Volume 7 Issue 1 - September 2001

Mus1c THEATRE SPOTLIGHT

Mus1c THEATRE SPOTLIGHT Phoenix Reborn in Wolverton Hills: Schafer opera burns bright for September By Sarah B. Hood START IRONING those white flares; everything '70s is back again ... including Saturday Night Fever. This time it's a musical cascade of disco nostalgia with immortal Bee Gees numbers like "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever" and "How Deep is Your Love". Opening Sept 5 at the Canon (formerly Pantages) Theatre. 416-872-1212) BUT THE REALLY BIG SHOW is R. Murray Schafer's epic Chinese fairy tale The Palace of the Cinnabar Phoenix, running Sept 13 to 16 on a lake in the Wolverton Hills, about an hour east of Toronto. If you follow Schafer's. work, you'll know he's the author pf the spectacular Patria Cycle, including the 12- hour Ra at the Ontario Science Centre in 1983 and the midnight spectacle The Alchemical Theatre of Hermes Trismagistosat Union Station in 1992. Schafer is keeping his . designers, Jerrard and Diana Smith, especially busy this season; not only on Cinnabar Phoenix (Patria 8), but also on the two-part The Spirit Garden (Patria 10), a planting ritual on the grounds of the St. Norbert Arts Centre south of Winnipeg. "We were there the whole month of May," says Jerrard, who will return for the Nov 2 ritual burning of the garden that was planted in a nightly pageant from May 24 to 26. Meanwhile for Phoenix, he and Diana Smith are busy creating ornate Tang Dynasty robes, a seaworthy Pagoda Bbat and a Palace, alongside David and Ann Powell (Toronto's Puppet-mongers), who are constructing the four-foot puppets that act out the tale sung by soprano Jane Archibald, mezzo . Eleanor James, tenor Eric Shaw, baritone Gregory. Dahl and La Jeunesse Choir. "The puppets are really opulent," says Diana Smith. Along with the puppetry, costumes, palace and boat, the performance includes "T'ai Chi set to Murray's 7th Quartet, which was premiered by the Molinari Quartet about a year ago," she says. (1 -800-814-0055) I HAVE SEEN WOYZECK performed with fourfoot puppets, but that's not the version you'll see at the Bathurst Street Theatre from September 7 to 15. This one is an amalgam of the Alban Berg opera with the Georg Buchner play. This W ozzeck/W oyzeck directed by Theatre of Ideas' Misha Aster, stars New Zealand actor Jonathan Roberts in the title role, with Kingston soprano Renee Salewski as Marie. (416-870-8000) WozzeCklWoyzeck director M is ha Aster BACKINJULYIFLAGGED THE COC'S TERRIFIC OPENING FOUR SHOWS: Tom Diamond's productions of 11 Tabaro and Cavalleria Rusticana; running in rep with the Robert Lepage-conceived Bluebeard's Castle and Erwartung, between Sept 20 and Oct 6. But another big COCrelated event falls on Saturday, Sept 29: the Opera Ball. Organized by the Canadian Opera Women's Committee, the blacktie evening takes an international theme from five famous operas: La Traviata (Italy); Boris Gudunov (Russia); The Magic Flute (Austria); Madame Butterfly (Japan), and Carmen (Spain). Jean Stilwell offers arias from Carmen; Jack Layton does his capable best to pump up a bidding frenzy at the auction, and chef John Cordeaux prepares tasty tidbits to reflect the international theme. (We presume the champagne will be French.) The money raised at the Opera Ball not only supports the COC itself, but also funds more than 30 scholarships at the University of Toronto Opera SchooJ, which nu)l1bers among its alumni Gino Quilico, Mark Dubois, Robert Goulet, Ben Heppner and Russell Braun. To find out more about' ticket categories, call416-863-0364 or e-mail cowc@on.aibn.com. , FALL SHOWS TO WATCH FOR -Opera Atelier bripgs back its lavish period Magic Flute at the Elgin Theatre from October 25 to 16 Wholenote SEPTEMBER 1, 2001 - O c TOBER 7, 2001 November 4. Gary Relyea sings Sarastro, and, if memory serves, this Flute has the best dragon of any version I've seen. ( 416-872-5555) - Guy Mignault, artistic director of the Theatre fran~ais de Toronto, is cooking up a show that . traces the 20th century in popular French songs. La, la, la, mine de rien plays at 26 Berkeley Street from Novembe.r 7 to 24. (416-534-6604) -If you're still savouring the strains of the COC's Billy Budd, assuage your Benjamin Britten longings with his Albert Herring, produced by the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music under conductor Stephen Rails and director Maria Larriont. It runs from November 14 to 17 at the MacMillan Theatre. (416-978- 3744) -Finally, Damien Atkins puts a new spin on an eclectic range of songs written for women with his Real Live Girl. Atkins' exploration of the f

21: 8:00. 1430 Trafalgar Rd., Oakville. 905· 815·4049. .. . I Tivoli Theatre. Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical Music by Frank Wildhorn; books & lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Canadian Premiere Production. September 14,15,21,22,28 & 29: 8:00. 108 James St. North, Hamilton. 905-777-9777 or 1-877-572-3773. $ 22,(sr/st), · (matinee). Toronto All-Star Big Band. Blue Champagne. Musical flashback to the I. s~~~ Turtle, Conductor October 26 }nata 20tli nmversary Concert Orff: Ctwmintl Bu1m1t1 Stravitlsky: Sympho'!Y of Pstz!ms SEASONS 1940s. The Serenaders. To Septe111ber 27. Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays: 8:00. Assembly Hall, 3124 Lakeshore Blvd. West. 416-937·7552. ,. UNI Theatre. Come Sail Away. Conceived, directed & choreographed by Krista J. Konkin; music direction by David DiGiorgio; starring Scott Freethy, Sara-Jeanne Hosie, Shelley O'Brien & others. September 1 & 2: 8:00. Clarke Hall, 161 Lakeshore Rd. West, Mississauga. 905-271-1631, ,. 2001-2002 SUBSCRIPTION SERIES 2om ANNIVERSARY SEASON December 14 March 8 May 10 JinOxfora :Montevertfi's