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.A the..yr.i_·n n exsingersChoruses & CarolsHighlights from Mendelssohn,Bach, Handel and LauridsenFriday, December 12at 7:30 pmBloor Street United Church300 Bloor St. WestSaturday, December 6at8:oo p.m.Central Presbyterian Church165 Charlton Ave. West,Hamilton, ONTickets: { Senior; Student).Attention: Opera SingersDo you have a dream rolethat you want orneed to perform?It is easier than you th111klMore info: www.OperabyRequest.caope r~ by requestD11cctc 1. W,ll .:11n She-0' .. haffTRYPTYCH1 Oth ANNIVERSARYIll'.AUDITIONS2008/9 & 2009/10SeasonsNew Cdn Opera • - HAMLETEducational WorkshopFeb/March 2009• OperaCabaretOratorioSaturday ••November 22, 2008For audition and detailsinfo@tryptych.org416 763 5066 ext 1THE CIVIC LIGHT OPERA COMPANY0Pflra11 IN CONCERTII Cuillccr1110 Silv.i -M.irin, Cencr;:il DirccclorLaA Cdmdidn Prernieresponsored bylstituto lt;ili;rno di Cultur;iVe staleMercadante's masterpiece sets inmotion a revolution against theexcesses of the bel canto schoolin favour of dramatic truth inboth music and vocal lines.Frederique VezinaWendy Hatal;i FoleyEdgar Ernesto RamirezPeter McGillivraySean CatharoyRaisa Nakhmanovich, Mu','c [)'rectorRobert Cooper, C'horu', Dirccc lorNovember 30I SaverioMercadantein /t;:;/hm withEnglish SurtltlesIat 2: 30om ...St. LAWRENCE CENTRE ~~~ ARTS416-366-7723 www.stlc.com 1-800-708-6754CANADIAN OPERA V OLUNTEER COMMITTEEPRESENTST.0.S.C.A.THE OPERA SCHOLARSHIP CELEBRATION AWARDSCONCERT AND ART SALEMONDAY.DECEMBER 1. 2008WALTER HALL. FACULTY OF MUSICUNIVERSITY OF TORONTORECEPTION AT 6,00PM CONCERT AT 730PMCONC ERT ONLY .00 CALL 416-978-3744CONCERT AND RECEPTION 5.00CALL 416-863-0364~THE MUSICAL! IfBased on Charles Dickens' timeless classic, A Christmas CarolEVERYONE 1 S HOLIDAY FAVOURITE!FAIRVIEW LIBRARY THEATRE35 Fairview Mall Dr., Sheppard/Don Mills.December 3 to 21Wed. - ?pm/Thurs. to Sat. - 8pm/Sun. - 2pm/Dec. 20- 2 & 8pmTICKETS to .50cove SUPPORTS,cove JEAN A. CHALMERS AWARDNATIONAL COMPETITIONSDIVERSE SCHOOLS OF MUSIC&ENSEMBLE STUDIO PROGRAMMEcocDIVERSE SCHOOLS OF MUSIC&WWW. THEWHOLENOTE,COM
On Operaby Christopher HaileThe second last day of October marks a new beginning for a venerableopera company in Ontario, and in mid-November a Toronto companypresents a new production of an old favourite. Although it is fall, notspring, it seems like a time for renewal-of both subscriptions andoperatic life.OPERA HAMILTONIn this column we have anxiously followed the difficulties encounteredby Opera Ontario. Once the fourth largest producer of opera inCanada, the company had to cancel its 2007-08 season because ofsevere financial difficulties and an accumulated deficit of .6million. Yet, due to the hard work of general director David Speersand the amazing generosity of Hamilton businesses that forgave thecompany its loans and of the 87 % of subscribers who donated theirtickets, the company was able to demonstrate that it had firm localsupport and could rebuild. I chatted with Mr. Speers on October 9 justas he returned from a board meeting and he was filled with enthusiasm.He announced that the deficit was "basically gone" . In fact,because the company became eligible for grants from government foundations,it now has a 0,000 surplus.The company has reverted to its original mandate and to its originalname as Opera Hamilton. The best news is that OH is already ,000ahead of its goal for subscriptions with three more weeks to go beforesingle tickets go on sale. The company has come together again withfew changes and "is raring to go". Of the 43 artists Opera Ontario hadengaged for the cancelled season, only two, amazingly, had to be boughtout.The company plans to continue its tradition of showcasing youngCanadian talent. The 2008-09 season will replicate the plans for lastseason with the omission of Massenet's "Werther". The season beginswith performances on October 30 and November 1 of "The MagicFlute" with Colin Ainsworth as Tamino, Shannon Mercer as Pamina,Alex Dobson as Papageno, Kevin Langan as Sarastro, and American,Audrey Elizabeth Luna as the Queen of the Night. The productionfrom Philadelphia Opera will be conducted by Speers and directedby Michael Cavanagh. January 29 and 31, 2009, sees the continuationofOH's ever-popular "Popera", this year featuring Kimberly Barber,Miriam Khalil , Marc Hervieux and Nathan Berg with the HamiltonPhilharmonic under Daniel Lipton. Its second and final opera is "MadamaButterfly" in a production from Virginia Opera. Ai Lan Zhu starsas Cio-Cio San, Gordon Gietz is Pinkerton, Lauren Segal is Suzuki,Gaetan Lapierre is Sharpless and Gerald Isaac is Goro. Daniel Liptonconducts and Graham Cozzubbo directs. A non-subscription event (towhich subscribers have first access) is the Great Singers Recital, thisyear featuring soprano, Adrianne Pieczonka with guest artist, mezzosoprano Laura Tucker on November 16, 2008.Next year OH will return to offering three operas per year, with thecancelled "Werther" as a likely choice. This year OH added a schooltour of an abridged "Hansel and Gretel" that visited 40 schools. Nextyear that number will expand to 60. Another programme called YoungPeople's Night at the Opera will see 600-1000 high school studentsattending rehearsals. Discounted tickets for people under age 23 willbe made available-all with a view to cultivating new generations ofopera-goers. To subscribe call Jana Rees at 905-527-7627 ext.221 ore-mail jrees@operahamilton. ea. For more information visitwww . operahamil ton . ea.OPERA ATELIERThis year Toronto's Opera Atelier adds yet another new Mozart productionto its repertoire, this time "Die Entfiihrung aus dem Serail"("The Abduction from the Seraglio") from 1782, the year followinghis "Idomeneo." Like "The Magic Flute" written nine years later,"Abduction" is a "Singspiel" in which spoken dialogue alternates withsung passages. "Abduction" is difficult to cast because three of thecentral roles were written for virtuoso performers. If one looks at thecasting for "Abduction" on the Opera Atelier website(www.operaatelier.com), one will encounter the unusual fact of threesingers making their company debuts in these difficult roles.On October 8, I asked OA co-artistic director Marshall Pynkoskihow he came to meet these three singers. Frederic Antoun, who playsthe hero Belmonte, is a lyric tenor from Montreal. Pynkoski met himalmost three years ago and was so enthralled by the beauty of his voiceand his command of technique that he offered him several up-comingroles. Antoun, however, had become so popular that Belmonte wasthe first role that fit into his schedule . Belmonte's beloved Konstanzeis American coloratura Amanda Pabyan, famed for her Queen of theNight, a role she has sung at the Met. Pabyan came to Pynkoski'sattention through Michael Maniaci (recently Idamante and Nero forOA). She is a singer who thrives on new challenges and the idea of aperiod production intrigued her. Pynkoski says "Abduction" will be avery physical production and that Pabyan fits right in because she is"absolutely fearless", perhaps because she favours boxing for her physicaltraining. The most difficult role to cast was Osmin, the TurkishPasha's overseer, since it requires a virtually bottomless bass voice. Incontrast to his normal practice, Pynkoski cast Norwegian-AmericanGustav Andreassen without meeting him first, simply after hearing alive recording of him as Osmin, a role he has sung 36 times. Uponmeeting him Pynkoski was delighted to find that the man with the"incredibly dark tone" who has sung Wagner's Hunding, Fafner andHagen is also adept at physical comedy.This last point is important because what Pynkoski wants to bringout in "Abduction" is its relation to the commedia dell'artetradition. Completing the cast will be soprano Carla Huhtanen in therole of Blonde, Konstanze's British maid, tenor Lawrence Wiliford asPedrillo, bass-baritone Curtis Sullivan in the speaking role of PashaSelim and the dancers of the OA Ballet. "Abduction" runs at the ElginTheatre November 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, and 15, 2008. The work will besung in German with the spoken dialogue in English. David Fallisconducts the Tafelmusik Orchestra. To subscribe phone 416-703-3767ext. 28 or e-mail subs@operaatelier.com.N OVEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7 2008 WWW. TH EWHOLENOTE .COM 23
