Tag Archives: ensemble studio

The Brothers Grimm hits 500

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Dean Burry’s opera for children The Brothers Grimm had its 500th performance last night at the shiny new Ada Slaight Hall at the Daniels Spectrum in the revitalised Regent’s Park neighbourhood.  It’s a work that premiered in 2001 and has been a staple of the COC Ensemble Studio School Tour ever since.  It’s played an important role in developing young Canadian singers as performers as evidenced by the fact that the original cast brothers were Joseph Kaiser and David Pomeroy.  500 performances!

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Shout out to Washington

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Rihab Chaieb and Mireille Asselin

Rihab Chaieb and Mireille Asselin

In February I attended a brilliant lunchtime concert of vocal music by Kaija Saariaho sung by three singers from the COC Ensemble Studio.  I wasn’t the only one who was impressed.  The composer was so taken with the standard of performance that she has arranged for them to perform a slightly different selection of her works in Washington DC in February.

If you aren’t from Toronto or Montreal (or perhaps Paris, Lyon, Dublin or Belgrade) you probably haven’t heard much about Mireille Asselin, Rihab Chaieb or Jacqueline Woodley (except maybe on this blog) but you will!  Strongly recommended both for the music and the singers.

Get your tickets now

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Photo Credit - Kira Perov 2005

Photo Credit – Kira Perov 2005

Word on the street is that there are only “a few hundred” tickets left for the COC’s February run of the Peter Sellars/Bill Viola Tristan und Isolde.  It’s a fair bet that most of the available tickets will be for nights when Burkhard Fritz is singing rather than Ben Heppner.  If you want to see Heppner I’d plan on buying now rather than expecting something last minute to turn up.  I’d expect there to be horrific line-ups for the same-day nosebleeds and standing room tickets (and I don’t have the stamina to stand through Tristan!).

tito05Christopher Alden’s production of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito apparently isn’t selling so well, despite a stellar cast and a production that got very good reviews in Chicago.  This makes me a sad panda.  Unfashionably, perhaps, I regard Clemenza as one of Mozart’s best operas, perhaps his very best, so the chance to see it with a wonderful cast is one I would not miss.  My current plans call for me to see it twice; with the principal cast and with the Ensemble Studio, but I shall be sorely tempted to get in for an extra look earlier in the run than my current tickets!

Second annual COC Ensemble Studio competition

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winnersLast night I was in a very full Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre for the second annual COC Studio Ensemble competition.  Ten singers, selected down from 146 in auditions across Canada and in New York were competing for cash prizes and an opportunity to join the COC Ensemble Studio.  COC General Director Alexander Neef chaired the panel of judges which included soprano and teacher Wendy Nielsen as well as assorted COC brass.  Chorus Master Sandra Horst MC’d in her own inimitable fashion.  The format was typical of such events.  Each singer offered five arias.  They got to sing one of their choice and then the judges requested a second from the remaining four.  Piano accompaniment alternated between the equally excellent Rachel Andrist and Steven Philcox.

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COC Ensemble Studio competition

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The Canadian Opera Company has announced the ten finalists for the annual Ensemble Studio competition which this year takes place in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at 6.30pm on November 29th. The event is both a singing competition and the final audition for candidates to join the Ensemble Studio next season. Since the Ensemble Studio is probably the best gig in Canada for a young opera singer it’s very competitive and the competition is a great opportunity to take a look at Canada’s best young singers. It’s a ticketed event and it’s almost sold out so if you plan on going get a ticket now.

The finalists are bass-baritone Gordon Bintner (Regina, Sask.); mezzo-soprano Charlotte Burrage (Woodstock, Ont.); soprano Aviva Fortunata (Calgary, Alta.); baritone Clarence Frazer (Toronto, Ont.); tenor Andrew Haji (London, Ont.); mezzo-soprano Danielle MacMillan (Toronto, Ont.); bass Nathan Keoughan (Charlottetown, P.E.I.); tenor Michael Marino (London, Ont.); soprano Lara Secord-Haid (Winnipeg, Man.) and soprano Kelsey Vicary (Niagara Falls, Ont.).

I’ve seen MacMillan a couple of times singing in student productions at the Royal Conservatory and I think I’ve seen Haji perform but the others are unknown to me. It should be an interesting night.

Upcoming Toronto gigs

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(l – r) Laura Albino and Adam Luther in the Canadian Opera Company’s Xstrata Ensemble Studio School Tour production of The Brothers Grimm, 2009.
Photo Credit: Photo: Anand Maharaj © 2009

Since my last post on upcoming Toronto opera and opera related events a few extra things have come up.  November 16th is turning into a pretty crowded evening.  I’m going to Toronto Masque Theatre’s Purcell fest, Fairest Isle, which is also on on the 17th.  Also on that night is the Glenn Gould School’s fall performance; a double bill of Ned Rorem’s Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters and François-Joseph Vézina’s Le Lauréat.  Finally, you can also catch Opera by Request performing Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin (also on the 25th) or catch them on the 17th when they are doing Bizet’s Les Pecheurs de Perles.

Later in the month there is the final audition for the COC’s Ensemble Studio.  This is always a great opportunity to see the best of the next generation of Canadian singers as they compete for a place in Canada’s premier young artists program.  There are still a few $15 standing room tickets available from the COC box office or website.

Into December when the COC Studio Ensemble are presenting three performances of Dean Burry’s The Brothers Grimm on December 7th and 8th.  The performance on the 7th will be the 500th for this work making it much the most performed classical work by a Canadian composer.  Finally, on December 15th there’s a holiday party/fundraiser for the awesome Against the Grain Theatre Company.  Folks who can stage an opera at the Tranzac ought to know how to party.

The review – COC Studio Ensemble in concert

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(front row, l-r): Ambur Braid and Cameron McPhail; (second row, l-r): Jenna Douglas, Claire de Sévigné and Mireille Asselin; (third row, l-r): Neil Craighead, Owen McCausland and Sasha Djihanian; (fourth row, l-r): Rihab Chaieb and Timothy Cheung. Photo: Chris Hutcheson

So, as promised here are my thoughts on yesterday’s Ensemble Studio recital at the Four Seasons Centre.  It’s always interesting to see the Ensemble Studio together; to see how returning members have developed since last heard and to hear the newcomers.  This is what we got.
Soprano Claire de Sévigné gave us “Chacun le sait” from La fille du régiment.  It’s a good piece for a young singer and shee sang it with spirit and enthusiasm and acted with gusto.  Perfectly idiomatic French too of course.  She has a lovely voice and is clearly one to watch.

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Here we go again

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Photo credit: Chris Hutcheson.

Today was the first concert of the season in the free concert series at the Four Seasons Centre featuring the very talented artists of the COC’s Ensemble Studio.  I promise that there will be a proper review very soon but right now all I can offer is a treat for that section of my readership who have a thing for cross dressing mezzos.  You know who you are!

Free Concert Series 2012/13

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The COC has announced the line up for the 2012/13 series of free concerts in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre. There’s the usual mix of vocal, instrumental, jazz, world music and dance. There are plenty of opportunities to see the Ensemble Studio members as well as solo gigs by Franz-Josef Selig and Anna Christy. For fans of Indian classical music there’s also a sarangi recital by Aruna Narayan. Also of interest is a concert by Queen of Puddings Music Theatre “Inspired by Lorca”.

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An engaging Semele from the COC’s Ensemble Studio

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Mireille Asselin and Phillipe Sly

Last night saw the annual main stage performance by the COC’s young artist programme, the Ensemble Studio.  This year it was Handel’s Semele in the production which I saw a couple of weeks ago.  The main roles were cast from the Ensemble Studio with the the exception of the countertenor role of Athamas which was played by Ryan Belongie, an Adler Fellow.  The title role was split with Mireille Asselin singing the first two acts and Ambur Braid coming in for the third act.  This seemed like a sensible solution given the size of the role and the two singers’ strengths. Continue reading →