A few notable events this coming fall week. Tuesday sees the COC’s annual gala competition for young singers, Centre Stage. Prizes and possible places in the Ensemble Studio for next year are up for grabs. The public part of the event starts at 5.30pm at The Four Seasons Centre with a cocktail reception followed by the final round of the competition. Unusually this competition feature the full COC orchestra, not just piano.
So we now know who will be singing at Centre Stage, the COC’s gala competition for aspiring young singers with both cash prizes and places in the Ensemble Studio up for grabs. There are, I think, only two that I’m at all familiar with; soprano Eliza Johnson who was a finalist last year and baritone Zachary Read who was a rather good Sid in UoT Opera’s Albert Herring a couple of years ago. The other six are mezzo-sopranos Emily D’Angelo, Lauren Eberwein, Marjorie Maltais and Pascale Spinney, soprano Samantha Pickett and baritone Bruno Roy. Wow! Four mezzos so the mezzo mafia will likely be ecstatic. No tenors but with four already in the Ensemble Studio that’s probably a good thing. Centre Stage is on November 3rd at 5.30pm at the Four Seasons Centre with a cocktails (well wine mostly) and rather good snacks before the competition itself. Tickets are $100 from the COC box office or coc.ca.
Yesterday saw the first free concert of the season in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. It was a chance to see the 2015/16 Ensemble Studio; two new singers, one new pianist and six singers and a pianist from last year. The format was one aria per singer with few surprises. We also got to hear the core quartet casting for the Ensemble Studio performance of Le Nozze di Figaro later in the season. No surprises there either; Il Conte – Gordon Bintner, Iain MacNeil – Figaro, La Contessa – Aviva Fortunata, Susanna – Karine Boucher. That leaves four tenors for the other roles…
Three things on the calendar this coming week. Tuesday 22nd sees the first free noon concert of the season in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. As custom seems to dictate it’s the Ensemble Studio performing. The full programme is here. It’s also the first gig with Claire Morley in charge.
Friday 25th and Saturday 26th, Friends of Gravity (who curiously do not include our cats) are presenting an intriguing looking version of Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins. The show is at 8pm at St. Bartholomew’s Church on Dundas Street East. Tickets and details.
Also on Saturday, Metro Youth Opera have a season launch party/fundraiser at Opera Bob’s (a watering hole owned and operated by bass Robert Pomakov) It’s at 5pm. Details and tickets.
It’s starting to get busy again.
Two listings in in the last 24 hours. COC is staging a couple of “family friendly” events. On Saturday, November 14th, they are presenting Dean Burry’s The Bremen Town Musicians (11am) and interactive opera Operation Superpower (1.30pm). Starring the young artists of the COC Ensemble Studio, both operas are written specifically for young people aged 3 to 12. Each opera is 45 minutes in length, followed by a 15-minute Q&A with the cast and crew. Both performances take place at the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre at 227 Front St. E., Toronto, Ontario. There’s the opportunity to take part in “hands-on activities” related to the operas an hour before each show. Tickets to each opera are $15 for adults, and $10 for children. More info at coc.ca. Continue reading
The on/off saga of the Ensemble Studio’s promised Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared came to an apparent conclusion yesterday. It had been postponed at least once and even this morning the COC website is advertising a complete performance with two soloists and a small chorus.
It didn’t happen. What we got was a recital by Owen McAusland singing some excerpts from the Janáček plus Vaughan William’s The House of Life and Britten’s Les Illuminations. It was his last performance as a member of the Ensemble Studio during which time, among many other things, he sang several main stage performances as Tito covering for a sick Michael Schade.
The Ensemble Studio got to do their thing last night with their annual main stage performance; this year, of course, Joan Font’s production of The Barber of Seville. This year only one role was split; Andrew Haji singing Almaviva in Act 1 with Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure coming off the bench for the second half. The other main roles went to Clarence Frazer as Figaro, Charlott Burrage as Rosina, Iain McNeil as Doctor Bartolo, Gordon Bintner as Don Basilio and Karine Boucher as Berta. Ringer Jan Vaculik sang both Fiorello and the Officer.
This morning I went to the COC website to see what Josh Hopkins would be singing at lunchtime. Bottom line, he wasn’t. His recital had been replaced by a hastily put together program of pieces to be sung by Owen McCausland, Karine Boucher and Aviva Fortunata. Given that Liz Upchurch said it was pieces they were looking for an audience for I’d guess it’s audition/competition rep that they are working on and therefore, to some extent, work in progress.
Yesterday lunchtime the Ensemble Studio gave us a preview of their upcoming performance of the Barber of Seville. The production, of course, will be the one currently on stage at the Four Seasons Centre and there were clear echoes of that in the way yesterday’s event was put on though they also played with the fact that Almaviva will be split between Andrew Haji and Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure with much pulling and pushing into place.
Each year, round about now, the COC stages a lunchtime concert or two featuring departing members of the Ensemble Studio singing music that has special meaning for them. Yesterday we heard Clarence Frazer and Charlotte Burrage with Jennifer Szeto at the piano.
operaramblings 