I’ve known for ages that Ian Cusson was working on an opera for the COC main stage and that it was a bout a Métis werewolf legend. It’s the sort of thing that gets me howling at a full moon. Anyway it’s all now official and talkaboutable. It’s called Empire of the Wild and the libretto is by Cherie Dimaline based ion her 2019 novel of the same name. It’s a co-commission of the COC and the NAC in Ottawa and there’s no date given for the premiere yet. (And yes I do have a bit of “I’ll believe it when I see it” given that COC commissions seem to disappear mysteriously often enough to provide the plot for a werewolf novel). I think it’s a great subject for an opera and Ian’s record of writing for vopice and the opera stage is good so, yeah, I really want to see this. So keep your fingers crossed it actually happens! All the details are in the press release which is here.
Thursday’s concert in the Music in the Afternoon series at Walter Hall was curated by Marion Newman and featured herself, soprano Melody Courage, baritone Evan Korbut and pianist Gordon Gerrard. It featured some classic opera duets and trios ranging from the Flower Duet from Madama Butterfly to an exuberant “Dunque io son” from the Barber of Seville along with Berlioz’ “Vous soupirer” from Beatrice et Bénédict (which sounded like title should translate as “you will be immersed in warm soup”). These numbers were all very well done and there were a couple of solo pieces too with Melody singing the Poulenc La Fraicheur et le Feu with great verve and Evan chipping in with an exuberant “Sit down, you’re rocking the boat” from Guys and Doills.
Here’s a look ahead to March.
January is looking quite promising on both the music and theatre front but there’s not a lot of opera… Here’s what’s in my agenda.
The line up for this year’s (and a bit of next’s) 21C at the Royal Conservatory has been announced. The full line up is 
September 21st at 8pm Soundstreams have a choral concert at Koerner Hall. It’s called Choral Splendour and features Soundstreams’ Choir 21 with Meghan Lindsey, Rebecca Cuddy, Owen McCausland and Alain Coulombe in a programme of music by Frehner, Pärt and Vivier. Vivier’s Zipangu will be accompanied by a live dancer and a film created by Michael Greyeyes.
September 30th also at Koerner Hall at 8pm there’s a free concert to commemorate National Truth and Reconciliation Day. Sarain Fox MCs a mixture of the solemn (testimony from a residential school survivor) and the less solemn (Tomson Highway with excerpts from Songs in the Key of Cree), drumming, dancing and the piano quintet version of Ian Cusson’s Marilyn Dumont songs sung by Rebecca Cuddy with the New Orford Quartet and philip Chiu. If you haven’t heard these songs you should and if you have, but haven’t heard this arrangement, see them anyway because this is the best version! This show is free but ticketed and tickets are going superfast.
operaramblings 