Tag Archives: gay

Coups de roulis

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One might be forgiven for thinking that French operetta ended with Offenbach since, outside of France anyway, nothing much gets performed.  However, the tradition continued.  Reynaldo Hahn, for example, produced Ciboulette in 1923.  Another has now come my way.  It’s an audio recording of Andrê Messager’s 1928 work Coups de roulis.

It’s set on a French battleship, the Montesquieu in the Mediterranean.  Christmas leave has been cancelled to allow the visit of the High Commissioner M. Puy-Pradal on a cost saving expedition.  He is accompanied by his daughter Béatrice who is his secretary.  Both the ship’s captain Gerville and a young officer Kermao fall in love with Béatrice. During a party given during a courtesy visit to Egypt Puy-Pradal forms a liaison with the aspiring actress Sola Myrrhis who believes Puy-Pradal’s influence can get her into the Comédie-Française. He accompanies her on her Egyptian tour.

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Best of 2021

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1.boulotte sm2021 was another year of parts.  Pretty much no live indoor performances before September then a few chances to get to the theatre and now, well who knows?  So what stood out for me in 2021?  Here’s a round up by category.

Live Shows

Not much of course but there were some good shows, though opera didn’t really figure.  The Home Project from Native Earth and Soulpepper was a thought provoking look at the the idea of “home”.  MixTape at Crow’s Theatre explored the variegated nature of relationships through the medium of the once ubiquitous mix tape.  And on a more conventional note there was a rearranged at short notice recital at Koerner hall that showcased the extremely talented Davóne Tines. Continue reading →

The other Bluebeard

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I guess many opera goers in the English speaking world will have at least a passing acquaintance with Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle but I suspect fewer will have seen Offenbach’s take on Perreault’s rather grim tale.  It will probably come as no great surprise that Offenbach’s Barbe-bleue is a somewhat tongue in cheek version of the story of the notorious serial killer.

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A modern take on Gay’s classic

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John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera has been around since 1728 and is revived with some regularity but has never quite made into the opera canon. The latest incarnation is a version heavily rewritten by Robert Carsen and Ian Burton with a musical concept by William Christie. It first saw light at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in 2018 before touring extensively.

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Beggars in York

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I managed to catch the end of the run of York University’s production of The Beggars Opera this afternoon.  It’s a hugely ambitious concept with a couple of hundred people involved.  The basic concept is that John Gay’s piece is being performed by inmates in a prison as part of their rehabilitation.  Layered onto this is an obnoxious talk show host who is commenting on the proceedings from a sort of gutter conservative perspective.  Add to this interpolations based on Lady Gaga, blues harmonica, ukulele and even a bit of Britten.  Fights break out between the cast and have to be dealt with by the prison warden and staff.  Equally, they intervene in over enthusiastic sexual encounters.  It’s brave but it rather tends to overwhelm the piece at the centre.BeggarsOpera-Lucy Lockit1 by Jeremy Mimnagh-233 Continue reading →

Jealousy, rage, love and fear

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It’s a curious thing how some works get over recorded and others are almost entirely neglected.  For example, there’s only one video recording of Weill’s Die Dreigroschenoper and that a 1931 film that omits huge chunks of the stage work.  It’s inspiration fares little better.  There’s only one video recording of The Beggar’s Opera by Johann Pepusch and John Gay.  It’s a 1963 BBC TV production of Benjamin Britten’s reworking of the piece for the English Opera Group based on a stage production by Colin Graham. [ETA: There are actually two other versions; a 1953 movie version with Lawrence Olivier and a 1980s version with Roger Daltrey and John Eliot Gardiner].

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Laura’s Cow

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I had mixed feelings about attending something billed as a “children’s opera” but Laura’s Cow turned out to be quite a lot of fun. The piece was created for the Canadian Children’s Opera Company by composer Errol Gay and librettist Michael Patrick Albano.  It’s a 70 minute long, somewhat wry take on Laura Secord and the War of 1812.  It manages not to be too sentimental and pokes fun at the Tea Party, coyotes and Americans; which is a bit harsh on coyotes.  Writing for a children’s opera company obviously places some constraints on the composer.  There have to be simple choruses for the younger children.  There have to be not too demanding short solos for promising older singers and so on.  Within those limits Mr. Gay managed to create a score with quite a lot of musical interest especially in the orchestral writing.  The sets and stage direction were effective too especially given the logistics of handling a large cast in a fairly restricted stage area. Continue reading →

Big contemporary opera weekend in Toronto

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Considering the opera season in Toronto usually pretty much wraps up in May there’s a lot on over the next few days.  I guess the big ticket Is Philip Glass’ Einstein on the Beach which is running tonight, tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon/evening.  Unfortunately it’s extremely long and I have early reffing gigs both Saturday and Sunday so that pretty much rules it out.  It’s also at one of my least favourite performance spaces; the Sony Centre.  Also on this weekend is the Canadian Children’s Opera Company performance of a new work by Errol Gay called Laura’s Cow. based on events in the War of 1812  That’s on at the Enwave and I managed to score a couple of comps so I shall be going to that.  Then on Monday and Tuesday evenings Tapestry New Opera are workshopping Aaron Gervais’ The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G. at the Distillery.  Most all opera in Toronto happens within walking distance of the Kitten Kondo but that one is scarcely five minutes away.  The lemur is rehearsing so I’ll be on my own at that one. Busy times!