GLORIOUS! PERFORMANCE BENEFITS EDMONTON OPERA

---

Experience the inimitable glory of operatic self-delusion that is Florence Foster Jenkins while supporting the inimitable glory that is Edmonton Opera with Shadow Theatre's June 4^th production of Glorious! The evening begins with complimentary refreshments at 7pm, followed by a 7:30pm performance, both at the Varscona Theatre (10329 83 Avenue). Tickets, available by calling 780-424-4040 ext. 231, are $60*, and proceeds from the ticket sales benefit Edmonton Opera directly.

Peter Quilter's Glorious! tells the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the 1940's eccentric and enthusiastic soprano whose voice left much to be desired. Possessing a voice of extraordinary volume but minimal beauty, she is determined to share her gifts with the rest of the world… Whether it wants them or not. This hilarious and heart-warming comedy takes audiences though the sonic glory of her charity recitals, extravagant balls, bizarre recording sessions and ultimate triumph at Carnegie Hall, and sets out to prove real talent may only be a secondary concern in becoming a world famous performing artist.

Florence was a New York legend: a lady who believed she was blessed with a divine voice and that it was her duty and pleasure to delight her friends and later, the public, with her arias. Sadly, her voice, though powerful, rarely stayed on pitch or hit the correct note, making her renditions discordantly appalling - yet strangely appealing.

Glorious! premiered in September 2005 in England, was at least the third play about Florence. In November 2005, it transferred to London's West End, where it ran for more than 200 performances, and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award as Best New Comedy. More than 20 countries worldwide have produced the hit show in 13 languages. Shadow Theatre's production is directed by Wayne Paquette, stars Leona Brausen, Coralie Cairns and Darrin Hagen, featuring set and lights by April Viczko, costumes by Brian Bast, production management by Scott Peters and stage management by Elizabeth Allison.

"As a comic tribute to bullet-proof joie de vivre and boilerplate self-confidence, it's hard to fault... Glorious! is pitch perfect." --Sun Herald

"A huge hilarious surprise...delightful and heart-warming... Glorious! is aptly named."
--TheatreWire

Warning: Glorious! contains bad singing.

For information about the benefit performance of Glorious! or the 2009-2010 Edmonton Opera season, call 780-424-4040 ext. 231 or visit http://www.edmontonopera.com/.

Houston Grand Opera Announces Men's Chorus Auditions

The Houston Grand Opera Association announces chorus auditions for its 2009-2010 season. Auditions will be held at the Wortham Theater Center, 510 Preston on:

MEN ONLY

Monday, June 8, 2009 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM

The Houston Grand Opera Chorus is a professional group of diverse men and women of all professions and backgrounds. Choristers rehearse weekday evenings and weekends for each repertory period. In the 2009-2010 season, a new chorister could earn $2000.00 per production.

The 2009-2010 season productions in which the chorus will participate are:

The Elixir of Love

Lohengrin

Tosca

The Queen of Spades

Xerxes

Auditions should include two arias of contrasting style, tempo, in original language, and by memory. Operatic repertoire is preferred, but standard oratorio selections will be accepted. Sight reading may be requested. The HGO will provide an accompanist, but singers are required to bring their own music.

Singers who wish to arrange an audition should contact the Houston Grand Opera Rehearsal Department at (713) 980-8679.

Website: http://www.houstongrandopera.org/

Blogs and Multimedia: www.houstongrandopera.org/intheknow

Twitter: www.twitter.com/HouGrandOpera

L'Opéra dans le métro

Le métro vous chante l'opéra italien : MÉTROPÉRA

Dernier événement de la série des événements urbains

de l'Opéra de Montréal

en partenariat avec la Société de transport de Montréal

dans les stations de métro

Le dernier événement de la série MétrOpéra présenté par l'Opéra de Montréal, en collaboration avec la Société de transport de Montréal (STM) se tiendra les 19, 20 et 21 mai 2009 de 16h30 à 17 h dans deux stations de métro de la STM. Depuis la présentation du premier métrOpéra (Mozart prend le métro, mars 2006), des centaines d'usagers du métro de Montréal se massent chaque fois pour entendre les plus beaux airs d'opéra chantés par les chanteurs professionnels de l'Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal. Cet événement urbain se greffe à la présentation de l'opéra Lucia di Lammermoor de Gaetano Donizetti, présenté dans le cadre de la 29^e saison de l'Opéra du 23 mai au 4 juin 2009 à 20 h à la salle Wilfrid-Pelletier de la Place des Arts.

Dates et lieux des MÉTROPÉRAS

Mardi 19 mai, 16 h 30 à 17 h : station Berri-UQAM

Mercredi 20 mai, 16 h 30 à 17 h : station Place des Arts

Jeudi 21 mai, 16 h 30 à 17 h : station Berri-UQAM

Pour la STM, ce partenariat avec l'une des plus prestigieuses institutions culturelles de Montréal témoigne de sa volonté d'agrémenter les déplacements de ses clients en présentant, en collaboration avec le milieu, des événements culturels de qualité. Pour l'Opéra de Montréal, les événements métrOpéra sont en ligne avec les efforts de démocratisation de la compagnie lyrique de permettre une plus grande accessibilité de l'opéra auprès du public.

Pour en savoir davantage : www.operademontreal.com

Get Your Backstage Pass to The Metropolitan Opera's The Audition at Cineplex Entertainment Theatres

Get Your Backstage Pass to The Metropolitan Opera’s

The Audition at Cineplex Entertainment Theatres

Advance tickets now available

TORONTO, ON, May 6, 2009 (CGX.UN) – Cineplex Entertainment is pleased to present The Metropolitan Opera’s The Audition, a feature length documentary that provides a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to make it in one of the most difficult professions in the performing arts. The Audition will be shown in High Definition (HD) and digital surround sound on Saturday, June 6^th at 1 pm EST/12 pm CST/11 am MST/10 am PST and Monday, June 15^th at 7 pm local time at select Cineplex Entertainment theatres across the country.

“We are excited to offer our guests The Audition, an addition to the acclaimed MET Opera: Live in HD series that guests have enjoyed at our theatres across the country for the past three years,” said Pat Marshall, Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. “The Audition offers an exclusive backstage pass into the intense pressures the competitors face as they try to launch an opera career with the Met. Our regular Met opera guests will love the drama and excitement in this production.”

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke, The Audition looks at the intense pressures young opera singers face as they struggle to succeed in one of the most difficult professions in the performing arts. The feature-length documentary takes you behind the scenes at the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions, where each year thousands of hopefuls compete for a cash prize, the chance to sing on the Met stage and the opportunity to launch a major operatic career. The film covers the dramatic week leading up to the finals of the 2007 auditions, focusing on three very different tenor contestants: Michael Fabiano, a fiery 22-year-old grappling with his inner demons; Alek Shrader, a 25-year-old with movie star looks who attempts to sing nine high Cs in the fiendishly difficult aria that made Pavarotti a star and Ryan Smith, who at age 30, and with little formal training, is pursuing his dream of an operatic career. The Audition also includes a 20 minute panel discussion taped recently at The Met with Renée Fleming on the panel.

Advance tickets are now available online at www.cineplex.com/events as well as at participating theatre box offices. Admission for seniors and children ages 3 – 12 is $12.95 + tax and general admission is $14.95 + tax.

Cineplex Entertainment will present The Audition at the following select theatres across the country:

BRITISH COLUMBIA

SilverCity Coquitlam Cinemas 170 Schoolhouse Street Coquitlam, BC	SilverCity Riverport Cinemas 14211 Entertainment Way Richmond, BC
SilverCity Victoria Cinemas 3130 Tillicum Road Victoria, BC	Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver 900 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC
Galaxy Cinemas Nanaimo 213-4750 Rutherford Road Nanaimo, BC	Famous Players Orchard Plaza Cinemas 160-1876 Cooper Road Kelowna, BC
Colossus Langley Cinemas 20090 91A Avenue Langley, BC SilverCity Mission Cinemas 32555 London Avenue Mission, BC Cineplex Odeon Victoria Cinemas 780 Yates Avenue Victoria, BC Cineplex Odeon Aberdeen Mall Cinemas 700-1320 TransCanada Highway Kamloops, BC	Cineplex Odeon Park & Tilford Cinemas 200-333 Brooksbank Avenue North Vancouver, BC Famous Players 7 Cinemas 2306 Highway 6 Vernon, BC Famous Players 6 Cinemas 172-1600 Fifth Avenue Prince George, BC SilverCity Metropolis Cinemas 4700 Kingsway Avenue Burnaby, BC

ALBERTA

Cineplex Odeon Grand Prairie Cinemas 10330-109th Street Grand Prairie, AB Galaxy Cinemas Medicine Hat 3292 Dunmore Road SE Medicine Hat, AB Galaxy Cinemas Lethbridge 501-1st Avenue SW Lethbridge, AB Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton 8882-170 Street Edmonton, AB Cineplex Odeon Crowfoot Crossing Cinemas 91 Crowfoot Terrace NW Calgary, AB Cineplex Odeon Eau Claire Marketplace Cinemas 90-200 Barclay Parade SW Calgary, AB

Cineplex Odeon South Edmonton Cinemas 1525-99th Street NW Edmonton, AB Scotiabank Theatre Chinook 6455 MacLeod Trail SW Calgary, AB Galaxy Cinemas Red Deer 357-37400 Highway #2 Red Deer, AB Famous Players Westhills Cinemas 165 Stewart Green SW Calgary, AB Cineplex Odeon North Edmonton Cinemas 14231 137th Avenue NW Edmonton, AB

MANITOBA

SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas 815 St. James Street Winnipeg, MB

SilverCity St. Vital Cinemas 160-1255 St. Mary’s Road Winnipeg, MB

SASKATCHEWAN

Galaxy Cinemas Regina 420 McCarthy Boulevard N Regina, SK

Galaxy Cinemas Saskatoon 347 2nd Avenue S Saskatoon, SK

ONTARIO

Scotiabank Theatre Toronto 259 Richmond Street W Toronto, ON Cineplex Odeon Sheppard Grande Cinemas 4861 Yonge Street Toronto, ON SilverCity Fairview Mall Cinemas 1800 Sheppard Avenue E Toronto, ON Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas 1025 The Queensway Etobicoke, ON Colossus Vaughan Cinemas 3555 Highway 7 W Woodbridge, ON Galaxy Cinemas Barrie 72 Commerce Park Drive Barrie, ON Galaxy Cinemas Guelph 485 Woodlawn Road W Guelph, ON SilverCity Oakville Cinemas 3531 Wyecroft Road Oakville, ON Cineplex Odeon Niagara Square Cinemas 7555 Montrose Road Niagara Falls, ON SilverCity London Cinemas 1680 Richmond Street London, ON SilverCity Ancaster Cinemas 771 Golf Link Road Ancaster, ON Galaxy Cinemas Sault Ste. Marie 293 Bay Street Sault Ste. Marie, ON SilverCity Burlington Cinemas 1250 Brant Street Burlington, ON Galaxy Cinemas Brantford 300 King George Road Brantford, ON Galaxy Cinemas Brockville 2399 Parkedale Avenue Brockville, ON Galaxy Cinemas Cambridge 355 Hespeler Road Cambridge, ON Galaxy Cinemas North Bay 300 Lakeshore Drive North Bay, ON Galaxy Cinemas St. Thomas 417 Wellington Street St. Thomas, ON Famous Players Lambton 9 Cinemas 1450 London Road Sarnia, ON Coliseum Ottawa Cinemas 3090 Carling Avenue Ottawa, ON Cineplex Odeon South Keys Cinemas 2214 Bank Street Ottawa, ON

Coliseum Scarborough Cinemas 300 Borough Drive Scarborough, ON The Beaches Cinemas – Alliance Cinemas 1651 Queen Street E Toronto, ON SilverCity Yonge-Eglinton Cinemas 2300 Yonge Street Toronto, ON SilverCity Richmond Hill Cinemas 8725 Yonge Street Richmond Hill, ON Coliseum Mississauga Cinemas 309 Rathburn Road W Mississauga, ON SilverCity Brampton Cinemas 50 Great Lakes Drive Brampton, ON Cineplex Odeon Oshawa Cinemas 1351 Grandview Street N Oshawa, ON Galaxy Cinemas Peterborough 320 Water Street Peterborough, ON Cineplex Odeon Gardiners Road Cinemas 636 Gardiners Road Kingston, ON Galaxy Cinemas Waterloo 550 King Street N Waterloo, ON Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall Cinemas 3100 Howard Avenue Windsor, ON SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas 355 Barrydowne Road Sudbury, ON SilverCity Newmarket Cinemas 18151 Yonge Street Newmarket, ON Galaxy Cinemas Cornwall 1325 Second Street E Cornwall, ON Famous Players Belleville 8 Cinemas 160 Bell Boulevard Belleville, ON Galaxy Cinemas Collingwood 6 Mountain Road Collingwood, ON Galaxy Cinemas Midland 9226 County Road 93 Midland, ON Galaxy Cinemas Orangeville 85 Fifth Avenue Orangeville, ON Galaxy Cinemas Owen Sound 1020 10th Street Owen Sound, ON SilverCity Thunder Bay Cinemas 850 North May Street Thunder Bay, ON SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas 2385 City Park Drive Gloucester, ON

QUEBEC

Starcité Montreal Cinemas 4825 ave. Pierre De Coubertin Montreal, QC Cineplex Odeon Brossard Cinemas 9350 boul. Leduc Brossard, QC Coliseum Kirkland Cinemas 3200 rue Jean Yves Kirkland, QC Galaxy Cinemas Sherbrooke 4204 rue Bertrand Rock Forest, QC Cineplex Odeon Beauport Cinemas 825 rue Clemenceau Beauport, QC Galaxy Cinemas Victoriaville 1121 Jutras Est Victoriaville, QC Galaxy Cinemas Fleur-de-Lys 4520 boul. des Récollets Trois Rivieres, QC

Scotiabank Theatre Montreal 977 rue Ste-Catherine O Montreal, QC Cineplex Odeon Ste. Foy Cinemas 1200 boul. Duplessis St. Foy, QC Colossus Laval Cinemas 2800 rue Cosmodôme Laval, QC Gatineau 9 Cinemas 120 boul. de l’Hôpital Gatineau, QC Cineplex Odeon Latin Quarter Cinemas 350 rue Emery Montreal, QC Cineplex Odeon Boucherville Cinemas 20 boul. de Montagne Boucherville, QC

OTHER LOCATIONS

Capitol Theatre 4920 - 52 Street Yellowknife, NWT Cinema St. Eustache 305 Avenue Mathers St. Eustache, QC Max Cameron Theatre 5400 Marine Avenue Powell River, BC Cinema Twin 101-1st Avenue NE Swift Current, BC Cinema Jonquierre 2445, rue St. Dominique Jonquierre, QC

Capitol Theatre 20 Queen Street Port Hope, ON Salmar Classic Theatre 360 Alexander Street Salmon Arm, BC Art Spring Theatre 100 Jackson Avenue Salt Spring Island, BC Meaford Opera House 1-12 Nelson Street E Meaford, ON

About Cineplex Entertainment LP

As the largest motion picture exhibitor in Canada, Cineplex Entertainment LP owns, leases or has a joint-venture interest in 130 theatres with 1,328 screens serving more than 63.5 million guests annually. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Cineplex Entertainment operates theatres from British Columbia to Quebec and is the largest exhibitor of digital, 3D and IMAX projection technologies in the country. Proudly Canadian and with a workforce of more than 9,000, the company operates the following top tier brands: Cineplex Odeon, Galaxy, Famous Players, Colossus, Coliseum, SilverCity, Cinema City and Scotiabank Theatres. The units of Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund, which owns approximately 99.5% of Cineplex Entertainment LP, are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol CGX.UN). For more information, visit www.cineplex.com.

The Metropolitan Opera Offers Free Weekend Preview of Met Player beginning Friday, May 1

The Metropolitan Opera Offers Free Weekend Preview of

Met Player beginning Friday, May 1

Subscription Service Features Met’s Award-Winning High Definition Productions and Extensive Audio Visual Catalog

Many Historic Video and Audio Performances Available for the First Time Since Their Original Broadcast

New York, NY (April 28, 2008) – The Metropolitan Opera will offer a free weekend of unlimited access to Met Player, the subscription service that makes much of the company’s extensive video and audio catalog of full-length performances available to the public online, in exceptional, state-of-the-art quality. The free preview begins at 5pm ET on Friday, May 1, and runs through midnight on Sunday, May 3. During this time, users logging into Met Player will have access to the entire collection of more than 200 audio and video performances, including 20 of the company’s acclaimed HD productions from the first three seasons of The Met: Live in HD series. HD titles recently added to the Met Player catalog include this season’s transmissions of Massenet’s Thaïs starring Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson, Puccini’s La Rondine featuring Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor with Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala. Met Player also features the wide range of Music Director James Levine’s work, from Mozart’s comic masterpiece Cosi fan Tutte to Wagner’s epic Ring cycle.

Recent upgrades to Met Player include the addition of multi-language subtitles (French, German, and Spanish) to the current season’s HD titles; English subtitles are available for all videos (but can be turned off if preferred).

Met Player offers a wealth of video performances to choose from, including Puccini’s La Bohème with Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti (1977), Plácido Domingo in Verdi’s Otello (1995), and Verdi’s La Forza del Destino with Leontyne Price (1984), as well as the recent HD live shows from the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, including Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez in Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment. Some of the initial offerings have never been seen since their original television broadcasts: Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci with Tatiana Troyanos, Teresa Stratas, and Domingo (1978); Price’s legendary farewell performance in Verdi’s Aida (1985); and Tschaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades with Galina Gorchakova and Domingo (1999).

The legendary audio performances include Bizet’s Carmen starring Rosa Ponselle (1937), as well as other Met radio performances from such celebrated artists as Carlo Bergonzi, Jussi Bjoerling, Maria Callas, Franco Corelli, Mario del Monaco, Lauritz Melchior, Zinka Milanov, Birgit Nilsson, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi, and Richard Tucker.

In order to register for the free weekend of Met Player, users must have an active username and password for the Met website. New users can set this up by visiting the “Register” page at metopera.org and providing basic contact information. No credit card will be required. Additional information will be available on the Met website during this free period to assist customers.

Subscription fees are priced at $14.99 per month or $149.99 for a yearly plan. As a special benefit for Met members who contribute at the $125 level or above, a six-month introductory package is available for $49.99. Individual purchases will cost $4.99 for HD videos and $3.99 for an audio performance or non-HD video; these individual purchases may be played in a six-hour period within 30 days. Met Player will provide a free downloadable audio and video website player with any rental or subscription order. A one week free trial subscription will be available to anyone after registration.

About Met Player

The Met is the first performing arts organization in the world to present such a wide variety of performances in such high quality resolution, available whenever its users wish to see or hear them. The Met developed the new service over the past year, working with a consortium of new technology companies –Move Networks, mPoint, PermissionTV, and POP – adapting recently developed technologies to ensure superior picture and sound quality for the Met’s long-form programming.

For an optimal viewing experience, a multi-core processor, with at least 1GB of memory and 32MB of video RAM, is recommended.

Utilizing the technology of Met Player, users have the option of hooking up their computers to new HD TV sets and home-stereo sound systems, delivering the Met’s catalog in high quality. The cleanly-designed, simple, easy-to-navigate interface on the Met’s website will allow users to find their favorite performances quickly.

Rolando Villazón's Handel on Deutsche Grammophon 3/31

Rolando Villazón and Handel Make a Surprising Musical Coupling in a New Deutsche Grammophon Release In Stores March 31st

Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Players Join Villazón for Idiomatic and Passionate Music-Making

“Rolando Villazón has…stepped into the operatic spotlight with a vengeance: an exuberantly brilliant, youthful, agile, all-around lyric tenor who defies the canard about tenors’ intelligence, who can genuinely act and who outstrips his rivals with a maverick breadth of repertory from Monteverdi to Puccini." New York Times

NEW YORK, NY – March 30, 2009 – On March 31st, 2009, Deutsche Grammophon will release the second studio recording from Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón. Paul McCreesh – a Gramophone Award winner for his previous Handel recordings – and the Gabrieli Players energize this all Italian Handel aria program. This recording follows the tremendous worldwide success of Villazón’s 2008 Deutsche Grammophon debut, Cielo e Mar, and spotlights a dramatically different side of this versatile and winning singer.

For those who associate Rolando Villazón with the lyric tenor heroes of 19th-century operas, the notion of him singing Handel may come as a bit of a shock. “I was in Paris, at the start of my career,” he explains, “and I bought a CD of Cecilia Bartoli singing Vivaldi. I became obsessed by it. Ever since then I have sought out recordings of Baroque music. And I dreamed of singing it myself.”

His chance came when he met the conductor and harpsichordist Emmanuelle Haïm. She persuaded him to make a CD of Monteverdi. “And I must say that it was one of the most spiritually fulfilling experiences of my career. Another door opened in my inner life.” Having convinced himself that he could sing Baroque arias, Villazón’s next venture into that repertoire seemed obvious. With the 250th anniversary of George Frideric Handel’s death on the horizon, he made the bold choice to record some of the greatest arias from Handel’s opere serie. Until he made this recording he had sung barely a note of Handel in public.

What Villazón wanted to do was engage fully – musically, stylistically and philosophically – with the world of period-instrument Baroque performance which is why Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Players – who are at the forefront of Britain’s period-instrument movement was engaged to work on the project.

“In a sense this marks the coming-of-age of the Baroque music revival,” the conductor says. “Even great Romantic tenors want to sing it now! Of course, the convention is for lighter voices to do this repertoire. But once I had some preliminary rehearsals with Rolando, I realized that he has a fantastic instrument for Baroque music.”

Rolando Villazón’s Handel album is released as he makes his return to the American opera stage for the first time in two seasons. In January and February, he appeared as Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor opposite Anna Netrebko at the Metropolitan Opera. Villazón returns to the Met on April 8^th to showcase his comic prowess as Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore also by Donizetti.

Opera Division singers perform Cole Porter

Singers from the Opera Division to perform songs of Cole Porter

TORONTO – Singers from the Opera Division of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music will present Why Can't You Behave?, a revue celebrating the songs of Cole Porter, and the wit of writer/poet Dorothy Parker. The program includes some of Porter's most famous songs, such as Anything Goes, In the Still of the Night, I Get a Kick Out of You, Night and Day, and Let's Do It. The two performances take place Friday and Saturday, April 3 & 4, 2009, at 7:30 pm in Walter Hall. Tickets ($14 adults and $8 seniors/students) can be purchased at the Faculty of Music box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

Part of Canada’s top university, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music has an illustrious history as one of North America’s leading centres for the scholarly and professional study of music, offering a rich array of degree and diploma programs from the undergraduate to post-graduate levels. Many of this country’s greatest musicians such as John Weinzweig, Lois Marshall, Elmer Iseler, Adrienne Pieczonka, Russell Braun, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet have studied or taught at the Faculty. With over 100 events featuring students, faculty and distinguished guests, the Faculty’s performance season embodies its commitment to an education that champions diversity, depth and explorations. Highlights of the 2008-09 season include cellists Steven Isserlis and Shauna Rolston, baritone Sherrill Milnes, composer Maria Schneider, conductors David Briskin and Miah Im, jazz great Phil Nimmons, the Miró, and St. Lawrence String Quartets, the Gryphon Trio and Nexus.

For more information on this or other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

Ticket sales and general inquiries:
Faculty of Music Box Office
Hours: 1 – 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Phone: 416-978-3744
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

La Traviata Closes Edmonton Opera Season

Verdi's

LA TRAVIATA

Closes the 2008-2009 Edmonton Opera season

La Traviata, the heartbreaking and tragic masterpiece, closes Edmonton Opera's 2008-2009 season with Verdi's acclaimed score April 25, 28 and 30 at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster, call 780-451-8000 or visit www.ticketmaster.ca. La Traviata is sung in Italian with English supertitles projected above the stage.

Violetta Valéry, the notoriously beautiful and vivacious courtesan, is the toast of glittering Paris salon-life. While Violetta hosts the French élite at a party celebrating her recovery from a recent illness, Alfredo, a young nobleman, confesses his long-time adoration of her. Preferring her freedom to the confines of a romantic relationship, Violetta at first rejects Alfredo's advances. She is soon persuaded by his romantic declarations, and the couple settles into life at her country home. Furious that his son's affair is disgracing the family, Alfredo's father, Germont, demands she let Alfredo go. Although her health is failing, Violetta, in the grip of consumption, rejects him at Germont's request, sending Alfredo into a jealous rage. Will the lovers reconcile before tragedy strikes?

"I am not alone in counting La Traviata as one of the greatest of all operas, for so many reasons," says Artistic Director Brian Deedrick. "The beauty of the piece, the richness of the characters, the glorious evocations of another time and the tissue-essential heartbreak make Traviata, a must-see for everyone."

Alberta-born soprano Laura Whalen, who last graced the city's stage as Filumena, sings the role of Violetta, with Québec tenor Marc Hervieux as Alfredo, and Edmonton favourite Theodore Baerg as Germont. Thomas Macleay (Gastone), Doug MacNaughton (Douphol), Brian McIntosh (Dr. Grenvil), Krista de Silva (Flora), Alexander Dobson (Marquis d'Obigny) and Renée Brad (Annina) join Conductor Steven Osgood and past Edmonton Opera Artistic Director Michael Cavanagh in closing the opera season. The Edmonton Opera Chorus and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra lend their talents to this much-loved production.

All performances of La Traviata begin at 7:30pm and run at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Single tickets, which range from $28 to $160, are available at Ticketmaster at 780-451-8000 or visit www.ticketmaster.ca. For more information, please visit www.edmontonopera.com.

Opera Lyra Ottawa Presents Eugene Onegin by Pietr Ilych Tchaikovsky

Opera Lyra Ottawa Presents Eugene Onegin by Pietr Ilych Tchaikovsky

April 4 – 11, 2009 Southam Hall National Arts Centre

March 24 2009. Opera Lyra Ottawa (OLO) presents for the first time Tchaikovsky’s great romantic opera Eugene Onegin April 4, 6, 8 and 11, 2009 at the National Arts Centre. Exquisite singing, beautiful dancing and gorgeous music will transport audiences to 19th century St. Petersburg.

For this production, Opera Lyra Ottawa has brought together a stellar cast of Canadian and international singers led by baritone Russell Braun in the title role. With a voice that has been described as thrilling, glorious, powerful, elegant, soft-grained, and spine-tingling, Russell first sang the role of Onegin in San Francisco in 2004. Russian-born soprano Inna Dukach takes on the role of Tatiana, a beautiful and innocent young woman who falls passionately in love with Onegin. Acclaimed for her “appealing emotional vulnerability”…colourful shaping and shading” (Opera News), this is Inna Dukach’s first appearance with OLO. Richard Troxell brings an “intensity and sensitivity” to the role of Lenski who, through jealousy, is doomed to die by Onegin’s hand in a duel.

As Olga, “radiant and rich-voiced” Ottawa-based mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Turnbull is doomed to lose her lover Lenski in a flirtatious moment with Onegin. New Yorker Peter Volpe, who appears as Prince Gremin, was “especially impressive in both voice and stage presence” (Opera) in the same role in the recent Vancouver Opera presentation of Eugene Onegin. Highly appreciated for her dramatic stage presence, Polish mezzo-soprano Agnes Zwierko, makes her Canadian debut as Madame Larina bringing to the role a “dark and homogenous voice…and a well-established stage authority” (operaclick.com). Rounding out this superb cast are Emilia Boteva in the role of the maidservant Filippyevna, Hugues Saint-Gelais as Triquet, and Alexander Savtchenko as Zaretski.

Stage Director Joseph Bascetta, choreographer Jean Leger, and lighting designer Louise Guinand, using Neil Patel’s set design from the new Vancouver Opera, will recreate the luxury and elegance of 19^th century Russian high society on the stage of the NAC’s Southam Hall. Opera Lyra Ottawa’s Artistic Director and Conductor, Tyrone Paterson, will lead the National Arts Centre Orchestra and OLO’s Chorus.

Sung in Russian, with English and French Surtitles, performances of Eugene Onegin will begin at 8:00 pm. Pre-opera chats are presented free of charge to all patrons one-hour prior to each performance in the lobby. These offer an opportunity to learn more about the composer, context and historical significance of the opera.

The Story

Based on the epic Russian novel by Alexander Pushkin, Eugene Onegin is the story of a melancholic young aristocrat whose restlessness and yearning for meaning in his life leads to heartbreak and death.

Through his best friend Lenski, Onegin is introduced to the young and innocent Tatiana who is captivated by this aloof and serious young man. She professes her love for him in a letter but is rejected by Onegin who admits he was touched by her letter but adds that he would tire quickly of marriage – the most he can offer is a brother’s love. Crushed, Tatiana rushes away.

Some months later, Onegin and Lenski attend a party in honour of Tatiana’s name day given by Madame Larina at her country estate. Onegin dances with Tatiana but is clearly bored by his fellow guests and their provincial sensibilities. To get back at Lenski for dragging him to the party, Onegin dances with Tatiana’s sister Olga, who is betrothed to his friend. In a fit of jealousy, Lenski challenges Onegin to a duel. Although both men privately admit they would prefer to be laughing together than fighting a duel, pride does not allow them to back down; the duel is fought and Lenski is fatally shot.

Several years later, Onegin finds himself once again in St. Petersburg at a magnificent ball where he encounters Tatiana. She is no longer the girl he knew – she is now a confident, poised woman, married to Prince Gremin. This time it is Onegin who rights an impassioned letter, begging for Tatiana’s love. In a meeting at the Gremin’s town house, she finds the courage to reject him. As his pleas grow more ardent, Tatiana rushes from the room, leaving a distraught Onegin behind.

Background Notes:

In this era of email, Twitter, and text messaging, modern means of communication are seemingly endless—we are overloaded with digital ephemera—but in the nineteenth century the letter was the primary means of sharing news and gossip, and of cultivating friendships. So it is not surprising that letters play a pivotal role in our understanding of both the personal and public life of Tchaikovsky, especially in the writing of Eugene Onegin. It was in the late spring of 1877, during a social visit, that contralto Yelizaveta Lavrovskaya casually suggested to Tchaikovsky that he might write an opera based on Pushkin's beloved novel. This was a timely notion as he had been considering composing a vocal work on Tatiana’s letter scene for some time. He enlisted the assistance of his friend Konstantin Shilovsky to help him construct the libretto and together the two of them worked out a text that maintains a great deal of Pushkin’s original verses. Tchaikovsky exploited the episodic nature of the novel—indeed he titled his work a lyric drama rather than an opera—offering up juxtaposed vignettes of pivotal moments in these lives for our scrutiny. Though flying in the face of dramatic conventions, the resulting work espouses the contemporary penchant for realism in opera, the Russian equivalent of Verdi’s Traviata and Massenet’s Manon.

Ticket Information:

Single tickets, from $39 to $165, are available from the NAC box office and all Ticketmaster locations (service fees will be applied). Visit Ticketmaster online or call 613-755-1111. DISCOUNTS: For groups of 10 or more please call Opera Lyra Ottawa at 613-233-9200 and ask about our group rates. Students with a valid Live Rush™ membership card may buy up to 2 tickets per performance at a discounted price. Tickets may be purchased online or in person at the NAC Box Office on the day of the performance from 2 to 6 pm. More information is available at www.liverush.ca.

About Opera Lyra Ottawa

Opera Lyra Ottawa is a not-for-profit organization with the mandate to produce and present opera in the National Capital Region of the highest quality and to promote opera as an art form, making it accessible to as large a segment of the population as possible through community outreach and education. Wherever possible, Opera Lyra Ottawa is committed to encourage, nurture and support Canadian artists. For more information please visit www.operalyra.ca.

Opera Lyra Ottawa gratefully acknowledges the generous support of our sponsors who make the 2008-2009 season possible. We thank Bell, Season Sponsor, as well as our other Principal Sponsors: Bel-Air Lexus, Rio Tinto Alcan, Sun Life Financial, and Ottawa Citizen; Major Sponsors: Arosa Suites Hotel, Custom Printers, Kolegram and Handa Travel. Opera Lyra would also like to thank the following agencies for their support: the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Ottawa.

Edith Wiens Voice Masterclasses

Order of Canada soprano presents masterclasses at Faculty of Music

TORONTO – The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto presents renowned soprano Edith Wiens in masterclasses with students of voice and opera. On Monday, March 23 and Tuesday, March 24, the soprano will coach students singing opera, oratorio, and Lieder repertoire. Other stops on Wiens' 2009 teaching tour include masterclasses at Juilliard and the Royal College of Music in London.

*Edith Wiens was born in Saskatoon and educated at Oberlin, making her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1981. As a soprano in the concert field, Wiens has performed with such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Sir Neville Marriner, and Sir Georg Solti, and appeared at many major music festivals. She has sung with many major London and North American orchestras, as well as the Israeli Philharmonic, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Dresden State Orchestra. In Canada Wiens has sung with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Highlights of Wiens' busy recording career include Bach cantatas and the St. Matthew Passion with conductor Helmuth Rilling, multiple recordings of Mozart's Mass in C Minor, numerous discs of German song, and the album Ae Fond Kiss with CBC Records.

In recital, Wiens favoured works by Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, and Strauss, but her repertoire extended to Gershwin, Stephen Foster, and North American folksongs. She made her Toronto recital debut in 1994, a year in which she also gave masterclasses at the University of Toronto. She was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2000.

Monday, March 23, 12:10 pm, Walter Hall, and
Tuesday, March 24, 12:10 - 2:30pm, Geiger Torel Room
Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queens Park. Free admission.

*with materials from www.edithwiens.com and the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada

CCOC in two COC productions this spring

Canadian Children's Opera Company

to appear with the

Canadian Opera Company this Spring!

The Canadian Children's Opera Company (CCOC) has already enjoyed a very full 2008/09 season. In addition to a number of Christmas concerts and their own production of A Dickens of a Christmas at the Enwave Theatre, they also participated in three Toronto Symphony Orchestra concerts. And they are just getting started . . .

Next on the schedule for these tremendously busy and talented young singers are two productions with the Canadian Opera Company: Giacomo Puccini's La bohème, which will run from April 17 to May 24, and Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, playing from May 5 to 23. Both productions take place at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Puccini's ever-popular La bohème is a staple for every opera company and is one of the most frequently performed operas in the world. Twenty of the CCOC choristers will make their appearance in Act 2, as a great crowd gathers and the children clamour to see the wares of Parpignol, the toy seller.

Adapted from Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, the opera of the same name is perhaps Britten's most enchanting work. It is full of beautifully crafted, dreamlike and atmospheric music. The chorus of 20 fairies, all of whom will be supplied by the CCOC, has a huge part in this opera, appearing at the very beginning during the opening scene, all the way until the very end. Four choristers will also have solo parts (Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed, and Peaseblossom) and play musical instruments (2 recorders, woodblocks, and cymbals) on stage.

Being a part of the CCOC requires enormous commitment from the young singers, but nothing can compare to the thrill of being on stage for a major, full-scale production!

The Canadian Children's Opera Company, led by Artistic Director Ann Cooper Gay, is one of the world's few children's opera companies. The CCOC commissions, produces, records, and tours new operas and choral music, with children as principal performers. The company also regularly collaborates with other leading arts organizations and prominent individual performers, conductors, and directors. The Company contains six divisions, with over 200 children, and youth of ages 5 to 19. The newest division, OPERAtion Kids, is a non-auditioned program for ages 8-13.

Canadian Children's Opera Company and the COC

La bohème - April 17 to May 24, 2009

A Midsummer Night's Dream - May 5 to May 23, 2009

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

145 Queen Street West, Toronto

Tickets available online at www.coc.ca, by calling 416-363-8231,

or in person at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office

Special young people's tickets $30 to $109

(15 years of age or under, accompanied by and sitting next to an adult)

Beginning Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 10am, $20 tickets are available for patrons between the ages of 16 and 29 through the Opera for a New Age program

Valid photo ID is required upon pickup

Regular ticket prices range from $60 to $315

For more information, long on to www.canadianchildrensopera.com

Pacific Opera Presents The Magic Flute

THE MAGIC FLUTE
THE GREATEST ADVENTURE EVER SUNG
APRIL 16, 18, 21, 23, 25 AND 27, 2009

Pacific Opera Victoria is proud to present its first "Magic Flute", in over twenty years. Mozart's enchanting adventure for all ages, THE MAGIC FLUTE is presented at The Royal Theatre in Victoria, April 16, 18, 21, 23, 25 and 27, 2009.

Mozart's final opera, THE MAGIC FLUTE (Die Zauberflöte) was written in 1791 to a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, and it has become one of the most beloved masterpieces in the repertoire. The young lovers, Prince Tamino and Princess Pamina, the imposing Sarastro, the tempestuous Queen of the Night, and the whimsical bird-catcher Papageno have been entertaining audiences for over 200 years in a work that is both playful and profound.

What transforms this sophisticated, joyous adventure into one of the most prodigious masterworks in the repertoire is, of course, Mozart's music. Encompassing infectious folk airs, sonorous majesty, and coloratura pyrotechnics, it is stunning in its variety and beauty. And with a story and characters that inspire and amuse, THE MAGIC FLUTE has something for everyone. Sublime and bewitching, it is an opera to grow up with and to grow old with.

Award-winning Maestro Timothy Vernon and Director Glynis Leyshon team up with designer John Ferguson and local artists Miles Lowry and David Ferguson to present a Magic Flute infused with the graceful spirit and elegance of turn-of-the-century Vienna.

An exceptional ensemble cast includes Shannon Mercer, a Juno-award nominee who makes her company debut as Pamina, Colin Ainsworth as Tamino, and Canadian coloratura Aline Kutan in her signature role of The Queen of the Night. Uwe Dumbrach as Sarastro and Hugh Russell as
Papageno are joined by Marilyn Arsenault (Papagena), Michel Corbeil (Monostatos) and Bruce Kelly (High Priest).

Also featured in this production are members of Pacific Opera Victoria's Resident Artist Program, which offers advanced operatic training to outstanding young professional singers. Making their POV debuts are Resident Artists Lucia Cesaroni, Leticia Brewer, and Erin Lawson as the three ladies, with Joseph Schnurr and Alexandre Sylvestre as the two priests.

Kids love opera and a special 6th performance of THE MAGIC FLUTE is presented with children and their favourite grown-ups in mind. The April 27th performance of THE MAGIC FLUTE begins at 7pm (an hour earlier than other performances), and tickets are offered to children and youth aged 17 and under for half price.

Sung in German with English dialogue and surtitles, Pacific Opera Victoria's production of THE MAGIC FLUTE runs April 16, 18, 21, 23, 25 and 27, 2009 at the Royal Theatre in Victoria. All performances begin at 8pm, except for the April 27 performance which begins at 7pm. Priced between $25 and $110, tickets are available from the Royal and McPherson Box Office at 250-386-6121 or www.rmts.bc.ca.

Student RUSH tickets for those presenting valid student identification are available at the door of the theatre, 45 minutes prior to each performance, subject to availability. RUSH tickets are $15, inclusive of all box office charges.

For more information, please contact Pacific Opera Victoria at (250) 385-0222 or visit www.pov.bc.ca.

Rampant greed and ambition fuel Monteverdi's Coronation of Poppea

Rampant greed, lust and ambition fuel Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea

Opera Atelier presents The Coronation of Poppea, Claudio Monteverdi’s final masterpiece, at the Elgin Theatre April 25, 26, 28, 29, May 1 and 2, 2009. Set in the decadent court of the Roman Emperor Nero in 64 AD, the opera is based on the true story of the courtesan Poppea, Nero’s fiercely ambitious mistress, who aspires to be Empress of the Roman Empire. Poppea will resort to any means – treachery, seduction, and murder – in order to realize her goal.

When The Coronation of Poppea premiered at the Venice Carnival in 1642, it was the first opera to be based on real historical figures rather than gods and goddesses of mythology and as such secured its place as a milestone in operatic history. Opera Atelier’s production - a lavish spectacle of love, power and greed – first debuted at the prestigious Houston Grand Opera, and then played to sold-out houses in Toronto in 2002.

This production was originally conceived as a vehicle for the astonishing male soprano Michael Maniaci who returns to Toronto to reprise his role of Nero. Canadian mezzo-soprano Kimberly Barber makes her Opera Atelier debut in the role of Ottavia, and soprano Peggy Kriha Dye sings the role of Poppea. They are joined by Olivier Laquerre (Ottone), Laura Pudwell (Arnalta/Virtue), João Fernandes (Seneca) in his OA debut, Carla Huhtanen (Drusilla), Tracy Smith Bessette (Fortune/Venus), Vicki St. Pierre (Nurse), Curtis Sullivan (Liberto), Artists of Atelier Ballet, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir under the baton of conductor David Fallis.

The Coronation of Poppea is directed by Marshall Pynkoski and choreographed by Jeannette Lajeunesse-Zingg, Opera Atelier's co-artistic directors, with set designs by Gerard Gauci, costumes by Dora Rust-D’Eye, and lighting by Kevin Fraser.

Performances are at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre (189 Yonge Street) and begin at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of the April 26^th matinee at 3 p.m., and will be sung in Italian with English SURTITLES^TM .

Tickets for The Coronation of Poppea are $30 to $135 and are available by calling TicketMaster at 416-872-5555, on-line at http://www.ticketmaster.ca/ or at the Elgin Theatre box office. For more information visit http://www.operaatelier.com/ . Operatix are $20 and may be purchased by people under the age of 30 with valid I.D. in person at the Elgin Theatre Box Office (subject to availability). Group discounts (15 people +) are available by calling 416.703.3767 ext. 22.

Opera Atelier gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, the George Cedric Metcalf Foundation, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Creative Trust, and Anna Guthrie.

2008/09 Season Sponsor: Sun Life Financial

Production Sponsor: BMO Financial Group

2008/09 Major Sponsors: Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust Music, The Dominion of Canada General Assurance Company

Michael Maniaci’s appearance as Nero is generously underwritten by Jerry and Joan Lozinski.

A Midsummer Night's Dream at the COC

NEW PRODUCTION OF SHAKESPEARE’S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S Dream CLOSES THE coc’S 2008/09 SEASON

Toronto, Ontario – Closing the 2008/09 season is the COC premiere of Benjamin Britten’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s enchanting play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Making his COC debut is renowned American countertenor Lawrence Zazzo, “a countertenor of gorgeous tone and superb control” (New York Times), with the illustrious American coloratura soprano Laura Claycomb, known to COC audiences for her portrayal of Gilda in 2004’s Rigoletto. Leading the COC Orchestra and Canadian Children’s Opera Company is internationally-renowned conductor and former music director of the Kansas City Symphony Anne Manson. This COC co-production with Houston Grand Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago is directed by Neil Armfield, a Dora Mavor Moore Award winner for 2001’s Billy Budd. A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs May 5, 8, 10, 13, 16, 19, 21, and 23, 2009 and is sung in English with English SURTITLES™.

In an Athenian forest during a midsummer’s night, four lovers and a bumbling group of amateur actors find themselves at the mercy of fairies as the fairy and mortal worlds collide. Lawrence Zazzo is Oberon, king of the fairies, and his queen, Tytania, is sung by Laura Claycomb, who recently sang the role in Houston. Irish soprano Giselle Allen, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, and Austrian baritone Wolfgang Holzmair, Don Alfonso in the 2006 production of Così fan tutte, return as the mismatched couple Demetrius and Helena. American mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong makes her COC debut as Hermia, and Ensemble tenor Adam Luther is Lysander, Hermia’s lover. COC favourite, bass Robert Pomakov, who last appeared in both Don Giovanni and War and Peace is the irresistible Bottom. Former Ensemble bass Robert Gleadow, who also sings Colline in La Bohème this season, is Theseus, the Duke of Athens. His betrothed Hippolyta is sung by COC newcomer, mezzo-soprano Kelly O’Connor. Bass-baritone Thomas Goerz, Benoît in La Bohème, is Quince, and Ensemble graduate tenor Lawrence Wiliford is Flute. Ensemble members, bass Michael Uloth is Snug, tenor Michael Barrett is Snout, and baritone Alexander Hajek is Starveling. Actor Jamaal Grant appears as Oberon’s servant Puck. Making their company debuts creating the magical landscape are Australian set and costume designer

Dale Ferguson and lighting designer Damien Cooper.

To celebrate the 1960 reopening of the Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh, Benjamin Britten wanted to compose a new opera, but with little time to write a new libretto, Britten chose to adapt Shakespeare’s

A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the help of his long-time partner and celebrated tenor Peter Pears. With several alterations, it is still loyal to the spirit of the original, and is one of the most successful operatic adaptations of a Shakespeare play.

Tickets for A Midsummer Night’s Dream are available online at www.coc.ca, or by calling 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office (145 Queen St. W., Toronto). Ticket prices for all performances range from $60 to $290. Special young people’s tickets for all performances throughout the season are priced from $30 to $98. These ticket prices apply to those who are 15 years of age or under, accompanied by and sitting next to an adult.

Starting Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 10 a.m., $20 tickets are available for patrons between the ages of 16 and 29 through the Opera for a New Age program presented by TD Bank Financial Group and may be purchased online at www.coc.ca or in person at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office (145 Queen St. W., Toronto). Student group tickets are $20 per student and may be purchased by calling 416-306-2356. Remaining Opera for a New Age tickets will be released as $20 rush seats at 11 a.m. the morning of the performance, subject to availability.

Presenting Sponsor of SURTITLESä: Sun Life Financial

Official Automotive Sponsor of the COC at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts:

Jaguar Land Rover Canada

Official Media Sponsors: CTV and The Globe and Mail

The COC Ensemble Studio is Canada’s premier training program for young opera professionals and provides advanced instruction, hands-on experience, and career development opportunities. The Ensemble Studio is supported by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage, RBC Financial Group, and other generous donors.

COC ANCILLARY EVENTS AND INFORMATION:

BMO Financial Group Pre-Performance Opera Chats

The COC offers free 20-minute introductions to the opera and its theme in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 45 minutes prior to every performance.

Appetite for Opera: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Appetite for Opera returns to Hilton Toronto’s Tundra Restaurant on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 for Appetite for Opera: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, an evening that combines the cultural and culinary arts in an innovative gourmet event designed to delight and intrigue opera novices and seasoned fans. The evening begins with a cocktail reception at 6:15 p.m. followed by a multi-course dinner at 7 p.m. and costs $89 per person. Each course is accompanied by a specially chosen wine, while COC Volunteer Speakers Bureau representative Robert Morassutti and the Hilton chef Kreg Graham provide fascinating links and insights between food, wine, and opera. Ticket and dinner packages can be purchased online at www.coc.ca.

Opera 101: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The Canadian Opera Company’s popular FREE series, Opera 101, takes an enthusiastic look at

the COC’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at

7:30 p.m. Held at the culturally eclectic Drake Hotel (1150 Queen St. W.), the event is designed to demystify opera by illuminating and illustrating different aspects of the art form. The session, including a question-and-answer period, features special guest, conductor Anne Mason, and host Brent Bambury from CBC Radio’s GO!. Opera 101 is a friendly, interactive, and informal event where opera neophytes can enjoy a drink and snacks and get the scoop on what opera is all about. New this season, audience members are invited to stick around following the discussion to enjoy FREE, live entertainment.

The Opera Exchange

The Canadian Opera Company, in collaboration with the Jackman Humanities Institute, the Munk Centre for International Studies, and the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, presents the last instalment

of the Opera Exchange series: Antique Fables and Fairy Toys: Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, held on Saturday, May 9, 2009 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The half-day symposium highlights the music in Benjamin Britten’s transformation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Topics include: Shakespeare’s romantic comedy and the adaptation’s libretto and musical setting; the opera in the context of Britten’s life and work; and, a performance-based workshop that explores the critical approaches to the music of Benjamin Britten. The Opera Exchange series: Antique Fables and Fairy Toys: Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream takes place at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, The Faculty of Music, 80 Queen’s Park (at Museum subway station). Tickets are available by calling 416-363-8231, online at www.coc.ca, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office (145 Queen St. W., Toronto). Tickets for the half-day session are $15, $10 for U of T faculty, $5 for students (with ID).

Canadian Opera Company Podcast Series

The Canadian Opera Company and Universal Music present a FREE podcast series that explores the depths of music in opera. Podcasts are available on www.coc.ca or through Universal Music at www.getmusic.ca/classical. A Midsummer Night’s Dream-themed podcasts will be online starting in March 2009. These are entertaining programs designed to give listeners a chance to learn about opera, COC productions, and hear interviews from the artists and creative team. Throughout the year, listeners can tune in to hear music from the COC’s 2008/09 season, roundtable discussions with special artists, as well as preview operas in the COC’s 2009/10 season. Each podcast is created and hosted by COC personnel.

About the Canadian Opera Company

Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America, and has an international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation. The COC currently enjoys a remarkable 99% attendance rate for its mainstage season. The company’s new home, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, was designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects Inc. and is Canada’s first purpose-built opera house. The contemporary expression of a traditional five-tiered, European horseshoe-shaped auditorium was specifically designed for opera with the highest level of acoustics and provides unparalleled intimacy between the audience and the stage. Acclaimed as one of the best opera houses in the world, the Four Seasons Centre is also the performance venue for The National Ballet of Canada.

Canadian Opera Company Website

The Canadian Opera Company website, at www.coc.ca, contains information on all productions including synopses, historical background, and production photographs.

OPERA America Celebrates Honorees at 2009 National Opera Trustee Recognition Evening

 

New York, NY—OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, honored the four recipients of its 2009 National Opera Trustee Recognition award at a dinner and reception in New York City on Saturday, February 21. In its second year, the award honors trustees of U.S. opera companies for exemplary leadership, generosity and audience building efforts on behalf of their respective companies.

 

The 2009 National Opera Trustee Recognition honorees are Mr. John T. Cody, Jr. of The Dallas Opera, Mr. Richard Holland of Opera Omaha, Mrs. Beth Ingram of Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Mr. C. Guy Rudisill, III of Piedmont Opera.

 

In welcoming the evening’s honorees and guests, OPERA America Board of Directors Vice-Chairman Dr. Frayda B. Lindemann said, “We initiated this program two years ago based on our first-hand knowledge that healthy opera companies are built on the foundations of strong boards. What we didn’t know was that this year, in light of the economic turmoil, strong boards and dedicated trustees would be more important than ever. The winners of this year’s awards demonstrate the highest standard of leadership, dedication and generosity.”

 

“The guidance and generous support provided by dedicated board members are more valuable than ever, given the current economic conditions,” stated Marc A. Scorca, president & CEO of OPERA America. “We are pleased to recognize the long-standing achievements of these trustees as they continue to help ensure the cultural and economic vitality of our communities.”

 

Joining Dr. Lindemann and Mr. Scorca in honoring these exceptional trustees were the honorees’ respective General Directors, family and friends, the OPERA America Board of Directors, OPERA America Ambassador Circle donors and trustees and staff representing OPERA America member companies.

 

In addition to the award presentations, the Trustee Recognition dinner and reception featured excerpts from Stephen Schwartz’s Séance on a Wet Afternoon, performed by baritone Michael Zegarski, and Lee Hoiby’s Lady of the Harbor, performed by soprano Adrienne Danrich. Pianist Kelly Horsted accompanied the singers.

 

OPERA America is committed to recognizing strong trustee leaders and to understanding the pivotal role they play in the success of their opera companies and the communities they serve. In acknowledging and celebrating the dedication of board members at the national level, the National Opera Trustee Recognition Program seeks to strengthen the relationships between opera companies and their trustees and to inspire exemplary service to opera companies across the United States.

 

OPERA America’s dedication to recognizing excellence in governance is shared by its sister organization Opera.ca, the Canadian national association for opera. During Saturday’s reception, the Canadian Opera Company’s Mr. J. Rob Collins was honored as the first recipient of Opera.ca’s National Opera Directors Recognition Program.

 

Photo: J. Rob Collins, Canadian Opera Company; Dr. Frayda B. Lindemann, OPERA America; Beth Ingram, Lyric Opera of Kansas City; C. Guy Rudisill, III, Piedmont Opera; and John T. Cody, Jr., The Dallas Opera. Photo by Jon Simon, courtesy OPERA America.

 

To obtain a high-resolution version of this photo, please contact Patricia Kiernan Johnson at pkjohnson@operaamerica.org.

PORTopera to Replace “Don Pasquale” with 15th Anniversary “Grand” Concert

 

PORTopera to Replace "Don Pasquale" with 15th Anniversary "Grand" Concert

PORTLAND, Maine -- PORTopera, Maine's only professional opera company, will celebrate its 15th Anniversary with a series of events in the spring and summer of 2009, culminating in a grand opera concert featuring a full orchestra and singers from its past productions. The concert will take place at Merrill Auditorium July 30 at 7:30 pm.

This grand opera concert, scheduled for one night only, will replace the company's originally scheduled performances of Donizetti's Don Pasquale. The company's Board President, Donald L. Head discussed the decision, saying, "As we anticipate continuing financial uncertainty, we are eliminating the risk a full opera production poses, replacing it with an alternative event that celebrates our 15 years of producing world-class opera for audiences in Maine." Head also acknowledged that Maine's opera fans, the thousands who have attended PORTopera's productions over the years, would rightly expect a special event signifying that PORTopera will continue to be an important player in Maine's, and New England's, cultural scene.

"We plan to return for our 16th season with a fully staged production of an opera in 2010," added Head. "We will not lose track of our mission: to present great operatic masterpieces in Maine."

PORTopera's Artistic Director, Dona D. Vaughn, plans to announce the performers and program details as soon as they are finalized. Robert Moody, Music Director of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, will conduct.

In addition to the grand opera concert on July 30, PORTopera will continue with its long-standing tradition of supporting Maine's operatic talent through its Maine's Emerging Artists program. This program, presented in five locations last year (Portland Museum of Art, Portland; University of Maine at Augusta; Salyard's Center for the Arts, Conway, NH; The Temple, Ocean Park; Deertrees Theatre, Harrison) is led by Ellen Chickering, the Director of the Opera Workshop at the University of Southern Maine School of Music. Auditions for the 2009 production have been held and plans are underway for this annual traveling production.

Other 15th anniversary events include an Anniversary Celebration kick off on April 3rd, a gala dinner-dance and auction on June 5th, the company's traditional President's Dinner on July 30, and summer and fall fund-raising recitals. For information on these events, call 207-879-7678 or visit www.portopera.org.

April at The Royal Conservatory

Mozart's Masterpiece Così fan tutte

an April Highlight

at The Royal Conservatory

Leading Mozart specialist Mario Bernardi returns to The Royal Conservatory, after successfully launching the 2008/2009 season with a sold out concert in September, to conduct Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's darkly comic opera masterpiece Così fan tutte. The performances run from April 2-7, and admission is free.

Mario Bernardi's career as a conductor began in 1953 with the Royal Conservatory Opera School and went on become one of the most outstanding Canadian conductors of his generation. He was the first conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, took over the CBC Vancouver Orchestra from John Eliot Gardiner, and became the first music director of the Calgary Philharmonic. Despite his busy schedule he continued to appear as guest conductor, particularly of operas, with such companies as the Canadian Opera Company, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and the English National Opera. Bernardi was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1972, received the Canadian Music Council medal in 1981, and has won two Juno awards.

In sharp contrast to the world premiere of the modern score of Pandora's Locker in December, Così fan tutte will be an offering in lush classical music. The cast will be in elaborate costumes, generously on loan from Opera Atelier. Stage director Jennifer Parr, who also directed Pandora's Locker, will once again be in charge of this hybrid concert version with some staging around the orchestra, which will be onstage.

The double cast will be made up of The Glenn Gould School Opera Division students and will feature Wallis Giunta (who impressed as Pandora in December) as Dorabella. Other cast members who also appeared in Pandora's Locker include Sean Catheroy as Guglielmo, and Adam Bishop as Ferrando. Taylor Strande and Michelle Danese will be alternating in the role of Despina. The GGS Opera is a distinguished diploma programme that offers superb training in performance to gifted singers from across Canada and from all over the world.

Free events at The RCM continue with Canadian master pianist Anton Kuerti, who will give the last lecture in his 5-part lecture series on Beethoven's Piano Concertos on Friday, April 2, at 2pm, and award-winning composer Brian Current (who conducted Pandora's Locker) will lead The GGS New Music Ensemble in contemporary classical music repertoire on Friday, April 17, at 12pm.

Violinist Atis Bankas and pianist Dianne Werner will together give the last concert of the Great Artists Series on Friday, April 17, at 8pm. This concert will feature Karol Shimanovsky's Nocturne and Tarantella, Op. 28, Leos Janacek's Ballade, and two of the greatest works written for these instruments: Franck's Sonata for Violin & Piano and Debussy's Sonata for Violin and Piano. Dianne Werner is an exceptional soloist and chamber musician. A member of Grammy-nominated ensemble

ARC (Artists of The Royal Conservatory), she is recognized for her lyrical and poetic style, and also
frequently performs as a duo partner with cellist Bryan Epperson. Atis Bankas has appeared as soloist in the former Soviet Union, Europe, U.S., and Canada, as well as with many distinguished orchestras under Paavo Järvi, Iona Brown, and Sir Andrew Davis. Both Atis and Dianne are long-standing faculty members of the RCM.

The newly formed Luis Mario Ochoa Quintet will present one of its first concerts as part of the World Music Concerts series on Thursday, April 23, at 7:30pm. Havana-born, Toronto-based, Luis Mario Ochoa is a guitarist, vocalist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and music producer. In 2007 he was nominated for the Canadian Latin Jazz Artist of the Year. His quintet is comprised of the acclaimed Cuban pianist Hilario Duran, Jorge Torres on congas, and a dynamic rhythm section of bass and two percussionists. This special concert will showcase songs from their latest CD, Momentos Cubanos: classic Latin American songs ranging from rumba to samba, bolero to waltz, son to cha-cha, and a very impassioned vocal interpretation of Ernesto Lecuona's timeless ballad Siboney.

THE ROYAL CONCERT SEASON - April 2009

Così fan tutte (GGS Ope

MMarioMMarMare

Marehursday, April 2 at 8pm*

Anton Kuerti, piano (GGS Lecture Series): Friday, April 3 at 2pm*

Così fan tutte (GGS Opera): Friday, April 3 at 8pm*

Così fan tutte (GGS Opera): Sunday, April 5 at 2pm*

Così fan tutte (GGS Opera): Tuesday, April 7 at 1pm*

New Music Ensemble (Rising Stars Series): Friday, April 17 at 12pm*

Atis Bankas, violin & Dianne Werner, piano (Great Artists Series): Friday, April 17 at 8pm

Luis Mario Ochoa Quintet (World Music Concerts): Thursday, April 23 at 7:30pm

* FREE EVENT

Tickets $20.00 - $30.00, students $10

Tickets available online at www.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416-408-2824 X321,

or at the door at the RCM, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

All events take place at the Conservatory's new home, the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West.

More information about the 2008-2009 Concert Season is available on The Royal Conservatory website at www.rcmusic.ca.

The RCM 2008-2009 Concert Season is made possible through the generous support of:
Presentation Sponsors: BMO Financial Group and MasterCard®
Performance Supporters: Acuity Funds Ltd.; Mona and Robert Bandeen; D. & T. Davis Charitable Foundation; Margaret and Jim Fleck; Invesco Trimark; Mr. Thomas Logan; Mary Jean and Frank Potter; Meredith and William Saunderson; Janet and Michael Scott; Shiu Pong
The Department of Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Arts Council and RBC Financial Group

The COC’s 2008/09 Fall and Winter Runs Continue the Trend and Pack the House at 100%

Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Opera Company is proud to announce that the winter run of the 2008/09 season Fidelio and Rusalka has played to 100% capacity. These two operas join Don Giovanni and War and Peace both of which also played to 100% attendance last fall. Since the opening of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in 2006 the COC has sustained a season attendance average of 99%.

Fidelio and Rusalka, which both closed this week, received critical praise. The winter run began with the "well sung and well conducted" (Classical 96.3) Fidelio and continued with Dvořák's Rusalka, hailed "absolutely necessary viewing for opera veterans and newbies alike" (National Post). An "electrifying" (Eye Weekly)

Don Giovanni opened the fall season followed by the COC premiere of the "unmissable" (Globe and Mail)

War and Peace.

Continuing the 2008/09 season is Verdi's powerful Simon Boccanegra which opens on April 11, 2009 and runs for eight performances. On April 17, the COC opens its very popular production of La Bohème which runs for 12 performances. The final production of the 2008/09 mainstage season opens May 5 with a luminous new production of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream which runs for eight performances.

Subscriptions for the 2009/10 season went on sale to current subscribers on January 7, 2009 with a renewal deadline of April 30, 2009. Subscriptions go on sale to the general public, May 4, 2009 at 10 a.m.

Single tickets for the spring run go on sale Monday, March 2, 2009 and may be purchased online at www.coc.ca, by calling 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office

(145 Queen St. W., Toronto).

Production Sponsor of Don Giovanni: RBC Financial Group

Production Sponsor of Fidelio: National Bank Financial Group

Production Co-sponsors of La Bohème: CIBC World Markets and CIBC Mellon

About the Canadian Opera Company

Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America, and has an international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation. The COC currently enjoys a remarkable 99% attendance rate for its mainstage season. The company's new home, the

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, was designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects Inc. and is Canada's first purpose-built opera house. The contemporary expression of a traditional five-tiered, European horseshoe-shaped auditorium was specifically designed for opera with the highest level of acoustics and provides unparalleled intimacy between the audience and the stage. Acclaimed as one of the best opera houses in the world, the Four Seasons Centre is also the performance venue for The National Ballet of Canada.

The Pearl Fishers: A Special Presentation by the Edmonton Opera

Bizet's

The Pearl Fishers

An intimate and unique opera experience

Journey to an exotic island in the Indian Ocean as Edmonton Opera presents a tale of love and passion, friendship and betrayal, jealousy and sacrifice. A special production of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers (Les pêcheurs de perles) plays for two nights only, March 12 and 14, in the intimacy of the Winspear Centre. Tickets are on sale now at the Edmonton Opera Box Office: call (780) 429-1000 or visit www.edmontonopera.com. The Pearl Fishers is performed in French, with English surtitles projected above the stage.

A life-long friendship between two men, Nadir and Zurga, once nearly destroyed by their love for the same woman, survived thanks only to their vow to never see her again. When a mysterious priestess arrives on their island, Nadir recognizes her as the woman he and Zurga once loved, and, overcome by his passion, he must choose between the love of his friend and that of his Leila.

The most famous men's duet in all of opera, "Au fond du temple saint," is only one of the unforgettable musical moments in a haunting and beautiful tragic opera. Edmonton Opera is proud to welcome Amy Hansen, who sang Lakmé in 2005, as Leila. She is joined by Colin Ainsworth, who sang Tonio in Daughter of the Regiment, Edmonton favourite Gregory Dahl, and bass Andrew Stewart in his Edmonton Opera debut. Director Brian Deedrick and Conductor Robert Dean lead the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Edmonton Opera Chorus in this innovative production.

"The extraordinary success of Lakmé in the intimate acoustical splendour of the Winspear Centre has been the inspiration for The Pearl Fishers," says Deedrick. "We've spent four years looking for the project that could provide Edmonton audiences with an equally powerful and moving operatic experience. We are so pleased that CGI, The Pearl Fishers' presenting sponsor, is making this production possible."

Both performances of The Pearl Fishers begin at 7:30pm and run at the Winpear Centre. Tickets, which range from $24 to $110, are available at the Edmonton Opera Box Office, call (780) 429-1000 or visit www.edmontonopera.com.

Verdi's Simon Boccanegra returns to the Canadian Opera Company after 30 years

Toronto, Ontario – Last performed by the COC in 1979, Giuseppe Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra returns to the Canadian Opera Company opening its spring season. Leading the cast are Grammy-nominated baritone Paolo Gavanelli and American soprano Tamara Wilson, both making their COC debuts. Bringing Verdi’s powerful score to life is Marco Guidarini, music director of Opéra de Nice, who makes his COC debut leading the COC Orchestra and Chorus. Renowned stage director Ian Judge also makes his company debut remounting this production he originally directed for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Simon Boccanegra runs April 11, 14, 18, 22, 24, 28, May 3, 7, 2009 and is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES™.

Set amidst the political turmoil of medieval Italy and loosely based on the life of the first Doge of Genoa, Simon Boccanegra is a story of a man of the people whose rise to power results in the loss of all he holds dear. Italian baritone Paolo Gavanelli, a law student before turning to singing, has sung with some of the world’s great opera companies in London, Tokyo, Paris, and New York. Soprano Tamara Wilson, “a bona fide Verdi soprano” (Houston Chronicle), sings Amelia, Simon’s long-lost daughter, who after a 25-year absence, unknowingly exposes shifting political alliances and conspiracies that threaten her father and the city. Amelia’s devoted lover Gabriele is sung by COC favourite, tenor Mikhail Agafonov, who received rave reviews for his role as Pierre in this fall’s triumphant production of War and Peace. Canadian bass Phillip Ens, Wurm in the COC’s Luisa Miller, also returns to menace Simon as Fiesco, and baritone Daniel Sutin, Orest in Elektra, is Boccanegra’s doomed political ally, Paolo. Rounding out the cast are former Ensemble Studio bass Alain Coulombe as Pietro, current Ensemble tenor Michael Barrett as a Captain, and Ensemble mezzo-soprano Erin Fisher as Amelia’s Maidservant. Set designer John Gunter and costume designer Deirdre Clancy make their COC debuts, and Nigel Levings returns to light this strikingly rich production.

Based on the play by Antonio García Gutiérrez with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra premiered unsuccessfully at La Fenice in Venice in 1857. More than two decades later, Verdi and librettist Antonio Boito revised the opera which opened in 1881 at La Scala in Milan to rave reviews. The COC performs this second version which has become part of the standard operatic repertoire.

Tickets for Simon Boccanegra are available Monday, March 2, 2009 online at www.coc.ca, or by calling 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office (145 Queen St. W., Toronto). Ticket prices for all performances range from $60 to $290. Special young people’s tickets for all performances throughout the season are priced from $30 to $98. These ticket prices apply to those who are 15 years of age or under, accompanied by and sitting next to an adult.

Starting Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 10 a.m., $20 tickets are available for patrons between the ages

of 16 and 29 through the Opera for a New Age program presented by TD Bank Financial Group

and may be purchased online at www.coc.ca or in person at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office

(145 Queen St. W., Toronto). Student group tickets are $20 per student and may be purchased by calling 416-306-2356. Remaining Opera for a New Age tickets will be released as $20 rush seats at 11 a.m. the morning of the performance, subject to availability.

Presenting Sponsor of SURTITLESä: Sun Life Financial

Official Automotive Sponsor of the COC at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts:

Jaguar Land Rover Canada

Official Media Sponsors: CTV and The Globe and Mail

The COC Ensemble Studio is Canada’s premier training program for young opera professionals and provides advanced instruction, hands-on experience, and career development opportunities. The Ensemble Studio is supported by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage, RBC Financial Group, and other generous donors.

COC ANCILLARY EVENTS AND INFORMATION:

BMO Financial Group Pre-Performance Opera Chats

The COC offers free 20-minute introductions to the opera and its theme in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 45 minutes prior to every performance.

Canadian Opera Company Podcast Series

The Canadian Opera Company and Universal Music present a FREE podcast series that explores the depths of music in opera. Podcasts are available for downloading or streaming on www.coc.ca or through Universal Music at www.getmusic.ca/classical. Simon Boccanegra-themed podcasts will be online starting in March 2009. These are entertaining programs designed to give listeners a chance to learn about opera, COC productions, and hear interviews from the artists and creative team. Throughout the year, listeners can tune in to hear music from the COC’s 2008/09 season, discussions with special artists, as well as preview operas in the COC’s 2009/10 season. Each podcast is created and hosted by COC personnel.

About the Canadian Opera Company

Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America, and has an international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation. The COC currently enjoys a remarkable 99% attendance rate for its mainstage season. The company’s new home, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, was designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects Inc. and is Canada’s first purpose-built opera house. The contemporary expression of a traditional five-tiered, European horseshoe-shaped auditorium was specifically designed for opera with the highest level of acoustics and provides unparalleled intimacy between the audience and the stage. Acclaimed as one of the best opera houses in the world, the Four Seasons Centre is also the performance venue for The National Ballet of Canada.

Canadian Opera Company Website

The Canadian Opera Company’s new website, at www.coc.ca, contains information on all productions including synopses, historical background, and production photographs.

CCOC Open House

Canadian Children's Opera Company

IN ACTION!

CCOC holds an Open House

with all five divisions of choruses performing

The Canadian Children's Opera Company (CCOC) will be holding an Open House, where all five divisions of choruses can be seen "in action", on Saturday, March 7, 2009, between 1:00pm and 5:00pm, at the First Unitarian Church in Toronto.

The 2008/09 season has already been a busy one for the CCOC. Preceding the Christmas holidays, the CCOC presented a tremendously successful run of A Dickens of a Christmas at the Enwave Theatre, they sang at the Ontario Legislature in Lights Across Canada, appeared with the Hannaford Street Silver Band in a Christmas Joy concert, and were the chorus of choice for The Canadian Tenors.

The CCOC also participated in three Toronto Symphony Orchestra concerts this year, The Snowman, A Very Merry Christmas Pops and the concert version of Mozart's The Magic Flute. On February 20th a CCOC chorus will sing at the Bohemian Ball, a benefit for the Sick Kids Foundation, and on April 9th, all 200 kids will sing the national anthem at a Blue Jays Game.

It is a busy life for a CCOC chorister! The junior division practices once a week; the Principal Chorus rehearse for two hours twice a week and, when preparing for a specific production, they add staging rehearsals to the mix! This is an enormous commitment for a young singer, but it illustrates the professional commitment by the members and why the CCOC is held in such high regard in the music community.

The Open House is a unique opportunity to meet the energetic and remarkable CCOC Artistic Director, Ann Cooper Gay, and all 200 children that make up the current chorus. Observe the CCOC staff conductors in action as they run an informal performance and rehearsal demonstration with each division of the CCOC.

In addition, there will be guest workshops, props making and drama classes, a Make-an-Opera workshop, as well as a bake sale, displays, merchandise, and audition information.

Composer Dean Burry (Pandora's Locker) leads the Make-an-Opera workshop demonstrating how to create an opera with nothing but imagination. Sophia Perlman, Co-ordinator of OPERAtion KIDS, will lead a workshop with the junior divisions.

And for all aspiring opera singers -- information, application forms and audition registration will be readily available.

Canadian Children's Opera Company

IN ACTION!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Ages 5-10: 1:00pm until 3:30pm; Ages 10-19: 2:30pm until 5:00pm

First Unitarian Church

175 St. Clair Avenue West (at Avenue Rd), Toronto

For more information call 416.366.0467

www.canadianchildrensopera.com

Opera Atelier announces 2009-2010 Season

Opera Atelier’s 2009/10 Season delivers a one-two knock-out punch!

Toronto, ON (February 9, 2009)… Today, Opera Atelier announced the details of its 2009/10 season featuring the two most revolutionary operas of the 18^th century.

The season begins in October with a revival of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s great reform opera, Iphigénie en Tauride, which tells the story of Iphigénie, the Greek princess who is abandoned on the island of Tauride for the duration of the Trojan War. Miraculously reunited with her brother Oreste following the murder of their mother (Clytemnestra), Iphigénie’s courage and self-sacrifice ensures their safe return to Greece.

The opera attacked the very core of French operatic tradition and caused a sensation when it premiered at the Paris Opera in 1779, and again when Opera Atelier first staged it in 2003. Hailed as a work of genius by ecstatic critics, Iphigénie en Tauride is considered the greatest triumph of Gluck’s career.

American soprano Peggy Kriha Dye, a favourite with OA audiences, returns next season as Iphigénie. Croatian tenor Kresimir Spicer, who sang the title role in last season’s Idomeneo, returns as her brother Oreste. Swedish tenor Rickard Söderberg makes his Canadian operatic debut as Pylade, lifelong friend of Oreste. Thoas, King of Tauride, is sung by bass-baritone Olivier Laquerre, and bass-baritone Curtis Sullivan returns in the role of Le Ministre. Esteemed British conductor Andrew Parrott returns to lead the Tafelmusik Orchestra and Chamber Choir and the full corps of Artists of Atelier Ballet. This production is directed by Marshall Pynkoski and choreographed by Jeannette Lajeunesse-Zingg with set designs by Gerard Gauci, costumes by Dora Rust D’Eye, and lighting by Kevin Fraser. Iphigénie en Tauride runs October 31, November 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7, 2009 and is sung in French with English SURTITLES^TM.

The season continues in the spring with a new production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s popular The Marriage of Figaro. Based on the shocking Beaumarchais play, Mozart’s racy tale of love, betrayal and forgiveness is a hilarious and subversive social commentary about a world on the brink of revolution.

This marks the third new Mozart production of Opera Atelier’s ambitious “Mozart Six” plan which to date includes Idomeneo (2007) and The Abduction from the Seraglio (2008). Costume designer Martha Mann, winner of six Gemini awards, makes her company debut. Ms. Mann’s credits include Anne of Green Gables, Road to Avonlea, Glory Enough for All, Aida (Boston Lyric Opera), Intermezzo (New York City Opera), and The Mikado (Glimmerglass Opera).

The creative team also includes director Marshall Pynkoski, choreographer Jeannette Lajeunesse-Zingg, set designer Gerard Gauci, and lighting designer Bonnie Beecher. David Fallis conducts the Tafelmusik Orchestra.

Bass-baritone Olivier Laquerre brings his comedic talents to his debut performance as Figaro, wily manservant to Count Almaviva. Soprano Carla Huhtanen is his fiancée Susanna. Acclaimed Canadian baritone Philip Addis makes his OA debut as Count Almaviva, and soprano Peggy Kriha Dye appears as Countess Almaviva. Bass-baritone Curtis Sullivan sings the role of Dr. Bartolo and mezzo-soprano Laura Pudwell is his housekeeper, Marcellina. Mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta makes her main stage debut with Opera Atelier as the young love-struck page Cherubino. The Marriage of Figaro will be sung in English with English SURTITLES^TM and runs April 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, and May 1, 2010.

Performances for Opera Atelier’s 2009/10 season will take place at the Elgin Theatre (189 Yonge Street) in Toronto. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinee performances begin at 3:00 p.m.

Subscriptions for Opera Atelier’s 2009/10 season are on sale now and may be purchased by calling 416-703-3767 ext. 22. Single tickets for Iphigénie en Tauride go on sale August 17, 2009. For more information visit www.operaatelier.com .

Opera Atelier also gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, the Metcalf Foundation, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and the Creative Trust.

2009/10 Season Sponsor: Sun Life Financial

2009/10 Major Sponsors: BMO Financial Group, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust Music, The Dominion of Canada General Assurance Company

Opera Atelier is Canada’s premier baroque theatre company, producing opera, ballet and drama from the 17th and 18th centuries. While drawing upon the aesthetics and ideals of the period, Opera Atelier goes beyond “reconstruction” and infuses each production with an inventive theatricality that resonates with modern audiences. Over the past two decades, lead by founding director Marshall Pynkoski and founding choreographer Jeannette Lajeunesse-Zingg, Opera Atelier has garnered acclaim for its performances at home as well as in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal - Communiqué de presse - Press Release - Le Chant de la Terre, 22 février 2009 - The Song of the Earth, february 22nd 2009

DAS LIED VON DER ERDE / Le Chant de la Terre

Montréal, le 6 février 2009 – Le quatrième concert de la saison de l'Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal est un concert bénéfice sous la présidence d'honneur de Mme Sophie Desmarais.

Au programme : La Symphonie n^o100 de Joseph Haydn et Das Lied von der Erde de Gustav Mahler sous la direction de notre Maestro de réputation internationale Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Das Lied von der Erde met en vedette Christianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano et John Mac Master, ténor. Ce cycle de six lieder est conçu comme une symphonie sans mouvements, comme le compositeur lui-même l'a précisé. Les textes allemands sont des adaptations de poèmes chinois tirés d'un recueil du VIII^e siècle. Les thèmes qui y sont abordés et le traitement musical du compositeur font du Chant de la Terre un chef-d'œuvre absolu qui bouleverse l'auditeur. L'Orchestre interprétera auparavant la pétillante Symphonie n^o 100, dite « Militaire », de Haydn. Elle doit son surnom aux instruments de percussion utilisés dans les deuxième et quatrième mouvements, évoquant la musique militaire.

Ce concert aura lieu le dimanche 22 février 2009 à 16 heures, à la Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier de la Place des Arts. Les représentants des médias sont priés de contacter l'Orchestre pour confirmer leur présence. Le cocktail dînatoire qui suit le concert est réservé aux donateurs seulement.

Voir le communiqué joint à ce courriel. Pour plus d'information ou pour confirmer votre présence, veuillez communiquer avec Hélène Wermenlinger.

Hélène Wermenlinger (514)598-0870 poste 26

helenew@orchestremetropolitain.com

DAS LIED VON DER ERDE / The Song of the Earth

Montreal, February 6, 2009 – For its fourth concert of the season, the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal presents Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth). This benefit event will take place under the honorary presidency of Ms. Sophie Desmarais.

This concert, under the direction of world-renowned Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, will feature mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn and tenor John Mac Master. The Song of the Earth, a cycle of six lieder is cast as a symphony without movements, as Mahler himself pointed out. The texts of this work are taken from a collection of Chinese poems from the eighth century, in a German adaptation. The themes of these poems and the musical settings provided by the composer combine to create an absolute masterpiece that overwhelms the listener. The Orchestra will begin the concert with Haydn's sparkling Symphony No. 100, also referred to as "Military", due to the percussion instruments used in the second and fourth movements, evoking martial music.

Das Lied von der Erde will be performed on Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 4 p.m., in the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts. Representatives from the media are asked to kindly contact the Orchestra to confirm their presence at the event.

Please see the attached press release. For more information or to confirm your presence, please contact Hélène Wermenlinger.

Hélène Wermenlinger (514)598-0870 extension 26

helenew@orchestremetropolitain.com

Scenes from Lori Laitman's Opera "The Scarlet Letter" at The Clinton Presidential Library

Scenes from renowned American composer Lori Laitman's opera, The Scarlet Letter, based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's 19th century American literary masterpiece, will be presented in recital at the Great Hall of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, AR, on February 8th, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. Vocalists from the original production, which premiered to critical acclaim last November, will perform two scenes and select signature arias.

The opera, commissioned by The University of Central Arkansas through Robert Holden and The UCA Opera Program, provided the prolific American composer, admired for her masterful compositions for voice, an opportunity to collaborate with award-winning American poet David Mason.

"Composer Lori Laitman has written gorgeous music that works hand-in-glove with the words of librettist David Mason and underpins the very essence of this psychological-social drama," wrote Ellis Widner of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette following the world premiere on November 6th, 2008. "This great story seems be on its way to becoming great opera..... It is mostly sung dialog, but the few arias are at key moments and are stunningly effective...Laitman's music can turn on an emotional dime, from the tense and emotionally complex confrontation between convicted adulteress Hester Prynne (soprano Christine Donahue) and Roger Chillingworth (baritone Robert Holden), the resurfaced husband determined to learn the identity of the child's father, to the achingly tender lullaby she sings to her daughter after Chillingworth departs. Laitman also shows great skill in the combination and repetition of motifs to heighten tension and revive a social-emotional subtext. At times, her music suggests the lushness of Stephen Sondheim."

The recital will take place on February 8th at 3:00 p.m. at The Great Hall, Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, 1200 President Lincoln Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas.

Cast includes Baritone Robert Holden as Roger Chillingworth,Soprano Christine Donahue as Hester Prynne,Tenor John Garst as Arthur Dimmesdale and Carl Anthony on piano. Admission is free to the public.

Soprano Janice Chandler-Eteme to Perform in Dear Mrs. Parks with DSO

Soprano Janice Chandler-Eteme to Perform in Hannibal Lokumbe's Dear Mrs. Parks with DSO in March 2009

American soprano Janice Chandler- Eteme has established an international reputation for her musical sensitivity, astonishing vocal agility and memorable dramatic presence. She has performed with some of the world's leading orchestras and opera companies, and collaborated with renowned conductors worldwide. She continues to make her mark with an ever-growing recital, operatic and Gospel music repertoire to critical acclaim. Ms. Chandler-Eteme will perform in Hannibal Lokumbe's oratorio, 'Dear Mrs. Parks' on March 6th, 7th and 8th, 2009 with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Wilkins. The performance will also be recorded for a Naxos release.

Hailed as "one of the loveliest soprano voices on earth" by The Baltimore Sun, Ms. Chandler-Eteme has recently returned from a triumphant performance of Porgy and Bess in Nantes, France. "We will remember for a long time ... this radiant and fragile Bess who reminds us that Gershwin liked heroines created in the style of Puccini..." wrote Diapason.

Ms. Chandler-Eteme professes to be one of composer Hannibal Lokumbe's great admirers and close friends. She premiered his work for soprano and orchestra, 'One Heart Beating' several years ago, and only recently performed the role of the angel in his dramatic work based on the life of Medgar Evers, the slain civil rights leader.

Lokumbe's dramatic and moving tribute to the heroism of the famed civil rights activist, 'the mother of the modern civil rights', and beloved Detroit icon, was originally commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2005. "Dear Mrs. Parks' is a prayer of music and words in honor of Mrs. Rosa Parks and every soul of her spiritual and social realm. She is the true nature of what is perceived and spoken of as being heaven. Her unselfish love, as unselfish love always does, transforms the entire world," said the composer in a recent interview.

Thomas Wilkins conducts the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Brazeal Dennard Chorale and the Rackham Symphony Choir, with soprano Janice Chandler-Eteme, mezzo-soprano Jevetta Steele and baritone Kevin Deas.

Concert Details:

Performances: March 6th at 8 pm; March 7th at 7:30 pm; March 8th at 3 pm

Max M. Fisher Music Center
3711 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48201
Box Office Phone: (313) 576-5111
Box Office Fax: (313) 576-5109

www.detroitsymphony.com

Giorgia Fumanti en concert au Festival Montréal en Lumière

Dans le cadre de la 10^e édition du Festival MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE

La soprano québécoise Giorgia Fumanti

fera vibrer l'église Saint-Jean-Baptiste !

Montréal, le lundi 2 février 2009 – Le vendredi 27 février, à 20 h, l'église Saint‑Jean‑Baptiste (sise au cœur du Plateau Mont-Royal) accueillera en ses murs la magnifique soprano québécoise d'origine italienne Giorgia Fumanti, laquelle s'y produira en compagnie de ses musiciens dans le cadre de la 10^e édition du Festival MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE. Au fil des ans, le volet culturel du populaire événement (qui se tiendra cette année du jeudi 19 février au dimanche 1^er mars) s'est bâti une solide réputation en offrant au public d'ici et d'ailleurs le summum de la musique. À ce titre, nul doute dans l'esprit des programmateurs du Festival : Giorgia Fumanti devait figurer dans la programmation de cette 10^e édition.

Fidèle à ses habitudes, celle que l'on acclame désormais à travers le monde livrera donc un mirifique concert en interprétant, de sa voix d'ange et avec toute la grâce qu'on lui connait, les œuvres les plus enchanteresses de son répertoire qu'elle interprétera tant en italien, en anglais qu'en français. Le public présent aura ainsi droit à un programme on ne peut plus diversifié comprenant, entre autres, certaines pièces de l'album à succès From My Heart, d'autres extraites de Je Suis (réalisé par Guy St‑Onge et récemment lancé), quelques chansons de musiques de films populaires ainsi que plusieurs autres grands succès du répertoire pop et classique. Le public présent est par ailleurs en droit de s'attendre à être touché, voire ému, puisque Giorgia Fumanti, soir après soir, laisse toujours le public pantois d'admiration, béat…

Les organisateurs du Festival MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE sont donc honorés d'inscrire à leur prestigieuse programmation le spectacle de Giorgia Fumanti, laquelle est de retour au pays après avoir été chaudement applaudie aux quatre coins du globe, sur certaines scènes comptant parmi les plus prestigieuses et parfois en compagnie de stars internationales dont José Carreras, Lang Lang, Mario Frangoulis, Zucchero et Lucio Dalla, pour ne nommer qu'elles.

À vous de saisir la chance de découvrir (ou redécouvrir !) l'une de nos plus grandes stars à l'église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal (309, rue Rachel Est, angle Henri-Julien), le vendredi 27 février, dès 20 h.

Les billets, au)coût de 30 $ (taxes non incluses), sont en vente à la billetterie de Ticketpro (514 908-9090 / 1-866-908-9090, ticketpro.ca) sur le réseau Admission.com (514 790-1245 / 1 800 361-4595, admission.com) et à la billeterie de la Place des Arts (514 842-2112 / 1 866 842-2112, laplacedesarts.com)

Giogia Fumanti in concert

La star internationale Giorgia Fumanti

en concert à la salle André-Mathieu

le dimanche 1^er février

Laval, le jeudi 29 janvier 2009 – La chanteuse québécoise d'origine italienne Giorgia Fumanti se produira pour la toute première fois à Laval le dimanche 1^er février, à 20 h, à la salle André-Mathieu.

Pour cette occasion toute spéciale, la ravissante soprano sera accompagnée de ses cinq musiciens en compagnie desquels elle livrera les plus belles chansons de son répertoire, qu'elle interprétera tant en italien, en anglais qu'en français. Le public présent aura ainsi droit à un programme on ne peut plus diversifié comprenant, entre autres, certaines pièces de Je Suis (son plus récent album lancé peu avant le temps des Fêtes) et de l'album From My Heart, quelques chansons extraites de musiques de films à succès ainsi que les plus beaux airs de grands classiques populaires.

Mentionnons qu'au cours de la dernière année Giorgia Fumanti a brillé sur certaines scènes comptant parmi les plus prestigieuses du monde. Elle a également joint sa voix à celles de stars internationales dont José Carreras, Lang Lang, Mario Frangoulis, Justin Hayward – Moody Blues, John McDermott, Zucchero, Lucio Dalla et Patrizio Buanne. À l'occasion des Jeux Olympiques de Beijing, en août dernier, elle a en outre livré une inoubliable prestation devant plusieurs millions de téléspectateurs !

Après avoir été chaudement applaudie aux quatre coins du monde, voilà donc que la belle Italienne, résidente des Laurentides depuis quelques années, est enfin de retour à la maison. À vous de saisir la chance de découvrir (ou redécouvrir !) l'une de nos plus grandes stars québécoises à la salle André-Mathieu, le dimanche 1^er février, dès 20 h.

Les billets, au)coût de 38 $ (taxes incluses), sont en vente à la billetterie de la salle André‑Mathieu (475, boul. de l'Avenir, à Laval – 450.667.2040) ou au Groupe de loisirs La Relance (450.661.4276).

International star Giorgia Fumanti

In concert at Salle André-Mathieu

on Sunday February 1^st

Laval, Thursday January 29^th 2009 – Giorgia Fumanti, Canada's own Italian diva, will be performing for the first time in Laval on Sunday February 1^st, at 8 pm, at the beautiful Salle André-Mathieu.

On this special occasion, accompanied by her great musicians, our stellar soprano will perform her favourite songs in Italian, French, and English. All present will be treated to an eclectic program that includes tracks from her recently released album 'Je Suis' and "From My Heart", along with choice songs from great movie soundtracks, as well as selected gems from popular classics.

Giorgia Fumanti, over the past year, has appeared on many of the world's most prestigious venues, joining her melodious voice with that of international greats such as José Carreras, Lang Lang, Mario Frangoulis, Justin Hayward – Moody Blues, John McDermott, Zucchero, Lucio Dalla and Patrizio Buanne. Last August, Giorgia joined in the Beijing Olympic celebrations, delivering a sensational performance broadcast to an audience of millions of viewers!

Having received the glowing praise of audiences from the four corners of the world, our Italian beauty, who calls the Laurentieans home, has finally returned. Discover, or rediscover, one of our own stars, to shine at Salle André-Mathieu, Sunday, February 1^st, at 8 pm.

Ticket prices are $38 (tax included), and are available at the Salle André‑Mathieu ticket booth (475, De l'Avenir blvd, Laval – 450.667.2040) and Groupe La Relance (450 661-4276). The evening will begin with a VIP reception at 6:30 pm.

Pan-Macedonian Association presents the Toronto Debut of Alexander The Great

"ALEXANDER THE GREAT" TO HELP STS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS

PAN-MACEDONIAN ASSOCIATION TO PREMIERE OPERA IN AID OF HELLENIC HOME

The Pan-Macedonian Association of Ontario will produce the Toronto premiere of "Alexander the Great", an epic opera by Panayiotis Karousos on February 15, 2009 at the P.C. Ho Theatre in Toronto.

A concert version of the opera will be performed in order to raise funds for the Hellenic Home for the Aged and the St. Cyril and Methodius Chapel that the Home is building.

"Alexander the Great" premiered in Montreal in 2007 and has been performed in Chicago and Washington D.C. Karousos is a prolific composer residing in Montreal and he is donating his royalties to the Hellenic Home.

"We are very pleased to be able to produce a work by a young Greek composer and to help the Hellenic Home" said James Karas, the president of the Pan-Macedonian Association. "It will be a new experience of many people. Opera is no a common pastime for Greeks."

The opera follows the life of Alexander from a meeting at the Acropolis following the Macedonian victory at Chaeronea in 339 B.C. to the death of the great general in Babylon in 323 B.C. There are scenes for Alexander's Farewell to Greece as he crosses the Hellespont into Asia, and set pieces after the battles of Granicus, Issua and a scene at the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

"The Hellenic Home is thrilled with the offer of the Pan-Macedonian Association" said Irene Keroglidis, the Vice President of the Hellenic Home. "The board of directors has embraced the idea and we will all work very hard to make sure it is a success."

"Alexander the Great" will be performed at the P.C. Ho Theatre in the Chinese Cultural Centre, 5183 Sheppard Ave. East, Toronto Ontario on February 15, 2009 at 3:00 p.m.

Alexander the Great

P.C. Ho Theatre in the Chinese Cultural Centre

5183 Sheppard Ave. East, Toronto

February 15, 2009 at 3pm

Tickets: $50

For more information, visit www.panmacedonian.ca

Pacfiic Opera Victoria presents Handel's SEMELE

IN BRIEF
Pacific Opera Victoria presents Handel's SEMELE February 12, 14, 17, 19
and 21, 2009 at the Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton Street in Victoria.
Performed in English with English surtitles. Running time is
approximately two hours and forty five minutes with one intermission.
All performances begin at 8pm. Pre-performance lectures begin at 6:45pm.
Priced between $25 and $110, tickets are available from the Royal and
McPherson Box Office at (250) 386-6121, or on-line at www.rmts.bc.ca.

Student RUSH tickets for those presenting valid student identification
are available at the door of the theatre, 45 minutes prior to each
performance, subject to availability. RUSH tickets are $15, inclusive
of all box office charges.

IN FULL
Pacific Opera Victoria presents the company premiere of Handel's SEMELE,
at The Royal Theatre in Victoria, February 12, 14, 17, 19 and 21, 2009.

Based on a Greek myth and a libretto by William Congreve, SEMELE
(pronounced SEH-meh-lee), is the story of the delectable Semele and the
god Jupiter, who tempt fate with a dangerously imprudent love affair.
Semele, a girl with ambitions, craves immortality. She also has a
terrifying secret: she is pregnant with Jupiter's child. After Jupiter
carries Semele off to enjoy "endless pleasure, endless love," his wife,
Juno, plots a fiery finish to the affair.

George Frideric Handel was one of the finest Baroque composers; in fact
Beethoven called him the greatest composer that ever lived. He made his
name writing Italian operas before turning his attention to English
oratorios - unstaged dramatic works, often on biblical themes. When
SEMELE premiered as an oratorio in 1744, it offended nearly everyone.
The story was far too profane to be a "proper" oratorio; in fact Charles
Jennings, the librettist of Handel's Messiah, called SEMELE "a baudy
opera." However, as it was neither staged nor in Italian, purists at
the time could not consider it an opera.

Handel's luscious music, dead-on characterizations, and sense of
dramatic momentum make SEMELE an irresistible operatic treat for modern
audiences. As part of a resurgence in the popularity of Baroque music,
SEMELE is now performed in fully staged productions around the world.

Award-winning Maestro Timothy Vernon conducts this production, which
Director Wim Trompert has set in the 19th century - a time when an
unmarried girl's pregnancy would be particularly scandalous. Brian
Perchaluk makes his company debut with a stunning set and costumes that
evoke the neo-classical design of the Victorian age.

Nathalie Paulin, (POV's The Tempest) is recognized worldwide for her
mastery of the baroque repertoire. She returns to POV to portray Semele,
a role she created recently for Chicago Opera Theater. Acclaimed
Canadian tenor and Victoria native Benjamin Butterfield (POV'S Don
Giovanni)), sings the role of Jupiter, and Anita Krause (POV's Norma)
sings the roles of Juno and Ino. They are joined by Scott Belluz,
Nathaniel Watson and Anne Grimm, who make their company debuts as
Athamas, Somnus/Cadmus and Iris.

CBC Radio will record Pacific Opera Victoria's production of SEMELE for
national broadcast on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera.

Performed in English with English surtitles, Pacific Opera Victoria's
production of SEMELE runs February 12, 14, 17, 19, and 21, 2009 at the
Royal Theatre in Victoria. All performances begin at 8pm. Priced
between $25 and $110, tickets are available from the Royal and McPherson
Box Office at (250) 386-6121 or www.rmts.bc.ca.

Student RUSH tickets for those presenting valid student identification
are available at the door of the theatre, 45 minutes prior to each
performance, subject to availability. RUSH tickets are $15, inclusive
of all box office charges.

For more information, please contact Pacific Opera Victoria at (250)
385-0222 or visit www.pov.bc.ca.

To celebrate Handel's legacy, four Victoria arts organizations - Pacific
Baroque Festival, Pacific Opera Victoria, the Early Music Society of the
Islands, and the Victoria Symphony - are collaborating to present a
festival of music by Handel and his contemporaries, February 3 through
22, 2009. A full schedule of events for Handel Celebration 2009 can be
found at www.pov.bc.ca/handel.html

OPERA America Announces Recipients of the 2009 National Opera Trustee Recognition Award

OPERA AMERICA ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF THE

2009 NATIONAL OPERA TRUSTEE RECOGNITION AWARD

New York, NY—OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, is proud to announce the 2009 recipients of the National Opera Trustee Recognition Award. In its second year, this award honors trustees of U.S. opera companies for exemplary leadership, generosity and audience building efforts on behalf of their respective opera companies.

The 2009 National Opera Trustee Recognition honorees are Mr. John T. Cody, Jr. of The Dallas Opera, Mr. Richard Holland of Opera Omaha, Mrs. Beth Ingram of Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Mr. C. Guy Rudisill, III of Piedmont Opera.

OPERA America is committed to recognizing strong trustee leaders, understanding the pivotal role they play in the success of opera companies and the vitality of the communities they serve. In acknowledging and celebrating the dedication of board members at the national level, the National Opera Trustee Recognition Program seeks to strengthen the relationships between opera companies and their trustees and to inspire exemplary service to opera companies across the United States.

“Presenting consistently high-quality opera requires a dedicated staff guided and supported by a strong board,” stated Marc A. Scorca, president & CEO of OPERA America. “The value of dedicated board members who provide passion, vision and generous support cannot be overstated. We are pleased to be joined by Bank of America in recognizing the achievements of these trustees.”

“Bank of America is a leading supporter of the arts and believes that these institutions are critical to ensuring the cultural and economic vitality of our communities,’” said Keith Banks, head of Bank of America Global Private Client, Institutional and Investment Management. “We are pleased to sponsor this noble initiative as the trustees play an important role in developing their local opera company as cultural pillars in their community.”

Each year, OPERA America member companies are invited to nominate one of their trustees for this award. A single honoree from each of the four OPERA America budget levels is chosen by an adjudication committee through a competitive selection process.

The honorees represent a significant range of accomplishments, generosity and a deep commitment to promoting opera in their communities. The following profiles illustrate just a few examples of the dedication of these trustees.

After fourteen seasons with The Dallas Opera, John Cody held the top administrative position for a year while the company searched for its new general director. He has resumed the position in the wake of the brief tenure of George Steel. Mr. Cody is the retired President and COO of J.C. Penney with more than 35 years of executive experience. He joined the Board of Directors of The Dallas Opera in 1993 and has served on the Development, Finance and Marketing committees, as well as on the Board of The Dallas Opera Foundation. Mr. Cody became President of the company in June 2004 and guided a two-year project to develop a strategic positioning statement and roadmap designed to take The Dallas Opera through its historic move into the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors from 2006-2008 and as Interim General Director from June through September 2008. He resumed the position of Interim General Director as of January, 2009.

Native Omahan and retired advertising executive Richard Holland has been a tireless advocate of Opera Omaha. Shortly after its 1958 founding, Mr. Holland joined other community leaders in helping them grow from a community enterprise to a budding professional regional company. He served as Board President from 1966 to 1970 and, over the past 40 years, has remained a constant supporter, both in a governance capacity and as a donor. In his forward for the book Opera Omaha: The First Fifty Years, Mr. Holland wrote “…we believe we have helped make Omaha a better place to live and work.” While maintaining and expanding his leadership giving to Opera Omaha, Mr. Holland is a major supporter of many social service organizations. He called on the Peter Kiewit Foundation to co-commission a study on the economic impact of performing arts in Omaha, which clearly proved the high value these groups bring to the region.

Beth Ingram is an enthusiastic promoter and generous patron of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. As a 42-year member of the Board of Directors, she has held the officer positions of secretary, treasurer, vice-president, president, vice-chairman and chairman. She was the first woman president on the Lyric Opera Board and continued in her leading role by serving on the Executive Committee for the majority of those years. Mrs. Ingram was the lead donor and honorary chairman for the Company’s 2003 Endowment Campaign that raised $11.5 million to establish a fund to enhance the artistic quality of productions and twice has served as honorary chairman for the Company’s major fund raising event, the Lyric Opera Ball. The Golden Anniversary Ball held last season raised a record-breaking $1.4 million for the Company and ensured adequate funding for their ambitious 50th Anniversary Season.

C. Guy Rudisill, III has been involved with Piedmont Opera for more than ten years, serving as President of the Board from 2000 to 2002. A member of Piedmont Opera’s Major Gifts Committee, Mr. Rudisill is highly involved with fundraising for the company and last year helped raise $200,000 over and above the company’s budget. For a period of time during his tenure as Board President, Piedmont Opera was without a General Manager. Until a successor could be identified, Mr. Rudisill assumed many of the General Manager’s duties. Mr. Rudisill also serves on the Advocacy Committee of the local Arts Council and takes an active role in reminding the local, state and national elected officials of the importance of the arts to the community, state and nation.

OPERA America and Bank of America will pay tribute to the 2009 honorees and celebrate their remarkable achievements at a dinner and reception on Saturday, February 21, 2009, in New York City.

OPERA America’s commitment to recognizing excellence in governance is shared by its sister organization Opera.ca, the Canadian national association for opera. Opera.ca honors Mr. J. Rob Collins of the Canadian Opera Company as the first recipient of its National Opera Directors Recognition Program.

About OPERA America

OPERA America leads and serves the entire opera community, supporting the creation, presentation and enjoyment of opera.

• Artistic services help opera companies and creative and performing artists to improve the quality of productions and increase the creation and presentation of North American works.
• Information, technical and administrative services to opera companies reflect the need for strengthened leadership among staff, trustees and volunteers.
• Education, audience development and community services are designed to enhance all forms of opera appreciation.

Founded in 1970, OPERA America’s worldwide membership network includes nearly 200 Company Members, 300 Associate and Business Members, 2,000 Individual Members and more than 18,000 subscribers to the association’s electronic news service.

OPERA America’s long tradition of supporting and nurturing the creation and development of new works led to the formation of The Opera Fund, a growing endowment which allows OPERA America to make a direct impact on the ongoing creation and presentation of new opera and music-theater works. Since its inception, OPERA America has made grants of more than $10.5 million to assist companies with the expenses associated with the creation and development of new works.

NACO, Feb. 1: Donna Brown and NACO ensembles perform on the next Music for a Sunday Afternoon

Soprano Donna Brown and ensembles of the NAC Orchestra perform Haydn, Schubert and Brahms on the next Music for a Sunday Afternoon on Feb. 1

Ottawa, Canada – The next Music for a Sunday Afternoon chamber music concert celebrates the human voice in songs by Haydn, Schubert and Brahms featuring internationally renowned soprano Donna Brown. The Ottawa based singer will be joined by ensembles of the NAC Orchestra including concertmaster Yosuke Kawasaki, who in addition will precede each set of songs with a chamber music composition by the same composer. This concert takes place on Sunday, February 1 at 2 p.m. in the Auditorium of the National Gallery of Canada.

Musicians: Donna Brown, soprano, Yosuke Kawasaki, violin; Carole Sirois, cello; Jean Desmarais, piano; Jessica Linnebach, violin; David Thies-Thompson, viola.

Program:

HAYDN: Piano Trio No. 27 in A-flat major (Hob XV: 14)

HAYDN: Six folksong arrangements:

Ein Wandrer kommt von ferne (The wanderer from afar…)

Es sang und sang ein Vögelein (A little bird sang so sadly…)

Ich stehe auf der Heide (I’m standing on the moor…)

Es weiden meine Schafe (My sheep are grazing…)

Schlaf in deiner engen Kammer (Sleep little one…)

Durchs Feld macht ich morgens im Lenz einen Gang (I went for a walk one spring morning…)

SCHUBERT: Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703

SCHUBERT:

Am Bach im Frühling (At the Brook in Springtime) D. 361

Wanderers Nachtlied II (Wayfarer’s Night Song) Über allen Gipfeln, D. 768

Die junge Nonne (The Young Nun) D. 828

Der Jüngling auf dem Hügel (The Youth on the Hill) D. 702

BRAHMS: Sonatensatz in C minor (from the F-A-E Sonata)

BRAHMS: trans. Walter

Über die Heide (Over the Heath) Op. 86, No. 4

O kühler Wald (O Cool Forest) Op. 72, No. 3

Von ewiger Liebe (Of Everlasting Love) Op. 43, No. 1

Auf dem See (On the Lake) Op. 106, No. 2

Ständchen (Serenade) Op. 106, No. 1

Donna Brown, soprano

Renowned for the floating golden-hued quality of her voice, celebrated Canadian soprano Donna Brown performs on the world’s great opera and concert stages of Paris, London, Tokyo, Geneva, Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Sao Paolo, Tel Aviv, Barcelona, Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco. She has numerous recordings to her name, and her latest CD release of Bachianas Brasileiras No.#5, with Roberto Minczuk conducting, has received rave reviews.

Highlights of the current season include recitals in France with Philippe Cassard, a Bach and Haendel program with Ottawa’s 13 Strings, concerts with the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, and Haydn’s Creation with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and the Petrobas Orchestra in Rio de Janeiro. Donna Brown made her debut with NACO in 1992 singing Gitanjali, written for her by the Canadian composer R.Murray Schafer, and returned for last season’s eXpressions festival to sing it once again. In 2006 she appeared in a joint recital with Russell Braun at the NAC and in the week prior to Music for a Sunday Afternoon, she performs with the NAC Orchestra in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass.

Tickets for Music for a Sunday Afternoon on February 1 are on sale now at $29.00 (GST and Facility Fee included) at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s website at www.nac-cna.ca. They may also be purchased at the National Gallery one hour before the concert.

A Baroque Celebration with Canadian Legend, soprano Nancy Argenta

The VSO Presents Canadian Soprano Nancy Argenta

In A Baroque Celebration

Vancouver BC – Canadian soprano Nancy Argenta will grace the Chan Centre stage on February 6^th and 7^th and the Centennial Theatre stage on February 9^th for A Baroque Celebration – a celebration of beautiful baroque and chamber music by Muffat, Bach, Mozart and Schubert. All concerts take place at 8pm and will be conducted by Victoria Symphony Music Director Tania Miller, former VSO Associate Conductor.

“Argenta’s voice possesses a bell-like clarity, but the tone has a natural, unforced lyricism … Feeling is released with simplicity, and no undue archness or artifice interferes with her appealing directness of manner.”

- Globe and Mail

“…(Tania Miller) has absolute authority over the score, clarifying its dense textures, her long term thoughts giving it the shape it needs and bringing out every detail, its variety, its delicious orientalisms, the ravishments of the slow movement. She has the gift of disappearing into the music, the sign of a true conductor. It was 45 minutes of bliss."

- The Vancouver Sun

A true Canadian superstar, Nancy Argenta began her career in Vancouver taking voice lessons with Jacob Hamm and at the University of Western Ontario with Martin Chambers. After winning the S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition in 1980, she began her studies in Europe with her mentor Vera Rosza. Her professional operatic debut was in Hippolyte et Aricie at the 1983 Aix-en-Provence Festival. Since then, she has been in high demand world-wide for her clear and flexible soprano voice that is seen as ideal for classical-era music. Although Argenta is regarded as “the supreme Handel soprano of our age” she is also renowned for her interpretations of Bach, Mozart, Shubert and Purcell. The VSO is honoured to share the stage with this Canadian star in her element.

At only thirty-five years of age, Victoria Symphony’s Music Director Tania Miller is the youngest Music Director of any major Canadian orchestra today. She has also made history by being the first Canadian woman to be appointed to such a prestigious position within Canada. Prior to her appointment in Victoria, Maestra Miller was the VSO’s Associate Conductor and she is always a Vancouver audience favourite. Her expertise in baroque music from her work as the Assistant Conductor of the Carmel Bach Festival is sure to impress both baroque enthusiasts and casual listeners of this concert.

CONCERT INFO

Bach & Beyond and North Shore Classics Series:

A Baroque Celebration

Friday & Saturday, February 6 & 7, 8pm, Chan Centre

Monday, February 9, 8pm, Centennial Theatre

Tania Miller, conductor

Nancy Argenta, soprano

Muffat Concerto Grosso No.12, Propitia Sydera

Bach Cantata No.209, Non sa che sia dolore

Mozart Il re pastore, K.208: L’amero saro costante

Mozart Voi avete un cor fedele, K.217

Schubert Symphony No.6, Little C Major

Internationally-renowned soprano Nancy Argenta makes her VSO debut, with Victoria Symphony Music Director Tania Miller. This is an evening of beautiful baroque and chamber music at its best.

Tickets for February 6 & 7: $35 to $59 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available ONLY through Ticketmaster outlets, Charge-by-Phone at 604.280.3311 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca

Tickets for February 9: $37 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

The VSO’s Bach & Beyond Series Endowed By:

The Chan Foundation of Canada

The presentation of this series is made possible in part through the generous assistance of the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts of the University of British Columbia.

BIOGRAPHIES

Tania Miller, conductor

Tania Miller’s reputation as a consummate musician, leader, and communicator has grown rapidly in today’s orchestral scene. At the age of thirty-five, Ms. Miller is the youngest current Music Director of a major Canadian orchestra and the first Canadian woman to be appointed to such a significant position in Canada. The 2007/2008 Season will mark Ms. Miller's fifth season as Music Director of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra.

Prior to her work in Victoria, Ms. Miller was with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra from 2000-2004, first as Assistant Conductor and finally as Associate Conductor. Her many North American guest conducting engagements include the Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Windsor, Oregon, Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montreal, Toledo, London (ON), and Saskatoon Symphony Orchestras, and she recently made her European debut conducting the Berne Symphoniker in Switzerland where she will return in the 2008/2009 season.

Tania Miller co-founded the Michigan Opera Works in 1997 with a mandate to provide performance opportunities for emerging young professional artists. She also served as Artistic Director and conductor from 1997-2000, and led productions of Handel’s Semele, Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte. Ms. Miller has also conducted with Detroit’s Friends of Opera in performances of Puccini’s La Boheme. In 2000, she was asked to conduct a production of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann in 2000 with Opera McGill of Montreal on short notice when their conductor fell ill. The performances were such a success that she was invited back the following season to conduct Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

Ms. Miller has worked extensively in the areas of Baroque and contemporary music. Her work as the Assistant Conductor of the Carmel Bach Festival from 1997-2001 gave her a unique opportunity to work closely with the internationally renowned conductor Bruno Weil and many of the world's leading Baroque artists. Tania began her work in the field of contemporary music as Assistant conductor of the Banff Festival of the Arts in 1997 in Banff, Canada. She has been a frequent guest conductor with the Toronto contemporary ensemble ERGO, with whom she premiered a number of compositions in Munich, Toronto and New York.

Originally from Foam Lake, Saskatchewan, Tania Miller received her D.M.A and Master's degree in conducting from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan; studying with teachers Kenneth Kiesler and H. Robert Reynolds.

Nancy Argenta, soprano

With a repertoire spanning three centuries, Nancy Argenta has been hailed as the supreme Handel soprano of our age and praised for her performances of works by composers as diverse as Mahler, Mozart, Schubert and Schoenberg. Her ability to adapt from large scale orchestral works to chamber music and recitals has earned her great recognition and praise.

Conductors include Ozawa, Gardiner, Davis, Blomstedt, Pinnock, Hogwood and Norrington with orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Singapore Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Toronto, Montreal, Sydney and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. In opera, concert and recital she has appeared at many leading festivals including Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, Mostly Mozart and the BBC Proms. Her discography of over 50 recordings includes Bach's St John Passion, B Minor Mass, Magnificat and Christmas Oratorio with Gardiner, Purcell's King Arthur and Haydn Masses with Pinnock and Hickox, Mozart's Requiem, Magic Flute and Don Giovanni with Norrington. As an EMI/Virgin Solo Artist she has recorded Schubert Lieder, Scarlatti Cantatas and two discs of Bach Solo Cantatas as well as two of Purcell songs, the first of which, O Solitude, was honoured with a Classic CD Award. Recent CD releases include Handel's Saul with Paul McCreesh (Archiv), Handel's Resurrezione with the Combattimento Consort and Lost is my quiet a collection of English Music from Purcell’s time.

As a devotee of the song repertoire of all periods, Nancy Argenta tours widely as a recitalist, presenting songs with their "original" keyboard accompaniment of harpsichord, fortepiano or modern piano. Recent recital locations with Maggie Cole, keyboards have included The Netherlands, Hungary, Israel, Canada and Spain.

Recent concerts include performances with Die Kölner Akademie for concerts in Spain with Michael Chance, a programme of Purcell and Handel with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, a programme celebrating 100 years of English Music with the NDR Radiophilharmonic Orchestra in Hannover and the St Matthew Passion in Hamburg. Future concerts include the North Carolina Symphony, the Vancouver Bach Choir and performances of the St Matthew Passion with the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival in Ohio.

High Notes January 2009 / Notes lyriques janvier 2009

Version française January 2009 Focus on Canadian Opera Creation Opera.ca announces COCF Results for 08/09 Opera.ca, through its Canadian Opera Creation Fund, has awarded a total of $185,000 for the development and production of seven new Canadian operas: • Chants Libres for Opéra Féerie and Alexandra • Pacific Opera Victoria for Mary`s Wedding • Queen of Puddings Music Theatre for Svadba • Soundstreams Canada for The Children’s Crusade • Tapestry New Opera Works for The Shadow • Vancouver Opera for Lillian Alling Read the full media release here Queen of Puddings presents INÊS The Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, in association with Harbourfront Centre, will present the world premiere of their new chamber opera INÊS on February 22, 2009 at the Enwave Theatre in Toronto. The opera was composed by James Rolfe and written by Paul Bentley with Portuguese translations from Anna Camara and Rui Mota. The opera is based on the medieval Portuguese legend of Inês de Castro and has been adapted to depict life within Toronto’s Portuguese community in the 1960’s. INÊS will have 5 performances from February 22 to March 1. For more information, please see here. INÊS was supported in part by the Canadian Opera Creation Fund. Opera.ca Announces a New Program - Creative Connections Opera.ca is calling upon all Professional Company Members, currently working with, or thinking of working with a composer/librettist team on a new opera, to submit a Letter of Interest to participate in Creative Connections, a new opera creation project. (In collaboration with The Banff Centre and the Banff Opera Colloquium and made possible by funding from the George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation). Continue Reading Save the Dates!! February 10, 2009 - Ontario Regional Roundtable Opera.ca will host an Ontario Roundtable for companies throughout the province on February 10, 2009. The Roundtable is made possible through the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation. This event will provide opera producers with the opportunity to learn more about each others' activities, goals and challenges. We will be joined by David Parsons – Classical Music Officer, and John Brotman – Executive Director of the Ontario Arts Council who will speak about the OAC's strategic plan. To download an agenda and registration form, click here. August 14-16, 2009 - Banff Opera Colloquium From August 14-16, 2009, The Banff Centre and Opera.ca will bring together opera leaders and professionals from across the country for the third bi-annual Banff Opera Colloquium. A unique professional development initiative for the Canadian opera community, this Colloquium is an opportunity for artistic and general directors, board members, staff, educators, volunteers and those committed to the vibrancy and future of the field, to share information, challenges and opportunities, and to develop a richer understanding of the field. Mark your calendars and watch for further information on the Colloquium in the coming weeks. Advocacy update Report on Ottawa PAA Following the inaugural meeting of the Performing Arts Alliance in Ottawa this past December, board and advocacy committee members of the CDA, Opera.ca, Orchestras Canada and PACT have continued to actively meet with MPs from across the country. Read more. Introducing Greg! Opera.ca is happy to announce that Greg Wagland has joined us as the new Membership and Communications Coordinator. Greg is looking forward to speaking and working with you over the coming months. He can be reached at g_wagland@opera.ca or by calling our offices at 416-591-7222. Singer Services Workshop Opera.ca will present its third Singer Services Workshop on March 7 at the University of Western Ontario. During this day-long event, a panel of professionals working in the Canadian Operatic sector will assist emerging singers in identifying their professional goals and planning their career paths. Contact Opera.ca for more information. Member News The Canadian Opera Company has announced conductor Johannes Debus as the company’s new Music Director. Debus made his debut with the COC in 2008 when he conducted their production of War and Peace. Debus will begin his appointment with the 09/10 season. You can read the full release here. The Canadian Opera Company has also announced the details of their 09/10 season which marks their 60th. Please see here for the release. People Peter Dominic Charbonneau has been appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of CBC/Radio-Canada. For more information, please see here. Of Note Youth Internship Program – Feb 1 deadline The Cultural Human Resources Council, through its Youth Internship Program, seeks proposals from cultural organizations who can offer an opportunity in Arts Practice or Administration to a post-secondary graduate under 30 years of age. To find out more about the program, please see here. For the application, see here. The Deadline to submit is February 1, 2009. CCA Chalmers Workshop The Canadian Conference of the Arts has announced the 2009 Chalmers Workshop. The National Cultural Strategy Workshop – a Chalmers Event and the CCA Awards Ceremony will be held in Ottawa on March 12, 2009. For more information and registration form, please see here. Canadians Celebrating Culture – upload your video! A new website and YouTube channel – Canadians Celebrating Culture – wants you to help celebrate the gift of culture in Canada by uploading your video of an audience applauding artists. Deadlines Creative Connections - A new opera creation project Letter of interest deadline: January 30, 2009 Alberta Foundation for the Arts - Professional Performing Arts Companies Operating Grant Application deadline: February 1, 2009 High Notes is a benefit for members of Opera.ca designed to compliment OPERA America publications. The bulletin brings you unique Canadian news and views. It celebrates the accomplishments of individuals in the sector, keeps you posted on interesting events and aware of relevant resources and deadlines. Opera.ca, the voice of opera in Canada, advances the concerns and views of our sector with key decision-makers and the public and we work to sustain and nurture a creative environment for opera in Canada. We advocate and promote your needs to organizations like the Canada Council for the Arts, governments across the country and other companies and individuals who care about your sector and can make a difference. High Notes is a work in progress, we look forward to your comments, thoughts, news and views. To unsubscribe, please reply to this email with 'Remove' in the subject line. Opera.ca 405-174 Spadina Avenue Toronto, Ontario M5T 2C2 Tel. 416-591-7222 Contact: Micheline McKay, Senior Advisor, m_mckay@opera.ca Christina Loewen, Director of Operations, c_loewen@opera.ca

English Version Janvier 2009 Pleins feux sur la création d’opéras canadiens Opera.ca alloue 185 000 $ à la création de nouveaux opéras canadiens Opera.ca, par le biais du Fonds de création d’opéras canadiens, a alloué un total de 185 000 $ à six compagnies pour le développement et la production de sept nouveaux opéras canadiens : • Chants Libres pour Opéra Feérie et Alexandra • Pacific Opera Victoria pour Mary`s Wedding • Queen of Puddings Music Theatre pour Svadba • Soundstreams Canada pour The Children’s Crusade • Tapestry New Opera Works pour The Shadow • Vancouver Opera pour Lillian Alling Pour plus de renseignements, voir ici. Queen of Puddings présente INÊS Le Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, en collaboration avec le Harbourfront Centre, présentera la première mondiale de son nouvel opéra de chambre, INÊS, le 22 février 2009 au Enwave Theatre à Toronto. Composé par James Rolfe et écrit par Paul Bentley, l’opéra décrit la communauté portugaise des années soixante à Toronto en se fondant sur la légende portugaise médiévale d’Inês de Castro. Les traductions du portugais sont d’Anna Camara et Rui Mota. INÊS aura cinq représentations du 22 février au 1er mars. Pour plus de renseignements, voir ici. INÊS a reçu un appui du Fonds de création d’opéras canadiens. Opera.ca annonce un nouveau programme : Liens créatifs Opera.ca invite toutes les compagnies professionnelles membres, qui travaillent actuellement, ou envisagent de travailler à un nouvel opéra avec une équipe compositeur/librettiste, à soumettre une lettre d’intérêt Liens créatifs, un nouveau projet de création d’opéras (réalisé en collaboration avec le Banff Centre et le Colloque de Banff sur l’opéra et rendu possible grâce au soutien de la George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation). Lire la suite. indiquant leur désir de participer à Indiquez la date dans votre agenda! le 10 février 2009 - Table ronde régionale de l’Ontario Opera.ca accueillera une Table ronde régionale de l’Ontario pour les compagnies d’art lyrique de toute la province le 10 février 2009. Rendue possible grâce à l’appui de la Fondation Trillium de l’Ontario, cette table ronde fournira aux producteurs d’opéra l’occasion d’échanger sur leurs activités, leurs objectifs et les défis qu’ils doivent relever. David Parsons, responsable de la musique classique au Conseil des arts de l’Ontario, se joindra à nous, ainsi que John Brotman, directeur général du CAO, qui nous fera part du plan stratégique du Conseil. Pour registrer maintenant, appuyez ici. 14-16 août 2009 – Colloque de Banff sur l’opéra Du 14 au 16 août 2009, le Banff Centre et Opera.ca réuniront des leaders et des professionnels de l’art lyrique de tout le Canada pour le troisième Colloque biannuel de Banff sur l’opéra. Une initiative de formation professionnelle unique pour la communauté de l’opéra au Canada, le colloque est une occasion pour les directeurs artistiques et généraux, les membres de conseils d’administration, les membres de personnel, les éducateurs, les bénévoles et tous ceux qui ont à cœur l’avenir de l’opéra, de partager des informations, des défis et des opportunités, et de développer une meilleure compréhension du domaine. Indiquez ces dates dans votre agenda et guettez les renseignements supplémentaires sur le colloque qui suivront dans les prochaines semaines. Mise à jour sur les activités en faveur des arts Suite à la première réunion de l’Alliance des arts de la scène à Ottawa en décembre dernier, les membres du conseil d’administration ainsi que ceux du comité de représentation de l’ACD, d’Opéra.ca, d’Orchestres Canada et de PACT ont poursuivi activement leurs rencontres avec les députés de l’ensemble du pays. Lire la suite. Bienvenue à Greg! Opera.ca est heureux d’annoncer que Greg Wagland est notre nouveau coordinateur en matière de communications et d’adhésion. Greg a hâte de vous connaître et de travailler avec vous au cours des mois à venir. Il peut être joint à g_wagland@opera.ca ou par téléphone à nos bureaux au 416-591-7222. Atelier de services au chanteur Opera.ca présentera son troisième Atelier de services au chanteur le 7 mars à l’University of Western Ontario. Au cours de cet événement d’une journée, un panel de sommités dans le secteur canadien de l’opéra aidera les chanteurs émergeants à identifier leurs buts professionnels et à planifier leur carrière. Veuillez contacter Opera.ca pour de plus amples informations. Nouvelles de nos membres La Canadian Opera Company a annoncé la nomination de Johannes Debus au poste de directeur musical de la compagnie. M. Debus a fait ses débuts à la COC en 2008, y dirigeant la production de War and Peace de la compagnie. M. Debus entrera en fonction au début de la saison 2009-2010. Le communiqué de la COC à ce propos est affiché ici. La Canadian Opera Company a aussi fait connaître les détails de sa saison 2009-2010, qui marquera son 60e anniversaire. Voir le communiqué ici. Personnalités Peter Dominic Charbonneau a été nommé membre du conseil d’administration de CBC/Radio-Canada. Pour plus de renseignements, voir ici. À noter Programme Jeunes stagiaires – Date limite : 1er février Le Programme Jeunes stagiaires du Conseil des ressources humaines du secteur culturel lance un appel de propositions aux organismes culturels capables d’offrir une expérience pratique de gestion à un diplômé du postsecondaire de moins de 30 ans. Pour en savoir davantage sur le programme, voir ici. Pour obtenir un formulaire de demande, voir ici. La date limite des soumissions est le 1er février 2009. Atelier Chalmers de la CCA La Conférence canadienne des arts a annoncé l’Atelier Chalmers 2009. L’atelier de Stratégie nationale pour le secteur culturel – Un événement Chalmers et la remise des Prix de la CCA auront lieu le 12 mars 2009 à Ottawa. Pour obtenir plus de renseignements sur l’événement et l’inscription, voir ici. « Canadians Celebrating Culture » – téléchargez votre vidéo! Un nouveau site web et une chaîne de YouTube, « Canadians Celebrating Culture », veut vous aider à célébrer la culture au Canada en téléchargeant votre vidéo d’un auditoire applaudissant les artistes. Dates limites Liens Creatifs - Un nouveau program pour la creation d'opera date limite pour lettres d'interets le 30 Janvier 2009 Fondation de l’Alberta pour les arts- Compagnies professionnelles d’arts d’interprétation date limite pour les demandes de subvention le 1er février 2009 Notes lyriques est pour le bénéfice des membres d’Opéra.ca avec l’intention de complémenter la publication américaine OPERA. Le bulletin vous permet d’obtenir des nouvelles et des points de vue uniquement canadiens. Il célèbre les accomplissements d’individus dans le secteur opératique, vous tient au courant d’événements à venir en plus d’être une source importante des ressources disponibles et des dates limites. Opera.ca, la voix de l’opéra au Canada, avance les intérêts et les points de vue de notre secteur auprès des personnes qui prennent les décisions et du publique. Nous travaillons avec le but de soutenir et élever un environnement créatif pour l’opéra au Canada. Nous soutenons et promouvons vos besoins aux organismes tels que le Conseil canadien des Arts, les différents paliers gouvernementaux à travers le pays ainsi que les compagnies et individus qui se préoccupent de votre domaine et qui peuvent faire une différence. Notes lyriques est un travail en voie d’exécution. Nous attendons vos commentaires, pensées, nouvelles et points de vue avec plaisir. Pour ne plus recevoir ce bulletin, veuillez répondre à ce courriel en indiquant ‘Enlevez’ sur la ligne sujet. Opera.ca 405-174 Spadina Avenue Toronto, Ontario M5T 2C2 Tel. 416-591-7222 Points de contact: Micheline McKay, Conseillère principale, m_mckay@opera.ca Christina Loewen, Directrice d’opérations, c_loewen@opera.ca

Green Mountain Opera Festival

Green Mountain Opera Festival Announces 2009 Season
May 28 – June 21, 2009

Waitsfield, VT -- Taras Kulish, Artistic Director of the Green Mountain Opera Festival, has announced plans for the 2009 Festival season. Now in its fourth year, the Festival brings talented artists to Vermont's scenic Mad River Valley to give concerts and master classes in the beautifully renovated historic Joslyn Round Barn (www.theroundbarn.com) and other venues. The three and a half week long Festival will culminate with two fully staged performances of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, at the Barre Opera House on June 19 and 21. The Festival orchestra and chorus will accompany the opera.

Kulish says, "Mozart's Figaro is one of my favorite operas, which will charm everyone. This piece is like a modern day soap opera filled with love and betrayal, laughter and tears, and of course the transcendent music of Mozart. What else could one wish for in today's world but to be swept away by a fun plot and gorgeous music!"

This year, Kulish is especially excited to have engaged Canadian maestro Jacques Lacombe as conductor. Lacombe served as principal guest conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal from 2002 to 2006 and is a regular guest conductor with orchestras throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. In 2009, he returns to the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In 2004, he conducted Massenet's Werther at the Metropolitan Opera and was invited back in 2005 to conduct Strauss's Die Fledermaus. Anthony Tommasini, opera critic for the New York Times, praised Lacombe's conducting as "lithe, crisp and refreshingly unmannered."

Ellen Schlaefer will join the Festival as stage director. She has directed productions for the Washington Opera and has collaborated with Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. Schlaefer has directed all over the United States in houses such as Houston Grand Opera, Connecticut Opera, Michigan Opera, Orlando Opera, Santa Fe Opera among others. She is general director and founder of Fly By Night Productions, a nonprofit organization that produces Opera for Kids, with performances in elementary schools to introduce children to opera. Schlaefer serves as director of opera studies at the University of South Carolina.

American soprano Jennifer Aylmer will sing the role of Susanna. Aylmer made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera during its 2005-2006 season, singing Bella in Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy and returned the next year to sing Papagena in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. In 2006, she sang Gretel in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel at New York City Opera. Aylmer has recently sung with Portland Opera, Atlanta Opera, Utah Opera, Minnesota Opera and several other theaters and orchestras. She is a graduate of the prestigious Juilliard Opera Center.

Minnesota baritone Andrew Wilkowske will sing the title role of Figaro, which he has previously sung for the Minnesota Opera. This season's engagements have included the role of the Scientist in the North American premiere of Howard Shore's The Fly at Los Angeles Opera, directed by David Cronenberg and conducted by Placido Domingo. He has also performed with Minnesota Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Lyric Opera San Antonio and Opera Pacific.

Mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala will perform the role of Cherubino. She was recently praised by the New York Times as "a vivid, fearless presence," and by the L.A. Times as "extraordinary." She will sing the title role in Rossini's La Cenerentola with the Atlanta Opera and Rosina in The Barber of Seville at Opera Carolina. Zabala performs extensively internationally and throughout the United States. She also serves as Artistic Director of the Southeastern Festival of Song.

Chicago soprano Kate Mangiameli will sing Countess Almaviva, a role she has previously sung with Shreveport Opera. Since launching her career, she has won praise in roles from a wide repertoire. The Charlottesville Daily Progress called her voice "full and luxurious" with "beautiful sforzandos and pianissimos that were breath-taking." She has sung with opera companies such as Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Eugene Opera, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, Opera Omaha, and was a graduate of the prestigious San Francisco Opera Merola Program.

Canadian baritone Phillip Addis will sing the role of Count Almaviva. He is making his debut in this same role with the Florida Grand Opera just before he arrives in Vermont. During the last few seasons, he has sung with many opera companies in the United States, Europe and Canada, most notably singing the role of Zurga in Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles at L'Opéra de Montréal in 2008. Last season in the United States, he performed with Opera Carolina, Atlanta Opera and Fort Worth Opera.

Canadian mezzo soprano Katrina Corbeil will take on the role of Marcellina, and American bass Mark Freiman will sing the role of Bartolo. American character tenor Brett Noorigian-Colby will sing the roles of Basilio and Curzio.

For the third year, the Festival is continuing its Emerging Artist Program under the direction of pianist and coach Bruce Stasyna. This year the program welcomes five new singers who will spend three and half weeks of intense training and performing. Free and open to the public master classes will continue at the historic Joslyn Round Barn. The program features masters such as American bass-baritone Sanford Sylvan, maestro Jacques Lacombe and others. For the first time, the Festival will include an abridged version of Donizetti's opera The Elixir of Love performed by the Emerging Artists at the Round Barn on June 11.

The Festival also features the Opening Gala Performance on June 4, a Broadway Picnic on June 10, an Opera & Conversation Lunch on June 18, and a variety of free open rehearsals master classes. Prior to the Festival a concert of Opera's Greatest Moments will be performed on March 7 at the Barre Opera House and the Festival's Annual Gala Fundraiser will be held on March 22 at the Joslyn Round Barn.

The Green Mountain Opera Festival is sponsored by the Green Mountain Cultural Center, in collaboration with the Inn at the Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield, Vermont. The Festival is proud to announce that it has recently received a generous grant from the US National Endowment for the Arts and is supported by several foundations and individual contributions. For more information on Festival activities, call the GMCC at 802-496-7722 or go to www.greenmountainoperafestival.com.

Cecilia Bartoli - Second Performance Addedd to her Roy Thomson Hall appearance

Roy Thomson Hall's 08-09 International Vocal Recitals

1st show SOLD OUT; 2nd performance added

Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano

With Orchestra La Scintilla of Zürich Opera

On Sunday, March 1, 2009 at 7 PM / Roy Thomson Hall

(Sunday, March 1 at 2 PM is sold out)

Tickets on sale to FriendsFirst members Friday December 12 at 10 AM

To the Public on Monday, December 15 at 10 AM

$195 - $75 - Call 416-872-4255 or online at www.roythomson.com

Or visit the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office

Toronto, ON. December 11, 2008

Due to the very high demand for tickets to Cecilia Bartoli's concert
on March 1 at 2:00 pm, Roy Thomson Hall is pleased to announce that
Ms. Bartoli has agreed to perform a 2nd concert the same day at 7:00
PM. Tickets go on sale to the public on Monday, December 15 at 10 AM.

Cecilia Bartoli is one of the world's most cherished and celebrated
classical artists and undisputedly the most famous mezzo-soprano of
her generation. Her two upcoming recitals, 2 PM and 7 PM, at Roy
Thomson Hall on March 1, 2009 celebrate the life and roles of 19th
century opera diva Maria Malibran (1808-1836), a superstar of her era
and muse for such composers as Rossini and Donizetti.

Ms. Bartoli is joined by the 25-member Orchestra La Scintilla of
Zürich Opera, a distinguished period instrument ensemble, for a
program drawn from Ms. Bartoli's award-winning album Maria, and
includes works by Garcia, Persiani, Mendelssohn, Rossini, Donizetti,
Balfe, Beriot and Malibran. The orchestra will be led by
concertmaster Ada Pesch.

The 2 PM performance is sponsored by RBC Financial Group.

Opéra - The Rape of Lucretia

N'hésitez pas à me contacter pour toute demande d'entrevue et pour confirmer votre présence!

A.

École de musique Schulich de l'Université McGill

Concerts et publicité

555, rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal, Québec H3A 1E3

Téléphone : 514-398-8101 Télécopieur : 514-398-5514

COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE

Opéra McGill présente

The Rape of Lucretia de Benjamin Britten

les 28, 30 et 31 janvier 2009, Salle Pollack

Montréal, le mercredi 21 janvier 2009 – Le mercredi 28 janvier, le vendredi 30 janvier et le samedi 31 janvier, à 19 h 30, à la salle Pollack, Opéra McGill présente The Rape of Lucretiala salle Pollack au prix de 27 $ et de 22 $ (étudiants et aînés), du lundi au vendredi, de 12 h à 18 h et une heure avant chaque représentation. Information et guichet : 514-398-4547. Les billets sont également en vente sur le réseau ADMISSION. Cette production comprend 15 chanteurs ainsi que l'Orchestre symphonique de McGill, sous la direction de Julian Wachner. Les décors sont assurés par Vincent Lefèvre. Patrick Hansen, directeur des études d'opéra de McGill, est le metteur en scène. de Benjamin Britten. La production sera sous-titrée en français et en anglais. Les billets sont en vente au guichet de

The Rape of Lucretia est un opéra en deux actes dont le rôle principal a été taillé sur mesure pour l'extraordinaire contralto, Kathleen Ferrier, qui l'a interprété en 1946. Le livret anglais de Ronald Duncan s'inspire de la pièce Le Viol de Lucrèce d'André Obey. Il s'agit de la première œuvre où Britten fait mention de son « opéra de chambre » et les textures simplifiées de l'orchestre à 13 instruments, où le récitatif est accompagné par le piano, servent à renforcer la vision du compositeur.

Résumé de l'intrigue :

L'action se déroule à Rome, vers 510 avant J.-C, alors que les Étrusques sont les maîtres de Rome et dans un camp à l'extérieur de la ville, les généraux romains Junius et Collatinus se divertissent en compagnie de Tarquinius, prince étrusque. Collatinus affirme que sa femme Lucrèce est tout à fait fidèle, une exception au sein de cette société décadente. Jaloux, Junius demande à Tarquinius de mettre cette fidélité à l'épreuve et le fier Étrusque se rend à la maison de Lucrèce. Puisque Lucrèce ne cède pas à ses avances, il la viole. Elle raconte ensuite son viol à son mari. Ce dernier tente de la consoler, mais elle se suicide.

Celebrate 25 Years of Passion with Opera Lyra Ottawa

Celebrate 25 Years of Passion

with

Opera Lyra Ottawa

Ottawa, ON — Opera Lyra Ottawa’s spectacular 2009-2010 25^th anniversary season features world-renowned tenor Michael Schade, appearing on the OLO stage for the first time, in Massenet’s romantic tragedy Manon, Ottawa’s own sensational Shannon Mercer takes on the role of Pamina in the season opener The Magic Flute, and the brilliant Greer Grimsley will make his OLO debut as Macbeth. An additional highlight of the season is the outstanding OLO Chorus and the internationally celebrated National Arts Centre Orchestra in all three operas.

2009-2010
25^th Anniversary Season

The Magic Flute by Mozart

September 12, 14, 16 & 19, 2009 at the National Arts Centre in Southam Hall

Macbeth by Verdi

March 27, 29, 31 & April 3, 2010 at the National arts Centre in Southam Hall

An opera-in-concert

Manon by Massenet

May 26, 2010 at the National Arts Centre in Southam Hall

OLO Opera Studio Production

The Bremen Town Musicians, Dean Burry

December 12 & 13 2009 at the National Arts Centre in the Fourth Stage

The season opens on September 12 with one of Mozart’s most beloved operas, The Magic Flute. OLO is pleased to welcome Pinchas Zukerman to the roster as Guest Conductor for this production. The spectacular set and costumes from the San Francisco Opera were designed by celebrated visual artist David Hockney for La Scala.

In March 2010, OLO presents Verdi’s great opera Macbeth for the first time. This tale of passion, murder, revenge and madness stars Greer Grimsley in the title role, Brenda Harris as Lady Macbeth and Andrew Funk as Banquo.

Canadian superstar tenor Michael Schade comes to the Capital for one-night-only as Des Grieux, when OLO brings Manon, Massenet’s heart-breaking story of love, betrayal and death to the NAC. Presented on May 26, this concert production features an all-Canadian cast including Nathalie Paulin as Manon, Brett Polegato as Lescaut, and Theodore Baerg as De Bretigny, and is produced in collaboration with the National Arts Centre. Opera Lyra Ottawa wishes to thank the National Arts Centre for its generous assistance of our 25th Anniversary performance.

Continuing its annual tradition of presenting Opera for Young Audiences, OLO has commissioned celebrated Canadian composer Dean Burry to create The Bremen Town Musicians, with a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster in the starring roles! This sparkling opera features artists of the OLO Opera Studio.

The 2009-2010 season also includes special event favourites such as the Italian Garden Party in July, the mid-winter Black and White Opera Soiree, the spring DIVA Auction and numerous opera-inspired activities presented throughout the year by our OLO Opera Studio artists.

Subscription and Ticket Information

Subscriptions: Start at $79 for Opera Lyra Ottawa’s 2009-2010 season are available beginning May 1, 2009; existing subscribers can renew until April 17, 2009. For more information, call Opera Lyra Ottawa at (613) 233-9200 ext. 221.

Single tickets, starting at $40 go on sale July 1, 2009 for The Magic Flute and September 12 for Macbeth and Manon. Visit www.operalyra.ca or call (613) 233-9200 ext 221.

About Opera Lyra Ottawa

Opera Lyra Ottawa has been an integral part of the Ottawa’s music community for 25 years. During this time close to 500,000 opera lovers have enjoyed over 100 operas featuring 800 artists and a myriad of other thrilling musical activities. OLO’s Opera Studio is a nationally respected advanced training program for emerging opera singers, conductors, repetiteurs, directors and stage managers, blending professional instruction and practical experience. Central to OLO’s vision is the belief in creating and developing the audiences of tomorrow. Each year, the company offers a variety of activities to introduce children, youth and families to opera.

Bell has been a dedicated and committed Opera Lyra Ottawa sponsor for 19 years and we are delighted that they will be onboard again as our Season Sponsor for the 25^th Anniversary season.

Opera Lyra Ottawa gratefully acknowledges the generous support of our sponsors for the 2008-2009 season. We thank Bell, Season Sponsor, as well as our other Principal Sponsors: Bel-Air Lexus, Rio Tinto, Sun Life Financial, and Ottawa Citizen; Major Sponsors: Arosa Suites Hotel, Custom Printers, Kolegram, Handa Travel, CBC/Radio-Canada and Couleur FM; and Key Sponsor Bombardier. Opera Lyra would also like to thank the following agencies for their support: the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Ottawa and the Ontario Arts Foundation.

Opera Lyra would like to thank Michael Potter for his continued generous support of the Young People’s Opera Matinee program.

Renee Fleming Makes Her Maine Debut with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, February 17

PORTLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS AN EVENING WITH RENÉE FLEMING, FEBRUARY 17 Concert is PSO's first endowment benefit event and Fleming's Maine debut PORTLAND, Maine – At a once-in-a-lifetime event, superstar soprano Renée Fleming makes her Maine debut with the Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO), honoring Robert Moody's inaugural season in an endowment benefit concert. The event will be held at Merrill Auditorium on Tuesday, February 17 at 7:30 p.m., with a Concert Conversation, in partnership with PORTopera, in the Rehearsal Hall at 6:15 p.m. One of the greatest sopranos of this, or any, era, Renée Fleming is at the peak of her powers. Her purity of tone, musical intelligence and grace allow her to excel on operatic stages and in orchestral settings, but it is in recital where her subtlest gifts shine through. With the PSO she will perform works from both the classical and popular repertoire including: Richard Strauss' Suite from Der Rosenkavalier and Four Last Songs, "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady, "Carousel Waltz" from Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel, and more. Renée Fleming charms audiences with her performances throughout the world. Her voice has been described as "one of a kind, with a combination of incredible technical control, emotional vividness and presence, and sheer, incandescent beauty of sound." She performed as the soloist at New York's Metropolitan Opera's Opening Night Gala on September 22, 2008 and returns in Massenet's Thaïs and Dvořák's Rusalka. Later this season, she appears in La Traviata at London's Covent Garden. Illustrative of her stature, in the last year Fleming has launched her own fragrance, La Voce by Renée Fleming, and has even had a flower (The Renée Fleming Iris) and a dessert (La Diva Renée, by famed chef Daniel Boulud) named in her honor. A two-time Grammy winner, Fleming's most recent CD is Strauss: Four Last Songs, conducted by Christian Thielemann (2008). She is featured on the Metropolitan Opera's recording of Eugene Onegin which is currently under consideration for a 2009 Grammy. Her numerous awards include Sweden's Polar Prize (2008); the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur by the French government (2005); Honorary Membership in the Royal Academy of Music (2003); and a 2003 honorary doctorate from The Juilliard School, where she was also commencement speaker. This is the first time the PSO has held an endowment benefit concert. The PSO's endowment provides financial security for the PSO's concert and education activities, and acts as a safety net especially during fluctuations in the economic climate. "Though orchestras typically maintain a minimum 3:1 ratio of endowment to operating budget, the PSO's is less than 1:1, which makes this special event all the more significant," said Gordon Gayer, president of the Board of Trustees. "We are thrilled to welcome Renée Fleming for this special event, especially during Robert Moody's inaugural season, and are grateful to the patrons who are supporting the future of the PSO through their ticket purchases to this concert, as well as those who support the Symphony throughout the year." Serving the city of Portland, the state of Maine, and northern New England, the PSO is the largest performing arts organization in Maine. With critically acclaimed performances and broad community engagement, the PSO is widely regarded as one of the top symphony orchestras of its size in the country. Tickets to An Evening with Renée Fleming range from $65 to $140 and are available through PortTix at (207) 842-0800 or www.porttix.com. (Phone and internet orders are subject to $5 per ticket handling fee.) Tickets may also be purchased in person at the box office at 20 Myrtle St., Monday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. For complete season information, including artist biographies and program notes, visit www.portlandsymphony.com. Full Program for An Evening With Renée Fleming Portland Symphony Orchestra – February 17, 2009 – 7:30 PM Suite from Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss) Four Last Songs (Richard Strauss): These songs for soprano and orchestra were written in 1948, a year before Strauss' death at age 85. He never saw them performed. Ms. Fleming has recorded Four Last Songs twice and is well-known for her Strauss repertoire. Morgen (Morning) (Richard Strauss): Strauss composed "Morgen" as the final piece in a set of four songs in 1894. Known for his large-scale operas and tone poems, Strauss' lieder are examples of his genius for delicate intimacy as well. "Morgen" is filled with late romantic musical language but requires in performance the clarity and exquisite simplicity of any Mozart aria. A Letter from Sullivan Ballou (John Kander): By the composer of Cabaret and Chicago, the song is a story of a touching letter by a Union major expressing his love for his family and country before heading off to fight in the Civil War. Featured on Ken Burns' PBS documentary, The Civil War. "Carousel Waltz" from Carousel (Richard Rodgers) Two Rivers Medley (arranged by Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour): A blending of the songs Shenandoah and The Water is Wide. "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess (George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, Ira Gershwin) "So in Love" from Kiss Me Kate (Cole Porter) "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady (Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe)

A military romp with the Edmonton Opera

Donizetti's

Daughter of the Regiment

This one's for the girls!

Edmonton Opera melts the mid-winter freeze with Gaetano Donizetti's military romp, Daughter of the Regiment, February 7, 10 and 12 at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster, call 780-451-8000 or visit www.ticketmaster.ca. Daughter of the Regiment (or La fille du régiment) is sung in French, with English supertitles projected above the stage and English dialogue, so patrons won't have to be francophones to get in on the fun.

Marie, the adopted daughter of the 21^st Regiment in a 19^th century French army, loves being one of the boys. But when the Regiment is posted near a town in the Tyrolean Mountains, Marie falls head over heels for Tonio, one of the townsfolk. The Regiment declares Marie must marry into, not out of, the army, and Tonio rushes to join its ranks. Before he can even make his first salute, the Marquise of Birkenfeld appears, declaring she is Marie's aunt and intending to sweep Marie out of army life and into the lavish stuffiness of being a "lady." Can Marie gain a new family, snag the man she loves, and still keep her beloved regiment?

"This one celebrates the ladies," says Brian Deedrick, Edmonton Opera's Artistic Director. "It's a rare feat and a rare treat: an opera about a woman who finds love and life satisfaction while, quite literally, marching to the beat of her own drum. We're delighted to be bringing this laugh and a half back to the Jubilee Auditorium: the jokes will be rowdy, the story convoluted, and the singing spectacular. If ever there was a night to grab your girlfriends, pull on your best duds and head to the opera, this is it!"

The all-Canadian production is led by Director Robert Herriot and Conductor Peter Dala, the duo who led the Sterling Award-winning production of H.M.S. PINAFORE. They are joined by Andriana Chuchman as Marie, Colin Ainsworth as Tonio, Theodore Baerg as Sulpice, Sonya Gosse as the Marquise, and Chad Louwerse as Hortensio. Daughter of the Regiment also features the talents of the Edmonton Opera Chorus and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

All performances of Daughter of the Regiment begin at 7:30pm and run at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Two-show packages for Edmonton Opera's presentations of Daughter of the Regiment and La Traviata are available through the Edmonton Opera Box Office, call 780-429-1000 or visit www.edmontonopera.com. For single tickets, which range from $25 to $150, contact Ticketmaster at 780-451-8000 or visit www.ticketmaster.ca.

Gotham Chamber Opera presents L'isola Disabitata at John Jay College - 2/18-28

GOTHAM CHAMBER OPERA

in collaboration with the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College

presents

the New York City stage premiere of

Joseph Haydn’s

L’ISOLA DISABITATA

(Desert Island)

February 18 – 28, 2009

PLEASE JOIN US:

Wednesday, February 18 at 7:30pm

RSVP to Michelle Brandon Tabnick, (646) 765-4773,