Lillian Tweets!

Follow Lillian Alling on Twitter as she makes her journey from the shores of Ellis Island to the mountain peaks of Telegraph Hill. Lillian will be tweeting her thoughts and observations as she makes the perilous trek across North America in search of a man named Jozéf.

What was she thinking? How did she feel? Was she scared? Who does she encounter?

Follow along to find out!

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

I heard that you are scrapping the under 30 pricing next year. Is this true?

Absolutely not. We will have the Get O.U.T.! (Get Opera Under Thirty) program available for opera fans aged 18-29 for the upcoming season. Stay tuned.

Ask me anything

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

Operabot 2.0 Animation Contest

Illustration by Roy Husada

Operabot 2.0 animation contest is almost here.

Sponsored by:

John Murrell on Lillian Alling

"Lillian Alling is a story of a journey, right across the phenomenal breadth of the North American landscape and beyond. Somehow our words and music will have to convey the madness but also the majesty of one woman's dream of walking home to Russia." - John Murrell, Librettist

Operamania 101: Rock Me Falco

Today is our last summer Friday here at work so let's go out with a bang.

Remember Austrian musician Falco from the 80s? He gave the world such memorable hits as Der Kommissar, Vienna Calling and of course, Rock Me Amadeus, which he was inspired to write after watching the 1984 biopic, Amadeus, starring Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham.

Rock Me Amadeus became a #1 hit all over the world, even though the song was sung in German.

Like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Falco was a child prodigy. When he auditioned for the Vienna Music Academy at the age of 5, it was discovered that the wunderkind had perfect pitch.

Similarly like Mozart, Falco met his untimely end way too soon. In 1998, just weeks before his 41st birthday, Falco was involved in a fatal bus collision in the Dominican Republic. Mozart was just 35 when he died.

However, their music lives on, so here's something to kick-start the weekend.

Before the internet came along, unless you were German, you may not have understood what Falco was singing about, save for the "Rock Me Amadeus" part. (I know I didn't)

So here's the English translation of the song about Mozart, his "punk-rock rebelness" and the effect he had on the world.



Rock me rock me rock me rock me Amadeus
Rock me all the time to the top

He was a Punker
And he lived in the big city
It was Vienna, was Vienna
Where he did everything
He had debts, for he drank
But all the women loved him
And each one shouted:
Come on and rock me Amadeus

He was Superstar
He was so popular
He was so eccentric
Because he had flair
He was a virtuoso
Was a rock idol
And everyone shouted:
Come on and rock me Amadeus

Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus
Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus
Amadeus Amadeus, oh oh oh Amadeus

Come on and rock me Amadeus
Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus
Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus
Amadeus Amadeus, oh oh oh Amadeus

It was around 1780
And it was in Vienna
No plastic money anymore
The banks against him
Everybody knew
Where the liabilities came from
He was a man of women
Women loved his punk

He was Superstar
He was so popular
He was so eccentric
Because he had flair
He was a virtuoso
Was a rock idol
And everyone shouted:
Come on and rock me Amadeus

Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus
Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus
Amadeus Amadeus, oh oh oh Amadeus

Come and rock me Amadeus...

Have a great weekend everybody!

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

Props For Lillian Alling

Here's an initial sketch by designer Sue LePage of the props in the upcoming Lillian Alling opera.

Props will include:

* A truck & luggage tarps
* Ellis Island furniture on a dolly
* Canteens & hurricane lanterns
* Telegraph keys
* Canvas packs
* A rain barrel
* Kites
* Burlap prison sacks
* Gold pans
* 3 babies

Sue is working with VO's Head of Props, Valerie Moffat, on figuring out what might already be in our prop shop, what needs to be made and what needs to be purchased.

Valerie thinks the hardest things to find will be the telegraph keys. Also, guns are always a challenge and the rifles used for the Oakalla Prison scene may end up being rented from elsewhere.

For Lillian's ubiquitous backpack, Valerie is on the hunt to find one from that time period (the 1920s) and make replicas, as we will need several of them backstage. Lillian's backpack is an important prop as it speaks of the journey, of packing up and going, and the circumstances that change her along her journey. When Lillian begins her trek, the backpack is almost empty. Like any traveller, as she moves westward, she slowly adds items to her pack. By the time Lillian arrives in Vancouver, it includes a bedroll and camping equipment.

The Lillian Alling prop list is pages long because of the number of scenes and the constant switching of time periods (present day, and flashbacks to 1927, the 1970s, the 1980s). The scenes are also set in different locations: farms, prison, downtown Vancouver and BC's Telegraph Trails.

While it may sound daunting to provide set dressing, accessories and furniture when the sets themselves are not even here (they are currently being built in Banff), it is a challenge that our imaginative and resourceful Valerie Moffat is up for.

Stay tuned for pictures as Valerie sleuths, shops and builds all the little details you will see on the Lillian Alling stage.

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

VOG's Adopt A School Program Receives Award

Photo credit: Lis Dawson

Congratulations to the Vancouver Opera Guild!

The Vancouver Opera Guild will receive an award for the Guild's Adopts a School program. This program, whereby the Guild supports the music program in schools in economically challenging areas, was created to support the Vancouver Opera’s Golden anniversary. The program consists of a performance of the Vancouver Opera in Schools (VOIS) performance; transportation, living expenses and fees for two teachers from the chosen school to attend the VO’s education program Music!Words!Opera! during the summer, and financial help to produce an “opera” in the school. The Vancouver Opera Guild finances its education programs through its fundraisers and opera tours.

The two schools chosen for the program have both been in Prince George with the addition of a Vancouver teacher this year.

The Award will be presented to Guild representatives Lis Dawson, Guild president and Pat Hancock, the previous Guild education committee chair at a luncheon held September 24th during the Opera Volunteers International Conference in Los Angeles. The conference is being held in conjunction with the first performance of a new opera Il Postino with Placido Domingo.

Why does your site make it so difficult to find out how much a season subscription would cost? I do not want to set up a login and account, just know how much. If I decide to buy THEN I'll set up an account.

Thank you for this great question.

We are in the process of redesigning the ticketing area of our website so that it will be easy and fun to navigate. One of the changes will be the log-in. You will be able to look around, select seats, see a photographic the view to the stage, and THEN set up an account or log into your existing account.

We appreciate your patience while we make these changes. In the meantime, please call the VO Ticket Centre at 604-683-0222. The staff will be more than happy to help you choose great seats for the 2010-2011 season.

Ask me anything

~ Doug Tuck, Director of Marketing & Community Programs

From New York to Telegraph Creek

Lillian arrives in Brooklyn, as did so many immigrants in the 1920s, only to discover that Jozéf has left for the farmland of North Dakota, in search of better prospects. Having no money, she finds a map at the New York Public Library and decides she will walk to meet him. But as she pursues Jozéf, he is always one step ahead of her. She walks and rides the rails across the vast prairies to the west coast and, ultimately, northward along British Columbia's Telegraph Trail.

"I open my eyes. I pick up my pack. I pick out a path. I never look back. The answers I lack lie further ahead. I never look back." - Lillian Alling

Lillian Alling: The Real Lillian (part 3)

Excerpted with permission from:

Wild West Women: Travellers, Adventurers and Rebels
Written by Rosemary Neering
Published by Whitecap Books Ltd.

THE MOST DETERMINED PERSON I'D EVER MET: Women Not to Be Deterred
Part 3

Amazed at the story he heard, in awe of her tenacity in reaching this far, he was nonetheless quickly convinced that she would die if she continued her journey north into the rapidly approaching winter weather. He telegraphed the provincial police officer in Hazelton, some sixty miles (ninety-five kilometres) south, and asked for advice. George Wyman, a young police constable, set out immediately for Blackstock's Cabin 2. There, he found a woman about five foot five (165 centimetres) and "thin as a wisp," wearing running shoes and carrying a knapsack that contained sandwiches, tea, a comb, and a few other personal effects.

Guy Lawrence, a forty-year veteran of life on the Telegraph Trail, later described this section of the trail in winter: "Sudden heavy falls of snow would bring the line down in several places, over perhaps a seventy-mile stretch. Between Hazelton and Telegraph Creek, some sections were subjected to phenomenal precipitation during the long winter months. Crews at stations at fairly high altitudes made a habit of erecting long poles beside their small refuge cabins to help find them. Many of the mountain passes were subject to snowslides, which snapped poles and buried the wire under sixty feet of snow for the remainder of the winter." Yet, underequipped as she was, as ignorant as she could be of the hazards that faced her, Alling told Wyman she was absolutely determined to continue north.

Wyman would not let her go to what he thought was certain death. He decided to take her with him to Hazelton. Surprisingly, she put up no fight, turning back dumbly to accompany him. Once back in Hazelton, she told Wyman the bare bones of her story, and declared that she would, somehow, continue. Said Wyman many years later, "She was the most determined person I'd ever met." He conferred with his superior officer, Sgt. W.]. Service, who also warned Alling of the severe winter conditions ahead and told her she would in all probability freeze to death. She was not dissuaded. The men knew that the moment that she was released, she would be back on the Telegraph Trail.




Linesman Charlie Janze and his fellow telegraph workers knew what they were talking about when they warned Lillian Alling of the dangers that could be expected by anyone walking the Telegraph Trail. Here, Janze is shown near the Nass-Skeena divide, on the trail in winter. (LANCE BURDON, PHOTOGRAPHER; BCA D-07630)

The Creative Team Behind Lillian Alling

John Estacio has served as Composer in Residence for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Pro Coro Canada, the Calgary Philharmonic and Calgary Opera. His opera, Frobisher, wish libretto by John Murrell, premiered in 2007. Filumena, also with Murrell, premiered in 2003 and was again produced in 2005.






John Murrell is one of the most frequently produced of all Canadian playwrights. His plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed in more than 30 countries. In addition to Filumena and Frobisher with music by John Estacio, Murrell will be the librettist for a new opera commissioned by composer/conductor Bramwell Tovey, to receive its premiere in Calgary Opera's 2010-11 season.






Kelly Robinson is a director and choreographer whose career spans opera, theatre, film and television. In Canada, he has presented new productions of works for opera audiences in Edmonton, Victoria, Calgary, Winnipeg and Vancouver. He was director fo both world premieres of Estacio/Murrell's Filumena and Frobisher.








Winner of two Dora Mavor Awards, Toronto-based designer Sue LePage has worked on more than 100 productions in theatre and opera. Recent opera credits include Frobisher and Filumena for Calgary Opera and The Banff Centre.







An acclaimed lighting designer for more than two and a half decades, Harry Frehner has designed more than 250 productions, including works for theatre, opera and dance companies throughout Canada and the US.














An award-winning projection designer, photographer, videographer, Tim Matheson has used the projection of imagery as an element of the set design in over 100 designs for theatre, opera and dance.

Bard on the Beach: Opera & Arias!

Join members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and UBC Opera Ensemble as they present one of the opera world's most popular romantic stories - Puccini's passionate La Bohème.

In a beautifully costumed "in-concert" staging, the talented cast of rising opera stars relive the love between the seamstress Mimì and the poet Rodolfo, performing against Bard's spectacular natural backdrop. Christopher Gaze directs, Leslie Dala conducts, and Nancy Hermiston heads the UBC opera program.

August 30th @ 1:00pm
September 6th @ 1:00pm & 7:00pm
(Aug 30th at 7pm is sold out)
Tickets: Matinees $35.00 / Evenings $38.00

Order on line or call 604-739-0559

An Excerpt From Lillian Alling: Oakalla

The entrance to Oakalla Prison Farm

Act 1 | Scene 9

Jimmy and Irene are packed in his truck on the side of the road:

Jimmy: They put her in jail? After all she's been through?

Irene: It was prison, not jail. Oakalla, near Vancouver.

Jimmy: For what?

Irene: Vagrancy and an unlicensed firearm.

Jimmy: Didn't Dad speak up for her?

Irene: He tried to, though I don't know why. He didn't ower that woman anything.

Jimmy: She was trying to get on with her life, and they threw her in jail?

Irene: It was prison!

Irene looks past Jimmy - where a vast field at Oakalla Prison gradually appears: male and female prisoners at hard labour, harvesting or cleaning up after harvest. Lillian is among them as armed guards patrol.

Irene: Oakalla Prison Farm. God, the tales they used to tell...

Male and Female Prisoners: (Chanting as they work) Oakalla...

Irene: Oakalla - near Vancouver - but much closer to Hell.

Male and Female Prisoners: (As they work) Oakalla...

Irene moves away from Jimmy, watching Lillian in her imagination. Action continues in both settings:

Jimmy: Mom, what happened to her? You said Dad turned his back on you, risked his own life?...

Irene: Leave it alone, son. It's too complicated. I'm too old. But I've started it now - and it has to be told.

Male and Female Prisoners: (wearily) Mmmm....Mmmm...

Irene: We think we lay the past to rest, but the past lives on...!

It grows darker. Jimmy watches his mother, and she watches Lillian, as prisoners at Oakalla launch into a work song which they've adapted from a hymn. Lillian doesn't join in.

Prisoners:
I've found a place of pure delight
Where mercy makes all burdens light
The warden growls from dawn to dark
The guards may bite, the dog's may bark
But, oh, what lovely rags we wear!
They'd be in fashion anywhere!
Oakalla is Paradise!
If Heaven's only half as nice,
I'll whistle through Eternity,
The angels will dance jigs with me!
I'd love to do my time here twice:
Oakalla is Paradise!
Paradise...
(Growning at their work) Aaaah....Ooooo...Mmmmm...

Lillian moves away from the other, closer to Irene, who watches her intently.

Lillian: (to herself)
I wait and I wait...
The answers I lack
Lie further ahead...
I never, I never look back.

The past lives on.
It's beside me,
Here and now...
He has to be told -
But - God help me - how?

Lillian Alling Podcast

Wanna know more about Lillian Alling opera?

Our podcasts are now up!

With music recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, General Director James W. Wright talks about the upcoming world premiere, Lillian Alling.

We are very proud to present the world premiere of our new commissioned opera Lillian Alling, by composer John Estacio and librettist John Murrell. This is the largest and most ambitious production in Vancouver Opera’s 50-year history, and I hope you’ll join us for the excitement of seeing and hearing this important new work for the first time.

Lillian Alling is a Canadian opera through-and-through. All of the creative team and all of the singers are Canadian. The story is rooted in Canadian history and local legend, and its themes connect with our experience. Lillian Alling was a woman who left her homeland in search of a new life, just as so many Canadians have done.

The opera is about quest, courage, and adventure. Its music and words are inspired by the broad and wild landscape of this country.

And it wouldn’t be an opera without high emotion and high drama: an intriguing love interest, treachery and danger!

Click here to listen!

A Film Score Sound

Are you a fan of film scores? Opera is not all about high-hitting arias, recitatives and big showy choral numbers (as opposed to big showy chorus numbers which would include dancing showgirls). Also enjoyable are the overtures and intermezzos where only the orchestra is playing. No voices, no sound effects.



For your listening pleasure, here's a snippet of the orchestral music in Scene 10 of Lillian Alling by John Estacio, libretto by John Murrell. This electronic arrangment is by Emmy nominated composer and conductor Hal Beckett, who turned Estacio's MIDI composition into a realistic orchestral sound.

Beckett has worked on both Bryan Adams and Michael Bublé's albums, as well as produced the 102 national anthems for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Beckett's also conducted and produced music for Universal, Lionsgate, 20th Century Fox, Disney and Miramax Studios.

This synthesizer arrangement of We Have Had The Rain sounds like it can be found in a big budget Hollywood movie.

If you're digging this clip, just wait to you hear it played by a 60 piece orchestra.

Stay tuned! We'll have another excerpt from the lush and lyrical Lillian Alling score next week.

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

How does autotune work?

Well, we did say all questions welcomed.

Auto-tune is an audio processor using a phase vocoder to correct imperfections in pitch when singing. A few country singers have used this technology in their live shows to make sure their performances are spot-on. It can also be used to produce deliberate electronic voice effects (think Cher singing her monster 1998 hit, "Believe")

And just fyi, opera singers do not use autotune.

Ling

An Excerpt From Lillian Alling: Ellis Island

Registry Hall, Ellis Island

Act 1 | Scene 2

Irene:
Like thousands and thousands and thousands of others
She came with hope
But no real plan,
Following a man
And the promises he made
The promises of the New World...

VOICES are heard, offstage and overlapping, but ringing clear:

Italian Voice: Il nome? (My name?)

German Voice: Mein name? (My name?)

Spanish Voice: Me llamo (I am called-)

Another Italian Voice: Mastrangelo!

Another German Voice: Edelssohn!

Another Spanish Voice: Ortega!

Lillian: Mee-nya zah-voot Lillian Alling! (My name is Lillian Alling!)

Jimmy puts the truck in gear and backs out. Irene watches Lillian as long as she can.

Irene:

Like thousands of others she said to herself,
"I will never again live like before-
Will not be ashamed,
Will not be poor,
Will not be afraid anymore!"

The truck disappears from view.

A swarm of immigrants suddenly surges forward, all around Lillian. It is early spring 1927 on Ellis Island in New York City harbour.

Lillian: Pah-zhal-stuh - Pah-zhal-stuh! (Please - Please!)

All Italians (shouting) / All Germans (at the same time):
Siamo qui (We are here)
Wir suchen (We are seeking)
Per lavoro (For work)
nur Arbeit (Only work)
E Liberta! (And freedom!)
und Freiheit! (And freedom!)

All Spaniards & All Greeks (at the same time):
Venimos (We come)
Ee-ma-steh el-tho (We are here)
Por trabajo (For work)
yia thu-leh-ah (For work)
Y libertad! (And freedom!)
keh eh-lef-the-ria! (And freedom!)

Lillian: (her voice rising above the others, as she pushes forward)
Mee-nya zah-voot Lillian Alling!
And yes, I can speak almost English
I come for to be with Jozef Nikitich
He is here now three yeras,
Work in a factory,
I will work too,
We will be married,
Have money for everything.
I will find him,
No matter how long it takes me,
I will find him,
No matter how far...
My life is bound to his life!
And I will never again live like before,
Will not be ashamed,
Will not be poor,
Will not be afraid any more!

You are creating a new production, which is really exciting. Where is everything at, right now? Is the score finished? Is the set built? Can we see some photos?

New opera creation is exciting, hard work and still pretty rare! Our composer, John Estacio, completed the piano-vocal score in January which was then sent to all the singers to start learning. Unlike traditional operas, this music is brand-new so the more time the singers have to become familiar with the music, the better. Since then John has been working on the orchestration – so far we have Act 1 with Act 2 due for completion at the end of August.

Meanwhile, the design team of Sue LePage (set and costumes) and Tim Matheson (video) have been working alongside stage director Kelly Robinson finalizing the design concept so that the building of the set, costumes and props could begin. The set is being built at The Banff Centre as we speak, the costumes and props here in Vancouver at our wardrobe shop and props shop.

Take a look on our blog, under the Lillian Alling category, for some photos of the set being built along with video ideas and drop by again next week for an update on costumes including a sneak peak at what is being created by our wardrobe dept.


~ Jennifer Lord, Special Projects Manager

Ask me anything

Operamania 101: Opera Soothes The Savage Beast

Who here has already seen the summer blockbuster, Inception? If you have, you've no doubt caught the scene-stealing Tom Hardy who plays Eames the forger in the Christopher Nolan movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Tom Hardy may have propelled himself to Hollywood's A-list with that break-out role but he already proved he's quite the acting powerhouse with last year's British film, Charles Bronson. Hardy is nearly unrecognizable, but his compelling portrayal as Bronson injected much humanity into a film about England's most notorious prisoner.

At the age of 19, Charles Bronson robbed a post office and got sentenced to 7 years in jail. His sentence was repeatedly extended due to his "loose cannon" behaviour and several hostage-taking incidents that he instigated. Bronson found himself in and out of various prisons and psychiatric hospitals for the next 30 years, 26 of which were spent in solitary confinement.

The film is uber-violent and humorous in that "A Clockwork Orange for the 21st century" way. As a further homage to Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, Bronson director Brent Meeske used operatic music in several integral scenes. Unlike A Clockwork Orange with only Rossini's The Thieving Magpie and William Tell Overture as its main operatic pieces, the Bronson soundtrack featured many different opera composers.

Va pensiero (Chorus of Hebrew Slaves) from Nabucco, Act III - Verdi

Trauermarsch from Götterdämmerung - Wagner

Chi dona luce al cor? from Atilla - Verdi

La Vergine degli angeli from La forza del destino - Verdi

Entry of the Gods into Valhalla from Das Rheingold - Wagner

Flower Duet from Lakmé - Léo Delibes

Coro a bocca chiusa/Humming Chorus from Madama Butterfly - Puccini

The soundtrack is not ALL opera though. There is a track from New Order and also one from Pet Shop Boys. And can I say, you'll never think of It's A Sin the same way again after watching this movie.

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

Who would win in a fight: ninjas or pirates?

Hands down, ninjas. (especially Opera Ninjas)

Ask me anything

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

Whose great idea was this? You must have an AWESOME Social Media Manager or something.

I got the idea from Kimli, one of our bloggers at Blogger Night at the Opera, and thought it would be fun for us to offer this feature to our readers.

Thanks for the awesome!

~Ling

Ask me anything

Any Questions?

Have a question you'd like to ask Vancouver Opera? Well, you're in luck!

Presenting the Vancouver Opera blog, now with the super-shiny Formspring feature.

With this feature, you can ask absolutely anyone in the company for the answer to the questions burning in your mind. For example:

* Why did we decide to produce THAT particular opera?
* What is our audition process for singers, chorus and supernumeraries?
* Do staff get to go on the road with the traveling VOIS program?
* How do we choose next season's artwork?
* Who decides the themes of our special events?
* Any big "uh-oh" moments before the curtain went up?
* Do we get to zip around in the lottery car before we give it away?
* Are we a crunchy or a smooth peanut butter type group?

All questions welcome!

Your questions will be directed to the appropriate staff members, who are all waiting in earnest to hear from you.

Just click on the Ask VO tab, just below the blog header, and ask away!

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

Lillian Alling: The Real Lillian (part 2)

Excerpted with permission from:

Wild West Women: Travellers, Adventurers and Rebels
Written by Rosemary Neering
Published by Whitecap Books Ltd.

THE MOST DETERMINED PERSON I'D EVER MET: Women Not to Be Deterred
Part 2

Alling is one of a handful of western women whose legends grow with time, and whose stories are still told around the coffee cups and beer glasses of the regions where they lived or travelled. These women lived lives of pure determination, often in almost total isolation from other people. Some called them eccentric; some called them crazy. They were as little interested in such judgements as they were in other people's advice on what they should do or how they should live. Regardless of the cost, they lived as they wished.

Lillian Alling worked as a maid in New York, a job that did not allow her to save enough money to buy a ticket aboard a ship returning to Europe. Blocked from the simplest way home, she began to develop another plan. In the New York Public Library, she spread out on the table in front of her maps of the United States, Canada and Siberia. She decided she would walk home, north through British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska, somehow across the Bering Strait, then through Siberia, the Ural Mountains and home.

The small hill of information available about Lillian Alling's odyssey is dwarfed by the mountain that is unknown. Probably in the spring of1927, she set out on foot from New York, dressed in a stout skirt and shod in sturdy shoes. She seems to have aroused no particular comment among the many who travelled the highways newly built for the ever more popular automobile, or on the old wagon roads or railway tracks, though many must have wondered about this woman who walked alone and steadily west. Later, she said that she had been through Winnipeg, which suggests that she followed a Canadian route along the transcontinental train tracks across the prairies and perhaps through Jasper to Prince George and Smithers, in British Columbia's northwest.

The first absolute fact in the trek of Lillian Alling is that on September 10, 1927, she walked up to a lonely cabin north of Hazelton, the home of Yukon telegraph lineman Bill Blackstock.


Photo credit: Gregory Melle

This photo shows the Telegraph Trail snaking up the hill from the Sheep Creek Cabin, on Lillian Alling's route north. Alling refused to let the rough trail, the weather or the possibility of starvation deter her from her trek. (BCA A-04962)

A Star On The Rise

Soprano Yannick-Muriel Noah is on the cusp of becoming an international opera superstar. She has sung the lead roles in Tosca and Madama Butterfly for Canadian Opera Company, where she is also a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio.

Yannick-Muriel Noah was also a recipient of the Vancouver Opera Guild development grant in 2009. The $6000 yearly grant awards singers, directors and people involved with opera to prepare for a career in the operatic field.

To give you an idea of just how gorgeous her voice is, click here to check out videos of her performances.

You can hear the gifted soprano sing at MusicFest Vancouver this Thursday. She will be accompanied by keyboard recitalist Rena Sharon.

Here are the deets:

Thursday, August 12
Christ Church Cathedral
690 Burrard Street, Vancouver
5:30pm

Tickets are $26 adult / $21 student

To purchase tickets, click here and enter Event Code: EFEST8

Lightning And Operas

Our globe-trotting, opera-loving correspondant is back! D.S. Spring, a long-time patron and subscriber to Vancouver Opera loves to share her thoughts on the operas she's seen on her travels. She regaled us with opera reviews from Bayreuth, San Francisco, Seattle,

A couple of weeks ago, D.S. Spring braved the crazy summer weather of Santa Fe to catch some cool operas.

Life is a Dream by Lewis Spratlan


Photo credit: Ken Howard

Santa Fe Opera continues in its tradition of expensively producing new and challenging operas with this premier. This opera, based on Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s play, La Vida es Sueńo, has had a long gestation. It was originally commissioned in 1978 for the New Haven Opera Theatre, which subsequently closed before this opera could be performed. Even though the original play was written in 1635, its theme of dream verses reality for life is universal and is as valid today as it was in the seventeenth century.

Spratlan’s “pan-tonal” music, led by conductor, Leonard Slatkin, was very expressive with respect to what was being sung and acted out on stage. The costumes were as if from a courtly fairy tale, but it was set on an esthetically-pleasing minimalist stage. Director, Kevin Newbury, brought the characters to life with their actions and interactions. The difficult role of Segismundo was ably sung by tenor, Roger Honeywell, who will be starring in Vancouver Opera’s premier of Lillian Alling. With the exception of the weak bass, John Cheek, as King Basilio, the other singers performed admirably.

Kudos to Santa Fe Opera for taking Life is a Dream from its dream-like state to reality.

Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach


Photo credit: Ken Howard

This is a beautiful production of Hoffmann’s stories of his lovelife within a story all being told to a crowd in a classic German beer hall. It was directed by Christopher Alden with conductor Stephen Lord. Paul Groves, with his solid tenor voice, was an impressive Hoffmann. Soprano, Erin Wall, whom Vancouver audiences will hear again later this season in La Traviata, capably handled all of the roles of Hoffmann’s love interests. Understudy, Wayne Tigges, stepping in for Gidon Saks, who withdrew from the production, confidently sang the various villain roles while the theatrics of tenor, David Cangelosi, as the servant in each story, almost stole the show. Almost, because the star, who did steal the show, was mezzo-soprano, Kate Lindsey, who sang Hoffmann’s muse. She was absolutely perfect for this character and will reprise the role later this year at the Met. The versatile Lindsey recently starred as the pregnant Amelia in Seattle Opera’s recent premier by the same name and is certainly a rising artist to watch.

Albert Herring by Benjamin Britten


Photo credit: Ken Howard

This delightful comic opera of the antics of small town society is in stark contrast to Britten’s Peter Grimes. Unfortunately for some unknown reason Director, Paul Curran, felt he had to ham it up with slap-stick actions rather than letting the characters stay true to type and just be themselves. The stodginess of Lady Billows, her housekeeper and other citizens in the town compared to the easy-going Sid and Nancy, when played straight, is normally more than sufficient to bring out the humour of the story as we observe Albert Herring coming of age and discovering himself. The statement that Britten was trying to make about society in small towns by poking fun at it was totally lost in this production.

Tenor, Alec Shrader, sang Albert Herring satisfactorily, but without being impressive. The rich baritone of Canadian Joshua Hopkins as Sid and the already-mentioned fabulous mezzo of Kate Lindsey were the vocal highlights of this performance.

This year Mother Nature presented her own magnificent show and competed with what was happening on stage. Each night around this covered, but open-air, amphitheater there was intermittent loud heavy rain that competed, and in some cases drowned out, the singers on stage. The continual lightning strikes in the distance, especially during the performance of Tales of Hoffmann, were awe inspiring. Each evening I felt we had two good shows on simultaneously for the price of one.

~ D.S. Spring

Project Onto Me

Tim Matheson is an award-winning projection designer, photographer, videographer and multi-media producer. His first foray into live theatre was in 1987 with Vancouver's Fringe Festival. It was at that festival that Tim first used projections as an element of set design. Since then, Tim has been much in demand, having worked over 100 performances in theatre, dance and opera.

And we have him for Lillian Alling.

Here's your first peek at Tim's projections on designer Sue Lepage's set.


The Land is Large


The Land is Large


Ellis Island


Ellis Island


Landscape


Map set


Inverted map


New York Street


New York Street


Vancouver Street


Vancouver Stanley Park

Does it make you feel like you've traveled back to 1927?

More projections to come. Stay tuned.

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

Social Media Weds Opera

Congratulations to Tris Hussey and Sheila Christie on getting hitched this past weekend!



Tris Hussey, THE go-to guy for anything and everything social media, joined us for Blogger Night at the Opera: Rigoletto, Salome, Nixon in China and The Marriage of Figaro. A published author, Tris also has his own blog and is a frequent contributor to the Future Shop blog, writing about software, hardware, photography and gadgets.

Sheila Christie has been gracing VO's stage in the women's chorus and in supporting roles since 2002. When she's not singing, Sheila teaches voice at a musical theatre summer school for kids aged 10-19. She's also the Musical Director at the Richmond Academy of Music. Did I also mention she makes wicked handmade jewellery? Her one-of-a-kind creations are very popular backstage during performances.


Sheila poses with Eglise Gutierrez, who played Gilda in Rigoletto

Tris met his lovely soprano 2 years ago and popped the question after 6 months of dating. (during the run of Rigoletto, in fact!)

So was Tris an opera fan before or after he met Sheila?

I didn't like (or thought I liked) opera before I met Sheila, but I went to Eugene Onegin in 2008 and became enthralled. I haven't missed an opera since. - Tris

The newlyweds plan to honeymoon in Whistler during the Labour Day long weekend.


Photo credit: Stacie Biehler

For more pictures of Tris & Sheila's lovely day, click here and here.

From everyone at the VO, we wish you both a lifetime of love, happiness and singing!

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

There's An App For That

To say that Kimli of Delicious Juice is socially wired is an understatement. Girl has it going on. That may explain why we invited her to join us for Blogger Night at the Opera: Carmen, Rigoletto and Salome. She also took on The Marriage of Figaro dress rehearsal as our Opera Ninja.

Kimli, lover of tech toys and gadgets, brought to our attention an opera app called Face to Face. With this puzzle app, one could play with as many as 130 colourful patterns inspired by facial makeup of Beijing operas.


Images by Quus.us.

A fun little time sucker that caters to all our many moods and faces.

To get your hands on this app, click here.

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

See A World Premiere and 3 Classics!

There is something for everyone in Vancouver Opera's thrilling 2010-2011 season.

We launch the season with Lillian Alling, by Canada's foremost opera-creation team, composer John Estacio and librettist John Murrell. Experience the excitement of being among the first in the world to see and hear a new large-scale opera.

VO's production of Donizetti's gorgeous and tragic Lucia di Lammermoor, conducted by Jonathan Darlington, features soprano Eglise Gutierrez, who amazed audiences in 2008's Rigoletto.

The company premiere of Mozart's inspired final opera, La Clemenza di Tito, features stunning design and a stellar cast that includes tenor John Tessier in the title role and soprano Wendy Nielsen. Jonathan Darlington conducts.

The season finale is Verdi's masterpiece La Traviata, featuring sensational soprano Erin Wall and David Pomeroy.

Starting today, you can secure your seats to all of these productions.

Get the best seats available!

Call the VO Ticket Centre at 604-683-0222 or buy online.

Production For Rent: Tea: A Mirror Of Soul

To view, double click on the image

Production: Tea: A Mirror of Soul

Stage Designer: Amon Miyamoto
Set Designer: Rumi Matsui
Costume Designer: Masatomo Ota
Scenic Studio: Santa Fe Opera
Year Built: 2007

Number of Vans: 4
Size of Vans: 53'
Rail Shipment Permitted: TBD
Insurance Required: $350,000

Crew Requirements:
Stage Carpenters: 14 set-up / 10 running / 14 strike
Stage Properties Crew: 4 set-up / 4 running / 4 strike
Stage Electricians: 14 set-up / 2+2 spots running / 14 strike
Stage Fly: 2 set-up / 3 running / 8 strike

Approximate Time (Hours): 14 set-up / 3 running / 8 strike

Technical Requirements:
Note: stock equipment is not included in the rental price. Stock equipment includes, but is not limited to, the following: black masking, black scrim, star drop

History of Previous Usage: Opera Company of Philadelphia 2010

Costs:
Set Rentals: Negotiable
Costumes: Rental from Santa Fe Opera

To place this production on hold or for more information, please contact:

Tom Wright, Director of Artistic Planning 604-682-2871 ext. 4841 or email tomwright@vancouveropera.ca

Terry Harper, Director of Production 604-682-2871 ext. 4822 or email tharper@vancouveropera.ca