Three Sisters

A version of Chekhov’s Three Sisters opened last night in a collaboration between Hart House Theatre and the Howland Company.  It’s described as “Adapted and directed by Paolo Santalucia after Chekhov” .  What this means is that is given a contemporary Canadian setting with changed character names and so forth.  The structural purpose of each scene, pretty much each speech, remains the same but the words are not a literal translation.  And, Alex Vershinin is a woman lieutenant colonel in the RCAF which gives a very different spin to her “affair” with Masha.

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L’Enfance du Christ

enfanceduchristI got hold of the recent Chandos recording of Berlioz’ L’Enfance du Christ largely because I wanted to take a look at the Super Audio CD format.  On that subject my thoughts are here.  But it was also a chance to listen to a piece I was entirely unfamiliar with.  I’m glad I did.  It’s quite beautiful music; lyrical rather than dramatic, except perhaps in the early sections where Herod is having a hissy fit.  I can see why it’s not done very often though.  It calls for seven soloists plus chorus and a big orchestra.

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Mozart fragments

Last night, at Roy Thomson Hall, the TSO presented a two part Mozart program.  The first half consisted of pieces from two abandoned opera projects; the buffa Lo sposo deluso and the Singspiel Zaide.  The second half consisted of the better known, but incomplete, Mass in C Minor.

L to R: Guilmette, Fortier-Lazure, Bintner, Tessier.  Photo - Malcolm Cook

L to R: Guilmette, Fortier-Lazure, Bintner, Tessier. Photo – Malcolm Cook

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