Yes, Opera Atelier, bar further restrictions on gatherings/performances, is planning to offer two fully staged, costumed and choreographed live shows in the upcoming season, though only for a single performance of each.  Both will play at Koerner Hall which is well equipped both back stage and front of house for “social distancing”.

The first show will be on October 28th and it’s a baroque pasticcio on the themes of dreams, visions and the supernatural.  It’s called Something Rich and Strange and will feature Measha Brueggergosman, Chris Enns, Cynthia Smithers, Colin Ainsworth, Danielle MacMillan and Mireille Asselin.  There will be a chamber ensemble drawn from Tafelmusik in the pit.  The music will include pieces by Handel, Lully, Locke, and Purcell, as well as a new creation by ​Edwin Huizinga​ for Brueggergosman; based on Rilke’s poem Annunciation.

The second show, on April 1st 2021 will be production of Handel’s The Resurrection, which was originally postponed due to the pandemic.  The new slot will be, appropriately enough, just in time for Easter.  The cast for this one is ​Colin Ainsworth, Carla Huhtanen, Meghan Lindsay, Allyson McHardy, and ​Douglas Williams.

Both shows will be live streamed and the number of seats and their configuration will depend on the regulations and guidelines in force nearer the time.  It may not be the old normal or even (let us hope) the new normal but it is a positive step.  Resurrection indeed!

Photo: Bruce Zinger