New operas at UoT

Posted on January 22, 2014 by operaramblings

The University of Toronto Student Composers Collective presents a free programme of short comic works at the Macmillan Theatre at 5pm on January 30th.

Encounters is an hour long operatic entertainment comprising five operatic samplings. Grief Encounter, composed by Robert Drisdelle, is a cheeky nod to the operatic convention of surtitles while The Proposal chides us not to take situations at face value. In the Shadow of Rob Ford is a romantic scenario composed by Keyan Emami. Two lonely, young people meet during a protest in Nathan Philips Square while Rob Ford, reduced metaphorically to an off-stage voice, provides editorial comment as he packs up his City Hall office. The Box Office, composed by Bekah Simms, pits an aggravating customer against a heroic box office attendant and the program concludes with Shelley Marwood’s setting of Say No to the Dress, a parody of the rabid obsession with finding just the right bridal gown.

I hope someone goes and reviews this because I have work commitments that make it impossible for me to attend.

Opera Atelier announces 14/15 season

Posted on January 21, 2014 by operaramblings

Opera Atelier announces its usual two production season. The fall 2014 production will be Handel’s Alcina with Meghan Lindsay in the title role. She will be joined by Allyson McHardy as Ruggiero, Marie Lenormand as Bradamante, Mireille Asselin as Morgana, Krešimir Špicer as Oronte and Olivier Laquerre as Melisso. Despite the absence of Curtis Sullivan, the advance publicity suggests that the trend to ever increasing amounts of bare flesh will continue.

The spring 2015 production will be Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice in the Berlioz orchestration. This will push Tafelmusik even further into 19th century romantic rep. Is Tannhäuser on the cards? Mireille Lebel will sing Orpheus, Peggy Kriha Dye appears as Eurydice with Meghan Lindsay as Amour.

In many ways this is the most interesting season OA have offered for some time and the venture into Handel is very welcome. More details and tickets can be found here.

New song commission from CASP

Posted on January 20, 2014 by operaramblings

News just in that the Canadian Art Song Project (CASP) has commissioned Montreal-based composer Ana Sokolović to write a new song cycle. The new work is being composed for piano and a quartet of singers from the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio. The world premiere will form part of the COC’s Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre and will form part of the company’s celebration of Canada’s sesquicentennial anniversary in 2017 (along, it is said, with a revival of Harry Somer’s Louis Riel).

The new song cycle from Sokolović adds to previous works commissioned by CASP include Sewing the Earthworm (2011) by Brian Harman (review), Cloud Light (2012) by Norbert Palej, Extreme Positions and Birefingence (2013) by Brian Current (review), and Moths (2013) by James Rolfe. Other commissions that have been announced and are currently in development include new works by Peter Tiefenbach (2014) and Marjan Mozetich (2014).

Photo credit Alain Lefort

The Scottish opera

Posted on January 20, 2014 by operaramblings

Verdi’s Macbeth is one of those early works where he seems to be trying to grow out of bel canto but not quite making it. There is some splendidly dramatic music and some that just seems completely incongruous given the subject matter. The witches’ chorus at the beginning of Act 3 is a case in point. That said Phyllida Lloyd’s production for the Royal Opera House takes the piece seriously and does a pretty good job of presenting the drama in a straightforward but visually attractive way.

Continue reading →

Is this a blogger I see before me

Posted on January 19, 2014 by operaramblings

I really struggle with early Verdi. I want to like it. I want to like anything by the guy who wrote Don Carlo and Simon Boccanegra. Also, there’s so much of it about that avoiding it is tedious. But, and it’s a big but, I really struggle with the combination of deadly serious stage action and upbeat, bouncy music. There are all these arias that go something like :

We’re going to murder you,
Rum, tum, tum, tumpty tum.
We’re going to chop you up
Rum, tum, tum, tum.

Cognitive dissonance is killing me and that’s my thought for the day brought to you by Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Plava and a very puzzled William Shakespeare.

A School for Lovers

Posted on January 19, 2014 by operaramblings

Atom Egoyan’s new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte opened at the Four Seasons Centre last night. It’s a visually appealing production with an interesting concept and some glorious singing and acting. One may question aspects of the concept but nowhere does it do serious violence to da Ponte’s libretto and the end result, coupled with some outstanding performances makes for a most enjoyable evening.

0884 - Guglielmo_Ferrando_Dorabella_Fiordiligi - credit Michael Cooper

Photo credit Michael Cooper

Continue reading →

Pricing strategies

Posted on January 18, 2014 by operaramblings

Pretty much unremarked in the general houha of the COC’s season announcement is a rather interesting change in pricing strategy. Clearly something had to be done as the switch to a six performance season has consequences. The COC appears to have something over 7000 season subscribers and a further, say, 3500 select subscribers who buy tickets for five performances. The five performance package isn’t offered for 2014/15 so let’s assume that group split 50/50 into six and four package buyers for no net effect on ticket sales. The switch then means a loss of 7000+ ticket sales. The number of performances has only been reduced by 1 so that means the company has 5000 or so more tickets to sell to single ticket buyers or net new subscribers than last year. That is, of course, on top of last year’s unsold capacity of around 12,000 seats. For reference last year’s single seat sales were just shy of 40,000. So, unless subscription sales rise, single ticket sales per show have to rise from 6,500 to 7,500 (more or less) just to stand still. That’s actually a pretty tough ask.

Continue reading →

Young artists

Posted on January 17, 2014 by operaramblings

The Canadian Opera Company has announced the addition of three singers and a pianist to the Ensemble Studio for next season. The singers, unsurprisingly, are the three prize winners from November’s Centre Stage; Soprano Karine Boucher, tenor Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure and bass-baritone Iain MacNeil, The pianist is Jennifer Szeto. The COC also announced the setting up of an orchestral equivalent of the Ensemble Studio in which a number of young musicians will work with Johannes Debus and the COC Orchestra. Names were announced on Wedneday night but I can’t find them in any of the press releases. Continue reading →

The COC’s 2014/15 season announced

Posted on January 16, 2014 by operaramblings

Russell Braun as Don Giovanni – Photo Credit Javier del Real

Yesterday evening saw the announcement of the line up for the COC’s 2014/15 season. The usual rather prosaic press conference was replaced with a glitzy reception and main stage show featuring Brent Bambury of the COC interviewing Alexander Neef, Johannes Debus and others plus piano accompanied performances by Simone Osborne, Russel Braun, Robert Gleadow, Charlotte Burrage and Aviva Fortunata.

There were few surprises, in itself no surprise given the number of official and unofficial “leaks” this time around. There are three productions new to Toronto, all COC copros, and three revivals so it’s an “all COC” season with no rentals or other imports. Here’s what’s coming up:

Continue reading →

Le Roi d’Ys

Posted on January 12, 2014 by operaramblings

It’s perhaps surprising that Lalo’s Le Roi d’Ys isn’t performed much more often than it is. Most people probably only know it for the tenor aria Vainement, ma bien-aimée which crops up from time to time in recitals and competitions. Sure, it’s not strikingly original. The plot is a love triangle with overlays of revenge and divine retribution and the music is, with the exception of the rather fine overture, a bit on the rumpty tumpty side. But, let’s face it, there are plenty of standard repertoire works with implausible romantic plots and banal, if tuneful, music. I think there’s a large section of the opera audience that would very much enjoy this piece.

Continue reading →