So the COC is set to release details of the 2024/25 season some time in late February so in the interests of tradition I’ll have a go at guessing what we will hear. I have to admit that i have very little confidence in my predictions as the combination of COVID and new management has disrupted old patterns and new ones are not yet very apparent. Even the sacrificial goat liver (see left) isn’t helping much. There have been two complete seasons since COVID. One featured five revivals and the other five “new to Toronto” productions sourced from other houses. COC commissions, new productions or co-pros were noticeably absent. It’s probably also fair to say that there was a distinctly conservative vibe to the productions. I’m not saying horned helmets and crinolines but it’s noticeable that the revivals haven’t included any of the COC’s edgier efforts.
COC 2024/25 predictions
3
Invocazioni Mariane is a new CD from counter-tenor Andreas Scholl and his long time collaborators the Accademia Bizantina and their conductor Alessandro Tampieri. It consists of 18th century music from Naples; all of which is in some way connected with the Virgin Mary and is mostly drawn from oratorios or similar pieces designed to be performed during Holy Week. Back in the day, with women not permitted on the stage in Naples (or the Papal States) the high parts would have been sung by castrati. That, of course, is where Scholl comes in.
operaramblings 