La Traviata by Renegade Opera

In 1972 Lenny Amber performed in a satirical version of Verdi's La Traviata at the Chain of Fools theater company in Boise as part of the chorus

Amber came onto the Boise scene at large 6 years later with a performance at the "New Wave Variety Show" held in the basement of the YWCA. Dressed in a skin tight body suit and spray painted with glitter Amber play piano and guitar simultaneously while singing both the male and female parts to "un di felice" from the Verdi opera. The piece ended with a chaotic crash of sound effects, strobe lights and fog. The response to his act was overwhelmingly positive and soon he found himself playing local clubs like the Crazy Horse and the Tub Pub.

AJ Mullen, manager of the Contortionists suggested that he form a band so he did with Jeff Rogen as the defacto musical director, assembling a band with alumni from the New Wave Variety Show and members of the Accidents and the Measles. This configuration of the Lenny Amber Band played several dates around the Northwest including appearances at Astor Park in Seattle and the Elephant Room in Vancouver BC. Disagreements with the band and management caused Lenny to move on without them.

In 1979 Amber assembled a group of artists, models, dancers, musicians and tech personnel to performm with him calling it Renegade Opera.Lenny booked time at Custom Recording in Boise and recorded an rock version of La Traviata playing all the instruments himself. Using the pre recorded backing tracks the troupe performed on Boise cables "Boise the SHow" and Portland's "TV Party". The performances featured the troupe plus Amber wearing a giant plastic tuxedo and a huge teddy bear with a tape recorder mounted in its chest.

In the latter half of 1980 a tour was planned and booked for Renegade Opera, on the day the troupe was supposed to leave Amber was nowhere to be found. Weeks passed and no one heard from him. He eventually surface in rural New Mexico claiming he needed to "take some time for himself" Beyond that Amber has not really been seen or heard from since 1980

20 years after the aborted tour a 1/4" reel to reeltape was accidentally placed in an order the went out of Custom Recording and the original backing tracks from La Traviata were rediscovered. They have been remastered and presented here.

A superstar in the hippest circles, a curiosity when he hit the road, Lenny Amber embodies the highly localized spirit of early 80s self-invention. Adopting outrageous outfits and an expression drained of emotion Amber looked like he might be a fragile robot or possibly another species. A footnote in Boise music history but one who makes those footnotes worth remembering