what to wear at the opera

Whatever you feel comfortable in! Some people like to go all out (especially on opening night), and some people prefer a more casual look. Both are welcome!

Visit the Your Night at the Opera section on our website - it will tell you what to expect at the theatre. You can also check out the Fashion at the Opera section on our Flickr for ideas:

Hope that helps!

- Selina Rajani, Communications Manager

Ask me anything

VO at Minoru Chapel Opera Night!

Start with a historic chapel with great acoustics and pretty stained glass windows — a protected heritage site that is rarely open to the public.

Then, invite some of the region’s top opera talents to perform.

What do you get?
A magical experience!

Join VO's own Chorus Director and Assistant Conductor Leslie Dala and three outstanding singers at the next Minoru Chapel Opera Night!

Melody Mercredi, Paul Ouellette and Barbara Towell will perform a selection of highlights from The Marriage of Figaro, La Boheme, La Traviata and other operas.

The music will be exquisite, the setting will be intimate... and the seating will be limited. Get your ticket today!

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
Two performances:
2:30pm (doors at 2:00pm) and 7:30pm (doors at 7:00pm)

Minoru Chapel
6540 Gilbert Road, Richmond, BC
(beside the Gateway Theatre)

Limited seating!

Admission:
$20 adults
$18 students/seniors
$15 groups of 10 or more

For tickets: call 604-276-4300 (and press 2).

Find out more here.

VO Lotteries Grand Prize Draw Next Week!

Win an Audi A5!
Only 10 days left until our Grand Prize Draw on February 28^th!

Come visit us at Brentwood Mall, check out the Audi and buy your ticket to win! We’re here until Sunday.

Can't make it down? You can still enter - phone us at 604-682-2871 or order online here.

Someone is going to win this fantastic 2011 Audi A5. It could be you!

Voices Of The Pacific Rim

Illustration by Lloyd Pan

Vancouver Opera presents Voices of the Pacific Rim - a recital celebrating opera and honouring the Korean, Japanese and Chinese communities of Vancouver.

Featuring popular opera selections and poignant traditional songs from Korea, Japan and China.

Sunday, March 20 2011
Vancouver Playhouse
7:30 PM

Tickets: $25

For tickets and information call 604.683.0222

VO To Open next Season With Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story

In a departure from its traditional programming of strictly operatic fare, Vancouver Opera has announced its 2011-2012 season will open with the Leonard Bernstein classic musical theatre West Side Story, playing October 22 to 29. Playing the star-crossed lovers from the rival Sharks and Jets gangs will be 28-year-old Italian-Canadian soprano Lucia Cesaroni as Maria and Canadian tenor Colin Ainsworth as her love interest Tony.

Ontario native Cleopatra Williams, fresh off the cast of Jersey Boys in Toronto, sings Maria’s friend Anita, and Torontonian Dani Jazzar, who has danced for the Europe MTV Video Music Awards, sings the Sharks’ captain Bernardo, a role he’s performed many times. Also appearing will be Scott Augustine, last onstage with the VO in Nixon in China, as the Jets’ leader Riff.

VO general director James Wright promises in a news release that the first staging of Bernstein’s classic musical by a Canadian opera company will be “big and bold and new, using the original Jerome Robbins choreography that we all love, colourful sets and costumes, and a 30-piece orchestra.”

To read more from Georgia Straight, click here.

West Side Story To Open Vancouver Opera's New Season

Our production will be big and bold and new, using the original Jerome Robbins choreography that we all love, colourful sets and costumes, and a thirty-piece orchestra, all in service of Bernstein’s timeless and riveting music.

To read more from the Vancouver Sun, click here.

VO Announces 2011-2012 Season

The monumental company première of a masterpiece of music theatre, Met audition-winner Simone Osborne in a role début, an inventive new Barber of Seville and the grandest of grand operas are just four highlights of Vancouver Opera’s 52nd season.

VO’s 2011-2012 season will include Leonard Bernstein’s beloved West Side Story (October 22 – 29, 2011), Charles Gounod’s romantic Roméo et Juliette (November 26 – December 3, 2011), Gioachino Rossini’s rollicking and effervescent The Barber of Seville (March 17 – 25, 2012) and Giuseppe Verdi’s triumphant Aida (April 21 – May 3, 2012).

“I am very excited about our lineup for the 2011-2012 season,” said VO General Director James W. Wright. “Each production will showcase the high musical and production standards that our audiences demand, and will convey the heightened emotion that makes opera such a compelling and versatile art form.”

Added Wright, “I am especially excited to be bringing West Side Story to Vancouver audiences. It has been staged by several opera companies throughout the world but to my knowledge, never by a Canadian opera company. Our production will be big and bold and new, using the original Jerome Robbins choreography that we all love, colourful sets and costumes, and a thirty-piece orchestra, all in service of Bernstein’s timeless and riveting music.“


SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

WEST SIDE STORY
A masterpiece of music theatre

VO’s 2011-2012 Season will open with a treat for Vancouver audiences: West Side Story the way it was meant to be seen, in a full-scale, Broadway-style production that takes full advantage of the large Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the highly-skilled VO Orchestra.

The cast of VO’s West Side Story includes some of Canada’s most talented triple threats - young stars who can sing, dance and act to the highest musical and theatrical standards.

28-year-old Italian-Canadian soprano Lucia Cesaroni sings Maria. Her voice has been described as “thrilling…replete with a seductive vibrato throughout” (Classical 96.3FM). Tenor Colin Ainsworth, last seen on the VO stage in the world première of Lillian Alling, sings Tony. Mr. Ainsworth has been praised by the Toronto Star for his “magnetic stage presence that [is] the ideal embodiment of a romantic lead”.

Ontario native Cleopatra Williams, who recently performed in Toronto productions of We Will Rock You and Jersey Boys, sings Anita. Dani Jazzar sings Bernardo, a favourite role of the many he has performed. “Dani Jazzar as the Sharks’ fiery, possessive captain Bernardo, hostile recipient of a thousand sneers, is excellent, effortlessly stylish” praised the Edmonton Journal. Mr. Jazzar has danced for the Europe MTV Video Music Awards, performed in several stage productions, and acted in several commercials. Scott Augustine, last seen on the VO stage in the Canadian première of Nixon in China, sings Riff.

Associate Conductor and Chorus Director Leslie Dala will conduct the VO Orchestra in this colourful new expanded co-production with Central City Opera.


ROMÉO ET JULIETTE
French opera at its most romantic

Canadian soprano Simone Osborne makes her company and role début as Juliette in Gounod’s romantic Roméo et Juliette. A winner of the Metropolitan National Council Auditions and the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition in 2008, she has been praised for her “sweet and clear sound, sensitive phrasing and gleaming sustained high notes" (New York Times).

Singing alongside her will be dashing Canadian tenor Gordon Gietz as Roméo. “Gordon Gietz has one of the most gorgeous tenor voices heard in some time, as full as it was sweet,” raves the Saint Paul Pioneer Press.

Montreal mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne, who charmed VO audiences as Cherubino in 2010’s The Marriage of Figaro will sing Stéphano. “Her voice has both sweetness and bite, with hints of darker and deeper notes to come, all boding well for meatier roles down the line,” praises the Globe and Mail.

Jacques Lacombe returns to VO to conduct this emotional and exquisite production.


THE BARBER OF SEVILLE
The greatest comic opera of them all

Rossini’s irresistible masterpiece of comedy returns to VO in a brand-new incarnation. In a 1940s Seville movie backlot, starlet Rosina must fend off slimy agent and studio owner Bartolo and find a way to hook up with star-struck nobleman Almaviva. With the help of studio hairstylist Figaro, this delightful production injects new sparkle into a beloved classic.

Boston-native mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy sings Rosina. Ms. Eddy was highly praised in VO’s acclaimed The Italian Girl in Algiers: "Blessed with physical beauty and a luxurious voice…[Ms. Eddy] was completely believable as a woman who could tame a mob of testosterone-rich men with a single glance,” raved The Georgia Straight. The New York Times has also praised this "... swan-necked mezzo with fine technique, a range of colors from honeyed to bright and charm to burn.”

Baritone Joshua Hopkins sings Figaro, a role that has won him acclaim as “an authoritative barber who sang with robust sounds and had both vocal and stage tricks up his sleeve.”(Opera Today)

Robert Tweten conducts the VO Orchestra, returning for the first time since 2007’s Tosca.


AIDA
The grandest of grand operas

Verdi’s masterpiece returns to the VO stage after 10 years. Visually stunning and musically magnificent, this exciting production exudes the grandeur that characterizes Verdi’s monumental work.

Mlada Khudoley returns to the VO stage to sing Aida. Ms.Khudoley sang the title role in 2009’s Salome to great acclaim: “Russian soprano Mlada Khudoley’s voice is big and compelling, her performance style all-or-nothing intensity,” raved the Vancouver Sun.

Amneris will be sung by mezzo-soprano Daveda Karanas, a winner of the 2008 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Ms. Karanas has been praised for her “capacious power” and “a voice lustrous and exciting” (San Francisco Chronicle). Bass Burak Bilgili returns to VO to sing Ramfis, following his impressive performances as Raimondo in 2010’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Bass Ilya Bannick sings the King of Egypt.

VO Music Director Jonathan Darlington conducts the VO Orchestra.

Subscriptions for Vancouver Opera’s 2011-2012 Season are now on sale at the VO Ticket Centre, 604-683-0222. Renewing subscribers can renew by mail, fax, telephone or in person.

The on-sale for non-subscription tickets to all performances of the four mainstage productions will be announced soon. Visit www.vancouveropera.ca or call 604-683-0222.

Who Wears The Pants Around Here?

Girls who are boys, who like boys to be girls, who do boys like they’re girls, who do girls like they’re boys. – Blur

Sounds like a high-falutin’ comedy of errors, doesn’t it?

It’s not unusual to find trouser or breeches roles in many of today’s popular operas. This refers to the opera’s male character being sung by a female who sings in the mezzo soprano or contralto vocal range. Instead of hip-swaying crinoline skirts and bust-popping corsets, these female singers are binding their breasts and donning on trousers, men’s jackets, vests, wigs, facial hair and adapting male mannerisms.

Audience members who may or may not know this prior to curtain (surprise!), have to suspend their belief and accept the woman who’s playing the male part is a “man”, who may even be romancing a woman onstage.

So how did this all come about?

Back in mid-16th century Italy, these now “trouser roles” were written for and sung by a castrato, a young man who was castrated before puberty and as a result was able to maintain singing in such a high vocal range. At its peak in the 1720s-30s, it was estimated that 4,000 boys were castrated. All in the name of opera. Thank goodness that practice has died out. In 1861, castration for musical purposes was officially declared illegal.

Nowadays, women or men who have been trained to sing in the counter-tenor vocal range are employed in these roles.

Let’s not confuse cross-dressing roles such as Leonore in Fidelio or Gilda in Rigoletto as trouser roles. They’re just women disguised as men. True trouser roles include Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Orpheus in Orpheus and Euridice, the title role of Xerxes, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, and VO’s current production, Sesto and Annio in La Clemenza di Tito.


LA Opera's beautiful and provocative poster for their 2005 production of Der Rosenkavalier


Vienna Classic's Der Rosenkavalier, ENO's Xerxes and Opera Atelier's Opheus & Euridice


Julie Boulianne (right) as Cherubino in VO's The Marriage of Figaro


Another La Clemenza di Tito trouser role: Norine Burgess (left) as Annio

It may be confusing at first to suspend your belief and not think girl-on-girl action, but we’ve seen examples of trouser roles on tv and film:


Linda Hunt in The Year of Living Dangerously, Tilda Swinton in Orlando and Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in I'm Not There

Not trouser roles:


Barbra Streisand in Yentl, Hilary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry, Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love, Angelina Jolie in Salt and Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria

Definitely not trouser roles: (women portraying men portraying women)


Kathleen Turner in Friends, Rebecca Romijn in Ugly Betty and Famke Jensen in Nip/Tuck

On the flip side, there have been skirt roles, where a man portrays a female character in opera, theatre and film, for so long that the audience accepts what they’re seeing without even a bat of an eyelash. So why the hang-up with women portraying men?

An opera patron told me last night that, at first, he was distracted by how physically attractive Krisztina Szabo was, singing the role of Sesto, Vitellia’s would-be male suitor. But after a while, any hesitation subsided and he found himself sucked into the story of La Clemenza di Tito. (even as he was hoping for an on-stage kiss between the women)

It might take an aria or two, but the audience should keep in mind that writers and composers have always played with gender and in the case of opera, it should always come down to the singing. Be it a man or a woman’s voice.

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

Join Our Monthly Giving Circle

Artwork by Leonard Dente

The Monthly Giving Circle is a convenient and economical way to show your ongoing support for Vancouver opera. For as little as $10 a month your gift goes a long way in helping us plan ahead.

Monthly gifts are automatically withdrawn on the 15th of every month and helps us reduce our expense by limiting postage and administative costs. You can increase, decrease or cancel your gifts at any time and will receive your tax receipts in January and July.

Every dollar and ever donor count! As only 41% of our revenue is gained through ticket sales, your contribution will directly affect Vancouver Opera's ongoing commitment to offer outstanding productions and community programming.

Vancouver Opera will help to facilitate the contribution you wish to make. Whether it is joining our Monthly Giving Circle or making a one-time gift, staff are hear to assist you at: 604.682.2871 or friends@vancouveropera.ca

La Clemenza di Tito: Bloggers Final Thoughts

A big thank you to Stacey Robinsmith, Frances Sprout and Nik Belanio who joined us for Blogger Night at the Opera on opening night. (Miranda, we'll see you at Traviata!) It looks like our bloggers had a fabulous time.

Here are their thoughts on La Clemenza di Tito and of all the excitement of opening night:

A friend of mine said they do not like opera because of all the screechy women’s voices. The reality of it is that the voices are like birds swirling and swooping around one another on stage. Some soar higher than others before descending to join the other voices.

La Clemenza di Tito is a classic opera. There are no video backdrops, no extensive lighting tricks. There is a simple white stage with the simplest set. This opera is about the voices and the music from the orchestra interacting. - Stacey Robinsmith

To read more from Stacey, click here and here.


Let me say first that this opera engaged me intellectually from the outset, even as it pulled me in musically and visually. I’m intrigued by the libretto itself, its politics – commissioned for the coronation as King of Bohemia of the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold. It makes some pretty strong statements about what is required of a truly noble leader – the opposite approach, in a way, to Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro which instead condemns a ruler’s lack of nobility.

Favourite musical moments so far: Annio and Servilia’s gorgeous and touching duet which emphasizes the conflicting demands of love and duty. And Sesto’s aria beseeching Vitellia not to turn away from him, promising he will do her bidding and destroy Tito – her voice is beautifully shadowed by the woodwinds looping along the broken-chord runs. - Frances Sprout

To read more from Frances, click here and here.


My fellow bloggers and I went backstage to see the set and props. I felt like I was walking into a 18th century ballroom from Cinderella. Everything is white and bright. (luv the sofa.)

Not as many props as the last opera, Lucia di Lammermoor. Lucia had tables of props. This time there's one table with flowers and of course, the bloody knife.(you gotta have a bloody knife in an opera.) - Nik Belanio

To read more from Nik, click here, here and here.

Thank you Bloggers for being a part of such an amazing night! We look forward to seeing you opening night of La Traviata!

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

2009-2010 Vancouver Opera Foundation Bursary Awards

Vancouver Opera Foundation is pleased to announce this year's bursary award winners!

The Brian McMaster Bursary Award
For a Canadian performing in or otherwise contributing to opera



Tina Chang, Piano
Tina Chang has worked with the San Diego Opera Ensemble, Dalhousie University and the Victoria Conservatory of Music Summer Vocal Academy. She appears with VO this season in Voices of the Pacific Rim and the VOIS production of Cinderella, as well as in La Clemenza di Tito.

Past Recipients include: Amiel Gladstone, Angus Kellett, Kinza Tyrrell and Larisa Fayad


The Joe Boxer Bursay Award
For a BC Singer in a resident artist program



Teiya Kasahara, Soprano
Teiya Kasahara appeared in the VOIS production of Naomi's Road and was a participant in VO's Young Artist Coaching Intensive. She is a recent graduate of the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio.

Past recipients include: Michael MacKinnon, Martin Sadd, Sheila Christie and Raphael Wagner


The Kurt Sickert Bursary Award
For a performing artist, with preference given to Canadians



Calvin Powell, Baritone
Calvin Power appeared in the VOIS production of The Magic Flute: Quest for the Box of Shadows. He has appeared in several VO productions, including the world premiere of Lillian Alling. He has sung with Opera on the Avalon, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and several others.

Past recipients include: Hiather Darnel-Kaadonaga, Colin Ainsworth, Majorie Poirier and Sam Chung


The Toni Calveti Bursary Award
For an aspiring BC Opera singing student



Rachel Fenlon, Soprano
Rachel Fenlon is currently completing her Master of Music degree and was a participant in VO's Young Artist Coaching Intensive. She has performed in several productions with the UBC Opera Ensemble, as well as with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Vancouver Bach Choir.

Past recipients include: Sylvia Szadovszki, Rose-Ellen Nichols, Simone Osborne and Melody Mercredi


The Barbara Eves-Sharp Bursary Award
For a singer in the VOIS program



Shannon Chan-Kent, Soprano
Shannon Chan-Kent is completing her Master of Music degree and participated in VOIS as an understudy in the touring production of Jack Pine. She has performed several times with the UBC Opera Ensemble.

Past recipients include: Adam Fisher, Michael Nyby, Clarence Logan and John Conlon

Vancouver Opera Foundation support the future of opera in Western Canada by providing critical support to the productions that Vancouver Opera produces and by nurturing the talented artist that will be integral to the industry's future. These bursaries are on way that the Foundation achieve its goals.

VOF extends an enormous thanks to all the donors who make these named bursaries possible on an annual basis.

To learn more about VOF bursaries and other programs funded by Vancouver Opera Foundation, or to share your passion by making a donation, please contact 604.682.2871

Don Giovanni At Burnaby Lyric Opera

Artwork by Kaitlyn Hunter

Mozart's musical masterpiece comes to life again with the Burnaby Lyric Opera production team and the best of B.C. operatic talent including Vancouver Opera chorus members Willy Miles-Grenzberg, Arianna Sovernigo, Michael MacKinnon, Melanie Krueger, Jeremy Griffin and Andrzej Jeziorski. Watch for Artistic Director for Music David Boothroyd who also performed with the Vancouver Opera Touring Ensemble.

February 26, March 3, 5, 2011
at 8:00pm

February 28, March 2, 2011
at 2:00pm (Matinee)

Shadbolt Centre for the Arts
6450 Deer Lake Avenue
Deer Lake Park, Burnaby

For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.

Will You Join Jonathan?

To continue to advance our quality of programming and to ensure the artistic excellence that you have grown to expect, Vancouver Opera invites you to join Jonathan. Our Maestro has joined the Opera Round Table and is supporting us with a generous donation. Will you do the same?

Gifts from Opera Round Table members bring great art to the stage and to the community. From incredible voices you hear on the stage, to luscious sounds coming from the orchestra and the impressive sets and costumes that transport us to other worlds, every part of our main stage production is made possible because of the generous donations from individuals who value having this calibre of programming within the community.

If you too appreciate what you experience with Vancouver Opera, make a difference by joining Maestro Darlington and Vancouver Opera's other Friends and Opera Round Table members who support what is enjoyed by all. Whether you contribute $50, $500 or $5,000, your donation will pave the way for continued nights of great opera.

Contact us at 604.682.2871 ext. 4838 for more information.

A member of the Vancouver Opera development team will be glad to assist in facilitating a donation that reflects the level of gift you would like to make. Contact us and meet others who, like Maestro Darlington, are making great productions possible for our community.

Only 2 Performances Remaining!

Photo credit: Tim Matheson

“The music is an unfolding sequence of joys and epiphanies.” - David Gordon Duke, The Vancouver Sun

Read why the Vancouver Sun says that “anyone who cares about opera should hear this rarely mounted piece.”

Read the full review here.

“New Brunswick soprano Wendy Nielsen was on fire as the conniving Vitellia” - Janet Smith, Georgia Straight

Read the review here.

February 5, 8, 10, 12, 2011
All performances 7:30 pm
Queen Elizabeth Theatre
In Italian with English SURTITLES™

Leather & Lace: Part Sexy. Part Sweet.

We invite you to join us for an evening of supple sophistication. Come be a part of our seductive supper club at BC's only Five Diamond Restaurant. Enjoy classic cocktails, culinary delights by Executive Chef Dale MacKay and Chef de Cuisine Nathan Guggenheimer, and the inspired sounds of live music in an intimate setting.

Lumière and DB Bistro MOderne
Thursday, February 17 2011
2551 West Broadway

6PM Cocktails
7PM Dinner
Cigar Lounge

Tickets $500 ($350 tax receipt)
Complimentary valet parking

RSVP to Caroline Pearcey at 604.682.2871 ext. 4850 or email cpearcey@vancouveropera.ca

Proceeds from thsi special evening to benefit Vancouver Opera in Schools program

World Premiere Of The Inventor

We love it when our globe-trotting, opera-loving friends visit other cities. That's because they love telling us all about the amazing operas they saw! 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. Last year, she enjoyed operas in London, Paris, Santa Fe and Seattle.

D.S.'s shares with us her most recent trip to Calgary:



2 February 2011
The Inventor

Calgary Opera’s General Director, Bob McPhee, continues to be the most adventurous of opera company CEOs in Canada by staging one contemporary opera per year. This year it was not only a contemporary opera, but also a world premier with the production of The Inventor composed by Vancouver’s own Bramwell Tovey. Even though it is Tovey’s first opera, it is not the case for the librettist, John Murrell, who seems to be on a roll taking obscure Canadian characters (like Lillian Alling) and writing an opera about them.

The Inventor is about Sandy Keith, a black sheep in the Alexander Keith brewing family of Halifax, who reinvents himself several times after swindling associates of rather questionable money-making schemes. It has an all-Canadian cast along with Director, Kelly Robinson, who also directed Lillian Alling for Vancouver Opera, and Designer Bretta Gerecke, who created a stunning versatile set for this production.

Tovey’s music is quite sophisticated. It supported the singers well and strongly evoked the memories, feelings and desires of the characters on stage. The casting was perfect with baritone James Westman as Sandy Keith, tenor Roger Honeywell as Luther Smoot, bass Philllip Ens in several roles, soprano Laura Whalen as Mary, soprano Erin Wall as Cecelia and mezzo Judith Forst as Louise, Cecelia’s mother. With such good singers it was unfortunate that Tovey did not compose more melodic arias for them.

As a new opera being performed for the first time, the story of The Inventor hangs together quite well mainly because of the experienced librettist Murrell. However, to be a memorable opera and one that should be performed again, some minor revisions would be in order. A few arias especially in the first act should be rewritten to be more appealing to a contemporary audience and a couple of the characters, namely Cecelia and Louise, require a bit of tweaking in order for the denouement to be more effective. It is hoped that there will be a revision and a second chance to see this interesting opera.

~ D.S. Spring

Street Closure Alert! Saturday, Feb. 12

Coming to closing night of La Clemenza di Tito?

Please note that some downtown streets will be closed for 2010 Winter Games anniversary celebrations.The events will take place in Yaletown, at the Roundhouse, Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza & at Robson Square.

• Granville Street will be closed from Smithe to Dunsmuir from noon to 9 p.m.
• Robson Street will be closed from Howe to Seymour from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

The Queen Elizabeth Theatre and surrounding streets will not be affected but please leave some extra time to get to the theatre!

Downtown Vancouver can be a busy place in the evening, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time to park and get to the theatre.

Remember: doors open at 6:15 pm, free preview talks in the theatre begin at 6:30 pm, and all productions start at 7:30 pm sharp. Latecomers will not be seated until an appropriate break in the performance. Click here for tips on where to park.

The Divine Mozart

There's no disputing that Mozart was a masterful and influential composer. He remains one of the most beloved composers to this day. VO was excited to premiere Mozart's magnificent last opera, La Clemenza di Tito this past weekend. We were doubly excited to find out our opera patrons fell in love with it too.

Absolutely delightful. One of the best performances I have seen in the past couple of years.

I really enjoyed it. I thought it was excellent. The voices were incredible.

It all came together quite well. It was moving.

Love the music. The divine Mozart.

It was beautiful and the costumes were spectacular.

I thought the sets were great. That was one of my favourite parts.

The music direction was excellent. The chorus was fabulous.

Press play to hear what everyone had to say. Or double-click the video to see it directly on VO's Youtube channel.



Get your tickets now! Only 3 performances left! Call 604.683.0222 to speak to our box office or order online!

See you down at the theatre!

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

VO Extends Appointment Of Music Director Jonathan Darlington to 2015

Photo credit: Christoph Müller-Girod

Vancouver Opera is very pleased to announce that Music Director Jonathan Darlington’s appointment has been extended to 2015. Mr. Darlington has been VO’s Music Director since May 2005, having been appointed VO’s Principal Conductor in 2002. His current contract was to have expired in 2012.

Mr. Darlington’s sensitivity for depth and balance, dynamism and infectious enthusiasm are praised by critics and audiences alike. “Music Director Jonathan Darlington elicits extraordinary playing from the highly responsive Vancouver Opera Orchestra,” wrote Robert Jordan in his Opera Canada review of last season’s Madama Butterfly, going on to praise the “waves of passion surging” from the orchestra pit.

Mr. Darlington’s strong musical leadership and reputation for high professional standards have raised the VO Orchestra to great heights, with Vancouver Sun reviewer David Gordon Duke applauding “the sensitive work of the VO Orchestra, led with dash and real verve by Jonathan Darlington” in his review of 2010’s Lucia di Lammermoor. “Conductor Jonathan Darlington makes the orchestra (which is often at intricate cross purposes with the singers) a living presence throughout the opera. His pacing is brisk but supple, his balance meticulous,” agrees Elissa Poole in her Globe and Mail review of 2009’s Salome.

“My partnership with Jonathan has been a highlight of my opera career,” said James W. Wright, General Director of Vancouver Opera. “His musicality, professionalism and depth of feeling for the music is inspiring to me, to the orchestra, chorus and principal singers, and to the whole company. I am so happy that he will continue to lead Vancouver Opera’s musical forces.”

Mr. Darlington said, “I have spent some of the happiest years of my life as Music Director of Vancouver Opera and to have the chance to further develop this wonderful partnership with such a vibrant company is something I'm looking forward to with enormous pleasure.”

Vancouver Opera Taps Mozart's Humanism In La Clemenza di Tito

Photo credit: Tim Matheson

Maestro Jonathan Darlington took on the unimaginable double duty of the fortepiano for all those recitatives (along with principal cellist Ariel Barnes). And from the elaborate clarinet obbligati on down, his orchestra polished all the score’s embellishments to a fine sheen, with the clarity and restraint Mozart demands.

To read more from the Georgia Straight, click here.

La Clemenza di Tito And The 12-Year-Old Canadian Male

Photo credit: Tim Matheson

'I guess it was pretty good'

I'll let Tyrus be the judge. He came in thinking opera would be long and boring. What did he think going out?

"It can be long, but also interesting in some parts. It probably depends on the opera. It can be long and boring, or fun and interesting. This one leaned more towards the good side.

To read more from The Tyee, click here.

La Clemenza di Tito Demands Reconsideration

Photo credit: Tim Matheson

Much of the score is Mozart at his best: complex, sometimes contradictory, rich in great tunes, subtle details and ever arresting. While the plot bumps along from convention to convention, the music is an unfolding sequence of joys and epiphanies, supervised with real eloquence by conductor Jonathan Darlington.

To read more from Vancouver Sun's David Gordon Duke, click here.

La Clemenza di Tito: The Trailer

Here's your first look at Mozart's magnificent last opera, La Clemenza di Tito starring Wendy Nielsen, Krisztina Szabo and John Tessier.

Press play or click here to see it on VO's Youtube channel.


Video by Bombshelter Productions

Get your tickets now! Call our ticketing centre at 604.683.0222 or purchase online here.

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

La Clemenza di Tito: Rehearsals

Wondering what the not often performed La Clemenza di Tito sounds like? Here a sampling of the cast rehearsing Deh, Conservate, Oh Dei, the last number in Act I:


Maestro Jonathan Darlington and cellist Ari Barnes


Maestro Jonathan Darlington


Wendy Nielsen (Vitellia), Krisztina Szabo (Sesto) & Norine Burgess (Annio)


Thomas Goerz (Publio), Norine Burgess (Annio) & Kathleen Brett (Sevillia)

To view more rehearsal clips, click here for our Youtube channel.

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

Mozart's Ultimate Opera

It is astonishing to think that for many decades La Clemenza di Tito was rarely performed, for it contains some of Mozart's most gorgeous music and is, in many respects, as find a work as any of his other great operas. His musical depiction of multifaceted characters, his breath-taking invention, his blending of voices and his interweaving of singers and solo instruments all combie to create a compelling drama of exquisite beauty.

There were several reasons for the opera's obscurity. The pivotal role of Sesto was written for a castrato (a male soprano), a type of singer that vanished from the scene shortly after the opera premiered, in 1791. Also, while Clemenza's formal and serious qualities made it the most popular of Mozart's operas during the neo-Classical period of the early 19th Century, it fell out of favour with the rise of Romanticism. However, as Mozart biographer H.C. Robbins Landon has observed, after renewed attention in the last half of the 20th century, opera lovers have come to consider it "a work of considerable psychological insight, contaning at least an hour of the greatest work Mozart was capable of writing." In recent year, knowledgable producers have explored its moral and emotional complexities (not to mention its many mysteries) through a contemporary lens, and to great effect. This mounting, directed by Chas Rader-Shieber and designed by David Zinn, originated at Santa Fe Opera in 2002. Globe and Mail reviewer Paula Citron described the production as "radiant...The totality of Rader-Shieber's staging was simply breath-taking in its clairyt of situation, moood and emotional realism.

Considering the greatness of the work, it is remarkable that Mozart composed it in great haste. In July 1791, while still working on another masterpiece, The Magic Flute, he was approached by the singer/impresario Domenico Guardasoni, director of the National Theatre in Prague, who had been ordere - on two months' notice - to supply a new opera for the coronation of Emperor Leopold II as the new king of Bohemia.

Mozart was the second choice for the commission. Guardasoni had first offered it to Mozart's (in fact, every composer's) rival Antonion Sallieri, the "Kapellmeister" at the Imperial Court of Vienna, but Salieri was heavily engaged on other projects and could not accept.

With so little time available, a new libretto was not attempted; instead, Guardasoni turned to one that had been written more than fifty years earlier by the esteemed Vienna court poet Metastasio (Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi) and that had already been used forty times by other composers, including Gluck.

But its form was old-fashioned: it containted long recitatives and strings of arias. The current court poet, Caterino Mazzola, was brought in to make it more contemporary, to turn it into what Mozart called a "true" opera. This involved shortening the libretto, turning three acts into two, replacing some arias with duets, trios and choruses, typical of "serious" Italian opera, and creating a superb first-act finale (in this case a quintet with chorus), typical of comical opera.

Estimates vary as to how many days it took Mozart to composer La Clamenza di Tito, but it is safe to conclude that the bulk of the opera was written in an astounding three-week period. The oft-performed overture was composed at the last minute, in Prague, where on September 6, 1791, the opera premiered.

Clemenza's subject matter - an emperor who applies reason, compassion and kindness in the face of an attempt on his life - was well suited to this particular coronation. Leopold had shown leadership during two decades as the Grand Duke of Tuscany when, among other things, he abolished torture. More importantly, the opera represented the ideals of the Age of Englightenment, still very much alie in Prague. Meanwhile, in France, the Revolution was becoming increasingly violent, constitutional crisis was looming and Leopold's younger sister, Marie Antoinette, along with her husband Louis XVI, was becoming a target.

Mozart had become seriously ill during the run of Clemenza, but he was sufficiently recovered to conduct the premiere of The Magic Flute three weeks later, in Vienna. Within two months, though, he was dead. As Landon has written, "It has taken perhaps two hundred years for the world to realize fully and in all its aspects what this loss has meant to music - and to humanity."

On February 5, 8, 10 and 12, you will experience a shining example of his work for the stage - too long overlooked and now endlessly rewarding for all who are privildged to hear and see it.

~ Doug Tuck, Director of Marketing and Community Programs

Modern Themes In Traditional Opera

Photo credit: Tim Matheson

“[Tito] is a completely contemporary story at any time. It’s always a task, a tricky task, what it is to lead, to make decisions on behalf of a population, what to trust and what to question. These are internal questions that we as a population ask of our leaders.”

To read more from 24 Hours Vancouver, click here.

Love Songs

Photo credit: John Lauener

Love Songs is a spectacularly virtuosic, tour-de-force opera for solo voice, featuring critically acclaimed soprano Shannon Mercer, and direction/choreography by Marie-Josée Chartier.

Working with the great love poems of many languages, including Shakespeare, Catullus, Walt Whitman and Amarusataka, award-winning composer Ana Sokolovic carries us through all the dizzying states of love, going far beyond traditional operatic use of the voice.

February 11, 12, 14, 2011 - 8PM
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre
SFU Woodward's
149 West Hastings Street
Enter through the Cordova Street courtyard

Tickets: $28 regular, $20 students & seniors
For more information or tickets, call 604.709.9973 or to purchase online, click here.

Blogging La Clemenza di Tito

Bloggers Stacey Robinsmith, Nik Belonio, Miranda Lievers and Frances Sprout will return for opening night this Saturday to take on the opera seria, La Clemenza di Tito.

The quartet will also be sharing their thoughts on the entire experience: from hobnobbing with other opera patrons, reporting from the backstage tour and listening to the exquisite bel canto singing.

Follow along the sidebar to the right for their weblinks as they blog pre-show and during the intermission.


Clockwise from top left: Stacey Robinsmith, Nik Belonio, Miranda Lievers and Frances Sprout

Don't be shy! Stop by and say hello to our friendly bloggers on opening night in the main lobby of the QET. They can't wait to meet you!

Sponsored by:


~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

A New Block Of Get O.U.T. Tickets Has Been Added!

Between the ages of 18-29? Don’t delay and Get O.U.T.for $25 a ticket!*

Call the VO Ticket Centre at 604-682-0222 and quote promo code 3062. Hurry! Quantities are limited.

Tickets will be available for pick-up the night of the show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Each patron must show valid ID that identifies them as being between the ages of 18 – 29. Ticket limit is 2 per person.

*Offer not valid in combination with any other offer or on previously purchased tickets. Conditions apply.

Parking At The BC Hydro Lot

Please note that the rate for parking at the BC Hydro Building has gone up to $10. The lot is located at the corner of Homer and Dunsmuir Streets (enter from Homer Street). Please identify yourself as a Vancouver Opera patron to receive this rate.

Free Preview Chats Before The Shows

Get to the theatre early and join Doug Tuck, Director of Marketing & Community Programs as he discusses the background of Mozart and his last opera, La Clemenza di Tito. Talks are held in the mezzanine from 6:30-7:00pm on all performance nights.




For more information on the opera, read the synopsis here! Or for a more fun and interesting way, read the manga version here!

Mozart Opera Is A Forgotten Masterpiece

"It's a sensational piece. The music is just phenomenal," Darlington says. "Every time I open the score, I realize I'm just touching the tip of the iceberg, there is so much going on at different levels. It's incredible that Mozart wrote it in such a short time. Clemenza is very intimate, real chamber music; for example, the trumpets and the timpani play in only three numbers. And the characters are not at all stereotypes -- they are real, breathing people."

To read more from Vancouvr Sun's David Gordon Duke, click here.

Shadow Of The Ninja: The Return

We are breaking protocol! In the past, we've employed one Opera Ninja to take on our dress rehearsals, but tomorrow night, we will welcome two!

Tris Hussey aka "The Shadow" will once again go undercover, reporting from the dark recesses of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre during La Clemenza di Tito. But he won't be alone!

Who could it possibly be? A newbie ninja-in-training? Or perhaps his daimyo? Or maybe The Shadow is forming an alliance with another "behind-the-scenes" warrior?

I mean, we are talking about La Clemenza di Tito here. An opera where the daughter of a deposed Emperor wants the current ruler, Tito, assassinated because he does not return her love. Who does she get to do the dirty work? A man who's helplessly in love with her and who just happens to be Tito's close friend. Things are gonna get serious!

It's no wonder we'll have 2 Opera Ninjas.

Follow Thursday night's dress rehearsal at our Twitter: @Operaninja or along the right side-bar of this blog.

The action begins at 7pm!

Sponsored by:


~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito Is Full Of Feminine Wiles

Photo credit: Alex Waterhouse-Hayward

“Vitellia is Joan Collins. She’s a really manipulative but powerful woman.”

Nielsen won’t be sporting enormous shoulder pads or smoking long black cigarillos like the infamous character of Alexis Colby, but she may be on to something. Vitellia is, undoubtedly, one deliciously wicked woman: passed over as a wife by Emperor Titus, she uses her feminine wiles to convince her paramour, Sesto, who is Titus’s confidant, to agree to assassinate the ruler.

To read more from The Georgia Straight, click here.

Are there Opera Under Thirty tickets available for 2011 programming? I'm specifically interested in seeing the upcoming opera, La Clemenza di Tito.

Hello and thanks for your question!

Our Get O.U.T.! promo for La Clemenza di Tito has been posted on our blog, Facebook and Twitter for the past couple of weeks now.

http://vancouveropera.blogspot.com/2011/01/get-out-with-la-clemenza-di-tito.html

Please call our box office at 604.683.0222 for availability.

Hope to see you at La Clemenza di Tito!

Ask me anything

Listen: Opera Speaks: Qualities Of Leadership

If you were unable to attend Opera Speaks: Qualities of Leadership at the Vancouver Public Library on January 25, we will be posting audio excerpts from our speakers this week.

Here's Chris Kennedy, Superintendent of Schools, West Vancouver School District talking about what it takes to be a political and community leader today.

Listen: Opera Speaks: Qualities of Leadership

If you were unable to attend Opera Speaks: Qualities of Leadership at the Vancouver Public Library on January 25, we will be posting audio excerpts from our speakers this week.

Here's Michael Byers, Canadian Research Chair in International Law and Politics at UBC and author of, most recently, Intent for a Nation: What is Canada For? speaking about what it takes to be a political and community leader today.

Interview With Chas Rader-Shieber

There's really almost nothing to which you can compare Mozart. It's on a level that is astounding. The body of work, in just short amount of time about such important matters. He really wrote about important matters all the time.

During rehearsals for La Clemenza di Tito last month, director Chas Rader-Shieber talks about the production and the genius of Mozart.

Press play, turn up the volume and enjoy.

For La Clemenza di Tito tickets, call our ticketing centre at 604.683.0222 or purchase online here.

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

Interview With Krisztina Szabo & Wendy Nielsen

It's rare that the soprano's the villain. It's way fun and Mozart knows how to write for a villain. Lots of extremes of highs and lows. - Wendy Nielsen

There's a camaraderie in a Mozart cast that you don't find elsewhere. - Krisztina Szabo

Taken during rehearsals for La Clemenza di Tito, mezzo soprano Krisztina Szabo and soprano Wendy Nielsen talks about why Mozart's magnificent last opera is so compelling.

Press play, turn up the volume and enjoy.

For La Clemenza di Tito tickets, call our ticketing centre at 604.683.0222 or purchase online here.

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager

Interview With Jonathan Darlington

It's as if he's putting everything into a melting pot and just taking out the bare bones. It's like having an x-ray scan of all his greatest pieces. I've done this piece many times and every single time, there are certain moments, I can barely keep it together. It's distilled Mozart. Perfection.

Taken during rehearsals for La Clemenza di Tito, Maestro Jonathan Darlington plays the fortepiano and talks about his love for Mozart's magnificent last opera.

Press play, turn up the volume and enjoy.

For La Clemenza di Tito tickets, call our ticketing centre at 604.683.0222 or purchase online here.

~ Ling Chan, Social Media Manager