Opera Atelier has announced its plans for the 2015/16 season.  As seems to have become the norm, the Toronto season will feature one new (to Toronto anyway) production and one remount.  The new piece will be Mozart’s little seen Lucio Silla which played at last year’s Salzburg Festival( with a considerably starrier cast) and which is headed for La Scala in a few weeks time.  The title role will be sung by Kresimir Spicer, alongside Inga Kalna (Cinna), Mireille Asselin (Celia), Peggy Kriha Dye (Cecillio) and Meghan Lindsay (Giunia).  David Fallis and Tafelmusik will be in the pit.  There will be six performances as follows; April 7th, 9th, 10th (3:00pm), 12th, 15th, and 16th (4:30pm), 2016 (start times 7:30 pm except where noted).  FWIW here’s a review of the Salzburg production.

The remount will be Lully’s Armide, last seen in 2012  and here with substantially the same cast; Peggy Kriha Dye (Armide) and Colin Ainsworth (Renaud), along with Carla Huhtanen, Olivier Laquerre, Meghan Lindsay, and Aaron Ferguson. New to the cast are Stephen Hegedus (Hidraot) and Daniel Belcher (La Haine & Aronte).  Fallis and Tafelmusik as well of course.  Toronto performances are October 22nd, 24th, 25th (3:00pm), 27th, 30th, and 31st (4:30pm), 2015 (start times again 7:30 pm except where noted).

Armide will also return to the Opéra Royal at the Palis de Versailles in November 2015 to participate in the events commemorating 300 years since the death of its creator, Louis XIV.  This will also mark the beginning of an ongoing relationship between the company and Versailles where they will present a production every second year.

So interesting to see Opera Atelier getting more international recognition but the Toronto line up appears to be a return to the Mozart plus French baroque formula after a run of slightly more adventurous fare.

Opera Atelier’s Toronto performances will, as usual, be at the Elgin Theatre (189 Yonge Street) Subscriptions are on sale now at 416-703-3767 x222. Single tickets will go on sale on August 10th, 2015.  More information at www.operaatelier.com.