program - canadian opera companyfiles.coc.ca/pdfs/program/coc spring program april 4 final single...

PROGRAMSPRING 2016

CARMEN MAOMETTO II

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Reaching their Somedayis music to everyone’s ears.

The hard work, perseverance and vision of emerging artists demonstrate

the power of having – and the joy of realizing – a Someday™. Together

with programs like the Ensemble Studio at the Canadian Opera Company,

we support a diverse range of Canadian talent in communities across the

country through the RBC Emerging Artists Project.

The hard work, perseverance and vision of emerging artists demonstrate

with programs like the Ensemble Studio at the Canadian Opera Company,

we support a diverse range of Canadian talent in communities across the

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CONTENTS

WHAT’S PLAYING:CARMEN

CARMEN FULL CIRCLE:DIRECTOR JOEL IVANY WHAT’S PLAYING:MAOMETTO II

SERIOUSLY... ROSSINI’S MAOMETTO II

GET TO KNOW... LUCA PISARONI

TOWARDS A NEW ERA OFLOWER TICKET PRICES

BACKSTAGE AND BEYOND

SHIFTING INTO HIGH GEARMercedes-Benz at the COC

BIOGRAPHIES: CARMEN

BIOGRAPHIES: MAOMETTO II

THE SCENIC TOUR Of the COC’s Scene Shop SETTING FOOD TO MUSICAt Hilton’s Tundra

SUPPORT OUR ORCHESTRAWith the Season-End Campaign

MANY THANKSAcknowledging our many supporters

PATRON INFORMATION AND POLICIES

COC Program is published three times a year by the Canadian Opera Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written consent is prohibited. Contents copyright Canadian Opera Company. Direct all advertising inquiries to [email protected].

Program edited by Claudine Domingue, Director of Public Relations; Kristin McKinnon, Publicist and Publications Co-ordinator; and, Gianna Wichelow, Senior Manager, Creative and Publications. Layout by Gianna Wichelow.All information is correct at time of printing. Photo credits are on page 53.

As we bring our 2015/2016 season to a close, we can look back on a year to be proud of, both on and off the stage. The COC continued to cement its reputation as a centre for artistic excellence and a go-to destination for some of the world’s top operatic talent. This past fall, the world premiere of Pyramus and Thisbe was a landmark production for the COC, while La Traviata met with rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. Our Siegfried featured one of the strongest casts you’re likely to hear anywhere in the world, and Claus Guth’s take on The Marriage of Figaro had audiences laughing and talking!

The unparalleled artistic achievement continues this spring. Our production of Bizet’s beloved Carmen returns with a fresh look from director Joel Ivany, currently taking the Canadian opera scene by storm with his innovative “transladaptations” of classic operas. You can read more about Joel’s journey from supernumerary to director on page 10.

We close our season with what is likely the Canadian premiere of Rossini’s rarely performed Maometto II, an opera which disappeared from the repertoire in its original form until Santa Fe Opera premiered this production in 2012. Toronto audiences can count themselves among the lucky few in the world to see this work performed using Rossini’s original score. International star, bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni makes his COC debut as Maometto, and shows off his lighter side on page 24.

There’s no doubt that the COC features some of the world’s best operatic talent on stage, but the company also boasts exceptional work behind the scenes. As we move forward with COC365, the company’s new strategic plan and guiding vision for the next five years, we’ll bring you closer to the work that goes on year-round at the COC. We start with a visit to our very active Scene Shop, which you can read about on page 38.

We’re also proud of our new initiative, Opera Access for New Canadians, which aims to make dress rehearsals and select performances accessible to new Canadian citizens and newcomers to Canada, including immigrants and refugees. Starting this spring we’re joining the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s Cultural Access Pass, through which 40 free tickets will be set aside to every COC dress rehearsal and given to new Canadian citizens registered with the CAP program.

As we move into our 2016/2017 season, the COC continues to hold itself to the highest artistic standard. You’ll experience favourites like Tosca and The Magic Flute, star-powered new productions of Norma and Ariodante, the final chapter of Wagner’s Ring Cycle with Götterdämmerung, and a new production of the iconic Canadian opera Louis Riel, to commemorate Canada’s 150th birthday festivities. We also mark the 10th anniversary of the Four Seasons Centre!

If you haven’t already, we invite you to renew or purchase a subscription at one of our desks at intermission or following the performance, and celebrate 16/17 with us.

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A MESSAGE FROM GENERAL DIRECTORALEXANDER NEEF

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CARMENBY GEORGES BIZET

4 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY 2015/2016

GO SCENT FREE: In consideration of patrons with allergies, please avoid wearing perfumed beauty products and fragrances.

Opéra comique in Four Acts w Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella by Prosper Mérimée w First performance: Opéra-Comique, Paris, March 3, 1875 w COC Revival

COC PRODUCTIONLast performed by the COC in 2010April 12, 17, 20, 23, 28, 30, May 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 2016 Sung in French with English SURTITLES™

THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance)

Moralès, an officer .................................................. Peter Barrett^Micaëla, a peasant girl .......................................... Simone Osborne1 ^ Karine Boucher2†*Don José, a corporal ............................................. Russell Thomas1

David Pomeroy2^Zuniga, the captain ................................................ Alain Coulombe^Carmen, gypsy girl ................................................. Anita Rachvelishvili3

Clémentine Margaine4D

Frasquita, a gypsy .................................................. Sasha Djihanian^Mercédès, a gypsy ................................................. Charlotte Burrage^Escamillo, a toreador ............................................ Christian Van Horn1

Zachary Nelson2

Le Dancaïre, a smuggler ...................................... Iain MacNeil†Le Remendado, a smuggler ............................... Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure†**

Conductor ................................................................. Paolo CarignaniDirector ...................................................................... Joel IvanyAssistant Director .................................................. Brenna CornerD

Set Designer ............................................................. Michael Yeargan Costume Designer ................................................. François St-AubinLighting Designer................................................... Jason HandSet & Costume Design Co-ordinator .............. Camellia KooChorus Master ......................................................... Sandra Horst^***Stage Manager ........................................................ Stephanie MarrsSURTITLES™ Producer ......................................... Gunta Dreifelds

Performance time is approximately three hours including one intermission

* Karine Boucher’s performance is generously sponsored by Colleen Sexsmith

** Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure’s performance is generously sponsored by Margaret Harriett Cameron and the late Gary Smith

*** Sandra Horst and the COC Chorus are generously underwritten by Tim and Frances Price

1 April 12, 17, 23, 30, May 4, 6, 13, 152 April 20, 28, May 8, 10, 123 April 12, 17, 23, 30, May 4, 6, 134 April 20, 28, May 8, 10, 12, 15 D COC Debut † Current member of the COC Ensemble Studio ^ Graduate of COC Ensemble Studio

Program information is correct at time of printing. All casting is subject to change.

PRODUCTION SPONSOR


Don José (Brian Hymel) arrests Carmen (Rinat Shaham) in the COC’s 2010 production.


Did you know Carmen has been played in Toronto longer than pro hockey?It’s true! Carmen had its world premiere in 1875 in Paris. Only four years later, on March 5, 1879 it premiered in Toronto, garnering favourable reviews, including this tidbit from the Evening Telegram:

“It is as a whole, however, fairly endowed with sprightly passages and pleasing melody… Many passages are interspersed throughout in which the rhythm is most graceful and others are of dashing liveliness.”

The Toronto Professional Hockey Club, the city’s first professional ice hockey team, was founded 27 years after Carmen’s premiere, in 1906.

Synopsis

ACT IMicaëla, a young peasant girl, is searching for her beloved, the corporal Don José. During the changing of the guard, a group of women take a break from their work at a cigar factory. One of them, Carmen, has many admirers but she tries to attract the attention of Don José who remains indifferent to her, despite the flower she has tossed at him. A short time later, the beautiful Carmen is arrested following a fracas with another factory worker, and Don José is assigned to arrest her. Falling under her spell, the corporal allows her to escape, landing him in jail for two months.

ACT II Carmen and her friends have gathered at a tavern, when a passing parade celebrates the victorious bullfighter, Escamillo. Zuniga, Don José’s lieutenant who is in love with Carmen too, tells Carmen that Don José has been released from jail. Don José soon arrives at the tavern and Carmen demands that he give up his commission and follow her into the mountains with the smugglers. Meanwhile, Zuniga has caught up with Don José and tries to convince the corporal to come home with him. Don José, torn between duty and desire and jealous of Zuniga’s affection for Carmen, picks a fight with Zuniga. In the end, he has no choice but to desert his company and flee into the mountains with Carmen and the band of smugglers.

INTERMISSION

ACT IIIAs the smugglers move through the mountains, Carmen becomes less and less tolerant of her lover’s possessive and controlling behaviour. Escamillo, who has also followed them in search of Carmen, arrives. A fight ensues between Don José and Escamillo but is interrupted by Micaëla who has come to tell Don José that his mother is dying. Micaëla and Don José leave together.

ACT IVOn the day of the great bullfight, Carmen and Escamillo swear their love to each other. A haggard Don José appears at the arena and begs, then demands, Carmen to return to him, but she refuses, throwing down the ring he had once given her. Don José, in despair, charges at Carmen, stabbing her. She dies as the crowd cheers the toreador in the corrida.

Director’s Notes

I am honoured to be making my mainstage directing debut at the Canadian Opera Company. This is my home company and the company that gave me my first opportunity.

Why Carmen and why now? Carmen is not a new opera. It has stood the test of time to emerge as one of the best-loved works in the operatic canon. I can’t help but feel that this piece was the entertainment of the time. Everything about this show is spectacle, busyness and excitement: the chorus is on stage practically the entire length of the opera which gives us plenty to look at and take in, and the numerous memorable melodies have us humming as we leave the theatre.

For me, what has allowed this piece to endure through the years, from 1875 to the present, are the real characters in real situations. Now more than ever, this piece is a reminder of the freedom that we all enjoy and also the chains that we can find ourselves bound by. We desire passion and uninhibited living, but must have certain constraints to maintain order within our lives. We see ourselves in the gentle, yet strong, spirit of Micaëla; our inhibitions are brought out through Don José; our passion is felt through Carmen; and our self-absorbed, “selfie” urges are seen through Escamillo. This opera can be like looking in a mirror.

Bizet wrote a piece that is understandable, triggers our impulses, and questions morality. It can be difficult to find a likeable character, or one that we truly want to be. Instead, he’s painted characters that embody several different aspects that we are simultaneously drawn to but can also disassociate from.

This isn’t just another Carmen. This is our Carmen. This is our moment to come together, learn something new about this opera (even for those who have seen it many times), and learn something new about each other.

As Philip Glass said, “If you don’t need a new technique, then what you’re saying probably isn’t new.”

I hope you will, as I do, see this production for what it is: a stunning piece of music theatre that we can all find ourselves in.

Joel Ivany


Left: Carmen (Rinat Shaham) sings her seductive Habanera, basking in the admiration of the local men in the COC’s 2010 production.

To learn more about Carmen, read Eric Domville’s article, “Love, Sex, Spirit,” on our blog at coc.ca/Parlando. This originally appeared in our 2010 house program.

PERCUSSIONTrevor Tureski, PrincipalChung Ling Lo*John Thompson*

HARPSarah Davidson, Principal

Banda

TRUMPETRobert GrimRobert Weymouth

TROMBONECharles BenaroyaIan Cowie

BASS TROMBONEHerbert Poole

LIBRARIANWayne Vogan

ASSISTANT MUSIC LIBRARIANOndrej Golias

STAGE LIBRARIANPaul Langley

PERSONNEL MANAGERIan Cowie

*extra musician

VIOLIN IMarie Bérard, ConcertmasterThe Concertmaster’s chair has

been endowed in perpetuity by Joey and Toby Tanenbaum

Aaron Schwebel, Associate Concertmaster

Jamie Kruspe, Assistant Concertmaster

Anne ArmstrongSandra Baron, (leave of absence)Bethany BergmanNancy KershawDominique LaplanteYakov Lerner Jayne MaddisonNeria MayerAshley Vandiver*Joanna Zabrowarna

VIOLIN IIPaul Zevenhuizen, PrincipalCsaba Koczó, Assistant PrincipalJames AylesworthElizabeth JohnstonBoris Kupesic*Renée London*Aya MiyagawaLouise TardifMarianne UrkeJoanna Zabrowarna

VIOLAKeith Hamm, PrincipalJoshua Greenlaw, Assistant

Principal (leave of absence)Sheila Jaffé, Acting Assistant

PrincipalAlyssa Delbaere-Sawchuck* Emily Eng*Nicholaos Papadakis*Angela Rudden*Beverley SpottonYosef Tamir

CELLOBryan Epperson, Principal (leave

of absence)Alastair Eng, Acting PrincipalPaul Widner, Assistant PrincipalElaine Thompson, Acting

Assistant PrincipalMaurizio BaccantePeter Cosbey*Olga Laktionova

BASSAlan Molitz, Principal (leave of

absence)Robert Speer, Assistant PrincipalTom Hazlitt, Acting Assistant

Principal Paul LangleyEric Lee*Robert Wolanski* FLUTEDouglas Stewart, PrincipalShelley Brown


SOPRANOSLindsay Barrett Christina Bell Stacie Carmona Margaret Evans Meghan Fleet Alexandra Lennox-Pomeroy Ingrid Martin Eve Rachel McLeod Victoria Pinnington Jennifer Robinson Teresa van der Hoeven Carrie Wiebe

PICCOLOShelley BrownDouglas Stewart

OBOEMark Rogers, PrincipalLesley Young

ENGLISH HORNLesley Young

CLARINETJames T. Shields, PrincipalColleen Cook

BASSOONEric Hall, PrincipalElizabeth Gowen

HORNMikhailo Babiak, PrincipalJanet AndersonBardhyl GjevoriGary Pattison

TRUMPETRobert Grim, PrincipalRobert Weymouth

TROMBONECharles Benaroya, PrincipalIan Cowie

BASS TROMBONEHerbert Poole

TIMPANIMichael Perry, Principal

MEZZO-SOPRANOSMarianne Bindig Susan Black Sandra Boyes Wendy Hatala Foley Erica Iris Huang Lilian Kilianski Kathryn Knapp Laura McAlpineAnne McWatt Karen Olinyk Lisa Spain Vilma Indra Vitols

TENORSVanya Abrahams Stephen Bell Sam Chung Sean Clark Stephen Erickson William Ford Ryan Harper John Kriter Jason Lamont James Leatch Stephen McClare Derrick Paul Miller Eric Olsen

BARITONES/BASSESGrant Allert Kenneth Baker Peter Barnes Sung Chung Bruno Cormier Michael Downie Jason Nedecky Michael Sproule Jan Vaculik Peter Wiens Marcus Wilson Gene Wu Michael York

Canadian Opera Company Orchestra

Canadian Opera Company Chorus

Teri Dunn, Music Director Ken Hall, Managing Director Dean Burry, Artistic Director

Canadian Children’s Opera Company

Isobel ArseneauAlexandra BernsteinLucas DrubeAnnika FaricArianna Forgione

Laudomia Lo GrecoBeatrice NusinkFrances QuiltyMadelaine Ringo-StaubleConnor Ross

Serene SakhniniFinleigh SmartAlastair Thorburn-VitolsClaudia Winfield-HicksNathalie Winfield-Hicks

Members of the Canadian Children’s Opera Company appear in all Canadian Opera Company productions requiring children’s voices. Founded in 1968, the CCOC is the only permanent children’s opera company in Canada, providing musical and dramatic training to hundreds of participants each year. It specializes in the development and performance of operatic and choral repertoire for children.

Samantha FuAlia GinevraSophie HabkirkJulianna HarsfaiJacqueline Kirby

MUSIC STAFFEsther Gonthier (Head Coach)Jordan de SouzaMichael ShannonJennifer Szeto (Ensemble Studio Intern Coach)

DICTION COACHRosemarie Landry

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR Derek Bate

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERSMike LewandowskiKate Porter

APPRENTICE STAGE MANAGERAdriana Dimitri

ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNERDavida Tkach

FIGHT DIRECTORAnita Nittoly

UNDERSTUDIESZuniga Bruno Cormier Moralès Jason NedeckyFrasquita Lindsay BarrettMercédès Erica Iris HuangLe Dancaïre Jan VaculikLe Remendado Charles Sy


Don José (Brian Hymel) and Carmen (Rinat Shaham) in the COC’s 2010 production.

This spring’s Carmen marks the closing of a circle for Joel Ivany, the acclaimed Canadian director and founder of Against the Grain Theatre collective. In 2005, when the COC premiered the production that audiences are seeing again this season, Joel was building his directing career after studying theatre and music theatre. His friend Brent Krysa was assistant director for the 2005 Carmen, and he advised Joel to take a closer look at the world of

CARMEN FULL CIRCLEBY GIANNA WICHELOW

opera, to see if it appealed to him. So Joel joined the roster of supernumeraries (extras) for that production, and was hooked. Eleven years later, he returns to direct it.

“It was exciting because Carmen was my first real experience of live opera—and I was in it! I saw everything, including how an opera director works. I saw how people treated each other, as groups and individuals—and supers. And that had an impact: for me, whether it’s Carmen herself or the one kid who is on stage for a moment and doesn’t sing, they’re all an important part of the show.”

At that time, the COC was performing in the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. The following year the company moved into its own home, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Since then Joel has been assistant director on many productions in the COC’s opera house.

“I love this space so much; it’s such a beautiful hall. I’ve had the opportunity to explore every part of it from every angle. I know the sightlines, and how the stage looks and sounds from all parts of the auditorium. I’ve experienced how the space has been utilized in different productions, whether it was Iphigenia in Tauris, where a singer was positioned above the curved ceiling of the auditorium, or the proscenium-high videos for Tristan und Isolde. Now, during this rehearsal process, I’m asking myself how we can bring the audience into Carmen in a way that hasn’t been done with Carmen, or this production, or in the Four Seasons Centre before. “

At the heart of Carmen is a crime of passion that could happen anywhere and any time. Joel approaches this cautiously but with great enthusiasm. He asks, “Why do you need to tell the story? Why tell the story over and over again? Why is it important? How can it be told differently?” Joel has been working with two casts so the plot, of course, remains the same but, with different performers, the way the story is told is altered. “We have two incredibly different but talented Carmens so that’s a great start, but with the way rehearsals are scheduled we didn’t start off with everyone in the same room, and we have real time to work with the two groups


IN CONVERSATION WITH DIRECTOR JOEL IVANY

“I love this space so much; it’s such a beautiful hall. I’ve had the opportunity to explore every part of it from every angle.”

Joel Ivany


individually. The other important factor is that everyone in this cast has done this opera more times than I have so they have more experience with these characters than I do, which is pretty great! I’ll learn a lot from them and hopefully I’ll bring an angle that’s new to them. They also haven’t worked with each other and that will bring added excitement to the process. It’ll also be wonderful to work with some of the same people from 2005: Alain Coulombe is back as Zuniga and Mike Lewandowski is back as part of the stage management team. Some of the same choristers and supers will be there, so it’s going to be fun!”

After his initial experience as a super, Joel knew he wanted to direct opera. He went on to complete two formative years at the University of Toronto Opera School studying opera directing with Michael Albano. From there, not having immediate access to a large company and the infrastructure that provided, he thought to himself, “‘If

I want a company, why not just start one?’ It kind of exploded from there. When we were forming Against the Grain [AtG] in 2010, there was maybe one other indie opera group in Toronto at the time. And now there are something like 10 or 12. Thankfully I had other opportunities to work with other directors elsewhere and I kept AtG going, but assistant directing gave me directing and administrative skills and I got to experience productions on a big level. It made me less nervous about handling large productions, and gave me a lot more confidence to make AtG what it is today.”

AtG had an immediate resonance for Toronto opera lovers with its first productions, such as a bold, pared-down La Bohème performed in a bar, and a startling The Turn of the Screw in an attic space at the University of Toronto. What makes Joel’s work consistently intriguing and illuminating is what his approach attempts to reveal and unearth: “I

try and attack everything and ask, ‘What new thing can be said about this? Everything has been done this way, so—within the parameters that we have—what can we do differently, to say something new?’ Other people will always do it the way most people want it done. Does it mean that my way is THE way? No, it’s just something different.”

One of Joel’s great hopes is that there will be more opportunities for opera artists to work in Canada. His own career is country-wide now. He will return to Vancouver Opera in 2017 to direct Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. And, once again this summer, he is program director for Banff’s Open Space: Opera in the 21st Century. A partnership between Banff, AtG and the COC, the program is a performance-based collaborative training experience for emerging opera professionals and brings in faculty members such as Russell Braun, Paul Curran and Judith Forst, as well as staff

SPOT THE DIRECTOR!The young photographer in the Act II crowd in the COC’s 2005 Carmen was to become the director of the 2016 production.

from the COC. Having these resources available allows the faculty to work with young artists, and “dream and plan without having to worry about raising funds at the same time!”

But before then, AtG remounts A Little Too Cozy in Toronto this May. As he did for the other two Mozart/Da Ponte operas, Joel developed the production last year at Banff, taking the score and basic idea of Così fan tutte and writing a new libretto around a modern-day wedding reality TV show. “It’s taking place in Studio 42 at the CBC Building. We all get to go to a live studio experience in one of the city’s coolest venues.”

As for the future: “There’s been so much greatness before us, like developing all

these companies across the west. We need to find people who love this art form enough to understand that they’ll have a few rough years, but if they can commit to it, they’ll be investing in something very worthwhile. You plant seeds and bear fruit later. We see that with AtG. I can’t wait to find the next person who says, ‘Joel did this,’ but they do it better than me. Where is that person now? Are they in theatre or accounting? What is it that’s going to change them to follow that dream? Young directors need as much experience as they can get in small companies and big companies.”

In 2005, Joel would watch from the wings each night as the singers walked off the stage at the end of the final, devastating duet. “They would

be exhausted. They put everything into it, the singing and acting was so physical. To witness that is huge—it just grips you. That duet is so beautiful and strong and the performers have to be so powerful in their focus, their intention, and their musicality. With our Carmen there will be some audience members who are experiencing this opera—or any opera—for the first time, and that’s one of the reasons it has to be excellent because it could stick with them, change their life, you never know. Standing in the wings as a super, seeing that final duet every night… that stuck with me.”

Gianna Wichelow is Senior Communications Manager, Creative and Publications at the COC.

ANITA RACHVELISHVILI: “I’ve performed the role of Carmen for over five years and I feel a real understanding for her. To me Carmen is not just a woman who goes from man to man. She’s a very strong woman, but a lonely one, who is trying to find her happiness as we all do. When I perform, I try to just BE Carmen, to bring to the audience who she is and how she struggles to live a difficult life.”

…AND A HAIR-RAISING STORY… “A few months ago I had a very bad accident on stage during the first act of Carmen. In the scene when Manuelita and I fight, she caught my hand with the Spanish navaja (folding knife). I was bleeding for the rest of the performance, but saying, ‘Well now I really have something to remember!’ After the performance I went to hospital where I got five stitches.”


CLÉMENTINE MARGAINE: “I love the freedom of this character, her passion and her sense of humour. I love that she’s living for herself and not to please others. I love that she’ll do anything—even dying —just to keep her freedom. How modern is this character?”

…AND HOW SHE STARTS A PERFORMANCE DAY… “To get into the character of Carmen before a performance I always start the day by dancing, even if the production doesn’t require it. Carmen has to be aware of her body and of the impact of the body on the others. She’s an animal so you have to make your body and your mind awake.”

The COC has two great artists playing Carmen this spring. We asked them to share their feelings about this fascinating character.

A passion for the artsKPMG is proud to sponsor the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Carmen.

kpmg.ca

© 2016 KPMG LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. The KPMG name and logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International. 11957


MAOMETTO IIBY GIOACHINO ROSSINI

Luca Pisaroni in the title role of Maometto II in the COC’s production, when it debuted at Santa Fe Opera in 2012.


GO SCENT FREE: In consideration of patrons with allergies, please avoid wearing perfumed beauty products and fragrances.

PRODUCTION SPONSOR

Opera in Two Acts w Libretto by Cesare della Valle Critical Edition edited by Hans Schellevis. Used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Bärenreiter-Verlag, publisher and copyright owner

First performance: Teatro San Carlo, Naples, 1820Production created by Santa Fe Opera

COC PRODUCTION w COC PREMIEREApril 29, May 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 14, 2016 Sung in Italian with English SURTITLES™

THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance)

Paolo Erisso, head of the Venetians ................ Bruce SledgeD

Condulmiero, Venetian noble ............................ Charles Sy†**Calbo, Venetian General ...................................... Elizabeth DeShongAnna, Paolo’s daughter ........................................ Leah CrocettoD

Maometto II .............................................................. Luca PisaroniD*Selimo, Maometto’s confidant ........................... Aaron Sheppard†***

Conductor ................................................................. Harry BicketDirector ...................................................................... David AldenAssistant Director .................................................. Marilyn Gronsdal^Set and Costume Designer................................. Jon Morrell Lighting Designer................................................... Duane SchulerD

Choreographer ........................................................ David LaeraD

Chorus Master ......................................................... Sandra Horst^****Stage Manager ........................................................ Jenifer KowalSURTITLES™ Producer ......................................... Gunta Dreifelds

Performance time is approximately three hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission

* Luca Pisaroni’s performance is generously sponsored by Françoise Sutton

** Charles Sy’s performance is generously sponsored by Catherine Fauquier

*** Aaron Sheppard’s performance is generously sponsored by Tony & Anne Arrell

**** Sandra Horst and the COC Chorus are generously underwritten by Tim and Frances Price

D COC Debut † Current member of the COC Ensemble Studio ^ Graduate of COC Ensemble Studio

Program information is correct at time of printing. All casting is subject to change.

Leah Crocetto as Anna and Luca Pisaroni in the title role of Maometto II in the COC’s production, when it debuted at Santa Fe Opera in 2012.



Director’s Notes

We know Rossini best from his comedies—the familiar works such as The Barber of Seville—and from his image as the great genius who made his fortune young, retired from composing opera at the age of 40 and lived out his long life in Paris as bon vivant and observer of all things cultural. The shock comes when we look at his more serious works and realize he was not only one of the music theater’s greatest comic geniuses, but also a supreme innovator of serious drama. Great singers of the last century such as Callas, Sutherland and Horne revealed these forgotten tragedies as living, passionate theatre. Especially surprising and intriguing are the works Rossini wrote for Naples, usually created for his wife, the diva Isabella Colbran—brilliant, idiomatic, experimental operas, many still virtually unknown today. Among them is Maometto II.

There is something intense and dangerous about Maometto II that I find absolutely contemporary and modern. It is not a typical recitative-aria opera seria of the period, but an unusually through-composed and unpredictably paced drama. Throughout the first act until the entrance of Maometto, the buildup of dramatic tension leaves no chance for the audience to stop and applaud. This is unusual in any opera up until Wagner. Mozart had tried something similar in his masterpiece Idomeneo, but returned to “number operas,” perhaps persuaded by disgruntled singers to restore their missed applause (or perhaps missing it himself). This structure forces the listener to focus on the drama without reducing the virtuosity of Rossini’s glorious music. It also highlights character: as the tension builds, we are made to fear the arrival of Maometto —the scourge from the dark land, the dangerous conqueror. But when we finally encounter him late in Act I he is more impressive, cultivated and rounded than the Venetians we have come to know earlier in the act. The role of Anna (the Colbran role) is equally modern—not only in her importance, but in her growth through the opera. She starts out as a young girl and daughter caught in a terrible war in a very male society where women are marginalized and brutalized, and where men make all the decisions. She is dominated on one side by her father, the overbearing Venetian general Erisso, and on the other by Maometto, far more evolved than her father but equally powerful. But as the opera progresses, she gathers this whole mess (personal, political) into her own hands—ultimately taking a heroic, self-sacrificing initiative to save her people.

Perhaps the most modern of all is the conflict between eastern and western cultures at the heart of the opera. Which side captures our sympathies? That must remain an open question… something for each listener to decide.

David Alden (Santa Fe Opera, 2012)

SynopsisACT IMaometto Secondo, Sultan of the Ottomans, has captured Constantinople and ended the Byzantine Empire. He now plans to invade Western Europe by taking Negroponte, the Venetian-held gateway between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean regions. The head of the Venetians in Negroponte is Paolo Erisso whose daughter Anna is betrothed to the young Venetian nobleman, Calbo. Erisso must decide whether to lead his forces in what looks to be a futile stand against Maometto or, surrender and seek the most peaceful settlement possible. Anna has been romantically involved with a man she believes to be Uberto, a nobleman from Corinth. Erisso tells her she must have fallen for an imposter as the real Uberto was with him in Venice. The Muslims invade the city and take Erisso and Calbo as prisoners. When Maometto arrives, he and Anna recognize each other from their encounter in Corinth when he was under the guise of Uberto. Horrified, Anna threatens suicide unless Maometto releases his prisoners. Still smitten with her, he relents while Erisso rejects his daughter for having fallen in love with his enemy.

ACT IIMaometto wants to marry Anna but she refuses. He leaves to prepare a final assault on Negroponte, giving his imperial seal to Anna in order to guarantee her safety. With it, his soldiers will obey her command. Erisso and Calbo have sought refuge at the tomb of Anna’s mother where Erisso rails against his daughter’s betrayal. She arrives and to prove her loyalty, gives their enemy’s seal to her father, begging him to marry her to Calbo which he does in front of her mother’s tomb. Erisso and Calbo manage to defeat the invaders against all odds but Maometto’s soldiers are now calling for Anna’s death since she inspired the last minute surge of Venetian strength. Maometto comes back to confront Anna and seek revenge. She tells him that she gave the seal to her father, married Calbo and then stabs herself, dying on her mother’s tomb.

VIOLIN IMarie Bérard, ConcertmasterThe Concertmaster’s chair has

been endowed in perpetuity by Joey and Toby Tanenbaum

Aaron Schwebel, Associate Concertmaster

Jamie Kruspe, Assistant Concertmaster

Anne ArmstrongSandra Baron (leave of absence)Bethany BergmanElizabeth JohnstonNancy KershawDominique LaplanteYakov Lerner Jayne MaddisonNeria Mayer

VIOLIN IIPaul Zevenhuizen, PrincipalCsaba Koczó, Assistant PrincipalJames AylesworthHiroko Kagawa*Aya MiyagawaLouise TardifMarianne Urke (leave of absence)Ashley Vandiver*Joanna Zabrowarna

VIOLAKeith Hamm, PrincipalJoshua Greenlaw, Assistant

Principal (leave of absence)Sheila Jaffé, Acting Assistant

PrincipalCarolyn Blackwell*Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuck*Beverley SpottonYosef Tamir

CELLOBryan Epperson, Principal Alastair Eng, Associate PrincipalPaul Widner, Assistant PrincipalMaurizio BaccanteOlga LaktionovaElaine Thompson

BASSAlan Molitz, Principal (leave of

absence)Robert Speer, Assistant PrincipalTom Hazlitt, Acting Assistant

PrincipalPaul LangleyRobert Wolanski*

FLUTEDouglas Stewart, PrincipalShelley Brown

PICCOLOShelley BrownDouglas Stewart

OBOEMark Rogers, PrincipalLesley Young

CLARINETJames T. Shields, PrincipalColleen Cook

BASSOONEric Hall, PrincipalElizabeth Gowen

HORNMikhailo Babiak, PrincipalJanet AndersonBardhyl GjevoriGary Pattison

SOPRANOSLindsay Barrett Stacie Carmona Margaret Evans Alexandra Lennox-Pomeroy Ingrid Martin Eve Rachel McLeod Victoria Pinnington Jennifer Robinson Teresa van der Hoeven

MEZZO-SOPRANOSMarianne BindigSusan BlackSandra Boyes Wendy Hatala Foley Erica Iris Huang Lilian Kilianski Anne McWatt Karen Olinyk Vilma Indra Vitols


Canadian Opera Company Orchestra

TENORSVanya AbrahamsStephen Bell Sam Chung Sean Clark Stephen Erickson John Kriter Jason Lamont James Leatch Stephen McClare Eric Olsen

TRUMPETRobert Grim, PrincipalAndrew Dubelsten*Robert Weymouth (leave of

absence)

TROMBONECharles Benaroya, PrincipalIan Cowie

BASS TROMBONEMegan Hodge*

OPHICLEIDEHerbert Poole

TIMPANIMichael Perry, Principal

PERCUSSIONTrevor Tureski, PrincipalChung Ling Lo*John Thompson*

HARPSarah Davidson, Principal

Banda

PICCOLOMaria Pelletier*

Eb CLARINETMax Christie*

CLARINETMargaret Gillie*James Ormston*Michele Verheul*

BASSOONWilliam Cannaway*

HORNMichele Gagnon*David Quackenbush*Scott Wevers*

TRUMPETMichael Fedyshyn*Brendan Cassin*

CIMBASSOScott Irvine, Principal

PERCUSSIONTrevor TureskiChung Ling Lo*

LIBRARIANWayne Vogan

ASSISTANT MUSIC LIBRARIANOndrej Golias

STAGE LIBRARIANPaul Langley

PERSONNEL MANAGERIan Cowie

* extra musician

Canadian Opera Company ChorusBARITONES/BASSESKenneth Baker Sung Chung Bruno Cormier Michael Downie Jason Nedecky Michael Sproule Jan Vaculik Marcus WilsonGene Wu Michael York

MUSIC STAFFBen Malensek (Head Coach)Stephen B. HargreavesHyejin Kwon (Ensemble Studio

Intern Coach)

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR Stephen B. Hargreaves

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERSGerry EganTiffany Fraser

ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNERDavida Tkach

UNDERSTUDIESMaometto II Michael Anthony McGeeAnna Aviva FortunataCondulmiero Stephen Bell Selimo Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure

DANCERS Jak BarradellLiana BellissimoMatt MarrBreanna Willis


Luca Pisaroni (centre) in the title role of Maometto II in the COC’s

production, when it debuted at Santa Fe Opera in 2012.

NOW OPEN — A CITY TRANSFORMED: IMAGES OF ISTANBUL THEN AND NOWThe city we now know as Istanbul has been an important cultural and economic hub for centuries. Under its many guises, this magnificent place has witnessed a succession of empires and astounding urban growth. Experience the many faces of this city through the historical collection of Ömer Koç and contemporary photographs by Murat Germen—then enrich your knowledge through our special programming, including illustrated talks and an evening of Turkish music!

agakhanmuseum.org Right: Detail of Muta-morphosis — Istanbul, Historical Peninsula #1Murat Germen, 2013 ~ Lambda C-print ~ Photo courtesy of the artist

Opera notoriously relegates huge swathes of its historic legacy to the proverbial dustbin while at the same time stuffing even its most celebrated composers into extremely reputation-limiting pigeonholes. Despite having achieved the highest degree of popularity and name recognition, Gioachino Rossini probably suffers more than most when judged by these criteria. To this day he is mostly known for his comic operas —The Barber of Seville (1816), La Cenerentola (Cinderella, 1817) and The Italian Girl in Algiers (1813). It might therefore come as a surprise that the greater part of Rossini’s output was opera seria (serious opera treating subjects


drawn from poetry, prose and the stage), particularly during his stay in Naples from 1815 to 1822 where he premiered his dramas Armida (1817), Ermione (1819) and Maometto II (1820). These works were highly experimental and with them, Rossini took significant artistic risk largely due to some felicitous historical and geographic circumstances: Naples dominated Italian music during the late 18th and early 19th centuries and its audiences were among the most highly cultivated in Europe. They were accustomed to hearing operas from the “outside” since French, German and Austrian works figured much more prominently in Naples than in most

other opera houses in Italy. Rossini was therefore able to break free of the formulae that would have been non-negotiable elsewhere—a good example being the virtual stranglehold held by the neoclassical poet Metastasio whose ubiquitous opera seria librettos dictated happy endings at all cost! Rossini rejected this artificial conceit, giving his serious, Neapolitan operas the more dramatically appropriate, tragic endings they deserved.

Beyond these dramaturgical tweaks, Rossini further pushed the envelope by imbuing his serious works with a truly progressive musical structure. British conductor Harry Bicket (Orfeo

SERIOUSLY... ROSSINI’S MAOMETTO II

BY GIANMARCO SEGATO

Above: a scene from Maometto II at Santa Fe Opera in 2012.


ed Euridice, 2011; Hercules, 2014), who returns to the COC to lead these performances, singles out Maometto II’s “breadth and grandeur… which is unusual; one thinks of Rossini as a brilliant comic writer, excelling in perfectly judged arias and lean, taut finales. What you have in Maometto II are massive structural arcs which push the musical and dramatic conventions of the day (many of which were codified by Rossini himself) to their limits. For example, the famous Act I terzettone [literally, “big, fat trio!”] is 25 minutes long, and includes two of the characters disappearing to battle, cannon fire, chorus interjections, and a prayer for the women’s chorus. This was absolutely groundbreaking for its day; one gets the sense that Rossini wanted to see how far he could push the audience’s expectations.”

Rossini’s experimentation also extended to his handling of the demanding principal roles, especially the title character Maometto, based on the historical Mehmet II (1432-1481) who captured Constantinople in 1453 thus ending the Byzantine Empire. For the COC, he will be sung by Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni in his company debut—a rare instance when a low-voiced male gets to sing the title role. Rossini skillfully delays Maometto’s entrance—a tactic Pisaroni hails as “brilliant because we hear everyone talking about him for 45 minutes as this horrendous human being without pity… but once we eventually meet him you realize he has a human side nobody is aware of–his love for Anna [daughter of his enemy, Paolo Erisso, Governor of Venice] is sincere and he’s actually crushed between what he’s supposed to do as a commander of the army and his private life.”

Musically, Pisaroni couldn’t ask for a grander entrance: a tripartite, tour-de-force solo that opens with a cantabile (slower, free-form, song-like) movement “Sorgete, sorgete” (“Arise, arise”) in which Maometto exhorts his followers to battle. A change in tempo is signaled by a transitional tempo di mezzo choral section that links to

the spectacular, concluding cabaletta (flashier, quicker movement) “Del mondo al vincitor” where Maometto vows to conquer the universe. For Pisaroni, his entrance music poses the ultimate challenge: “It has everything: top notes; coloratura; long phrases…[the role] is without question the most difficult I’ve ever sung… the range goes from high G to a low F so it’s more than two octaves—but I love challenges!”

In addition to the requisite vocal pyrotechnics, the role’s other big hurdles are its reams of recitativo accompagnato (sung dialogue accompanied by full orchestra) which Pisaroni is especially keen to re-visit for the first time since debuting as Maometto in the same 2012 Santa Fe Opera production being revived at the COC this spring. It was thanks to the superlative Neapolitan orchestras Rossini had at his disposal that he was able to do away with recitativo secco (literally, “dry recitative”—sung dialogue accompanied by harpsichord) and opt for the more dramatically colourful possibilities offered by a full orchestra. In preparation for his COC performances, Pisaroni says he’ll be paying particular attention to the “something like 20 pages of recitativo” that follow his demanding entrance aria: “I want to make sure that [it is] dramatically effective and has a direction… obviously that’s an incredible amount of work because you need to keep up the tension. A lot is going on; a lot gets said and you need to keep the audience interested. So, I work on details [using vocal] colour to project the idea that it’s simply a conversation the audience can follow.”

It was these types of seamlessly-integrated conversational passages that paved the way for the future of Italian opera—think of Verdi and his brilliant, long-form dialogue between Germont and Violetta in La Traviata, or the intensely moving father/daughter recognition scene in Simon Boccanegra—all derived from his predecessor’s experimentation with conventional forms. COC favourite, American mezzo-soprano Elizabeth

DeShong (La Cenerentola, 2011; Madama Butterfly, 2014), returns in the trouser role of Calbo—the Venetian noble who is Maometto’s rival in love for Anna. She singles out this more ensemble-based approach in Maometto II as one of its most compelling features: “Rossini spends the most time musically on numbers that include the most characters and how they relate to each other. It’s not so much about single moments for a single character; it’s about how they impact each other —I think he chose to focus on the humanity of the piece as opposed to the political and cultural aspects that could come in and distract from that.” That is not to say lovers of bel canto vocal virtuosity won’t be satisfied as DeShong makes abundantly clear: “Calbo’s [epic Act II] aria, in particular, requires impeccable agility and the ability to easily access the outer extremes of one’s vocal range in rapid succession. The vocalism required to make this opera a success cannot be overestimated. Every element of each singer’s technique and musicality is put to the test in the most extreme ways.”

For all his experimentation however, Rossini paid a price: Maometto II fared poorly in other Italian cities and even in relatively adventurous Naples. It seemed excessive and was not a huge success. A more crowd-pleasing, happy ending was provided for its short 1822 Venetian revival; it was seen again in Vienna (1823), Milan (1824) and Lisbon (1826) but then dropped out of the repertoire entirely. It regained life in Paris in 1826 as Le siège de Corinthe in an extensive revision with a French libretto, becoming Rossini’s first foray into the newly emerging genre of grand opéra (operas in five acts, including massive crowd scenes and a requisite ballet). Until its 2012 revival by Santa Fe Opera, Maometto II had not been performed in its original form since its premiere at Naples’ Teatro di San Carlo on December 3, 1820.

For those Santa Fe performances, a brand new Critical Edition was prepared by Dutch scholar Hans Schellevis and edited by musicologist

6 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY 2015/201622 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY 2015/2016

Phillip Gossett. Rossini had a penchant for writing down successive revisions directly into the autograph score resulting in many textual problems which the Critical Edition managed to clean up—this is the version that will be used in Toronto. Drawing on his vast experience with early opera, conductor Harry Bicket plans to look at the score “forward through the lens of the Classical period rather than backwards from, say, Verdi. Of course, the orchestra is bigger than a Mozart orchestra… but Rossini handles this larger orchestra in an almost ‘pointillist’ way, perhaps delicately adding a dash of woodwind colour to a particularly tender moment, or giving the clarinet an ‘aria’ of its own in the second act. In the big choral ensembles he brings out the big guns, especially to evoke the ‘other’ world of the Muslim invaders.”

Until its 2012 revival by Santa Fe Opera, Maometto II had not been performed in its original form since its premiere at Naples’ Teatro di San Carlo on December 3, 1820. Historically grounded in the East/West conflict of the 15th-century Crusades, director David Alden dubs Maometto II, a “siege opera” but stresses it is much more about war in general, rather than any specific cultural clash. “When I first started to think about Maometto II in preparation for the Santa Fe production, I was worried that the East versus West theme might be controversial (not in a good way) in our current, charged international climate. I did not want to present a clichéd, Hollywood ‘50s-style epic of noble Christians versus exotic and villainous Muslim hordes. But after some study and thought I realized that, if anything, the balance is tilted in favour of the cultured, dangerous but sympathetic Maometto over the fundamentalist and hard-headed Christian leader Erisso. In this tense drama… many questions are raised but not many easy answers given–the only certainty is that a very unusual and challenging night of bel canto awaits the audience.”

Maometto’s love interest, Anna, will be sung by American soprano Leah Crocetto who like Pisaroni, also starred in the 2012 Santa Fe production. She calls Alden’s concept “genius…he knows the music forwards and backwards… it is a miraculous process to work with him. David’s artistic vision is very classical in nature. He paints a beautiful picture of what, I believe, was absolutely intended by Rossini. David also does not settle for mediocrity. He pushes his actors to be the best... it is quite a collaboration.”

With Maometto II, Rossini seemed to realize he had stretched his art as far as the dramatic and musical strictures of the times would allow. Given the gradual stylistic retrenchment to which he subjected the piece with his subsequent revisions, he had clearly pushed his public to its limits. This spring, COC audiences will have the unique opportunity to hear this dramatic masterpiece as Rossini intended, in its raw, original form and to be overwhelmed by the same audacity that made it the talk of 1820s Naples!

Gianmarco Segato is Adult Programs Manager at the COC.

DAVID ALDEN ON ROSSINI’S SERIOUS OPERAS: “In the last decades, artists have started to bring Rossini’s long-forgotten dramatic works back to the stage. Starting, of course, with Maria Callas, and continuing with Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Montserrat Caballé, Rockwell Blake, Samuel Ramey, and many other virtuosi, we now have performers who have the technique to sing this challenging and extremely florid and dramatic music, and… who take these long-forgotten and often disparaged works seriously. A whole hidden and glorious high-point of 19th-century music drama is back after lying forgotten for more than a century and it is capable of thrilling audiences.”

HARRY BICKET ON THE COC CAST: “Maometto II is only done if you have a cast that can sing it and they are rare! The COC has put together a dream team of singers and the opportunity to hear this rarity sung so well in a deeply theatrical production is one which only comes round once every 20 years or so.”

LUCA PISARONI ON DAVID ALDEN: “No role is the same from the beginning to the end for him… there is always a development dramatically. I love David because there is no white and black—it’s all the colours in between and that’s what makes it exciting.”

LEAH CROCETTO ON THE ROLE OF ANNA: “What makes it difficult is its length—Anna starts and ends the opera and only stops singing for about 15 minutes while Maometto performs his big scena. Her music was composed with such care—Rossini obviously loved [his then wife and muse, the Spanish soprano] Isabella Colbran very dearly as he composed this piece for her at the height of her career.”

ELIZABETH DESHONG ON DISCOVERING MAOMETTO II: “My first thought upon hearing it was, ‘Wow, Rossini is a composer that should never be underestimated!’ While I have spent much time with Rossini’s La Cenerentola, The Barber of Seville, and Semiramide, I was still unprepared for Maometto II’s depth of orchestration, intense drama, and sheer rhythmic and tonal force. It wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to suppose that Verdi may have drawn specific inspiration from Maometto II.”

Jumping rope, Downton Abbey, and two furry best friends!


GET TO KNOW... LUCA PISARONI

Tristan (on the chair, following the score) and Lenny hang out with Luca during a warm up.

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“Opera is as popular as ever, but fewer people can afford the rising cost,” says Philip Deck (left), the new chair of the Canadian Opera Foundation’s (COF) Board of Directors.

He points to the consistent experience of the COC with ticketing options such as rush tickets, Value subscriptions, and more, where lower prices always

find a surge in demand. Lower prices also bring younger and more diverse audiences. “The long-term challenge facing the COC is how to fund the low ticket prices that attract new audiences when production costs keep rising at more than the rate of inflation.”

That’s where the COF comes in, providing a stable and permanent source of revenue which, in the long run, can be marshalled to reduce ticket prices and increase accessibility. While the company has many well developed fundraising platforms in place to help cover the expenses of staging new productions and bringing in artists, the role of the Foundation, as Deck sees it, is to offer a way to permanently reduce ticket prices.

Armed with a newly expanded mandate and supported by a roster of Canada’s leading investment professionals, the COF Board is building on its strong record of investment success and asset growth and taking advantage of available matching dollars from the federal government. “The combination of matching funds with solid non-taxable returns offers leverage that even the savviest investor would be hard-pressed to beat” says Deck.

The COF is already a major part of the COC’s support base. With over $36 million in assets, it already generates over $1 million per year in funding to the COC to offset what would otherwise be higher ticket prices.

Deck sees the growth of the COF as a natural extension of the capital campaign that built the Four Seasons Centre. “The FSCPA is a visible, permanent legacy to the donors that gave us the best opera house in the world. The Foundation is creating a way for new donors to create permanent legacies that will make our opera accessible to everyone.” And visibility of Foundation donors is part of the new initiatives says Deck: “We need to include Foundation donors better into our recognition and benefits programs and people will see the results over the next 12 months.”

But the Foundation is not just for large donors: “Even modest-sized annual gifts have a tremendous amount of leverage,” he emphasizes, “because they get matched to a large extent by the Department of Canadian Heritage and then supplemented by tax-free investment returns. Even modest annual contributions can really add up over time. And then they generate benefits forever.”

The COF distributes a portion of those earnings to the COC annually, while the rest of the income and principal is reinvested to generate further returns.

In making that vision a reality, Philip Deck is chairing a Board that includes major COC donors, as well as leading investment management professionals, law, and accounting experts. He is thrilled about working with his board and the COC in mobilizing existing and new donors: “We help donors build a permanent legacy in support of the COC; we give them an account statement every year so they can see how their gift is growing, and how much support it gives the COC.”

Nikita Gourski is Development Communications Officer at the COC.

TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEUR PHILIP DECK IS LEADING THE CANADIAN OPERA FOUNDATION

TOWARDS A NEW ERA OF LOWER TICKET PRICESBY NIKITA GOURSKI

To learn more about making a gift to lower our ticket prices, please contact Janet Stubbs at [email protected] or 416-306-2327.

world of opera! Act!

Sing Opera! Compose

music! Design sets and costumes! Create and p

erform

Experience the magnificent

Make friends! an original opera!

For T eens

Program Supporter: J.P. Bickell Foundation Photo: COC

Grades 7 to 12 July 2016

Details at coc.ca/Camps or 416-363-8231

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

145 Queen St. W.Toronto

O pera

1 The 2016/2017 Season Announcement was attended by a packed house of subscribers eager to see what the COC had in store for them. It also featured a closing performance by soprano Christine Goerke (who was appearing as Brünnhilde in Siegfried) who sang Ortrud’s Curse from Lohengrin. Christine and the COC Orchestra, led by Johannes Debus, brought the festivities to a stunningly exciting conclusion!

2 COC Music Director Johannes Debus (far right) did double duty this winter conducting both Siegfried and The Marriage of Figaro, but took time out to attend the Working Rehearsal Dinner for Siegfried with its director François Girard (left) and Alexander Neef (middle).

3 The Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre continued this winter with a performance by Ensemble Studio tenor Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure and (4) members of the COC Orchestra and the Orchestra Academy, the latter returning for its third year. The Academy welcomed five student musicians to its annual three-week intensive training program, part of which involved rehearsing Siegfried and playing with the COC Orchestra

on opening night. The five players were Glenn Gould School (GGS) cellist Drew Comstock, GGS violinists Hua-Chu Huang and Yada Lee, GGS bassist Doug Ohashi, and University of Toronto Faculty of Music’s violist Meagan Turner. They were mentored by players from the COC Orchestra: violinists Marie Bérard, Anne Armstrong, and James Aylesworth, violist Keith Hamm, cellist Paul Widner, and bassist Alan Molitz. Pictured (left to right): Bérard, Huang, Lee, Aylesworth, Hamm, Turner, Comstock and Widner.

5 Mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo stepped in at the last minute to perform a recital as part of our Free Concert Series, and a few weeks later won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York. This fall Emily will join the COC Ensemble Studio.

6 Ensemble Studio soprano Karine Boucher celebrated the Ensemble Studio performance of The Marriage of Figaro (in which she sang The Countess) with Golden Circle member Sue Mortimer.

7 Participants of the winter edition of Youth Opera Lab discovered the world of sets, wigs and makeup with a focus on The Marriage of Figaro, and experienced the magical vista from the stage of the Four Seasons Centre.

BACKSTAGE AND BEYOND!Here is a look at some of our recent activities, many shared with our wonderful COC donors, including parties, galas, and backstage meet-and-greets with artists.


21

43 5

9 10


86

1311 12

8 The COC’s 2016/2017 Season Announcement was toasted by Ensemble Studio tenor Charles Sy and Golden Circle member Lisa Balfour Bowen.

9 The cast of The Marriage of Figaro celebrated at the opening night party in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, and (10) soprano Erin Wall (The Countess) joined her husband Roberto Mauro (COC’s director of music and artistic admininstration) with COC General Director Alexander Neef.

11 As part of the COC’s efforts to increase accessibility of its performances and dress rehearsals to newcomers to Canada, the COC welcomed the Abdallah family and their sponsors from the Ripple Refugee Project to a performance of The Marriage of Figaro.

7

12 Part of the winter was spent getting ready for spring, and at the COC’s busy Scene Shop, head carpenter Dave Retzleff is seen with a piece of the set for Maometto II. You can read more of what goes on at the Scene Shop on pages 38 and 39.

13 In the midst of a really busy and exciting season, there is always time to pause and celebrate... and eat cake! The Ensemble Studio performance of Figaro provided an opportunity for the company to mark Alexander Neef’s birthday, so a double celebration was enjoyed by all!


When the Canadian Opera Company began looking for a new official automotive sponsor in 2013, Mercedes-Benz Canada immediately stood out as a most compelling potential partner. In fact, the storied automaker was already a COC supporter, having made annual gifts since the late 1990s as part of its broader mandate of corporate citizenship.

But in 2013, Mercedes-Benz and the COC worked out an agreement which included prominent vehicle displays at the opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, as well as exciting exposure opportunities for the luxury auto brand.

“Our respective reputations for excellence and innovation made this a natural association between the two companies,” said COC General Director Alexander Neef when the partnership was unveiled two and a half years ago. There is no question that the initial fit and continuing success of the partnership stems from a set of shared values, with both Mercedes-Benz and the COC embodying leadership and overall excellence in their respective fields—whether that means engineering a 4-litre V8 Biturbo engine that delivers 503 horsepower for the new 2017 Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Coupe, or mounting a production of Wagner’s Siegfried hailed for its “otherworldly

perfection” (Globe and Mail)—both companies have a relentless commitment to benchmark-setting quality. “We’re very proud to be supporting one of Canada’s most exciting cultural institutions and contributing to the thriving arts scene both in Toronto and in Canada,” says JoAnne Caza, Director of Communications and Public Relations at Mercedes-Benz Canada. “We’ve been very impressed with the COC’s mainstage programming. From the outset, it was quite evident that both parties had similar values and a passionately progressive vision.”

Beyond the opportunity for brand alignment, however, an intriguing element for Mercedes-Benz has been the prospect of getting involved with the COC’s renowned Ensemble Studio training program. Ms. Caza notes that Mercedes-Benz has been highly invested in pan-Canadian projects like Mercedes-Benz Start Up, which supports up-and-coming fashion designers, as well as the Customer Experience Innovation Retail Competition, which is giving young technology start-ups the opportunity to implement some of their innovative ideas in Mercedes-Benz dealerships.

Mercedes-Benz saw the value in developing a national platform for the discovery and celebration of

emerging Canadian opera singers, and enthusiastically came on board as the pace-setting Platinum Sponsor for the COC’s first-ever Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition Gala in 2013. Its support was critical in transforming what was a comparatively modest public competition into a nationally significant event, moving from the 230-seat Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre into the 2000-seat R. Fraser Elliott Hall; incorporating orchestral accompaniment under the baton of Maestro Johannes Debus; and generally shining a much brighter spotlight on the opera talent being nurtured in this country.

Mercedes-Benz has maintained its Platinum Sponsorship of Centre Stage since 2013 and is poised to return in this foundational role on Thursday, November 3 for Centre Stage 2016. At the same time, its ongoing support ensures that the COC can continue to innovate and deliver live opera of the highest international quality: from reviving beloved COC productions to offering invigorating new interpretations of canonical repertoire, to developing a new slate of Canadian commissions, giving voice to our composers, our librettists, and our stories.

Nikita Gourski is Development Communications Officer at the COC.

SPOTLIGHTING MERCEDES-BENZ’S SUPPORT OF THE COC BY NIKITA GOURSKI

Shifting into High Gear


PETER BARRETTBaritone (Corner Brook, NL)Moralès COC DEBUTMandarin, Turandot, 2003

RECENT Jason, M’Dea Undone (Tapestry

Opera)Dr. Falke, Die Fledermaus

(Metropolitan Opera/Met)

UPCOMINGMorales, Carmen (Met)Mercutio, Romèo et Juliette (Met)

DEREK BATE(Toronto, ON)Assistant ConductorCOC DEBUTConductor, Carmen, 1979

RECENT Siegfried (COC)Pyramus and Thisbe with Lamento

d’Arianna and Il combattimento di Clorinda e Tancredi (COC)

Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung (COC)Conductor, The Student Prince

(Toronto Operetta Theatre)

UPCOMINGNorma, Götterdämmerung, Louis Riel

(COC)

KARINE BOUCHERSoprano (Quebec City, QC)Micaëla COC DEBUTKate Pinkerton, Madama Butterfly,

2014

RECENT Susanna, The Marriage of Figaro

(COC Ensemble Studio performance)

Berta, The Barber of Seville (COC)Mimì, La Bohème (Jeunesses

Musicales du Canada)

BIOGRAPHIES: CARMEN

PAOLO CARIGNANI(Milan, Italy)ConductorCOC DEBUTTosca, 2012

RECENT Norma (Bayerische Staatsoper)La Bohème, Tosca and Turandot

(Metropolitan Opera)I vespri siciliani (Royal Danish Opera)

UPCOMINGTurandot and Amleto (Bregenz

Festival) Otello (New National Theatre Tokyo)

CHARLOTTE BURRAGEMezzo-soprano (Toronto, ON)MercédèsCOC DEBUTDorabella, Così fan tutte (Ensemble

Studio performance), 2014 RECENT Suzuki, Madama Butterfly (Saskatoon

Opera)Rosina, The Barber of Seville (COC

Ensemble Studio performance)Grimgerde, Die Walküre (COC)

BRENNA CORNER(High River, AB)Assistant DirectorCOC DEBUT

RECENT Madama Butterfly and Dark Sisters

(Vancouver Opera)Béatrice et Bénédict (Fraser Lyric

Opera)

UPCOMINGLa Bohème (Glimmerglass Festival)Hansel and Gretel (Vancouver Opera)

ALAIN COULOMBEBass (Toronto, ON)Zuniga COC DEBUTAngelotti, Tosca, 1998 RECENT Der Doktor, Wozzeck (Teatro alla

Scala/TAS) Archangel Uriel/Third Man at the

Airport, CO2 (TAS)Un Vieil Hébreu, Samson et Dalila

(Opéra de Montréal/ODM)Géneral Audebert, Silent Night

(Calgary Opera) UPCOMINGIl Commendatore, Don Giovanni

(Salzburg Festival and ODM)Geronte di Ravoir, Manon Lescaut

(Dutch National Opera)

SASHA DJIHANIANSoprano (Montreal, QC)Frasquita COC DEBUTAnnio, La clemenza di Tito (Ensemble

Studio performance), 2013 RECENT Barbarina, The Marriage of Figaro

(COC)Zerlina, Don Giovanni (COC) Pedro, Don Quichotte (COC)Susanna, The Marriage of Figaro

(Opera Lyra)

UPCOMING Fiordiligi, Così fan tutte (Opéra de

Massy and Opéra de Reims)

JEAN-PHILIPPE FORTIER-LAZURE

Tenor (Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)Le RemendadoCOC DEBUTCount Almaviva, The Barber of Seville

(Ensemble Studio Performance), 2015

RECENT Don Curzio, The Marriage of Figaro

(COC)Don Basilio, The Marriage of

Figaro (COC Ensemble Studio performance)

Giuseppe, La Traviata (COC) Pelléas, Pelléas et Mélisande (Nova

Scotia Opera Company)

JASON HAND(Toronto, ON) Lighting Designer COC DEBUTAssociate Lighting Designer, Iphigenia

in Tauris, 2006 RECENTA Little Too Cozy (Banff Centre/Against

the Grain)The Marriage of Figaro (Opera Lyra)M’Dea Undone (Tapestry New Opera)Macbeth (Minnesota Opera) UPCOMINGThe Rape of Lucretia (Banff Centre)


SANDRA HORST(Toronto, ON)Chorus MasterCOC DEBUTNorma, 1998

RECENT The Marriage of Figaro (COC) La Traviata (COC)Pyramus and Thisbe with Lamento

d’Arianna and Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (COC)

Conductor, The Machine Stops and Paul Bunyan (UofT Opera)

UPCOMINGNorma and Ariodante (COC)

JOEL IVANY(Toronto, ON)Director COC DEBUTAssistant Director, La Bohème, 2009 RECENT Mozart’s Requiem, (Toronto Symphony

Orchestra/TSO)Marilyn Forever (Adelaide Festival of

Arts, Australia)Program Director, Opera (The Banff

Centre)#UncleJohn (Ottawa International

Chamber Festival) UPCOMINGA Little Too Cozy (Against the Grain

Theatre)Dead Man Walking (Vancouver Opera)The Seven Deadly Sins (TSO)

CAMELLIA KOO(Toronto, ON)Set & Costume Design Co-ordinator COC DEBUTSet & Costume Designer, The Bremen

Town Musicians (COC’s Glencore Ensemble Studio School Tour), 2014

RECENT Set Designer, Carmen (Edmonton

Opera)Set & Costume Designer, Wormwood

(Tarragon Theatre)Set & Costume Designer, Lady From

the Sea (Shaw Festival) UPCOMINGSet & Costume Designer, The Rape of

Lucretia (Banff Centre)Set & Costume Designer, Simon

Boccanegra (Pacific Opera Victoria)

IAIN MACNEILBaritone (Brockville, ON)Le Dancaïre COC DEBUTCommissioner, Madama Butterfly,

2014 RECENT Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro (COC

Ensemble Studio performance)Marquis d’Obigny, La Traviata (COC) Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville

(COC Ensemble Studio performance)

Fiorello, The Barber of Seville (COC) UPCOMINGTarquinius, The Rape of Lucretia

(Banff Centre)Soloist, Songs of Travel (Free Concert

Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre)

CLÉMENTINE MARGAINE

Mezzo-soprano (Narbonne, France)

Carmen COC DEBUT RECENTCarmen, Carmen (Berlin, Munich,

Rome, Dallas, Washington, Naples)

Charlotte, Werther (Teatro Colón)Dalila, Samson et Dalila (Deutsche

Oper Berlin/DOB)Marguerite, Damnation de Faust (DOB)

UPCOMING Carmen, Carmen (Metropolitan Opera,

Opera Australia and Opéra national de Paris)

Sara, Roberto Devereux (Bayerische Staatsoper)

Dulcinée, Don Quichotte (Lyric Opera of Chicago)

STEPHANIE MARRS(Toronto, ON)Stage ManagerCOC DEBUTMadama Butterfly, 2003

RECENT Assistant Stage Manager, Siegfried

(COC)Stage Manager, La Traviata, Madama

Butterfly and Hercules (COC)Stage Manager, Apocalypsis

(Luminato Fesitval)Stage Manager, Panamania (Pan

Am Games 2015 Arts and Culture Festival)

ZACHARY NELSONBaritone (Annapolis, MD, USA)Escamillo COC DEBUTMasetto, Don Giovanni, 2015

RECENT Escamillo, Carmen (Salzburger

Landestheater and Palm Beach Opera)

Figaro, The Barber of Seville (Sächsische Staatsoper/SS)

Marcello, La Bohème (SS)

UPCOMINGEscamillo, Carmen (San Francisco

Opera)Donner, Das Rheingold (Lyric Opera

of Chicago)

SIMONE OSBORNESoprano (Vancouver, BC)Micaëla COC DEBUTIlia, Idomeneo (Ensemble Studio

performance), 2010

RECENT Gilda, Rigoletto (Vancouver Opera)Soloist, The Metropolitan Opera’s

Rising Stars Concert Series (national tour)

UPCOMINGMarguerite Riel, Louis Riel (COC)Soloist, Mozart’s Exsultate jubilate

and Barber’s Knoxville (Utah Symphony)

ANITA RACHVELISHVILIMezzo-soprano (Tbilisi, Georgia)Carmen COC DEBUTCarmen, Carmen, 2010 RECENTMarfa, Khovanshchina (Dutch National

Opera)Carmen, Carmen (Metropolitan Opera;

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden/ROH; and Teatro alla Scala/TAS)

Amneris, Aida (TAS,Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Regio di Torino)

UPCOMINGAmneris, Aida (Opéra national de

Paris/ONP) Dalila, Samson et Dalila (ONP)Azucena, Il Trovatore (ROH)

DAVID POMEROYTenor (St. John’s, NL)Don José COC DEBUTFaust, Faust, 2007 RECENT Paul, Die Tote Stadt (Calgary Opera

and Oper Frankfurt) Arrigo, I vespri siciliani (Royal Danish

Opera) UPCOMINGSoloist, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8

(Calgary Philharmonic)Soloist,Verdi’s Requiem (Vancouver

Symphony)Calaf, Turandot (Edmonton and

Calgary Opera)Soloist, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass

(Warsaw Philharmonic)

COMING SOON

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FRANÇOIS ST-AUBIN(Montreal, QC)Costume DesignerCOC DEBUTCarmen, 2006

RECENT Director of Set & Costume Design

(National Theatre School of Canada)

Ring Cycle (Metropolitan Opera) The Count of Monte Cristo, Don Juan,

and An Ideal Husband (Stratford Festival)

CHRISTIAN VAN HORN Bass-baritone (Rockville Centre,

NY, USA)Escamillo COC DEBUTAngelotti, Tosca, 2012

RECENT Frère Laurent, Roméo et Juliette (Lyric

Opera of Chicago/LOC)Colline, La Bohème (Metropolitan

Opera/Met)Alidoro, La Cenerentola (LOC)

UPCOMINGColline, La Bohème (Met) Il Prefetto, Linda di Chamounix (Teatro

dell’Opera di Roma) Narbal, Les Troyens (LOC)Escamillo, Carmen (LOC)Oroveso, Norma (Dallas Opera)

RUSSELL THOMASTenor (Miami, FL, USA)Don José COC DEBUTHoffmann, The Tales of Hoffmann,

2012 RECENT Stiffelio, Stiffelio (Oper Frankfurt)Pollione, Norma (Los Angeles Opera/

LAO) Turiddu, Cavalleria rusticana

(Deutsche Oper Berlin) UPCOMINGPollione, Norma (COC and Lyric

Opera of Chicago)Cavaradossi, Tosca (LAO)Florestan, Fidelio (Cincinnati Opera)Ismaele, Nabucco (Metropolitan

Opera)

MICHAEL YEARGAN(Milford, CT, USA)Set DesignerCOC DEBUTCarmen, 2006

RECENT L’elisir d’amore and The Barber of

Seville (Metropolitan Opera)Roméo et Juliette (Lyric Opera of

Chicago)Luisa Miller (San Francisco Opera/

SFO)La Traviata (Opera Australia)

UPCOMINGRing Cycle (Washington National

Opera)Aida and Rigoletto (SFO) Madama Butterfly (Dallas Opera)

BIOGRAPHIES: MAOMETTO II

HARRY BICKET(London, UK)ConductorCOC DEBUTRodelinda, 2005

RECENTOrlando (The English Concert)The Marriage of Figaro and Rusalka

(Houston Grand Opera)La finta giardiniera (Santa Fe Opera/

SFO) UPCOMINGCarmen (Lyric Opera of Chicago)Roméo et Juliette (SFO)

DAVID ALDEN(New York, NY, USA)DirectorCOC DEBUTThe Abduction from the Seraglio, 1980

RECENTPeter Grimes (Deutsche Oper Berlin)La gazza ladra (Oper Frankfurt)Alcina (Teatro Real Madrid) UPCOMINGJenůfa (English National Opera)

LEAH CROCETTO Soprano (San Francisco, CA,

USA)Anna COC DEBUT RECENT Semiramide, Semiramide (Opéra

National de Bordeaux)Liù, Turandot (Metropolitan Opera) Luisa Miller, Luisa Miller (San

Francisco Opera/SFO)Elisabetta, Don Carlos (Opera

Philadelphia) UPCOMINGDonna Anna, Don Giovanni (Santa

Fe Opera) Aida, Aida (SFO)

ELIZABETH DESHONG Mezzo-soprano (Selinsgrove, PA, USA)CalboCOC DEBUTHermia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2009

RECENT Fenena, Nabucco (Lyric Opera of

Chicago/LOC) Wardrobe Mistress/Schoolboy/Page,

Lulu (Metropolitan Opera/Met)Hermia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

(Féstival d’Aix-en-Provence)Rosina, The Barber of Seville (Los

Angeles Opera)

UPCOMINGIsabella, The Italian Girl in Algiers (Met)Adalgisa, Norma (LOC) Hermia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

(Glyndebourne Festival)

MARILYN GRONSDAL(Toronto, ON)Assistant DirectorCOC DEBUTDirector, La Bohème, 2009 RECENT Associate Director, Siegfried (COC)Assistant Director, Pyramus and

Thisbe with Lamento d’Arianna and Il combattimento di Clorinda e Tancredi (COC)

Co-director, Madama Butterfly (Saskatoon Opera)

Assistant Director, Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung (COC)

UPCOMINGAssistant Director, Norma (COC)

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AARON SHEPPARDTenor (St. John’s, NL)Selimo COC DEBUTDon Curzio, The Marriage of

Figaro (COC Ensemble Studio performance)

RECENTSoloist, Lord Nelson Mass

(Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra)

Soloist, Mozart’s Requiem (Guelph Symphony Orchestra)

Kronprinz, Silent Night (Opéra de Montréal)

UPCOMINGFernando, A Little Too Cozy (Against

the Grain Theatre)Charlie Whitten, Ours (Opera on the

Avalon)

BRUCE SLEDGETenor (Orange, CA, USA)Paolo ErissoCOC DEBUT

RECENT Duke of Mantua, Rigoletto (Vancouver

Opera and Santa Fe Opera/SFO)Roberto, Earl of Leicester, Maria

Stuarda (Royal Swedish Opera)Monseigner Popescu, The Impresario

(SFO)Fisherman, Le Rossignol (SFO)

UPCOMINGMacduff, Macbeth (Welsh National

Opera/WNO)Lorenzo, The Merchant of Venice

(WNO)

DUANE SCHULER(Seattle, WA, USA)Lighting DesignerCOC DEBUTThe Italian Girl in Algiers, 2003

RECENTDer Rosenkavalier (Deutsche Oper

Berlin and Lyric Opera of Chicago) Don Pasquale and La donna del lago

(Metropolitan Opera/Met)The Marriage of Figaro (Seattle Opera)

UPCOMINGBéatrice et Benedict (Glyndebourne)Don Pasquale and The Makropulos

Case (San Francisco Opera)Cendrillon (Met)

CHARLES SYTenor (Toronto, ON)CondulmieroCOC DEBUTGastone, La Traviata, 2015

RECENT Adolfo, La Rondine (Opera Theatre of

Saint Louis)Mr. Owen, Postcard from Morocco

(UofT Opera)Tamino, Die Zauberflöte (Hawaii

Performing Arts Festival)

STEPHEN B. HARGREAVES

(Montréal, QC)Assistant ConductorCOC DEBUTNixon in China, 2011

RECENTPrincipal Coach (Opera McGill/OM) Conductor, Speed Dating & Buoso’s

Ghost (OM)Conductor, Orpheus and Euridice of

Ricky Ian Gordon (Chicago Opera Theater)

Soloist, Variations on 1930 (Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre recital and CD release)

Soloist, Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 (Grand Forks Symphony)

Conductor and re-orchestration, #UncleJohn (The Banff Centre)

UPCOMINGConductor, Tosca (Union Avenue

Opera, St. Louis, MO)

JENIFER KOWAL(Thornhill, ON)Stage ManagerCOC DEBUTAssistant Stage Manager, Falstaff,

1992

RECENT The Marriage of Figaro (COC)AtG’S Messiah (Against the Grain

Theatre)Pyramus and Thisbe with Lamento

d’Arianna and Il combattimento di Clorinda e Tancredi (COC)

Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung (COC)

UPCOMINGNorma and Tosca (COC)

DAVID LAERA (Dusseldorf, Germany)ChoreographerCOC DEBUT

RECENTChoreographer, Khovanshchina

(Opera Vlaanderen)Assistant Choreographer and Dancer,

Alcina (Teatro Real Madrid) Dancer, Rinaldo (Theater Dortmund) Dancer, Der Rosenkavalier (Oper

Frankfurt/OF)

UPCOMINGChoreographer/Dancer, Pierrot

Lunaire/Anna Toll (OF)

JON MORRELL(London, UK)Set and Costume

Designer COC DEBUTCostume Designer, Aida, 2010 RECENTOtello (English National Opera/ENO

and Swedish Royal Opera)Costume Designer, Tannhäuser (Royal

Opera House, Covent Garden and Chicago Lyric Opera)

La finta giardiniera (Santa Fe Opera)

UPCOMINGCostume Designer, Jenůfa (ENO)Otello (Teatro Real, Madrid)

LUCA PISARONIBass-baritone (Busseto, Italy)MaomettoCOC DEBUT

RECENT Count Almaviva, The Marriage of

Figaro (Metropolitan Opera/Met, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Salzburg Festival/SF)

Leporello, Don Giovanni (Staatsoper im Schiller Theater)

UPCOMINGLeporello, Don Giovanni (SF)Count Almaviva, The Marriage of

Figaro (Wiener Staatsoper)Giorgio, I Puritani, (Met)Méphistophélès, Faust (Houston

Grand Opera)

SANDRA HORST(Toronto, ON)Chorus MasterCOC DEBUTNorma, 1998

RECENT The Marriage of Figaro (COC) La Traviata (COC)Pyramus and Thisbe with Lamento

d’Arianna and Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (COC)

Conductor, The Machine Stops and Paul Bunyan (UofT Opera)

UPCOMINGNorma and Ariodante (COC)


THE SCENIC TOURA VISIT TO THE COC’S SCENE SHOP WITH KRISTIN McKINNON

From classical colonnades to a ‘60s-era bathtub, you never know what you might bump into at the Scene Shop on any given day. “It’s nice to have variety,” says Head Scene Shop Carpenter Dave Retzleff, who started at the COC in 2003 as a welder for the company’s then-new production of Die Walküre.

Right: Dave shows off the set maquette for Fort Worth Opera’s JFK, designed by Thaddeus Strassberger.

The COC Scene Shop is not much to look at on first-glance. It’s a cavernous, former melon warehouse tucked away at the end of a residential street in Toronto’s west end. But it’s here that a dedicated crew of painters, carpenters, welders and metalworkers are busy throughout the year building sets from the ground up, or tweaking and repairing ones that need some freshening up.

On a recent visit, the Scene Shop was bursting with set pieces from three different productions: Fort Worth Opera’s JFK, the National Ballet of Canada’s Le Petit Prince, and the COC’s own Maometto II. With so much talent and expertise concentrated in one place (some crewmembers have been with the COC for

10 or even 30 years!), it’s no wonder that opera, ballet and theatre companies from around the world seek out the COC for their own set-building needs.

Presenting world-class opera requires a world-class team, both on and off the stage, so the COC is lucky to have such a wealth of set-building talent right here at home. The Scene Shop may just be one cog in the big COC wheel, but it is essential in bringing any COC production to the stage.

Kristin McKinnon is Publicist and Publications Co-ordinator at the COC.


It’s up to the Scene Shop crew to transform drawings and miniatures into full-size sets in “the fastest, easiest and smartest way” according to Assistant Head Scenic Painter Katherine Lilley. She works with Head Scenic Painter Rick Gordon to decide the right colour, texture and shine for every set piece.

Below: Katherine puts the finishing paint touches on a stone wall for the set of the COC’s current production of Maometto II.

Sometimes unexpected hiccups occur and a little extra ‘magic’ is required. “Rigoletto [COC, 2012] had these huge rugs but once they were on stage, [the production team] realized that they weren’t big enough, so we ended up painting an extra fringe around the rug,” says Katherine.

Below: the final product!

The set for Pyramus and Thisbe this past fall, was a favourite for Katherine. “As an artist, it was an amazing experience—the set was huge and covered the entire space,” she says. Inspired by the abstract paintings of Mark Rothko, Paul Steinberg’s design gave the scenic painters a rare opportunity. “We don’t often get to work on sets that use so much colour. It was very ‘painterly’. We used gallons and gallons of acrylic paint. It was really beautiful.” Top left: the set maquette. Bottom left: the finished set as it appeared in performance last fall.

On opening night both Katherine and Dave agree that it can be difficult to sit back and relax. “It’s hard not to look for all the seams,” says Dave. Katherine adds: “Sometimes I get preoccupied with things I would have done differently and forget a show is going on!” But sometimes they can forget scrutinizing the set for a moment and appreciate their craftsmanship. For Dave that was 2015’s La Traviata. “I could actually sit back and enjoy this one!”

Testing for leaks? Dave and Katherine discuss the construction of a bathtub for Fort Worth Opera’s JFK.


Most chefs wouldn’t know the running time of Wagner’s Siegfried, but if you’re Kevin Prendergast—Executive Chef at Hilton’s a

program - canadian opera companyfiles.coc.ca/pdfs/program/coc spring program april 4 final single...

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