Toronto City Opera opened a two show run of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld at (a very steamy) Trinity St. Paul’s on Saturday evening. It was auspicious in several ways. It, technically, marked the 80th anniversary of the organisation, which apparently had its origin at Central Tech in 1946 followed by many years as a TDSB Adult Ed programme at the Bickford Death Trap Centre. But really, TCO as we know it began life with the split from TDSB in 2018 and what’s notable about this latest production is that it’s their first with orchestra; the North York Concert Orchestra to be precise. And that really is a milestone!
George is a new CD from soprano Sonya Yoncheva and friends made up of music George Sand would have listened to and some readings fro her works. There’s a particular emphasis on Pauline Viardot; close friend of Sand and sister of Maria Malibran.
The Met HD in cinemas line up has been announced for 2024/25 so here’s my take on it. The first thing to notice is that there are only eight shows. There have been ten per season since 2012/13 and twelve before that. This is likely a reflection of the problems with audience numbers that all North American opera companies have been having. In the same time period the COC has cut back from 65-70 main stage performances per year to 42 and the Met’s “in house” audience problem has been well publicised. So what does that leave us with?
operaramblings 