NATIONAL CAPITAL OPERA SOCIETY • SOCI ÉTÉ … Spring 2013.pdf · Spring 2013 Printemps 2013...

Newsletter • BulletinSpr ing 2013 www.ncos.ca Printemps 2013

NATIONAL CAPITAL OPERA SOCIETY • SOCIÉTÉ D'OPÉRA DE LA CAPITALE NATIONALE

well, but most of the time their actions and reactionsadded to the story line.

There were moments when I wished that theconductor, Tyrone Paterson, had been more atten-tive to the intentions of the composer. For example,in Act 1 after the brindisi Libiamo an orchestra strikesup from a room offstage to which all the guests gosave Violetta and Alfredo. Productions I have seendon’t use a separate “banda” as it was called in Verdi’sday but the music from the orchestra becomes much

softer in volume to suggest that it is be-ing performed in this other room. Therewas no change in volume that I coulddetect. I’m not saying that the singerscould not be heard over the loud musicbut that the music intruded on the realimportance of the scene, the awakeningattraction of Alfredo for Violetta. Verdiexpert Julian Budden characterizes thismusic as “a string of commonplace

waltzes” and points out that “as usual Verdi does notspecify the instrumentation”. The off-stage musicshould not be prominent. I also feel that too muchvolume of brass was used from time to time espe-cially in the final act. Of course the orchestra playingwas superb, especially the strings and woodwinds.

It was gratifying to hear that ticket sales forthese performances had exceeded expectations. Itwas a very fine concert performance. Still and all Ican’t forget the Met’s touring performance of thisopera many years ago in Minneapolis with a dreamcast of Anna Moffo, Richard Tucker, and RobertMerrill. And, oh yes, there was the performance atthe Baths of Caracalla in Rome with the guests ar-riving in horse-drawn carriages and a young tenorfrom Modena called Luciano Pavarotti just on hisway up.

What do you get when you attend a concert perfor-mance of Verdi’s La Traviata? Only the music ofthe most popular opera ever written. You get to seeand hear the orchestra, in this case our own NACOrchestra, augmented for this score in the brass andpercussion sections. Out of the pit and on the stagethe orchestra seemed so large and yet the strings,which predominate in the preludes to Acts 1 and 4and in the most poignant moments of the drama, havenever sounded so beautiful. The great chorus underthe expert direction of LaurenceEwashko is present on stage for Acts 1and 3 and off-stage briefly in Act 4 andgenerally added excitement and gaietyto the grim story of a young woman witha fatal disease. As Violetta, CorinneWinters is young, beautiful and provedcapable of singing one of the most diffi-cult roles in all opera. Tenor EricMagloire, as Alfredo, is ideal physicallyand vocally to portray a young man captivated byand devoted to a star of the Parisian demi-mondebut capable of violent emotion when rejected. Hisfather is sung by Gregory Dahl, familiar to Ottawaaudiences for his appearance in Lucia di

Lammermoor. The great duet with Violetta in Act2 was followed later by his aria Di Provenza il mar,

il suol... which did not calm Alfredo but was obvi-ously appreciated by the audience.

The minor roles were all well done. BrianLaw finalist Jonathan Estabrooks as Baron Doupholwas deprived of an opportunity to shine when thegambling scene was cut completely, as unstaged,such a series of incidents would be awkward topresent. All the singers attempted right from theirfirst entrances to add movement and gesture to ac-company their singing. Sometimes this didn’t work

Opera Lyra Ottawa's La Traviata by Murray Kitts

Spring 2013 NEWSLETTER • BULLETIN Printemps 2013

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President's Message

President Murray KittsPast President Bobbi CainVice President Ute DavisSecretary Jean SaldanhaMembership Vera-Lee NelsonTreasurer Mark Robinson

Publicity Renate Chartrand Lesley Robinson

Events Peggy Pflug Pat Adamo Elizabeth Meller Sandra Graham

ToNCOS Board of Directors 2012-2013nio

Newsletter Editors David Williams Tom McCool

Webmaster Jim Burgess

Website: http://www.ncos.ca

We can certainly be proud of our past Brian LawCompetition winners. Here is a partial update onsome of them. Busiest is Joshua Hopkins: CountAlmaviva in The Marriage of Figaro atGlyndebourne in June and July; Marcello in COC’sLa Bohème in October; Schaunard in The Met’sLa Bohème in January; and Papageno in Wash-ington National Opera’s Magic Flute. Joyce El-Khoury will be singing Violetta in De NederlanseOpera’s La Traviata in May; Desdemona in theCastleton Festival’s Otello in July and as Musetta,alternating with Mimi, in COC’s La Bohème alongwith Joshua in October. We will get to see andhear Arminè Kassabian in two productions byOpera Lyra Ottawa - Mercedes in Carmen in Sep-tember and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly

in April 2014. Also Arminè will sing the Composerin Ariadne auf Naxos for Pacific Opera Victoriain February 2014. As part of the Adler FellowshipProgram, Philippe Sly sings Guglielmo in San Fran-cisco Opera’s Cosi fan tutte in June. After a suc-cessful tour of European festivals PascalCharbonneau will appear in April as David in theMarc-Antoine Charpentier opera David et

Jonathas at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Itcertainly seems to me that we have been doing

something right and your interest and contributions willallow us to continue to assist aspiring young singers.

There is more opera trouble in The Big Apple.The Met is cutting ticket prices by $25 in every cat-egory and is cutting back on the number of opera si-mulcasts from twelve this season to ten next season.Three of the ten, namely Tosca, La Bohème and La

Cenerentola are productions seen previously but withdifferent star singers in the main roles. New produc-tions include Eugene Onegin, Falstaff, Prince Igor

and Werther with great casts. The remaining operasare Cosi fan tutte, Rusalka and The Nose. I am re-ally excited to be able to see a production of Borodin’sgreat opera - wonderful music, spectacular ballet andthose great Russian basses as soloists and in the cho-rus. The Nose should be fun. What at first sight lookslack-lustre may turn out quite dazzling. See you at theopera.

On a more sombre note, in the last few monthswe have lost two of our long time members - RhodaBaxter and Adele Kline. Our condolences go out totheir families and friends.


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Opera Lyra Ottawa - 2013-2014 season

Opera Lyra Ottawa Guild

The annual Joy of Opera Luncheon and Con-

cert, this year featuring young artists from the Uni-versity of Ottawa, will take place on Sunday, April

7, 2013 at the Canada Room, RA Centre. 12:00p.m. Reception and Luncheon; 1:30 p.m. ConcertPerformance. The Master of Ceremonies will beRob Clipperton. Tickets must be purchased in ad-vance - contact Melinda at 613- 236-9442 ext.137 or Judy Burrows at 613-224-9638.

On May 14, 2013 at 6.00 p.m. a Fashion Funraiser

will be held at Shepherd’s store in the Trainyards. This isa new undertaking for the Guild, offering an opportunity toraise money for Opera Lyra and to shop at Shepherd’swhen the store is closed to other customers.

In October 2013, Murray Kitts has again agreed tohost High C and High Tea. Further information willbe available closer to the date of this event.

After this year's success Opera Lyra Ottawais back in full production and will present twofully staged operas in the coming season.

Bizet’s Carmen: September 7,9,11,14. NACSoutham Hall. Carmen will be sung byAlessandra Volpe, with David Pomeroy asDon Jose, Lara Ciekiewicz as Micaela,Arminè Kassabian as Mercedes, Ben Covey

as Dancairo and Alain Coulombe as Zuniga.Carmen will be staged by director Bernard

Uzan and conducted by Tyrone Paterson.

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly: April 19, 21,23, 26, 2014, NAC Southam Hall. Madama

Butterfly features Chinese soprano Shu-Ying

Li who was Liu in OLO's Turandot. She singsCio-Cio San and will be joined by Wallis Giunta

as Suzuki and Arminè Kassabian as KatePinkerton. Tyrone Paterson will conduct.

Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance:

October 19 & 20, Arts Court Theatre. Pirates willbe presented in an abridged version for families.


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On the day of Toronto’s worst snow storm in five years,we travelled down - thankfully, by train! - for our winter fixof Canadian Opera Company (COC) operas - Wagner’sTristan und Isolde and Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito.

As we had not seen Tristan und Isolde since alovely traditional production many years ago at theMontreal Opera - where an elderly gentleman gentlysnored in my ear through much of it! - I was really look-ing forward to this much-vaunted production, as PeterSellar’s COC directorial debut. It was the first time thisproduction had been fully recreated since its premiereat the Paris Opera in 2005. It involved a major collabo-ration with artist Bill Viola who provided a huge videobackdrop for the complete five-hour opera, with thescreen for Acts I and II horizontal, but vertical for ActIII. Some critics were ecstatic over the results, but sincemost of what was on the screen was in no way relatedto the opera being performed and certainly added noth-ing, I found it all downright annoying and distracting -especially in the first act when the video couple, betterlooking than our singers, proceeded to slowly removeall their clothing!! Talk about upstaging the singers!

This staging certainly appeared to be a cost-reducing measure since there was nothing of royalty ora court provided - there were no supernumeraries topay, the costumes were almost all ugly and black withthe men in scrubs, and there was no furniture or sceneryother than a small platform, and so also few stagehandsto pay! It also provided a fairly easy directorial eveningfor Sellars, as most of the action was stand/kneel anddeliver, with occasionally a few singers and/or horns inthe aisles or spotlighted up in the fifth ring! Fortunately,the COC Orchestra under Music Director JohannesDebus - who had to take over and learn the opera atshort notice - was in good form, and the singers of thesecondary roles were superb. Daveda Karanas, aswould be expected from her spirited Glimmerglass Op-era (GGO) Amneris last summer, made an excellentdebut as Brangane, Isolde’s companion - and actuallyhad a becoming costume! Bass-baritone Alan Held, theCOC’s great Gianni Schicchi earlier, was strong andscary as Kurwenal, Tristan’s faithful retainer. As KingMarke, German bass Franz-Josef Selig made an amaz-ing impression for his COC debut, with a great voiceand some acting! For most of the run, Tristan was sung

by Ben Heppner, returning to the COC after 17years, but we had the second cast of majors, in theiropening night. A couple near us suddenly stood upand left just before the opening curtain, the lady ex-claiming “Ben’s not singing tonight. I’m not staying!” -and she was right! As Tristan and Isolde we had COCdebutantes German tenor Michael Baba, who wassurrounded by much stronger singers, and Ameri-can soprano Margaret Jane Wray, who was not onlyhuge, but shouted and tended to shriek! All in all, itwas a long evening. The COC’s new General Di-rector, Alexander Neef, is certainly trying to bringinnovative challenging productions to the COC - pitythey don’t always work without the star performers!

After the disappointment of Tristan und

Isolde, La clemenza di Tito was an unexpected -though not entirely unalloyed - treat! ChristopherAlden is not my favourite director, I having beenstung by his earlier GGO and COC efforts, but thistime he got it right! He originally mounted thisClemenza in 2009 to rave reviews at the ChicagoOpera Theatre, and here in Toronto he had an ex-traordinary cast to work with, both as singers andactors. Alden and his American design team, An-drew Cavanagh Holland debuting on sets and TereseWadden on costumes, set the opera in an ancientRoman empire, but somehow taking place in the1960s, blending elements of both periods! The unitset was a long white marble wall - just right for paint-ing on “Sic semper tyrannis”! - slanting forwardand allowing two major entrances, but rather limit-

Overcoming the Bleak Midwinter in Toronto by Shelagh Williams

photo by Michael Cooper

King Marke


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ing the playing space. Debuting American lightingdesigner Gary Marder gave us long shadows onthis wall, literally foreshadowing singers’ entrances!The costumes were a bit problematic and even ris-ible at times, with Tito wearing purple pyjamas andcarrying a golden security blanket throughout. The

ragtag Roman rabble chorus, in cheap and cheerful1960s outfits, were rendered faceless with whitehalf masks and head kerchiefs (even the men!).Alden seemed to be aiming for a lighter tone thanone expects in an opera seria, with a bit of comicrelief to keep one’s interest, and some admittedlyover-the-top direction, but it worked for me!

Musically, the production was absolutelymarvellous. The COC Orchestra and Chorus onour night were ably led by Resident ConductorDerek Bate, although the major conductor wasIsraeli Daniel Cohen. Canadian bass RobertGleadow gave us a stalwart Publio, Captain of theGuard, by turns menacing and comical in his “au-thentic” Roman Centurion uniform. Canadian so-prano Mireille Asselin, in an airy tie-dyed dress,reprised her 2011 Opera Atelier role of Servilia,Sesto’s sister, but in a much different style! OurBLOC second prize winner, mezzo Wallis Giunta,now at the MET in their Lindemann Young ArtistDevelopment Program, was, for me, a standout asAnnio, the young Roman patrician in love withServilia. To transform herself from the beautifulmodel she is into a believable gangly young teen-aged male jogger, with lanky hair, huge glasses andchunky footwear, forever comically doing stretchesand running about, while still singing beautifully,showed real acting talent! To quote an overheard

fellow patron: “The little girl playing Annio was cute!”Vicious Vitellia, looking regal in a brown draped gown,was brought to life vividly by American soprano KeriAlkema, Giulietta in last year’s Tales of Hoffmann.She orchestrated most of the action through her plot toassassinate Tito by manipulating the male characterswith alternate bouts of vocal tirades against Sesto, andcomical flirting with Publio. However, the major femalepart is the trouser role of Sesto, the young Roman pa-trician and Tito’s friend, who is in love with Vitellia, andthis was played and sung to the hilt by American so-prano Isabel Leonard, in her COC debut. A formerballerina, she sang Miranda in the MET’s Live in HDThe Tempest earlier this season, and brought that sameintensity and style to this conflicted role, managing tolook lovely yet boyish in a short blue tunic!

We were looking forward to hearing MichaelSchade in the title role of Tito but an announcementinformed us that he would not be singing. However, he

would be replaced by young Canadian tenor OwenMcCausland. Fortunately, we had nothing to worryabout, as Owen has a splendid voice, and having sungthe role two days earlier he played the part easily, andfit into Tito’s pyjamas nicely! Once again, we did nothear the famous Canadian tenor in the major part, butthis time we had a great replacement, and in fact en-joyed having such a very young, mainly Canadian, cast,in such a delightful production. Indeed, Alexander Neefis to be commended for bringing so many Canadiansingers back home to sing at the COC!

Overcoming the Bleak Midwinter in Toronto (continued)



Publio

Tito

Vitellia Sesto


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the beginning of her career. She led me to think aboutanother beautiful redhead I had so admired. I also real-ized why I probably have a predilection for mezzos!So to the internet. First I found sites that sold originalsor copies of old publications and associated memora-bilia. For a mere $9 I am now the happy possessor ofthe very Camel cigarette ad that began all this. And ofcourse Google produced vast quantities of informationabout her. Rise Stevens, born Steenberg, was a nativeof the Bronx. She studied at Juilliard then went for fur-ther training to Vienna where she made her operaticdebut. Her long career is well documented and now,thanks to You tube, as well as her recordings we canstill enjoy her magnificent voice in excerpts from hernotable roles. This wonderful lady is still alive (maybethe cigarettes were a prop or given up after the 30 daytaste test) and although very elderly she remains a lovelyand much admired person. She was honoured by theKennedy Centre in 1990 and continues to attend thegalas there.

It would take a full volume to record the career

Many Paths to the Opera by Vera-Lee Nelson

As a little girl of about 9, growing up in a small cityin Southwestern Ontario, life was pleasant and rela-tively uneventful. In retrospect it always seemed tobe summer. Our proximity to a major Americancity brought lots of opportunities to attend majorsports events, plays and “in person” appearancesof stars from show business. This did not includeconcerts or classical music of any kind. My homewas simply not musical in any way. What we didhave was a plethora of reading material, books,journals, periodicals, magazines and newspapers.(I remain a news junkie to this day). My life wasunblighted except for one thing, my red hair! HowI hated the teasing that went with it. Even grownupswho admired my shining auburn tresses could notresist the occasional “Hello, how’s carrot top to-day?” The freckles that went along with thatcolouring did not bother me nearly as much as theunfair teasing. I wore a lot of brown and green, toset off my hair said my Mom, who obviously hadslighter different ideas of beauty than mine. Week-ends were the best times as the papers rolled in tothe house and I could esconce myself in a cornerof the living room and read and read and read.

Then one day my perspective changed forgood. I picked up the Saturday Evening Post andturned it over. There on the back cover was themost beautiful and glamorous person I could everimagine . She was clothed in the dreaded green butit was emerald green velvet that set off her clearskin, her poise and her beautiful red hair. She wasan opera singer and I knew I needed to know moreabout her, and also about opera. Rise Stevens, youhave changed my life in many ways. Not least wasgiving me the confidence to believe one could beglamourous even with red hair but most importantlyyou opened a door to the world of opera .

The picture of this beautiful redhead re-mained in my memory for the rest of my life. Thentwo quite disparate things happened; first, alongcame the internet. Then many years later, quite re-cently in fact, another glam redhaired mezzo so-prano burst upon the scene. Ottawa’s own WallisGiunta, a finalist in the Brian Law competition, is at


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and accomplishments of this beautiful lady and the editorwill not allow for that so I will share some highlights ofher long life that I found especially interesting.

She was married only once, to Walter Surovyfrom 1939 until his death in 2001. He was an Aus-trian stage and screen actor who fled the Nazis toNew York and thereafter managed her career andpublicity.

She has one child, actor Nicolas Surovy, whohas had a career on stage and in television. He had amajor role in the long running soap All My Children.

In the early sixties the Met season was to belost due to a labour dispute. Ms Stevens made a per-sonal appeal to President Kennedy to intervene, whichhe did. The season was saved.

She was a talented actress and had severalmovie roles beginning with The Chocolate Soldier,costarring with Nelson Eddy.

After a few movie roles, for which she waspaid much more than as a singer, she returned to op-era, her first love.

For 2 decades she was the Met's leadingmezzo with salaries and recognition equal to the starsopranos and tenors. She created a recognized placefor mezzo sopranos.

Starring in Carmen for 30 years at the Met,she made it her role and in fact it was her last perfor-mance. Initially they had been reluctant to give herthis role but she sang La Habanera in the movie Go-

ing My Way to great acclaim and after that there wasno alternative.

She was a very versatile performer and touredextensively giving concerts all over the United States.She also appeared in stage productions, notably asAnna in The King and I . There are many commentsand articles about her and I noted that I was not theonly one she had turned on to opera!

After her 1961 retirement from the Met stage,she took an active part in managing the Met's newNational Company and when it ceased to functionbecause of financing, she continued to play a role inthe development of young singers.

And last but not least: a great lady Rise Stevenswill celebrate her 100th birthday on June 11, 2013!!

A Delightful Rarityby Shelagh Williams

While we were in Toronto for the Cana-dian Opera Company (COC), we also enjoyedFriedrich von Flotow’s rarely encountered Martha

at an Opera Tea performance by the University ofToronto (UofT)’s Music Faculty. This is a tunefulconfection with a plot worthy of Gilbert andSullivan, beginning with mistaken identities as LadyHarriet and confidante Nancy, for a lark, hire them-selves out as servants to the rich young farmer,Plunkett, and his foster brother Lionel, with the usualromantic results! After many twists and turns of plot,it culminates in Lionel being discovered to be notmerely a farmer, but the long-lost titled heir to afortune, and so he has the status to marry LadyHarriet, as true love conquers all! This performancewas devised by director Michael Patrick Albanoand Canadian baritone Russell Braun. Braun firstplayed the overture fourhanded with pianist SandraHorst, the COC’s Chorus Master, then took cen-tre stage to narrate as well as to conduct the piece!

The performance was fully staged and cos-tumed, with even two spinning wheels for the ActII Was soll ich dazu sagen? (Spinning-Wheel

Quartet), and a red rose for each time the well-known Die Letzte Rose (The Last Rose of Sum-

mer) was sung! The chorus was well-schooled andthe five principals excellent, all pursuing theirMaster’s degrees. Bass Dylan Wright successfullyplayed Sir Tristan, Lady Harriet’s foppish cousin,for laughs, and mezzo Melissa Peiou was a livelyand flirtatious Nancy. Baritone Joshua Whelan, whowas her entertaining foil as Plunkett and sang a greatdrinking song, will be joining Montreal Opera’sAtelier Lyrique in the fall. As Lionel, Andrew Hajihad a lovely tenor voice, especially for his aria Ach,

so fromm (How So Fair), and as the second prizewinner of the COC’s Ensemble Studio Competi-tion, will join it this fall. Last, but by not least, so-prano Caitlin Wood as Lady Harriet/Martha hadthe high flexible soprano for her lovely Die Letzte

Rose which so entranced Lionel, and us!This was a very enjoyable performance,

and a welcome chance to hear this now rarely per-formed musical comedy of an opera.

Many Paths to the Opera (cont.)


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I attend many opera performances. It amuses me thatevery so often I realize that I have not seen one operaor another for many years. Then, all of a sudden, ev-eryone puts on the same opera….

We recently saw die Fledermaus, in German,at the COC in Toronto. I was delighted. I had not seenFledermaus since Opera Lyra had put it on many yearsago. (It was not a box office success, though therecitative was provided in English and only the majorarias were sung in German with local politicians andOttawa references added for comic relief). Back toToronto, it seemed as if I was the only one who thor-oughly enjoyed the COC production until a lady, oneseat over, suddenly started to laugh out loud in all theright places. At intermission I asked her if she spokeGerman. She laughed even harder and admitted to lov-ing the production, because she had sung Orlofsky someyears ago in Vancouver. Language and the ability of theaudience to very quickly get on top of the surtitles inthis fast-fire operetta, are clearly a recipe for success.

Wouldn’t you know it, the following monthOpéra de Montréal put on la chauve-souris in French,no German arias allowed. The moment Timothy Vernonraised his baton, I knew that Timothy, a friend whoalways addresses me in German because he spent manya year in Vienna, would be the perfect maestro for theevening’s entertainment. His overture was truly sub-lime. However, despite his skills, the farcical and en-joyable operetta was not a success in my opinion. Therhythm and rhyme simply did not work in French. Whentalking to Timothy afterwards backstage, he admittedthat even the Francophone cast found it hard to per-form this one in French rather than the way most of therest of the world performs Fledermaus…

All good things come in three’s as the Germanswould say; exactly one week later we sawFlaggermusen at the beautiful Oslo Opera performedin Norsk. There was an English translation on a littleflap, which we were unable to dislodge from the bal-cony wall to our left until Act III, the most crucial part,since every opera house performs this to suit their localsense of humour.

All three productions, apart from languageproblems, were possibly “over the top” artistically

speaking. It used to be that Orlofsky was often abit “off his rocker”, but in all three recent versionsthe whole party scene (Act II) was a most crossdressed affair, to the point where it was no longerfunny. In the COC production Johannes Debuswas superb at the baton, as I had expected. I verymuch liked Michael Schade, singing Eisenstein forthe first time, after having been cast as the Italiantenor a hundred times in Austria and Germany.He cleverly added some Austrian dialect to hisperformance which amused me no end. Also mostpleasing were James Westman and a funny DavidPomeroy as the Italian tenor. In Montréal the out-standing one was Maestro Vernon and a“minimalistic” Emma Parkinson as Orlofsky. Osloprovided the most colourful evening, but absolutelywhacky performances, with no one really stand-ing out. I know the work by heart, therefore theperformance language did not prevent my under-standing, but nothing clicked in Norway. Act I andAct III were mostly awful with Act II being simplyover the top. I had fun though matching cross-dressed people to make up matching pairs; but atthe same time images of not so pleasant sketchesby Otto Dix swirled around my head. All in all,Oslo opera provided a satisfactory balance sincewe also saw a most successful “Don Pasquale”.All singers were of Scandinavian background, butsang in virtually perfect Italian in a sublimely en-joyable production.

The Vixen at the equally beautifulCopenhagen opera house compensated for allthose strange “bats”. I had never seen Janácek’sden fiffige lille raev or the cunning little Vixen

before. When we entered the glass encased foyer,we found ourselves surrounded by large numbersof happy children, who had clearly not been forcedinto an afternoon performance at the opera. Myguess is that at least 50% of the audience was ofschool age that day. How do they do it? I assumeit could be attributed to the Sunday afternoon for-mula/time frame. The production was sung inDansk only, no subtitles. Fortunately I had donemy homework and was able to follow, but the chil-

Three Bats and a Vixen by Ute Davis


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dren had more fun. It was beautifully staged, mostlywhite, brightly lit with colourful accessories to thewhite costumes to identify the various charactersand animals; a little feather here, a colourful tailthere. It all looked like precisely cut-out shapes,forming a beautiful cardboard origami fest. The sing-ing was excellent and I imagined IsabelBayrakdarian in the role of the vixen, which shehas performed in Japan. In contrast to the morefrequently performed Fledermaus, Vixen is a rar-ity and thus there is not the same pressure on theproducer to be ‘different at all costs’. As a result,simplicity won out and the inherent visual and mu-sical charm of the work was preserved.

Both the Oslo opera house as well as theCopenhagen one are simply beautiful and are verymuch worth visiting. You could start by googlingboth as well as the beautiful sculpture in the waternext to the Oslo Operaen (the opera house). It isone of eight projects carried out by seventeen art-ists. The clearest example is one ‘liberated fromthe architecture’. This sculpture, by Italian MonicaBonvicini, who teaches and lives in Germany, iscalled “She Lies” and is a three-dimensional, semi-transparent interpretation of Caspar DavidFriedrich’s painting “das Eismeer” (the ice sea).Should you visit Oslo in the summer you will beable to climb all the way up to the roof of the stun-ning building. To the side of the front entrancestands a lonely bronze figure of Kirsten Flagstadwho was the leading Wagnerian soprano of the dayand the director of the Norwegian Opera 1959-1960.

To my surprise I found four Vixen DVDsin my collection:

1. 1996 BBC Animated Film2. 2004 Walter Felsenstein Archives; remastered, Berlin3. 2008 Opera Bastille, Paris4. 2009 Chatelet, Paris

Three Bats and aVixen (continued)

For those of you in whom the music to Mussorgsky’sBoris Godunov conjures up gilded onion domes, richpomp and glory, ceremonial gowns encrusted with pre-cious stones, and the eternal majesty of tyrannous dic-tatorship, the new production in Munich’sNationaltheater will provide some uncomfortable sur-prises.

The subtle, underlying message, the portrait ofan reluctant tsar whose responsibilities sit heavily onhis all-too-human shoulders and who is overwhelmedwith the impossible expectations made of him, is pre-sented here in tabloid headlines, just in case we didnot get the message that power corrupts. The op-pressed, overawed and hopeless population paradeobediently, holding high their banners, banners display-ing the likenesses of such present-day heads of stateas Putin, Sarkozy and even David Cameron. The som-bre, depressing and sometimes violent scenes are fa-miliar to us from television reports of riot squad police,of city low-life, and of amoral politicians in expensivegrey suits. A puzzling and unconvincing irritation wasthe role of Boris Godunov’s son, Feodor, sung as al-ways by mezzo-soprano but here also actually playedas a school-girl in uniform, a thankless task for YuliaSokolik, to say the least. The German supertitles, fur-thermore, highlighted the discrepancies between thescore and the present-day interpretation, particularlywith respect to the monastic roles of Pimen andWarlaam.

The version produced this time in Munich isthe original, shorter form, so the lack of an intervalallows the opera to pack a punch and maintain interestand tension right to the last minute. The choir and thestrong complement of soloists demonstrated completemastery of the timbre and texture of the Russian lan-guage and, despite the modern-day production, KentNagano’s interpretation did perfect justice toMussorgsky’s beautiful and powerful score by creat-ing a musical depiction of Russia’s rich and unique his-tory. The strong complement of soloists, with specialmention to Alexander Tsymbalyuk as Boris Godunov,received the acclamation they deserved.

by Catherine Lodge

Munich's Modern Boris


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We were fortunate enough to see a performance ofVerdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera live at the MetropolitanOpera in New York City before watching an encore pre-sentation of the same opera, “Live” in HD at the cin-ema. Although the production was the same, the experi-ences were markedly different.

The most notable difference between the two ex-periences was that we were privileged in New York to at-tend the debut performance in a major Verdi role of so-prano Amber Wagner, who sang the role of Amelia. Ms.Wagner was a Metropolitan Opera National Council Audi-tions winner in 2007 and was featured in the film The Audi-

tion which chronicles the experiences of the finalists. Herdebut performance brought a freshness and youthful vul-nerability to Amelia. The role was sung in the HD broad-cast by Sondra Radvanovsky, whose portrayal by contrastgave Amelia an aura of sophistication and maturity.

The overall vantage point of the audience is al-tered by the HD camera work and although the cinemaviewer has the advantage of seeing close-ups of the act-ing, from the auditorium it is possible to view the wholeof the Met stage and the set in all its grandeur. So thevisual spectacle is enhanced in a live performance,whereas the drama is heightened by the HD broadcast.Movement is important in the staging of this productionand the chorus plays a major and highly choreographedrole, the scope of which is far better appreciated fromthe auditorium. In the first act the chorus and supernu-meraries appear as grey-clad functionaries, heel-click-ing soldiers and white-gloved servants. The lighting cre-ates large shadows on the grey wallpaper. Chorus mem-bers appear as functionaries seated at metal desks inrows, performing repeated, mundane tasks with largegestures and exaggerated movements. In another scene,they appear as waiters, high-kicking in Broadway style,while carrying trays of glasses. King Gustavo’s entou-rage accompanies him disguised in sou’westers andwellington boots, carrying umbrellas and swaying as ifon deck on a stormy sea. In the ballroom scene the danc-ers move with a stylized grace and even the soloists’movements are choreographed. The set makes good useof the vastness of the Met’s space. The ever-presentpainted ceiling depicts Icarus falling to earth, but to me italso suggests a fallen angel. It is the king’s favourite, hisbest friend and right-hand man who falls from grace, con-sumed by jealousy. This impression is enhanced by the

black-winged figures in death’s head masks whosurround the conspirators in the murder scene. Inthe first scene of the third act the set contracts intoa small room in harsh black and white. The dramacloses in, in this claustrophobic space inside the hugestage and the audience witnesses an intimate scenebetween husband and wife. This contrasts with theexpansive public space of the ballroom in the final scene.We first see the mirrored walls of the ballroom in dark-ness when Gustavo is alone, seeking an honourablesolution to his situation. Light and shadow provides con-trast throughout the opera.

The close-up camera shots of the HD broad-cast render the acting more important (and more chal-lenging) than ever before in the history of live operaperformance. The singers are required to act with morethan their voices when the camera is close enough topick up a falling tear or a threatening glance. In Un

Ballo in Maschera there are scenes of darkness andlight. Intense political drama is juxtaposed with joyfulhumour. In the first act the interchanges between KingGustavo (Marcelo Àlvarez, tenor) and his page, Oscar(Kathleen Kim, soprano) are delightfully playful.Stephanie Blythe portrays a deliciously menacing Ma-dame Arvidsson, the fortuneteller visited by Gustavo inthe first act. She rummages mysteriously in her hand-bag in a way that is not easily seen from the audito-rium, but adds to the atmosphere of intrigue which isenhanced by the camera.

Of course the sound is experienced differ-ently in the movie theatre. The magnificent sound ofthe Met orchestra, conducted by Fabio Luisi, can beaffected by distortion at loud volume through thespeakers and nothing can compare to the clarity ex-perienced in the auditorium where it is possible toattend to specific instruments or sections of the or-chestra.

The ultimate moment of our experience atthe Met was meeting Amber Wagner and her fam-ily in the Italian restaurant across the street from theopera house after the performance. Our coats weremistakenly delivered to the only other table left inthe restaurant. When we went to retrieve them wewere able to congratulate the entire party, still buzz-ing with the excitement of the occasion. Such mo-ments cannot be replicated in HD!

Live At the Met and Live From the Met - the Same, But

Different by Lesley Robinson


11

This concert on 10 Feb was thoroughly enjoyed bya large audience almost filling Dominion ChalmersChurch and giving the Ottawa Choral Society, mu-sicians and soloists a standing ovation at the close.Major credit for the excellent performance is dueto artistic director and principal conductor Jordande Souza, strongly supported by chorus masterKevin Reeves. De Souza has brought an ambitiousapproach and dynamic intensity to the Ottawa Cho-ral Society, one which left this audience crying for

more. The program consisted of works from therepertoires of Verdi (born 200 years ago), Wagner(200), Bizet (175), Britten (100) and Bernstein (95)- thus pleasing a wide range of operatic tastes andcultural origins.

The imaginative concept of using the organand the talents of Jonathan Oldengarm, together withthe percussion ensemble “Architek” proved to be aremarkably successful strategy. The resultant rich-ness of sound was matched by the well-rehearsedchoral group and these alone were worth the priceof admission!

In addition, arias were sung by four high-cali-bre soloists. Jacqueline Woodley’s soaring, clear so-prano tones reinforced the excellent impression madeon the Ottawa audience when she stepped in to sing inthe NAC Messiah production in December 2012. Heropening aria caro nome, was especially effective, no

surprise to me since I had the advantage of having muchenjoyed her voice in the operatic repertoire during her termin the COC Young Artists’ Ensemble.

Emma Parkinson has a warm mezzo voice anddelivered arias from Carmen better than I have heard inlive performance for some years. She had been very strongas Prince Orlofsky in the recent Opéra de Montréal die

Fledermaus. Tenor Isaiah Bell hails from Western Canadaand is new to me. However, my initial impression is of astrong and supple voice with a pleasing maturity. He com-bined beautifully with Woodley in the Bernstein section ofthe program.

Baritone Geoffrey Sirett trained at U.W.O. andthe U of T. He seems to have a very pleasing timbrewith a strong lower register, but I did find him some-what awkward in his stage presence. His O du mein

holder Abendstern lacked conviction for me, but thenI have been spoiled by having heard Philippe Sly’s su-perb rendition of this piece on several occasions. Bythe way, both the ladies and Jordan de Souza are re-cent products of the Schulich School of Music at McGill.

This was de Souza’s third offering as the new choralexpert in town. His first appearance included a delightfullyrelaxed musical conversation with the soloist of the night,Philippe Sly. This concept of talking at length with the singerwho is about to perform the piece was both informativeand entertaining and led to increased enjoyment and un-derstanding of the presentation.

His second offering was Bach’s Christmas Ora-

torio which I had not previously heard in Ottawa. TenorJames McLean, countertenor Daniel Cabena, who wasthe winner of this year’s Virginia Parker Prize, sopranoShannon Mercer and bass-baritone Philippe Sly each re-ceived a complimentary review from Richard Todd. Thediction of McLean drew particular praise, no surprise tome as I had first met him while he was living in Germanyduring the nineteen eighties and specializing in Mozart. Hehad spent many years there and was fluent in spoken andsung German. On a typical rain swept Ruhr Valley eveningwe drove him from the Aalto opera house in Essen to therailway station after we had enjoyed his performance. Idid not see him again for another 20 years until he sang“Ping” in Opera Lyra’s Turandot. To my surprise, he im-mediately remembered me.

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera by Ute Davis

Jordan de Souza


12

Events you should enjoy! by David Williams

Carleton University Baroque Opera Ensemble willpresent a concert version of Lully's Armide, Sunday,April 7, 2013, 7:30 p.m, Kailash Mital Theatre.www2.carleton.ca/music/events/

Les Jeunesses Musicales will present Cosi fan tutte,April 18, 2013, 8:00 p.m., Shenkman Arts Centre.Arminè Kassabian will sing Dorabella and Jana Millerwill sing Despina.

Pellegrini Opera will present The Barber of Seville,April 19&20, 2013 at Dominion-Chalmers Church.www.pellegriniopera.org

The Savoy Society of Ottawa will present Gilbert andSullivan’s HMS Pinafore. April 11-13 & 18-20, AlgonquinCollege Commons Theatre. www.ottawasavoysociety.org

University of Ottawa: Students present recitals duringApril, May and June. www.music.uottawa.ca

The Kiwanis Music Festival takes place from April 8thto 27th, 2013. Check their web site for information on thesenior and open voice schedules.

St. Luke’s Recital Series will present Handel's arias andmusic with Norman Brown and Frédéric Lacroix. May 5,2013 at 7:30 p.m. 760 Somerset W. www.stlukesottawa.ca/

The Ottawa Choral Society will present The Muse of

Song featuring Nathalie Paulin and Jordan de Souza.May 31, 2013, 7:30 p.m. St. Andrews Church.www.ottawachoralsociety.com

Seventeen Voyces and the Ottawa Baroque Con-

sort will present the world premiere of Andrew Ager'sopera Casanova. Saturday June 8, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. St.Matthew's Church. www.seventeenvoyces.ca

Orpheus Musical Theatre will feature Carousel. May31 - June 9, at the Centrepointe Theatre.www.centrepointetheatre.com

Ottawa Classical Choir will present Verdi’s GreatestArias and Choruses with Maria Knapik, BesteKalender, Steeve Michaud and Jeffrey Carl. May 4,7:30 p.m. Dominion-Chalmers United Church.www.ottawaclassicalchoir.com

Ottawa University is hiring a new voice professorand three candidates have given recitals andmasterclasses. It will be interesting to see who getsthe position!

The first recital was given by sopranoCarolyn Hart. She presented a well-balancedchronological art song programme, ending withthree very nicely introduced Canadian songs, andbook ending the whole with operatic arias!

The second candidate, sopranoChristiane Riel, was on our BLOC 2007 jury.She started with two long operatic arias, then con-tinued with art songs, introducing all beautifully andfluently in both English and French.

The third candidate, tenor John Tessier,has sung locally with OLO and Glimmerglass Op-era, and in many other venues. He gave a multi-lingual art song programme, in chronological or-der, then wowed us with two Donizetti arias: Una

furtiva lagrima from L’elisir d’amore and Ah,

mes amis from La Fille du regiment!

U of Ottawa Voice Professor by Shelagh Williams

Events you should enjoy!(cont.)

The Ottawa Bach Choir with baroque orchestraand soloists will present Baroque Magnificence:Bach’s early cantata, Himmelskönig, sei

willkommen, BWV 182, Handel’s early choralmasterpiece, Dixit Dominus, and Charpentier’sExaudiat Pour le Roy. Saturday, May 4, 8:00 p.mSt. Matthew’s Anglican Church.www.ottawabachchoir.ca/en/home

The Summer Opera Lyric Theatre’s operaworkshop, June 9th to August 4th 2013, will cul-minate in a series of public performances at theRobert Gill Theatre, University of Toronto. The op-eras to be presented are Händel’s Alcina; Rossini’sSemiramide and Puccini’s La Bohème.www.solt.ca


13

Having won approval from our erudite editor towrite a DVD column I was pleased to arrive at anexcellent opportunity to do so. The March editionof Opera News refers to two DVDs that are avail-able at the Ottawa Public Library.

The first is Cavalli’s Ercole Amante whichhas such a startling cover showing Luca Pisaroni ina costume so extraordinary that it caused the clerkat the library to remark on it. Cavalli’s opera is 261minutes long, starts out as a typical Baroque operabut has some bizarre incidents, one with an enor-mous baby. After all, to kill an attacking snake, ababy has to be big. However, there is much excel-lent music. Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) wroteforty-one operas, some of which have been re-cently issued on DVD with startling covers. IlGiasone shows a semi-naked Jason being caressedby two pairs of hands from under the sheets andLa Didone (Dido) sports a huge dead stag promi-nently on the cover.

The other DVD available from OPL isIldebrando Pizzetti’s Assassinio nel Cattedrale,an Italian language adaptation of T.S. Eliot’s Mur-

der in the Cathedral. Filmed in 2006 in Bari’sBasilica di San Nicola and featuring a great perfor-mance by Ruggiero Raimondi this is a 20th centuryopera that anyone would enjoy. The choral workis outstanding. There is a complete article in OperaNews on the forthcoming new production of thisopera in San Diego.

Hans Werner Henze, who died just lastyear, is represented at the OPL by Der Junge Lord,another 20th century opera which traditionalistsmight enjoy. This satire attacking the values of thepeople of a small German town is excellently pre-sented by the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

WARNING - Avoid buying Rossini’sMose in Egitto, a preposterous, insane staging ofa fine opera from Opus Arte and Verdi’s Alzira inthe Tutto Verdi edition, unstaged and with an Alzirawhose singing ability could be characterized asamateurish.

Opera DVD Talk by Murray Kitts

Arminè Kassabian, Orléans resident and De La SalleHigh School graduate, says her voice is “made foropera”. That’s likely why she starred in Opera Lyra’sversion of Cinderella. “It’s a different interpretation,but it’s very similar,” explains Kassabian, who per-formed at the Arts Court, in downtown Ottawa, forselect student audiences. “It’s a lot of fun; there aremagic tricks and lots of entertainment. The kids arelaughing a lot. They just love it.” Opera Lyra put onthe Rossini version adapted to be performed in En-glish and after three performances at the National ArtsCentre (NAC), the show was performed in schoolsacross the city and at the Arts Court, downtown. “Ilove my hometown crowd,” said Kassabian. “It’s en-couraging and they’re so supportive. I love startingmy career in Ottawa, it seems so fitting”.

Kassabian got her start in the world of musicby taking piano lessons at a young age. She eventuallydeveloped a love of singing. “Mostly Celine Dionsongs,” she laughs. It wasn’t until she enrolled at DeLa Salle that she was introduced to classical musicand her love of opera was born. “Opera is one of thehealthiest ways to sing, and my voice was well suitedfor it.” The mezzo soprano then took her talents toMcGill University, where, after eight years of school-ing, she came away with a Bachelors, Masters andArtist Diploma. It was then that she decided to returnto her hometown, and thankfully. landed a spot as astudio artist at Opera Lyra. “Obviously luck is part ofit, contacts too, but really you need to work hard. Youalways start a struggling artist, but you have to keepgoing.”

After being the winner of the Brian Law Op-era Competition and finishing second in the New Jer-sey Verismo Opera Association Competition, the 28-year-old has no sign of slowing down with a wholehost of performances penciled into her 2013 sched-ule. “There are a lot of opportunities; you just have toseize them.”

Arminè Kassabian rises to thetop of the Ottawa Opera scene

by Catherine Kitts

Editor's note: This is a slightly edited version of the article

which originally appeared in the Orléans Star in 2012.


14

Near the end of February, I was saddened to seethe news on the front pages of the local newspapers thatWolfgang Sawallisch had died. I lived in Munich from1970 to 1977 and he was the Generalmusikdirektor(GMD) of the Bavarian State Opera. While I was here,those seemed like good-and stable-times. I returned toCanada at the beginning of September, 1977. I now readin a Wikipedia article that trouble was already brewingabout that time. A new Intendant (general manager, di-rector), August Everding, was appointed for the StateOpera. An Intendant isn’t a musician, but he’s the boss.It wasn’t long before there was friction between Everdingand Sawallisch. In 1982, the Bavarian Ministry of Cul-ture promoted Everding to Generalintendant of Bavar-ian State Theatres and Sawallisch to State Opera Direc-tor, thus putting Sawallisch in charge of the State Opera.Although I wasn’t here during that time,I have to conclude that it worked, be-cause Sawallisch stayed at the StateOpera until 1993.

This takes us to the departure ofKent Nagano at the end of this season.In 2006, Nagano took up his position notonly as GMD, but also as Artistic Direc-tor of the opera, since the opera was “be-tween Intendanten.” It was the intentionof Hans Zehetmair, the Minister of Cul-ture at the time the contracts were signed,that Nagano would be GMD and workwith a new Intendant, Christoph Albrecht,formerly Intendant at the Dresden StateOpera. However, about the time ofNagano’s arrival, the new Minister of Cul-ture, Thomas Goppel, cancelledAlbrecht’s contract in favour of NikolausBachler, the former Intendant of the Burgtheater (and be-fore that, the Volksoper) in Vienna.

Since Bachler wasn’t available until 2008, Nagano raneverything himself for his first two years. However, in 2008,Bachler arrived. He promptly declared that the artistic di-rection of the GMD didn’t interest him. His interests aredescribed as Italian opera, with its high drama and opportu-nities for gala opening nights and star casts. By contrast,the Italian repertoire is not Nagano’s specialty. He prefersinstead the avant-garde and ‘leaner,’ insightful interpreta-tions of the Austrian-German Romantic.

In 2011, Nagano issued a statement that he wouldnot be extending his contract when it expired at the end

of the 2012 - 2013 season. The official version isthat he did this voluntarily. The unofficial version, asprinted at the time by the leading local newspaper,the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), is that the Ministerof Culture, Wolfgang Heubisch, first told him thathis contract would not be renewed when it expiredin 2013 and then strongly suggested that he issue astatement saying that he would not be available foran extension of his contract. Bachler wanted some-one else as GMD.

After the departure of Christian Thielemann aschief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic and thefiring of the Intendant of the Gärtnerplatz Theatre,the failure to renew Nagano’s contract marked thethird upheaval within a year in the Munich culturalscene.

What will Nagano’s legacybe?

For his first two years, un-til Bachler’s arrival, Naganowas in charge. All reports indi-cate that he was very success-ful. His programming and hisproductions were very well re-ceived by the public. He alsoappears to be very popular withthe members of the State Or-chestra, the formal name of theorchestra in the pit.

As it became clear thatNagano’s contract wouldn’t beextended, the SZ wrote:“Heubisch can hardly criticizeNagano from an artistic stand-point. In four years, Nagano has

conducted his way into the hearts of the public and theorchestra. His music-making has brought previouslyunimagined lightness into the opera house, and a hith-erto unknown collegial partnership: glamour - free andwith total emphasis on content. That brought the or-chestra a significant step forward and garnered it invi-tations from around the world-not a common thing foran opera orchestra.

“In the past four years, Nagano has concen-trated very heavily on Munich. With amazing pas-sion, he placed the tradition of the orchestra at thecentre of his vision of the sound. By doing so, hedidn’t just serve the tradition; he developed it fur-

The Intendant Problem by Jim Burgess and Helga Jaudes

Bachler

Photo by Marcus Jans


15

ther, purified it and revitalized it.“His understanding of tradition has little to do

with the conservative understanding of the term.Some people held that against him, dismissing himas ‘boring’ because he never swamped his public ingreat waves of sound or with an ‘avowal of the soul.’But that is no loss; rather, it’s a sign of a completelydifferent aesthetic that found and still finds many ad-mirers in Munich.”

This past September, after doing its annual pollof 50 international music critics, the German maga-zine Opernwelt declared the State Orchestra to bethe best opera orchestra in the country.

Mozart, Wagner and Strauss are considered thehouse gods of the State Opera. Nagano continued thattradition, while also offering many other works. Hisbiography on the State Operawebsite says he conducted the worldpremière of Rihm’s Das Gehege,new productions of Salome, Billy

Budd, Chowanschtschina, Eugene

Onegin, Idomeneo, Ariadne auf

Naxos, Wozzeck, Lohengrin,Trouble in Tahiti, Don Giovanni,Dialogues des Carmélites, Die

schweigsame Frau, Saint François

d’Assise, and the world premièresof Unsuk Chins’ Alice in Wonder-

land and Minas Borboudakis’s liebe

nur liebe. In the 2011/12 season, heconducted new productions of Der

Ring des Nibelungen, MauriceRavel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges,Alexander Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg

and Alban Berg’s Wozzeck.

Apart from his work on the podium, during histenure several new projects have been started to en-sure the future of the State Opera, namely the Op-era Studio and ATTACCA.

Nagano started the new Opera Studio upon hisarrival in 2006 to develop highly talented young peopleand give them practical training to prepare them forcareers as opera singers. The training lasts from oneto three seasons and consists of role studies, vocalinstruction, acting and movement training, and lan-guage instruction. The young singers take on smallerparts in the productions of the State Opera and par-ticipate in numerous concerts and lieder evenings.

Workshops, visits to rehearsals, and discussions with sing-ers, conductors and employees from different areas ofthe State Opera round out the training.

The second project is ATTACCA. On its website,the State Opera writes, “In February of 2007, the Musi-cal Academy of the Bavarian State Orchestra and theBavarian State Opera founded the youth orchestraATTACCA under the patronage of GMD Kent Naganoin cooperation with the State Ministry of Education andCulture.” ATTACCA is led by Allan Bergius, the assis-tant principal cello in the orchestra and also a trainedconductor. This past summer, I was present at a free,open air concert in a courtyard behind the State Opera.The concert opened with several pieces by ATTACCA,conducted by Bergius. That was followed by severalworks played by the State Orchestra under Nagano. The

concert concluded with severalworks played by the combined or-chestras conducted by Nagano. For-mally, Nagano is just the patron ofATTACCA. But is it really just co-incidence that this new organizationcame into being just a few months af-ter Nagano’s arrival?

Nagano leaves Munich verypopular with audiences and orches-tra. And Munich’s loss is Hamburg’sgain: In 2015 he becomes GMD ofthe Hamburg State Opera - just in timefor the opening (if all goes well!) ofHamburg’s new concert hall, theElbphilharmonie.

Meanwhile in Munich, the nextcrisis has already happened: EditaGruberova recently announced that

she will be leaving the State Opera when her contractexpires on 27 July 2014. Although she is now 65, reportsare that she is still singing beautifully and is certainlyenormously popular with the public. As one person putit, “Whatever character she portrays on stage, it is al-ways moving, sometimes to tears.” However, she hasnoticed that the number of her performances is beingconstantly reduced and she isn’t being offered any newroles. She has therefore reluctantly come to the conclu-sion that the “the State Opera is no longer interested in acollaboration.” One telling comment was, “How wouldit be if the Intendant left, and not Gruberova?”

The Intendant Problem (continued)

Nagano

Photo by Benjamin Ealovega


16

Ottawa U Opera Company (OUOC)’s Cosi fan

tutte: Once again Prof. Sandra Graham, asOUOC’s Music and Stage Director, excelled in pre-senting an amusing and musically superior operapresentation, this year of Mozart’s comedy Cosi

fan tutte. Her use of English recitatives meant thatthe story was intelligible, and her lively and wittydirection of the singers kept the story moving enter-tainingly. It helped that she had two choice sets ofprincipal singers to work with, the men refreshinglystrong and not overpowered by the women’s voices.Her concept and staging were innovative - she setthe opera in the States in the ‘50’s, at the time of theKorean War, under the shadow of the Draft, withappropriate dance and costume styles - and Despinaas an Elvis impersonator to perform the mock mar-riage! An indication of the singers’ dedication wasJoel Allison’s sacrifice of his long full curly head ofhair for a short military style haircut for his role -we hardly recognized him! The Ottawa U Cham-ber Orchestra under Prof. Rennie Regehr was bothlarge and very good, and provided firm support forthe cast and chorus. It was altogether a class pro-duction, with the exemplary lighting including strobeeffects, and even production photos in theprogramme. I am pleased to report that both timeswe attended the house was full and the audiencejustifiably enthusiastic!

National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO):

Mozart Requiem: It is always a treat when theNACO presents a choral work highlighting our ex-cellent Ottawa choruses and four topflight operasingers, and the Mozart Requiem was no excep-tion. The soloists were soprano Arianna Zukerman,and Canadians BLOC finalist mezzo-soprano WallisGiunta, gorgeous in green, tenor Lawrence Wiliford,and bass Robert Pomakov. Incidentally, theNACO’s first performance of the Mozart Requiem,in 1975, was led by Brian Law!

Chris Oliveira and St. David’s Day: The Ot-tawa Welsh Society’s annual St. David’s Day Lun-

cheon always features entertainment with a singer, andthis year we heard young Ottawa tenor Chris Oliveira.The McGill grad interspersed two Wales-related songs- St. David’s Day and Myfanwy - between three greatarias: Una furtiva lagrima, the Flower Song fromCarmen, and Nessun dorma! It was a lovely previewof his voice for his Count Almaviva in the upcomingOpera Pellegrini production of Barber of Seville.

Beste Kalender: The Turkish Embassy sponsored adelightful concert with pianist Jean Desmarais playing aMozart concerto and then collaborating with Turkishmezzo Beste Kalender. She has a lovely voice andstarted off with two French art songs by ReynaldoHahn. She then launched into operatic repertoire witharias from two pants roles as Sesto, first in Handel’sGiulio Cesare, and then in Mozart’s Clemenza di Tito,with an excellent rendition of the well known Parto,

parto. Many may have heard her in the recent PellegriniOpera Carmen, and finally, from this, she favoured uswith a spirited Habanera! She will be singing with theOttawa Classical Choir in Giuseppe’s Greatest Hits

in May.

The Medium and A Hand of Bridge: The OUOChad a second offering this season of two fully staged20th century one act operas, well directed by gradu-ate student Zachary Windus. Four singers entertain-ingly brought to life Samuel Barber’s A Hand of

Bridge, a light musical confection concerning twocouples ruminating about their own concerns - certainlynot about bridge! The meatier half of the playbill wasGian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium, a spooky ghoststory about a seance which became too real for themedium! Gabriel Roberge was the embodiment of theyoung mute gypsy Toby, with a real talent for juggling!The medium’s daughter Monica was sung by MarjorieVilleneuve, who managed the very high tessitura withease. The star was the medium herself, dramaticallysung and acted by Erika Churchill. The cast broughtout all the scary elements of the story for the enjoymentof the large and appreciative audience.

Events You Could Have Enjoyed by Shelagh Williams


17

Eugene Onegin: Tchaikovsky, October 5, 12:55 p.m.Conductor: Valery Gergiev, Production: DeborahWarner, Set Designer: Tom Pye, Costume Designer:Chloe Obolensky, Lighting Designer: Jean Kalman,Choreographer: Kim Brandstrup. Cast: MariuszKwiecien (Eugene Onegin), Anna Netrebko (Tatiana),Oksana Volkova (Olga), Piotr Beczala (Lenski),Alexei Tanovitsky (Gremin)

The Nose: Shostakovich, October 26, 12:55 p.m.Conductor: Pavel Smelkov, Production: WilliamKentridge, Set Designer: William Kentridge & SabineTheunissen, Costume Designer: Greta Goiris, Light-ing Designer: Urs Schönebaum.Cast: Paulo Szot(Kovalyov), Andrey Popov (Police Inspector),Alexander Lewis (The Nose)

Tosca: Puccini, November 9, 12:55 p.m.Conductor: Riccardo Frizza, Production: Luc Bondy,Set Designer: Richard Peduzzi, Costume Designer:Milena Canonero, Lighting Designer: Max Keller,Cast: Patricia Racette (Tosca), Roberto Alagna(Cavaradossi), George Gagnidze (Scarpia), John DelCarlo (Sacristan)

Falstaff: Verdi, December 14, 12:55 p.m.Conductor: James Levine, Production: Robert Carsen,Set Designer: Paul Steinberg, Costume Designer:Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Lighting Designer: Robert Carsenand Peter Van Praet. Cast: Ambrogio Maestri(Falstaff), Lisette Oropesa (Nannetta), AngelaMeade, (Alice Ford), Stephanie Blythe (MistressQuickly), Jennifer Johnson Cano (Meg Page), PaoloFanale (Fenton), Franco Vassallo (Ford)

Rusalka: Dvorák, February 8, 2014, 12:55 p.m.Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Production: OttoSchenk, Set Designer: Günther Schneider-Siemssen,Costume Designer: Sylvia Strahammer, Lighting De-signer: Gil Wechsler, Choreographer: Carmen deLavallade. Cast: Renée Fleming (Rusalka), EmilyMagee (Foreign Princess), Dolora Zajick (Jezibaba),Piotr Beczala (Prince), John Relyea (Water Sprite)

Prince Igor: Borodin, March 1, 2014, 12:00 p.m.Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda, Production: DmitriTcherniakov, Set Designer: Dmitri Tcherniakov, Light-ing Designer: Gleb Filshtinsky. Cast: Ildar Abdrazakov(Prince Igor Svyatoslavich), Oksana Dyka (Yaroslavna),Anita Rachvelishvili (Konchakovna), Sergey Semishkur(Vladimir Igorevich), Mikhail Petrenko (Prince Galitsky),Štefan Kocán (Khan Konchak)

Werther: Massenet, March 15, 2014, 12:55 p.m.Conductor: Alain Altinoglu, Production: Richard Eyre,Set & Costume Designer: Rob Howell, Lighting De-signer: Peter Mumford, Video Designer: WendallHarrington, Choreographer: Sara Erde. Cast: JonasKaufmann (Werther), Lisette Oropesa (Sophie), ElinaGaranca (Charlotte), David Bizic (Albert), JonathanSummers (Le Bailli)

La Bohème: Puccini, April 5, 2014, 12:55 p.m.Conductor: Stefano Ranzani, Production: FrancoZeffirelli, Set Designer: Franco Zeffirelli, CostumeDesigner: Peter J. Hall, Lighting Designer: GilWechsler. Cast: Anita Hartig (Mimì), SusannaPhillips (Musetta), Vittorio Grigolo (Rodolfo),Massimo Cavalletti (Marcello), Patrick Carfizzi(Schaunard), Oren Gradus (Colline), Donald Max-well (Benoit/Alcindoro)

Così fan tutte: Mozart, April 26, 2014, 12:55 p.m.Conductor: James Levine, Production: Lesley Koenig,Designer: Michael Yeargan, Lighting Designer: DuaneSchuler. Cast: Susanna Phillips (Fiordiligi), IsabelLeonard (Dorabella), Danielle de Niese (Despina),Matthew Polenzani (Ferrando), Rodion Pogossov(Guglielmo), Maurizio Muraro (Don Alfonso)

La Cenerentola: Rossini, May 10, 2014, 12:55 p.m.Conductor: Fabio Luisi, Production: Cesare Lievi,Designer: Maurizio Balò, Lighting Designer: GigiSaccomandi, Choreographer: Daniela Schiavone.Cast: Joyce DiDonato (Angelina), Juan Diego Flórez(Don Ramiro), Pietro Spagnoli (Dandini), AlessandroCorbelli (Don Magnifico), Luca Pisaroni (Alidoro)

The Met: Live in HD 2013-14 Schedule


18

Opera alla PastaSunday Afternoon at the Opera

April 14, 2013

The Met: Live in HD

Saturday Afternoon at the Opera

Wagner's LohengrinThe visual part of this DVD may not be pleasing to all, it being a “radical” new production from the 2009Munich Festival. However, the soloists are vocally spectacular. Jonas Kaufmann is the best Lohengrin of thisgeneration and possibly of the past half century. Anja Harteros and Michaela Schuster are authoritative inter-preters of Elsa and Ortrud in this most beautiful score. The remainder of the cast, the chorus and the orchestraunder Kent Nagano are simply wonderful. Early start at 1:00 p.m.

May 26, 2013 Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perlesThis is one of those rare operatic gems. A very easy opera to stage, yet not staged enough. A surprisinglystrong performance from Venice’s Teatro Malibran with a talented young cast. Beautifully conducted byveteran Viotti, the Fenice orchestra and chorus are superb. Regular start at 2:00 p.m.

DVD presentations are held at St. Anthony's Soccer Club and are followed by a delicious meal.Cost: $20. Reserve at least 4 days prior to the showings by calling Elizabeth Meller at 613-721-7121

The Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcasts

April 27 12 p.m. Handel's Giulio Cesare

March 30 La Traviata

April 6 Das Rheingold

April 13 Die Walküre

April 20 Siegfried

April 27 Giulio Cesare

May 4 Dialogues des Carmélites

May 11 Gotterdämmerung

Encore PresentationsRigoletto April 6, 12 p.m., April 8, 6:30 p.m.

& April 24, 6:30 p.m.Parsifal April 20, 12 p.m.

Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini May 4, 12:55 p.m.Giulio Cesare June 1, 12 p.m. & June 3, 6:00 p.m.

www.cbc.ca.ca/sato

NATIONAL CAPITAL OPERA SOCIETY • SOCI ÉTÉ … Spring 2013.pdf · Spring 2013 Printemps 2013...

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Transcript of NATIONAL CAPITAL OPERA SOCIETY • SOCI ÉTÉ … Spring 2013.pdf · Spring 2013 Printemps 2013...