Tag Archives: coc

Upcoming shows

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Toronto Operetta Theatre have announced casting for their production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado which runs December 27, 28 (mat), 31 (New Year’s Eve Gala), 2014 and January 2, 3, 4, (mat), 2015 t the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. Evening performances start at 8 pm and matinees at 2pm. The cast is headed up by Lucia Cesaroni as Yum Yum; which is kind of the effect she has on a lot of people, including Adrian Kramer who will sing Nanky Poo.  Joseph Angelo takes the role of KoKo, the beleaguered Lord High Executioner and David Ludwig takes on Poo Bah, the Lord High Everything Else. Mia Lennox will be Katisha, the Daughter in Law Elect of the Mikado of Japan who will be sung by Giles Tomkins.  Also featured are Greg Finney and Domenico Sanfilippo as Pish Tush, Brittany King as Pitti Sing and Daria Bukhman and Kaili Kinnon as Peep Bo.  Derek Bates conducts and Guillermo Silva-Martin directs.  For tickets and information call the Box Office at 416-366-7723 or 1-800-708-6754 or online at http://www.stlc.com.

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The guys have it

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Last night saw the second annual Centre Stage at the COC.  It’s described as the “Ensemble Studio competition gala”, which is pretty much what it has become.  It’s a dressy occasion and busier this year than last.  Bussing in the claque from the University of Toronto upped both the noise level and the “beautiful young people” content.  The competition itself is fairly conventional in that all the singers get to sing two arias of their choice.  What’s a little different is that the accompaniment is the full COC Orchestra and as well as the jury prizes there’s an audience choice award facilitated by some neat electronics.  Then of course there’s always the issue of a place in next year’s Ensemble Studio.

Ensemble Studio Competition finalists and winners with Centre Stage host Ben Heppner

Ensemble Studio Competition finalists and winners with Centre Stage host Ben Heppner

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A few more news items

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isis-1112-015-website-smallThere’s a performance of Dean Burry’s children’s opera The Scorpion’s Sting on Saturday 29th November at 11am at the ROM.  It’s free with museum entrance and forms part of an Ancient Egypt themed day of special presentations.  It’s being performed by the COC Ensemble Studio and is suitable for kids aged 8-14 or thereabouts.  More details here.

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Line up for Centre Stage

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The line up for Centre Stage; the final auditions for the COC Ensemble Studio has been announced.  The seven singers are:

  • Mezzo-soprano Zoe Band (Toronto)
  • Soprano Eliza Johnson (Stratford, Ont.)
  • Baritone Dimitri Katotakis (Toronto)
  • Baritone Nathan Keoughan (Charlottetown)
  • Tenor Aaron Sheppard (St. John’s, N.L.)
  • Mezzo-soprano Michelle Siemens (Calgary)
  • Tenor Charles Sy (Toronto)

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COC’s Semele is Brooklyn bound

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New Yorkers will get a chance to see Zhang Huan’s somewhat controversial production of Handel’s Semele at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in March.  The COC is touring the production, seen in Toronto in 2012, with the wonderful Jane Archibald again taking the title role.  The supporting cast is, on paper at least, more than a match for the one seen at COC.  Colin Ainsworth is the god Jupiter, and Welsh contralto Hilary Summers portrays both Jupiter’s jealous wife, Juno, and Ino, Semele’s sister. Katherine Whyte playsJuno’s messenger, Iris and Kyle Ketelsen sings both Semele’s father, Cadmus, and the god of sleep, Somnus. Athamas will be sung by Lawrence Zazzo.  Christopher Moulds conducts with the COC Orchestra and Chorus.

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COC releases some 2013/14 season financial information

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eyeshades2013/14 saw the decline in ticket sales and box office revenue at the COC continue, though less precipitously than in the previous couple of years.  Sales were down from 109297 tickets in 2012/13 to 106748 seats sold in 2013/14.  Revenue was also down from $9.9 million to $9.7 million.  A reduction in performances boosted capacity utilisation to 94% but heavy discounting at both ends of the season left the revenue per seat essentially static at just under $91.

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Falstaff up close

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Falstaff-MC-0417

Photo: Michael Cooper

The nice thing about seeing a production for the the third time is that one can focus on what one wants to because the big picture is already known.  After two looks at the COC’s current Falstaff from the Rings I was glad to be able to see it from closer up and this time I also remembered my opera glasses.  The details in the production and the Personenregie are really amazing.  In the scene where Fortuna is offering gifts to Falstaff, the five cases of wine are Pétrus.  In a way that’s doubly funny because although Pétrus is typically the most expensive Bordeaux today it was relatively unknown in the 1950s.  My 1970’s copy of Hugh Johnson’s The Wines of Bordeaux talks of how, if he lived in France, he would certainly cultivate a number of petits fournisseurs in the relatively unknown and undervalued Pomerol appellation!  Anyway, back to Falstaff.  The money in the suitcase of money is clearly US currency.  Nice touch.  The ornaments in Mrs. Ford’s 1960s chic kitchen are hilarious.  I particularly liked the glass elephants.  The antics of Pistola and Bardolfo also came more sharply into focus.  They nick anything that’s not nailed down.  Are we sure Falstaff is from Norfolk not Liverpool?  The handbag snatch in the restaurant scene is especially good.

The other thing I noticed was how much fun the audience was having.  There was none of the “opera is SRS business” vibe going on.  Rather, much unaffected laughter and laid back enjoyment.  We could use more of that.  So when do we get Gerry Finley back?

Kaduce transforms Butterfly

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My review of the opening night of the COC’s much revived Brian Macdonald production of Madama Butterfly was as lukewarm as the audience reaction.  In fact, I’ve never seen  an audience in that house so subdued.  Reviews of the alternate cast with Kelly Kaduce in the lead had generally been more encouraging so I was keen to see what she could do.  I saw it yesterday afternoon.  Let’s cut to the chase.  She transforms the production.  It’s like watching a different show and every scene she appears in has an energy that was lacking before.

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Madama Butterfly revived but not revitalised

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The COC’s production of Madama Butterfly opened last night at the Four Seasons Centre.  I’m not a huge Madama Butterfly fan and it takes a really good production and a really good performance to get me past my instinctive dislike for a libretto based on child rape and sex tourism backed by Puccini soup with an infusion of Mikado.  This production, being revived for the umpty umpth time (It dates back to the Brian Dickie era) just wasn’t that.  Director Brian Macdonald writes in the programme “We both (he and Dickie) had had experience at the Stratford Festival.  That meant wood, simple props, no decoration that wouldn’t bespeak the essence of the play”.  Throw in an Allen key and it would sound like a trip to IKEA.  Which is pretty much what the designs are like; clean, functional and inoffensive.  Throw in costumes and gestures straight from the Mikado and you have it.  Not bad.  Just meh.

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Falstaff again

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Back to the COC’s production of Falstaff last night for a second look.  I felt I spent so much time last week trying to figure out who was who and what was what in this rather madcap comedy that I was really looking forward to seeing it in a more relaxed way.  I had figured out that there was a lot of detail to unpack that I had missed first time around; partly because I was attention challenged and partly because I had forgotten my opera glasses.  Last night; perched up in Ring 5, I watched a good part of this show through the glasses and saw many things I missed first time around.  I think I want to watch it from close up if I can, even if there’s an acoustical price to pay for that.

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