eclectic mix of original and traditional compositions, unified by an Old-World mood. The result is gut-bucket swing, tangos, Paris hot jazz, Ukranian folk-punk ballads, Arabic belly dance, Klezmer, operatic arias and vigorous originals. Each of these styles is played with skill, exuberance and a gritty Vagabond edge. The band’s lineup features trained operatic tenor and soprano vocals, accordion, tenor saxophone, cello, stand-up bass, and drums. Guest performers often appear with the ensemble.

“A Vagabond Opera show is a chance to time-travel,” The Washington Post wrote. “Specifically, to 1920s Paris. On a riverboat. With a glass of absinthe in one hand and a long cigarette holder in the other.”

Vagabond Opera masters lyrics from 13 languages. The ensemble’s varied repertoire has attracted a wildly diverse and enthusiastic following. They have performed everywhere from classical concerts, jazz clubs, festivals, contemporary cabarets and Bohemian bar stomps. The group has shared the stage or recorded with Pink Martini, Oregon Symphony, Al Franken, The Yard Dogs Road Show, Rob Brezny, Taarka, and Brave Combo.

Masters of many genres, Vagabond Opera liberates opera from its usual construct. As bandleader Eric Stem describes it, “This is opera reinvented for the rest of us.”