It’s hard to imagine going into our 15th season at First Canadian Place! These live presentations at the Waterfall Stage are the brainchild of the visionary Brenda Parres, FCP Events Director. I can never get over the thrill of seeing so many hundreds of people taking a break from their busy work day in order to experience excerpts of opera and ballet in such an unusual setting. Many people pack their lunches and stay for all three performances.
It seems to me the average person is so removed from live performance that the prospect of seeing singers, dancers, … Read more
Earlier this month Jeannette and I received a letter from a charming couple who are OA subscribers. In their letter they assured us “we love what you do, and we hope to be back” – and they then went on to express their concern that our upcoming season was made up of two operas they had already seen.
I thought it was important to answer their letter and give them an idea of why it is we choose to revisit repetoire. Our decision has little to do with saving money (all productions are extremely expensive) and more to do with … Read more
Today we begin our rehearsals for Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea. I am particularly happy to know that dress rehearsal will be attended by more than 1,000 students. This is a direct result of Opera Atelier’s Making of an Opera program which has now been running with great success for 10 years. I am particularly proud of the fact that participation in this program costs the students nothing. Even attendance at the dress rehearsal is supported by our generous sponsor Great West Life.
Last Thursday David Fallis (OA’s resident music director) and I spent a particularly enjoyable morning at the Royal Conservatory hearing auditions. Auditions are not always a terribly enjoyable experience. Consequently, it was all the more delightful to encounter two young singers of exceptional style and quality.
The first singer was a young mezzo from the Glenn Gould School – Cassandra Warner. Her delivery was so intelligently thought through and her voice so beautiful that there was very little for us to say. Cassandra knew we will be producing Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauridenext season and consequently swept into the audition … Read more
