The Glenn Gould’s Spring Opera, which opened on Wednesday night, is an intriguing double bill.  It pairs Rossini’s first, and rarely performed, opera; La cambiale di matrimonio with Puccini’s much better known Gianni Schicchi.

La cambiale di matrimonio (The Wedding Contract) is a one act screwball comedy (technically a farsa).  It has all the plot elements that see will see over and over in later Rossini comedies; cunning servants, an old man trying to make money out of a marriage, young lovers facing obstacles etc.  The plot eemnts are mirrored by the music; patter songs, breakneck ensembles and an impossibly florid soprano aria, inter alia.  In this case they are used in the service of a plot that features a cash strapped English merchant who is trying to marry his daughter off to a rich Canadian who is seeking a suitable bride but she’s in love with a far less wealthy young man.  Everyone.seems to want to kill the Canadian butb he’s fundamentally a nice chap (of course) and he engineers a happy ending

Director Stephen Carr has a lot of fun with this, AFAIK, first appearance of a Canadian in opera ()if there is an earlier one please let me know in comments).  For the most part the piece sticks pretty close to its 18th century setting but Slook, the Canadian, has, besides furs, Timbits, a toque and a Canadian scarf in his box of trade goods.  And after his first appearance in rather rustic dress (complete with snow shoes) he appears as a Mountie, and he turns up for his duel with the English merchant Tobias Mill in a Team Canada hockey sweater carrying a hockey stick.  The good natured fooling is mirrored in the surtitles which someone had a lot of fun with.

It’s really done very well. James Coole-Stevenson as Slook is vocally solid and funny and plays off Gabriel Klassen’s slightly OTT and somewhat ridiculous Tobias Mill rather nicely.  Matthew Black (Norton) and Alannah Beauparlant (Clarina) are the cleverer-than-their -employers servants and both have that style down pat.  Alyssa Bartholomew is the romantic lead Fanny Mill and makes a pretty good job of the piece’s one big aria.  Yannick Gosselin makes the most of the poor-but-honest Edward Milton.  The comic timing and ensemble work is excellent helped by suitably brisk conducting from Gordon Gerrard with an excellent pit orchestra.  Basically all the Rossini feels in a little known piece.

James Coole-Stevenson also plays the title role in the Puccini and with perhaps a bit more to do he’s even better.  He’s the backbone of this production of Puccini’s not-so-divine comedy.  It’s great fun.  This time Stephen Carr has set the piece in Tobias Mill’s house but in the present day  where it’s Regency elegance has been “transformed” by its new billionaire owner Buoso Donati.  Again the back story is explained in very funny surtitles.

There are some really rather good cameos among the Donatis.  Jada Alexiou does a wonderfully spiteful Zita but really there are no weak links among the crowd of Donatis and it all both supports the crazy plot and forms an effective framework for a vocally excellent and really rather touching pair of lovers.  Jeffrey Liu sings Rinuccio in a particularly ardent and rather lovely tenor and Leandra Dahm as Lauretta is just too damn cute and nails “O mio babbino caro”.  It’s all very satisfying.

There’s one more chance to catch this fun show; on Friday night at 7.30pm at Koerner Hall.

Photo credit: Dahlia Katz