The Barber of Seville House Program

Performance C A N A D I A N O P E R A C O M PA N Y S p r i n g 2015

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

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CONTENTS 4 TOP TWELVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ROSSINI’S THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

BY NIKITA GOURSKI

10 NYC ™ COC’S SEMELE! 18 BACKSTAGE AND BEYOND 26 TOP TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE/ERWARTUNG

BY GIANMARCO SEGATO

2015/2016 SEASON PREVIEW: 12 LA TRAVIATA; 14 PYRAMUS AND THISBE; 16 SIEGFRIED; 20 THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO; 22 CARMEN; 24 MAOMETTO II

Performance C A N A D I A N O P E R A C O M PA N Y

Spring 2015

Top: A scene from the COC/Houston Grand Opera (HGO)/Opéra National de Bordeaux co-production of The Barber of Seville, 2011, HGO. Photo: Felix Sanchez

Above: Nina Warren as The Woman in a scene from the COC's Erwartung (2001).

Photo: Michael Cooper

n CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY EDITORS: Gianna Wichelow, Senior Manager, Creative and Publications; Claire Morley, Associate Manager, Editorial n RJ PERFORMANCE MEDIA INC.: PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER: Joe Marino n CEO: Frank Barbosa n SECRETARY TREASURER: Rajee Muthuraman n FINANCE: Gina Zicari n NATIONAL ACCOUNT DIRECTORS: Gary Bell, Tom Marino n ART DIRECTOR /DESIGN: Jan Haringa n Cover images: The Barber of Seville: Patrick Carfizzi and Nathan Gunn as Figaro in the COC/Houston Grand Opera(HGO)/Opéra National de Bordeaux co-production of The Barber of Seville, 2011, HGO. Photo: Felix Sanchez Bluebeard's Castle/Erwartung: Mark Johnson (background) and John Relyea in the Seattle Opera presentation of the COC production of Bluebeard’s Castle, 2009. Photo: Rozarii Lynch Canadian Opera Company’s edition of Performance magazine is published quarterly by RJ Performance Media Inc., 2724 Coventry Road, Oakville, Ontario, L6H 6R1. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written consent is prohibited. Contents copyright © Performance Inc. Subscriptions available by contacting publisher.

Direct all advertising enquiries to 2724 Coventry Road, Oakville, Ontario, L6H 6R1 or phone 905-829-3900

Catch up with blogs and explore Look and Listen at coc.ca.

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4. OPERA BUFFA AND THE BEL CANTO ERA

TOP 12

THINGS TO KNOW

ABOUT ROSSINI’S

The Barber of Seville

BY NIKITA GOURSKI

1. A MUSICAL PRODIGY Rossini was born in 1792 in Pesaro, a seaport town on the Adriatic coast. Growing up with musician parents—his mother a soprano; his father a horn and trumpet player— he was immersed from a young age in the bustling, often chaotic world of Italian opera houses, in which a new work might be composed, rehearsed, and performed within the span of only a few weeks. By his early teens he was already a polished musician, studying at the conservatory in Bologna, and composing original works, including opera.

2. EARLY SUCCESS… By age 20, Rossini was recognized internationally as a major talent, with two important hits in the same year, one comic (The Italian Girl in Algiers), one serious (Tancredi). There was an exuberant richness, an endless

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Rossini enjoying his retirement.

Photo by Étienne Carjat, 1865

inventiveness in Rossini’s melodies and vocal writing that soon made him the most celebrated, bankable, and popular composer in the world.

3. …EARLY RETIREMENT Yet most remarkably, at the very height of his powers, Rossini went into retirement.

He had his reasons, of course: he was exhausted from writing some 40 operas in 19 years; he was depressed by his mother’s recent death; he had physical problems; there were signs of change coming both politically and within the art form that he might not have cared to entertain or adjust his style to suit. Yet even with all these explanations, the totality of Rossini’s departure from the opera world astonishes. He lived for another 40 years or so but never wrote another opera—a fallow period longer than Mozart’s lifespan.

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

Though Rossini wrote operas of all kinds, he is primarily known today for his mastery of opera buffa, or comic opera, an immensely popular genre that was geared to all social classes (as opposed to the aristocracy) with fast-paced action, comic situations, and hummable tunes. Bel canto means “beautiful singing” and denotes the highly exhibitionist, virtuosic singing style practiced at the time (both in serious and comic works).

While bel canto operas followed fairly fixed structures and conventions—detractors sometimes label them “mechanical” and “formulaic” —Rossini nonetheless found dramatically compelling, stunningly beautiful, and inventive ways to deploy these formal structures.

5. “IF I HAD GONE TO VISIT MY BARBER FOR A SHAVE, I WOULDN’T HAVE HAD TIME TO FINISH.” ROSSINI Rossini claimed that he composed The Barber of Seville in 13 days, never leaving the house where he was lodging. Given such timelines, composers had to be pragmatic about expediting their work. Self-borrowing, for example, was a standard practice, and Rossini frequently reused material from his back catalogue. Indeed, Barber features passages from five previous Rossini operas.

Yet his genius manages to transcend this system of manufacture: “You may say things about Rossini and they may be true regarding the borrowings […] the speed of composition and so forth,

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TOP 12 THINGS TO KNOW about Rossini’s The Barber of Seville

but I confess that I cannot help believing The Barber of Seville for abundance of ideas, for verve, [and] for truth of declamation the most beautiful opera buffa in existence,” wrote the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi.

6. SOURCE MATERIAL Barber is based on a stage play by the French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais (whose Figaro trilogy is a satirical take-down of aristocratic privilege and also includes The Marriage of Figaro and The Guilty Mother). Rossini’s was not the first Barber opera; in fact an earlier version by a composer named Giovanni Paisiello was considered such a cornerstone of the opera buffa repertoire that Rossini decided to write to the elder artist, assuring him that this new version was not intended as an affront to the original.

7. A DISASTER OF A PREMIERE On opening night a clique of ardent Paisiello supporters (see #6) bought up entire sections of the theatre, intending to boo the opera vociferously and cause a debacle regardless of what happened on stage. But the performance itself was marred by problems: a guitar string broke in the opening scene; a singer tripped over an errant trapdoor and had to deliver his aria while trying to stop a bleeding nose; a cat dashed onto the stage and got tangled up in the soprano’s skirt. Though opening night was a disaster, the second performance was a great success, and Rossini’s Barber has been in the repertoire ever since.

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Puppeteers appear to be manipulating a character in The Barber of Seville (Opéra National de Bordeaux, 2012). Photo: Guillaume Bonnaud

8 COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE ROOTS

9. A FREE-WHEELING PRODUCTION

Rossini’s opera owes much to the Italian tradition of commedia dell’arte, the street theatre of improvised comedy featuring recognizable stock characters—the young lovers, the wily servant, the boastful soldier, the old man scheming to marry a younger woman, etc. The production team pays homage to these theatrical roots with costumes and makeup that reference traditional commedia dell’arte tropes.

Praised for “imaginatively renewing a canonic work” (Opera News) this production

by Els Comediants—a Spanish theatre collective that has been creating multi-disciplinary performances for over 40 years—combines carnival and circus traditions along with puppetry, dance, acrobatics, pantomime, and commedia dell’arte practices.

Commedia dell'arte scene in an Italian landscape by Peeter van Bredael, late 17th to early 18th century

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

TOP 12 THINGS TO KNOW about Rossini’s The Barber of Seville

11. PLAYING WITH PERCEPTION Doors and windows at crooked angles, exaggerated hairdos, and outsized props all contribute to a cartoon-like disruption of scale and proportion. The semi-transparent fabric walls allow for shadow play and effects that mimic cinematic cutaways and montage, notably during the famous “Largo al factotum” aria in which Figaro details his many tasks and responsibilities while we simultaneously witness silhouetted figures performing those errands.

A giant guitar features prominently in The Barber of Seville (Opéra National de Bordeaux, 2012). Photo: Guillaume Bonnaud

10. MINIMAL, EXPRESSIVE SET DESIGN The designs are partly inspired

by Picasso’s Cubist aesthetic and the visual language of constructive sculpture, or art that is made by putting things together from different sources.

Colourful guitars in Act I are an example, referencing similar constructions by Picasso.

Note that many elements of the set design also have a multifunctional, open-ended quality, as objects take on different forms. The giant pink piano, for example, becomes a writing desk, a banquet table, and a boudoir over the course of the opera.

A scene from The Barber of Seville (Opéra National de Bordeaux, 2012).

Photo: Guillaume Bonnaud

12. HIT PARADE From an overture heard in countless movies, cartoons, and advertisements, to the most famous “entrance aria” in all of opera, to the exhilarating crescendo of “La calunnia” to the sparkling, classic beauty of “Una voce

poco fa,” Rossini’s score is a veritable hit parade. You can hear guided samples at coc.ca/LookAndListen.

Nikita Gourski is Development Communications Officer at the Canadian Opera Company.

FOR FURTHER INSIGHT INTO THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, READ ANATOMY OF AN OPERA IN THE WINTER ISSUE OF PRELUDE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT COC.CA/PUBLICATIONS.

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

NYC

™COC’s

Semele!

“The Canadian Opera Company production is a very welcome highlight of BAM’s season.”

BlogCritics.com

“A chance for this city to hear this excellent Toronto-based company in a rare American visit.”

Superconductor

“Incredibly entertaining” Out.com

I

n early March the COC took its genre-bending production of Handel’s Semele, conducted by Christopher Moulds and directed by renowned Chinese visual artist Zhang Huan, to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Jane Archibald reprised her starring role as Semele with an all-star cast including Colin Ainsworth, Kyle Ketelsen, Hilary Summers, Katherine Whyte and Lawrence Zazzo.

Above: Jane Archibald as Semele and Colin Ainsworth as Jupiter.

Photo: Jack Vartoogian, Front Row Photos

Left: The cast and creative team on opening night.

Photo: Gene Wu

“Truly one of the most spectacular and unique operatic experiences that we’ve had all season.”

Alegroconfuoco.com

“This playful, colorful staging, which comes from the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, is saturated with Buddhist imagery; elements of Asian theater, including puppets; and, believe it or not, a pair of sumo wrestlers.”

“A rare and stimulating experience at the opera.”New York Classical Review

New York Times We thank the generous donors who helped make this tour possible: Walter M. and Lisa Balfour Bowen Philip Deck and Kimberley Bozak David and Kristin Ferguson Jerry and Geraldine Heffernan Peter M. Partridge Colleen Sexsmith Kristine Vikmanis and Denton Creighton Jack Whiteside Anonymous (1) 10

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

The COC Tour to BAM has been generously supported by

SPRING SHOWCASE 2015 CLASSICAL & CONTEMPORARY WORKS May 20 – 23 | Betty Oliphant Theatre

an Ontario government agency un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario

Photos: Cylla von Tiedemann

BOX OFFICE OPENS APRIL 28 Call Tuesday-Friday, 12pm-4pm at 416.964.5148 or email boxoffice@nbs-enb.ca

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GIUSEPPE VERDI

LA TRAVIATA When everything is for sale, what would you give for love?

With an irresistible score and a heartbreaking story of grand romance, Verdi’s La Traviata epitomizes what great opera is all about.

From Violetta’s soaring and passionate declaration of independence, “Sempre libera,” to her heartfelt cry for Alfredo’s love, “Amami Alfredo;” from Germont’s fatherly plea in “Di Provenza il mar” to the rousing “Libiamo,” Traviata is a glorious offering of some of Verdi’s most exciting melodies.

The role of Violetta demands vocal pyrotechnics and the dramatic conviction to carry the character through a remarkable emotional arc, and we have wonderful exponents of the role in Ekaterina Siurina and Joyce El-Khoury, two of the most exciting young sopranos on the opera scene.

In this new production, renowned director Arin Arbus sets the story of devotion and sacrifice in the demimonde of 1850s Paris, featuring decadent parties and all-night balls, sumptuous sets and exquisite costumes, all unfolding against the rhythms, rituals, and debauchery of a rapidly changing society.

October 8 – November 4, 2015

Generously underwritten in part by

NEW COC PRODUCTION

DAVID ROFFEY AND KAREN WALSH

Marina Rebeka as Violetta in La Traviata (Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2013). Photo: Todd Rosenberg

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

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Bold new Canadian meets early Baroque classic BARBARA MONK FELDMAN

CANADIAN WORLD PREMIERE

PYRAMUS AND THISBE MONTEVERDI

LAMENTO D’ARIANNA AND IL COMBATTIMENTO Opera’s earliest beginnings collide with a bold, new Canadian world premiere in this intriguing and innovative program. When opera was first invented in early 17th-century Italy, Claudio Monteverdi was at the forefront with works like Lamento d’Arianna (1608) and Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (1624). As with most early opera, their subjects are drawn from mythology and history – here, the tales of Ariadne abandoned by Theseus on the island of Naxos; and, of Tancredi and Clorinda whose tragic fates unfold on the battlefields of the Crusades.

Canadian composer Barbara Monk Feldman’s Pyramus and Thisbe (2010) is also based on a classical myth – the same saga of fated love famously adapted by Shakespeare for Romeo and Juliet. Inspired by the ever-changing light and colour of her native Gaspé Peninsula, Monk Feldman’s transparent score charts the emotional landscape between two star-crossed lovers and celebrates the cathartic power of letting love go.

Following virtuosic turns in 2012’s Love from afar and 2015’s Erwartung, Canadian mezzo soprano and COC Ensemble alumna Krisztina Szabó continues her traversal of contemporary opera’s most compelling heroines as Monk Feldman’s Thisbe and then reaches back four centuries to play Monteverdi’s Arianna and Clorinda. Canadian baritone Phillip Addis (Marcello/Schaunard in 2013’s La bohème) returns as Pyramus and Tancredi. The compelling team of singer-actors is united under the ever-probing eye of director Christopher Alden (Die Fledermaus, 2012; Rigoletto, 2011). COC Music Director Johannes Debus leads the COC Orchestra.

October 17 – November 6, 2015 NEW COC PRODUCTION Detail from Nicolas Poussin’s Landscape during a Thunderstorm with Pyramus and Thisbe, 1651.

Photo: U. Edelmann–Stä del Museum–ARTOTHEK

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

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RICHARD WAGNER

SIEGFRIED “Through furious fire have I come to you!”

The journey of the hero Siegfried, as created by the revolutionary composer Richard Wagner, makes for some of the most profound drama ever conceived. Wagner immerses us into a psychologically penetrating world of greed, fear, and self-discovery in a production created by innovative FrenchCanadian director François Girard and Toronto-born designer Michael Levine. Mirroring the emotional landscape of Wagner’s stirring score, this production has been called “mind-blowing” (Eye Weekly), “awe-inspiring” (Toronto Sun) and “incandescent” (National Post).

Described as “huge of voice, unflagging of stamina, imaginative and energetic on the stage” (Seattle Times), formidable German tenor Stefan Vinke is the hero Siegfried, a man without fear who battles dragons, fire, and gods in order to save the courageous Valkyrie Brünnhilde, who has been cast into an enchanted sleep. Powerhouse American soprano Christine Goerke brings her “multi-hued miracle of gale-force power and pin point control” (Musical America) in a return to the COC as Brünnhilde.

Wagner’s exhilarating, intoxicating and deeply personal score is brought to life by the COC Orchestra under COC Music Director Johannes Debus.

February 6 – 26, 2016

Production originally made possible by

COC PRODUCTION

KOLTER COMMUNITIES A scene from Siegfried (Canadian Opera Company, 2006).

Photo: Michael Cooper

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

ALEXANDER NEEF, General Director

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

by Gioachino Rossini Opera in Two Acts, Libretto by Cesare Sterbini, after Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’ play Le Barbier de Séville First performance: Teatro Argentina, Rome, February 20, 1816 New COC Production Co-production with Houston Grand Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux and Opera Australia Last performed by the COC in 2008 April 17, 19, 21, 26, 29, May 2, 7, 9, 13, 19, 21, 22, 2015 Sung in Italian with English SURTITLESTM

THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance)

Fiorello, servant to the Count Count Almaviva Figaro, a barber Rosina, Doctor Bartolo’s ward Doctor Bartolo Berta, Rosina’s governess Don Basilio, a singing teacher Officer Conductor Director Choreographer Associate Director Set and Costume Designer Lighting Designer Chorus Master Stage Manager SURTITLES™ Producer

Iain MacNeil†** Alek Shrader Bogdan Mihai (May 9, 19, 21) Joshua Hopkins Serena Malfi Cecelia Hall (May 7, 9, 19, 21, 22) Renato Girolami Nikolay Didenko (May 9, 19, 21) Aviva Fortunata†*** Robert Gleadow^* Burak Bilgili (May 9, 19, 21) Clarence Frazer†**** Rory Macdonald Joan Font Xevi Dorca Tanya Kane-Parry Joan Guillén Albert Faura Sandra Horst^***** Liliane Stilwell Gunta Dreifelds

Performance time is approximately 3 hours, including one intermission.

The Barber of Seville is generously underwritten by The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation

Production sponsored by

Production supported in part by

*Robert Gleadow’s performance is generously sponsored by Carol Swallow **Iain MacNeil’s performance is generously sponsored by Roger D. Moore ***Aviva Fortunata’s performance is generously sponsored by the COVC Jean A. Chalmers Award ****Clarence Frazer’s performance is generously sponsored by Anne and Tony Arrell *****Sandra Horst and the COC Chorus are generously underwritten by Tim and Frances Price † Current member of the COC Ensemble Studio ^Graduate of the COC Ensemble Studio Program information is correct at time of printing. All casting is subject to change.

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

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ALEXANDER NEEF, General Director

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

by Gioachino Rossini Opera in Two Acts, Libretto by Cesare Sterbini, after Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’ play Le Barbier de Séville First performance: Teatro Argentina, Rome, February 20, 1816 New COC Production Co-production with Houston Grand Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux and Opera Australia Last performed by the COC in 2008 Ensemble Studio Performance May 15, 2015 Sung in Italian with English SURTITLESTM

THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance)

Fiorello, servant to the Count Count Almaviva Figaro, a barber Rosina, Doctor Bartolo’s ward Doctor Bartolo Berta, Rosina’s governess Don Basilio, a singing teacher Officer Conductor Director Associate Director Set and Costume Designer Lighting Designer Chorus Master Stage Manager SURTITLES™ Producer

Jan Vaculik Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure† (Act I) Andrew Haji† (Act II) Clarence Frazer† Charlotte Burrage† Iain MacNeil† Karine Boucher† Gordon Bintner† Jan Vaculik Rory Macdonald Joan Font Tanya Kane-Parry Joan Guillén Albert Faura Sandra Horst^ Liliane Stilwell Gunta Dreifelds

Performance time is approximately 3 hours, including one intermission.

This performance of The Barber of Seville is generously underwritten in part by Roy and Marjorie Linden

Production sponsored by

Production supported in part by

Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure’s performance is generously sponsored by Anne and Tony Arrell Andrew Haji’s performance is generously sponsored by Brian Wilks, Roy and Marjorie Linden Iain MacNeil’s performance is generously sponsored by Roger D. Moore Charlotte Burrage’s performance is generously sponsored by Margaret Harriett Cameron and the late Gary Smith Clarence Frazer’s performance is generously sponsored by Anne and Tony Arrell Gordon Bintner’s performance is generously sponsored by Marcia Lewis Brown Karine Boucher’s performance is generously sponsored by Colleen Sexsmith Jennifer Szeto is generously sponsored by Catherine Fauquier Sandra Horst and the COC Chorus are generously underwritten by Tim and Frances Price ^Graduate of the COC Ensemble Studio †Current member of the COC Ensemble Studio Program information is correct at time of printing. All casting is subject to change.

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

W

hen you start the staging of a new opera you instantly and simultaneously open two paths: the path of music and that of literature. You should let yourself be seduced by both. Let’s start this journey navigating the words and their sounds, structures, colour, and musicality. With The Barber of Seville, it’s clear that the starting point is the Theatre, a classic theme of world literature dating back to ancient times. This operatic Barber is specifically derived from the commedia dell’arte tradition—the old Doctor Bartolo could well be a shadow of Pantalone and Figaro a contemporary Arlecchino (“Harlequin”). The other characters may share numerous similarities to characters in this street theatre; they are prototypes of humanity played in a symbolic manner and able to create absurd, delirious, surreal, comical and ironic situations and actions.

We intend to enter into these ballrooms where there are lots of different mirrors— concave and convex—creating spherical, harlequinesque figures. Their reflections give us our own image in a grotesque manner, inviting us to play and laugh at our own deformation, as we become masks and puppets playing in a Grand Puppet Theatre.

The idea behind our Barber is timeless; it is not located in a specific space. The action of the opera runs in Seville but it could well happen in the 19th century or in today’s Toronto.

In The Barber of Seville there are several cross-cutting themes of universal character: love (and possession) being one of them, demonstrated by the self-serving Doctor in his “old age” who wants to marry his young pupil.

Love—here we have a young student who is passionate and crazy for this young girl, and who in fact isn’t really a student but rather a rich Marquis who wants to be loved for his skills and not for his wealth, but who also constantly uses his power to get what he wants, buying his servant, musicians, Figaro, Don Basilio, and the Commander, all of whom allow themselves to be corrupted by the “filthy money.” The power of gold makes the impossible seem possible. However there is another power in this plot: the power of the everyday business and that of the keeper of the keys, the one who can open and close all doors and balconies of this mansion that is, in fact, a cage and prison.

And you can’t miss the transvestism set out by Rossini—the costumes, changing of roles, becoming someone else in order to enter the world of the forbidden.

And in the midst of this chaotic history, letters and notices will come and go, adding to the chaos… and these entanglements are just as relevant in our world today.

Within Barber’s tumultuous journey of relations, contradictions and emotions, Gioachino Rossini guides us with his delightful score, leading us down a path that is both natural and illuminating.

– Joan Font

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SYNOPSIS ACT I Count Almaviva has fallen in love with Rosina, a young girl he saw in Madrid, and has followed her to the house in Seville where she is kept sequestered by her old guardian, Dr. Bartolo, who wishes to marry her and acquire her dowry. Accompanied by his servant Fiorello and some musicians, Almaviva comes in disguise to serenade her, but gets no response. As daylight breaks, the barber Figaro appears and promises to help Almaviva for a suitable reward. Serenading Rosina again, the Count identifies himself as a poor man named “Lindoro” because he wants her to love him for himself, not for his wealth. Figaro comes up with an idea: the Count should force entry into Bartolo's house on the pretext of being a soldier billeted there. The two happily contemplate their respective rewards.

Meanwhile, Rosina, stirred by this most attractive voice, determines to find its owner.

Bartolo enters with the music master Don Basilio, who warns him that Almaviva is his rival for Rosina's hand. Bartolo decides to marry his ward at once, but Figaro overhears and warns Rosina, promising to carry a letter from her to Lindoro. The suspicious Bartolo tries to get Rosina to admit she has written to her suitor and warns her not to trifle with him. Suddenly Almaviva, disguised as a drunken soldier, bursts in and passes Rosina a note, which she hides. A loud quarrel ensues when Bartolo claims exemption from billeting orders. As a curious crowd forms outside, police try to take the troublemaker into custody, but he confides his identity to the Sergeant, who lets him go amidst pandemonium.

INTERMISSION ACT II Dr. Bartolo suspects the intruder was a spy sent by Almaviva, who once again appears

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

in disguise, this time as Don Alonso, a music teacher substituting for a sick Basilio. Alonso announces he is staying at the same inn as Almaviva and has found a letter from Rosina. He offers to tell Rosina that Almaviva is cheating on her with another woman. Reassured, Bartolo allows Alonso to give Rosina her singing lesson.

Bartolo observes the lesson until Figaro arrives to shave him. With Bartolo unable to decide whom to trust alone, Figaro manages to steal the key to the upstairs balcony and Rosina recognizes Lindoro, who proposes to her. As the shaving is about to begin, Basilio himself appears, and the sham threatens to unravel. Quickly, Almaviva bribes him to play sick and rushes him out of the house. Figaro shaves Bartolo, distracting him while the lovers make their plans to elope, but Bartolo overhears the word “disguise” and sends for Basilio. After everyone has left, the maid Berta wanders in and complains that she is working in a madhouse.

Learning that Alonso is a fraud, the doctor sends Basilio to fetch a notary at once so he can marry his ward that very evening.

Calling Rosina, he shows her a note, saying Lindoro has deceived her and plans to win her for his master, Almaviva. Rosina is angry and agrees to marry Bartolo, also revealing that Figaro and Lindoro plan to enter by way of the balcony. Bartolo goes for the police. Figaro and Almaviva come in through the window, only to be spurned

by Rosina, who accuses Lindoro of wooing her for Almaviva. Lindoro reveals his true identity and Rosina is delighted. Figaro urges them to hurry, but as they prepare to escape, they realize Bartolo has thwarted their plan by removing the ladder from the balcony. Basilio enters with the notary, but is dismissed with another bribe from the Count, who joins Rosina in signing the marriage contract. Bartolo surprises them, but is too late to intervene. Rosina is free at last; young love has won the day.

MUSIC STAFF

Stephen B. Hargreaves (Head Coach) Jennifer Szeto (Ensemble Studio Intern Coach) ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

Stephen B. Hargreaves ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Allison Grant ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS

Mike Lewandowski Kristin McCollum ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNERS

Andrea Nelson Davida Tkach ACTORS

Paul Charbonneau Jason Clarke Jesse Dell Neesa Kenemy Michael Killinger Gary Lucich Raymond Miller Nicole Norsworthy Matthew Owen Jennifer Robinson Robert Yeretch UNDERSTUDIES

Count Almaviva Figaro Doctor Bartolo Berta Don Basilio Officer

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Andrew Haji Clarence Frazer Iain MacNeil Karine Boucher Gordon Bintner Jan Vakulik

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ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES BURAK BILGILI Don Basilio (M)

Turkish bass Burak Bilgili last appeared at the COC as Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville in 2008.

Other COC credits include Walter in Luisa Miller, Banquo in Macbeth and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor.

Recent appearances include Raimondo (New Orleans Opera); Nourabad in Les pêcheurs de perles (Florida Grand Opera/FGO); Sparafucile in Rigoletto (Opera Omaha); Ramfis in Aida (Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival); Don Basilio (Dallas Opera); Mustafà in L’Italiana in Algeri (Palau de les Arts); Daland in The Flying Dutchman (Michigan Opera Theatre); Nilakantha in Lakmé (Opéra de Montréal); and Leporello in Don Giovanni (Cincinnati Opera/CO).

Upcoming appearances include the title role in Don Pasquale (CO); Oroveso in Norma (FGO); and Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette (Atlanta Opera).

GORDON BINTNER Don Basilio (E)

Ensemble Studio member bass-baritone Gordon Bintner won First prize and the Audience Choice Award at the Second Annual COC Ensemble Studio Competition in 2012 and recently won Second Prize at the Christina and Louis Quilico Awards. He recently appeared at the COC as the Official Registrar in Madama Butterfly, the Customs Officer in La Bohème, the Page in Roberto Devereux and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte (Ensemble Studio performance). Other credits include Papageno in The Magic Flute and Escamillo in Carmen (Saskatoon Opera); Lescaut in Manon (Opéra de 6

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

Montréal); Colline in La Bohème (Angers Nantes Opéra); the title roles in Le nozze di Figaro (Opera NUOVA) and Don Giovanni (Opera McGill); Junior in A Quiet Place (Orchestre symphonique de Montréal); Nardo in La finta giardiniera (Merola Opera Program); and Handel’s Messiah (New Jersey Symphony Orchestra).

KARINE BOUCHER Berta (E)

Born in Québec City, first-year Ensemble Studio soprano Karine Boucher won First Prize and the Audience Choice Award in the Third Annual Ensemble Studio Competition in 2013 and First Prize at the recent Christina and Louis Quilico Awards in February 2015. She recently appeared at the COC as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. As a member of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal from 2010 to 2013, her credits include Miss Pinkerton in The Old Maid and the Thief.

Additional credits include Annina in La Traviata, Inez in Il Trovatore and Damon in Acis and Galatea (Arte Music); and Mimì in La Bohème (Jeunesses Musicales). Next season at the COC, Karine sings the role of Micaëla in Carmen.

CHARLOTTE BURRAGE Rosina (E)

Originally from Woodstock, Ontario, mezzo-soprano Charlotte Burrage is a second-year Ensemble Studio member.

She recently appeared as Grimgerde in Die Walküre and Dorabella in Così fan tutte (Ensemble performance), and she was also Third Prize winner at the Christina and Louis Quilico Awards in February 2015.

Other credits include Pergolesi’s Stabat

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Mater with Kevin Mallon in Italy and Christopher Verrette in Toronto; Hansel in Hansel and Gretel (Vancouver Opera in Schools); Dorabella (Banff Centre’s Opera as Theatre and Jeunesses Musicales); and the title role in Massenet’s Cendrillon (University of British Columbia). Other credits include appearances with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Handel’s Messiah with Orchestra London.

Upcoming appearances include Suzuki in Madama Butterfly (Saskatoon Opera) and Mercédès in Carmen at the COC next season.

NIKOLAY DIDENKO Doctor Bartolo (M)

Russian bass Nikolay Didenko is making his COC debut. A graduate of the Moscow Academy of Choral Art in both singing and conducting, his recent credits include Gremin in Eugene Onegin (Mikhailovsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg); Kitschiga in Charodekya (Theater an der Wien); Count Rodolfo in La sonnambula (Bolshoi Theatre/BT); and Padre Guardiano in La forza del destino (Oper Köln).

Upcoming appearances include Count Rodolfo (BT); a new project with the Prague State Opera; Pope Clement VII in Benvenuto Cellini; and Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette.

JEAN-PHILIPPE FORTIER-LAZURE Count Almaviva (E)

Originally from Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, tenor JeanPhilippe Fortier-Lazure placed second in the Third Annual Ensemble Studio Competition in 2013. Mr. Fortier-Lazure is also a recipient of the Governor General Performing Arts Mentorship Award. Credits Please visit coc.ca for additional information

include Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande (Nova Scotia Opera Company and Atelier d’Opéra, University of Montreal/AO); Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites (AO); Beppe in Pagliacci, Guard in Manon and Prince of Persia in Turandot (Opera Lyra); and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Don Curzio/Don Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro and Mr. Gobineau in The Medium (University of Ottawa Opera Productions).

AVIVA FORTUNATA Berta (M)

Calgary native soprano Aviva Fortunata is a second-year Ensemble Studio member. She recently appeared with the COC as Helmwige in Die Walküre and Fiordiligi in the Ensemble Studio performance of Così fan tutte. Other notable credits include Desdemona in Otello and the Lady with a Cake Box in Postcard from Morocco (San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program); Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Concert Opera Group, Centre for Opera Studies in Italy and UofT Opera); and Poulenc’s Gloria (Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra). Ms. Fortunata will represent Canada in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in June 2015.

CLARENCE FRAZER Officer (M) and Figaro (E)

Ensemble Studio member and Mississauga native baritone Clarence Frazer recently appeared with the COC as Prince Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, Customs House Sergeant in La Bohème and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (Ensemble Studio performance). Other credits include Marcello in La Bohème and Publio in La clemenza di Tito (Centre for 7

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Opera Studies in Italy); Prince Yamadori and Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly (Edmonton Opera); Dottore Grenvil in La Traviata, Ford in Falstaff, Pinellino in Gianni Schicchi, Daggoo in Moby-Dick and Alcindoro in La Bohème (Calgary Opera); and Escamillo in Carmen (Highlands Opera Studio). This summer Mr. Frazer sings the role of Sam in James Rolfe’s Crush at The Banff Centre (in partnership with the Canadian Opera Company and Against the Grain Theatre).

RENATO GIROLAMI Doctor Bartolo (M)

Italian baritone Renato Girolami is making his COC debut. Known for his vocal flexibility, natural recitatives and versatile role portrayals, Mr. Girolami specializes in operas by Mozart and Rossini. Recent credits include Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola (Bayerische Staatsoper/BS); Bartolo (Hamburgische Staatsoper/HS, Staatsoper Unter den Linden/SUDL, Opernhaus Zürich/OZ and Münchner Opernfestspiele/MO); Don Geronio in Il turco in Italia (Gran Teatre del Liceu, HS and BS); Geronimo in Il matrimonio segreto (OZ); Fra Melitone in La forza del destino (MO); and Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore (SUDL and New National Theater Tokyo).

Upcoming appearances include Don Magnifico (Norweigan National Opera and L’Opéra de Lille) and the title role in Don Pasquale (Glyndebourne Festival).

ROBERT GLEADOW Don Basilio (M)

Canadian bass and Ensemble Studio graduate Robert Gleadow last appeared at the COC as The Bonze in Madama Butterfly and Pistola in Falstaff. Other COC roles include Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, 8

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

Publio in La clemenza di Tito, the Speaker in The Magic Flute, Colline in La Bohème and the title role in The Marriage of Figaro.

Recent credits include Publio, Rocco in Fidelio, Leporello in Don Giovanni and the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte (Théâtre des Champs-Élysées); Rocco (Verbier Festival); and Talbot in Maria Stuarda and the King in Aida (Houston Grand Opera). Upcoming appearances include Dvorák’s Stabat Mater (Orchestre de chambre de Paris); Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (National Arts Centre Orchestra;) and Figaro, Guglielmo and Leporello in Drottningholm Palace Theatre’s Da Ponte cycle under the baton of Maestro Marc Minkowski.

ANDREW HAJI Count Almaviva (E)

London, Ontario native and second-year Ensemble Studio tenor Andrew Haji claimed Second Prize in the Second Annual COC Ensemble Studio Competition in 2012. COC credits include Rodriguez in Don Quichotte and Ferrando in Così fan tutte (Ensemble Studio performance). Other credits include Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Cecco in Il mondo della luna, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, and the title role in Rob Ford: The Opera (UofT Opera); Tamino in The Magic Flute (Music Academy of the West and Accademia Europea dell’Opera); and Rodolfo in La Bohème, Nemorino and Don Ottavio (Centre for Opera Studies in Italy).

Recently, Mr. Haji won the Grand Prix, the Press Prize and the Junior Jury Prize at the 50th edition of the International Vocal Competition 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

CECELIA HALL Rosina (M)

American mezzo-soprano Cecelia Hall is making her COC debut. Recent credits include Javotte in Manon (Metropolitan Opera); the 2015 Marilyn Horne Song Celebration (Carnegie Hall); Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (Bayerische Staatsoper); Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Seattle Opera/SO and Opera Philadelphia); Zaida in Il turco in Italia (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence); the Page of Herodias in Salome (Philadelphia Orchestra); Annio in La clemenza di Tito (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Dorabella in Così fan tutte (North Carolina Opera); Wellgunde in Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung and Rossweisse in Die Walküre (SO). Upcoming appearances include Ramiro in La finta giardiniera (Santa Fe Opera); the title role in Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires (Aspen Music Festival); Dorabella (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra); and Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis).

JOSHUA HOPKINS Figaro (M)

Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins last appeared at the COC as Marcello in La Bohème and also appeared as Moralès in Carmen. Recent credits include Tadeusz in The Passenger (Lyric Opera of Chicago/LOC); Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Dallas Opera and Glyndebourne Festival Opera/GFO); Argante in Rinaldo (GFO); Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Washington National Opera and Vancouver Opera); Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (Oper Frankfurt); Schaunard in La Bohème and Cecil in Maria Stuarda (Metropolitan Opera); and Marcello (Houston Grand Opera/HGO and Opera Lyra). Upcoming appearances include Roberto in La finta giardiniera Please visit coc.ca for additional information

(Santa Fe Opera); the Pilot in The Little Prince and Count Almaviva (HGO); and Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette (LOC).

IAIN MACNEIL Fiorello (M) and Doctor Bartolo/Fiorello (E)

First-year Ensemble Studio member and Brockville, Ontario native bass-baritone Iain MacNeil recently appeared as the Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly and in 2014 he claimed Third Prize in the COC’s Third Annual Ensemble Studio Competition.

He studied at UofT Opera and received a bachelor of music degree from Dalhousie University. Credits include Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni in scenes from Don Giovanni and Dulcamara in scenes from L’elisir d’amore (Centre for Opera Studies in Italy); Bobby in Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny-Songspiel, the title role in Sweeney Todd, Brewer in Comedy on the Bridge and Tom/John in The Face on the Barroom Floor (Dalhousie Opera Workshop).

SERENA MALFI Rosina (M)

Italian mezzo-soprano Serena Malfi is making her COC debut. Recent credits include Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Opéra national de Paris); the title role in La Cenerentola (Wiener Staatsoper); Annio in La clemenza di Tito (Bayerische Staatsoper); Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Muscat and Teatro Colón); Rosina (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Staatsoper Unter den Linden; and Teatro Real Madrid); and Despina in Così fan tutte (Teatro alla Scala). Upcoming appearances include La Cenerentola (Teatro di San Carlo and Opéra de Lausanne).

9

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

BOGDAN MIHAI Count Almaviva (M)

Romanian tenor Bogdan Mihai is making his COC debut. Recent credits include Almaviva (Oper Stuttgart/OS, Ópera de Oviedo, L’Opéra de Montréal, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Deutsche Oper Berlin); Belfiore in Il viaggio a Reims (Belcanto Opera Festival); Dorvil in La scala di seta (Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam); Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola (Opéra national du Rhin and OS); Ernesto in Don Pasquale (Residenz Theater at Münchner Staatsschauspiel, Opernhaus Zürich and Royal Opera House Muscat); and Adalberto in Adelaide di Borgogna (Rossini Opera Festival). Upcoming appearances include Almaviva (OS).

ALEK SHRADER Count Almaviva (M)

American tenor Alek Shrader is making his COC debut. Recent credits include Jupiter/ Apollo in Semele (Seattle Opera); Camille de Rosillon in The Merry Widow (Metropolitan Opera/Met); Emilio in Partenope (San Francisco Opera/SFO); Ernesto in Don Pasquale (Santa Fe Opera/ SFO and Glyndebourne Festival Opera); Ferrando in Così fan tutte (in concert with Los Angeles Philharmonic); Count Almaviva (Dallas Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, SFO and Met); Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Ferdinand in The Tempest (Met); and Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola (Hamburgische Staatsoper). Upcoming appearances include Tonio in La fille du regiment (SFO); and David in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (SFO).

10

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

JAN VACULIK Officer

Slovakian-born baritone Jan Vaculik last appeared on the COC main stage as the Polish Father/Guide in Venice in Death in Venice. As a member of the COC Chorus, his credits include Peter Grimes, Semele, A Masked Ball and Tristan und Isolde, among others. Other operatic credits include Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and Belcore in L’elisir d’amore (State Opera Slovakia); Escamillo in Carmen (Opera Bel-canto of York); Talpa in Il Tabarro (Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra); Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana, Tonio in Pagliacci (Opera Belcanto of York); and the title role in Don Giovanni (Boris Brott Summer Festival).

Mr. Vaculik has toured Germany with the Festival Ensemble Stuttgart, and recently won the Clifford Poole Orchestra Vocal Competition. Future engagements include Mozart’s Requiem (Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra).

RORY MACDONALD Conductor

Scottish conductor Rory Macdonald last conducted at the COC in 2010 for Carmen. One of the brightest stars of the younger generation of conductors, his career was launched following assisting roles with Ivan Fischer, Mark Elder and Antonio Pappano. Recent credits include Die Zauberflöte (Royal Danish Opera and San Francisco Opera); Carmen (Santa Fe Opera and Houston Grand Opera); The Cunning Little Vixen (Bergen National Opera); and The Turn of the Screw (Vienna Konzerthaus). He has conducted orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony,

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Copenhagen Philharmonic, West Australian Symphony, and Nagoya Philharmonic, among others.

JOAN FONT Director

Spanish director Joan Font last appeared at the COC directing the 2011 production of La Cenerentola. He is the founder of Els Comediants (1971), a Spanish artists’ collective formed by actors, musicians and artists, and he has participated in the creation of more than 30 stage productions spread over five continents including projects for Féstival d’Avignon, Venice’s Biennale and the closing ceremonies of the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic games. Recent operatic credits include Die Zauberflöte and The Barber of Seville (Gran Teatre del Liceu); La Cenerentola (Los Angeles Opera, Opera Omaha, and Seattle Opera); and L’italiana in Algeri (Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia and Houston Grand Opera). Upcoming productions include La Cenerentola (Washington National Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago) and Die Zauberflöte (Palacio de la Ópera, A Coruña).

XEVI DORCA Choreographer

Spanish choreographer and dancer Xevi Dorca last appeared at the COC in 2011 for La Cenerentola.

Recent operatic credits include La Cenerentola (Houston Grand Opera/HGO, Welsh National Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Gran Teatre del Liceu/ GTL, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, and Seattle Opera); Faustball (Teatro Real); L’Italiana in Algeri (Teatro Real, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Opéra National de Bordeaux/ONB, HGO); and The Barber of Seville (HGO, ONB, GTL). Mr. Dorca Please visit coc.ca for additional information

completed his studies at the Institut del Teatre in Barcelon,a specializing in choreography and interpretation dance techniques. As a dancer, he has worked with Sol Pico, Lindsay Kemp, Carlos Santos, Mar Gomez, Ballet Contemporani de Barcelona, Meekers Dance Company, Andrés Lima, Búbulus, Iliacan, Comediants, and Alex Rigola among others. Mr. Dorca co-managed the company Chicos Mambo, choreographing and acting.

TANYA KANE-PARRY Associate Director

American director and choreographer Tanya Kane-Parry is making her COC debut. Career highlights include Carmen (Pacific Repertory Opera); The Medium (California State University, Los Angeles/CSULA); the avant-garde multimedia opera The Wall: A Musical Misdeed (CSULA); Don Giovanni and The Barber of Seville (Bakersfield Symphony); the CIVIL warS (Los Angeles Philharmonic); choreographer for The Man from Atlantis, The Clever One and Moscow, Cherry Town (Long Beach Opera); and assistant director for Madama Butterfly, The Barber of Seville, Carmen, The Broken Jug and The Dwarf (Los Angeles Opera). Ms. Kane-Parry has worked with Joan Font on this production of The Barber of Seville (Houston Grand Opera/HGO, Opéra National de Bordeaux and Gran Teatre del Liceu); L’italiana in Algeri (HGO), and La Cenerentola (Los Angeles Opera and Opera Omaha).

She is the Artistic Director of the performance collective, Opera del Espacio.

11

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

JOAN GUILLÉN Set and Costume Designer

Spanish set and costume designer Joan Guillén made his COC debut in 2011 with La Cenerentola.

He is a cartoonist and set designer and taught character design courses, theatre masque and stage set design at the School of Dramatic Art at the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona. In 1999, Mr. Guillén received the Gold Medal in Costume Design at the Prague Quadrennial for Theatre Architecture and Set Design. Recent projects include Die Zauberflöte and The Barber of Seville (Gran Teatre del Liceu, Opéra National de Bordeaux and Houston Grand Opera/HGO); L’italiana in Algeri (Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia and HGO); and La Cenerentola (Los Angeles Opera).

Upcoming productions include La Cenerentola (Washington National Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago).

ALBERT FAURA Lighting Designer

Spanish award-winning lighting designer Albert Faura made his COC debut in 2011 with La Cenerentola. He has worked extensively in the worlds of theatre and opera. Recent opera projects include The Barber of Seville (Gran Teatre del Liceu/GTL and Opéra National de Bordeaux); Turandot, Simon Boccanegra and L’Italiana in Algeri (Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia); Madama Butterfly (Teatro La Fenice); Il mondo della luna (Opéra de Monte-Carlo); Atilla (Opéra Royal de Wallonie); La Cenerentola (Los Angeles Opera and Seattle Opera); and Aida (GTL).

Upcoming productions include La Cenerentola (Washington National Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago).

12

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

SANDRA HORST Chorus Master

Sandra Horst’s most recent COC credits include Semele (at Brooklyn Academy of Music), Don Giovanni, Falstaff and Madama Butterfly. Also at the COC she conducted Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims. As director of musical studies at UofT Opera, she most recently conducted Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore.

Ms. Horst has served as chorus master for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Edmonton Opera; a judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions; and music staff of the Juilliard Opera Center, Chautauqua Institution, Boston Lyric Opera, and Banff Centre for the Arts. She was one of the 100 Alumni of Achievement honoured by Wilfrid Laurier University and is a graduate of the COC Ensemble Studio.

STEPHEN B. HARGREAVES Assistant Conductor

Stephen B. Hargreaves was recently assistant conductor at the COC for Semele (at Brooklyn Academy of Music), Hercules, Lucia di Lammermoor and Iphigenia in Tauris as well as the harpsichordist for La clemenza di Tito. Recent engagements include conducting #Uncle John (The Banff Centre); Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice (Chicago Opera Theater); The Turn of the Screw (UofT Opera); and performing Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 (Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra). Other credits include conducting Le nozze di Figaro (Opera Omaha); performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (Marion Philharmonic); and his latest solo piano CD release Variations on 1930. Mr. Hargreaves has conducted for Lyrique-en- Mer/Festival de Belle-Île,

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Glimmerglass Festival, Pine Mountain Music Festival and Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

ALLISON GRANT Assistant Director

Allison Grant’s COC credits include associate director for Semele (Brooklyn Academy of Music) and choreographer for Die Fledermaus, The Queen of Spades, Dido and Aeneas, Don Giovanni and Eugene Onegin. Recent directing credits include Le nozze di Figaro (Sarasota Opera); director and choreographer for Il barbiere di Siviglia and Die Fledermaus (Edmonton Opera); Falstaff (Opera Hamilton); and Roméo et Juliette (Vancouver Opera). Other directing credits include Die Zauberflöte (Sarasota Opera); Così fan tutte (Vancouver Opera); L’Italiana in Algeri (Opéra de Montréal); Il matrimonio segreto and Don Giovanni (UofT Opera); and A Meeting of Minds (Canadian Stage). As Artistic Director of Theatre Athena, she directed Master Class, Private Lives and Bach at Leipzig. Upcoming productions include Die Zauberflöte (Hawaii Opera Theatre), a new music drama Children of God in Kamloops, British Colombia and Fidelio (Opera Lyra).

LILIANE STILWELL Stage Manager

With the COC for the past 22 years, Liliane Stilwell recently stage managed Don Quichotte.

Other COC credits include Lucia di Lammermoor, A Florentine Tragedy/Gianni Schicchi, La Cenerentola, Maria Stuarda, Otello, The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro, Luisa Miller, Götterdämmerung (complete Ring Cycle), Macbeth, L’Italiana in Algeri, La Bohème, Eugene Onegin, Madama Butterfly, Pagliacci, Jen˚ufa and Oedipus Rex with Symphony of Psalms (Edinburgh International Festival). Ms. Stillwell has also stage managed Carousel, Big River, Grease, She Loves Me, The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Me and My Girl, Cinderella, Robin Hood, Dirty Dancing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and Hairspray at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

M – Mainstage Performances E – Ensemble Studio Performance

FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE

We are pleased to offer, for the convenience of all of our patrons, a pre-order system for intermission purchases. Our pre-order system is designed to decrease your wait time at the bar during intermission and we invite you to make use of it at every COC performance. Bars are located throughout the Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room’s many levels. Food and beverages are not permitted in R. Fraser Elliott Hall.

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

13

CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY ORCHESTRA VIOLIN I

CELLO

TRUMPET

Marie Bérard, Concertmaster The Concertmaster’s chair has been endowed in perpetuity by Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Aaron Schwebel, Associate Concertmaster Jamie Kruspe, Assistant Concertmaster, on leave of absence Aya Miyagawa, Acting Assistant Concertmaster Anne Armstrong Sandra Baron Bethany Bergman Nancy Kershaw Dominique Laplante Yakov Lerner Jayne Maddison Neria Mayer

Bryan Epperson, Principal Alastair Eng, Associate Principal Paul Widner, Assistant Principal Maurizio Baccante Olga Laktionova Elaine Thompson

Robert Grim, Principal Robert Weymouth

VIOLIN II Paul Zevenhuizen, Principal Csaba Koczó, Assistant Principal James Aylesworth Elizabeth Johnston Hiroko Kagawa* Louise Tardif Marianne Urke Joanna Zabrowarna

TIMPANI Michael Perry, Principal

PERCUSSION Trevor Tureski Michael Perry

BASS Alan Molitz, Principal Robert Speer, Assistant Principal Tom Hazlitt Paul Langley

HARPSICHORD

FLUTE

ON-STAGE GUITAR

Douglas Stewart, Principal Shelley Brown

Michael Kolk*

PICCOLO

LIBRARIAN

Shelley Brown Douglas Stewart

Wayne Vogan

OBOE Mark Rogers, Principal Lesley Young

Stephen Hargreaves*

GUITAR Jeffrey McFadden*

ASSISTANT MUSIC LIBRARIAN Ondrej Golias

STAGE LIBRARIAN CLARINET

Paul Langley

James T. Shields, Principal Colleen Cook

PERSONNEL MANAGER Ian Cowie

VIOLA

BASSOON

Keith Hamm, Principal Joshua Greenlaw, Assistant Principal Carolyn Blackwell* Sheila Jaffé Rhyll Peel Beverley Spotton Yosef Tamir, on leave of absence

Eric Hall, Principal Elizabeth Gowen

* extra musician

HORN Scott Wevers, Acting Principal Gary Pattison

CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY CHORUS TENORS

BARITONES & BASSES

Vanya Abrahams Stephen Bell Sam Chung Sean Clark Stephen Erickson Ryan Harper James Leatch Eric Olsen

James Baldwin Bruno Cormier Michael Downie Constantine Meglis Jason Nedecky Jan Vaculik Marcus Wilson Michael York

14

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS Mr. Tony Arrell, Chair Ms. Colleen Sexsmith, Vice Chair Mr. Paul A. Bernards, Treasurer Mr. John H. Macfarlane, Secretary Mr. Alexander Neef, General Director (ex officio) Mr. Robert Lamb, Managing Director (ex officio)

MEMBERS Mr. Mark Appel Ms. Nora Aufreiter Mr. Robert Brouwer Ms. Marcia Lewis Brown Ms. Helen Burstyn Mr. Stewart Burton Mr. Philip C. Deck Mr. Peter M. Deeb Mr. George S. Dembroski Mr. William Fearn (ex officio) Mr. David Ferguson (ex officio) Mr. Adam Froman Mr. Michael Gibbens Mr. Peter Hinman Dr. Linda Hutcheon Ms. Carolyn Jarvis

Mr. Justin Linden Mr. Jeff Lloyd Ms. Anne Maggisano Mr. Stephen O. Marshall Ms. Judy Matthews Mr. Jonathan Morgan Mr. Nick Mutton Ms. Frances Price Mr. Arthur R.A. Scace, C.M. Mr. J. Allen Smith Mr. Philip S.W. Smith Mr. Paul B. Spafford Ms. Michele Symons Ms. Kristine (Kris) Vikmanis Mr. Graham Watchorn Mr. John H. (Jack) Whiteside

HONORARY DIRECTOR Mr. Joey Tanenbaum, C.M.

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS COC OPERA GUILDS Brantford Opera Guild, David M. Cullen, President Kingston Opera Guild Grace Orzech, President London Opera Guild Ernest H. Redekop, President Muskoka Opera Guild Dr. Hans Heeneman, President Northumberland Opera Guild Thais Donald, President Oakville Opera Guild Maureen Crossman, President Sudbury Opera Guild Dianne Moore, President Western New York Opera Guild Dorothy K. Piepke, President

CANADIAN OPERA FOUNDATION DIRECTORS Mr. Tony Arrell Mr. Jonathan Bloomberg Mr. J. Rob Collins Mr. Philip C. Deck, Vice Chair Mr. William Fearn, Chair Mr. David Forster, Treasurer Mr. Gary Grad Mr. Michael Gough Mr. Christopher Hoffmann Mr. David Spiro, Secretary HONORARY DIRECTORS Mr. George Hamilton Hon. Dennis Lane

For more information on COC Guilds please visit coc.ca/Guilds

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

15

ADMINISTRATION AND STAFF ALEXANDER NEEF, General Director Robert Lamb Managing Director Johannes Debus Music Director EXECUTIVE OFFICE Marguerite Schabas Executive Assistant to the General Director ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION Roberto Mauro Artistic Administrator Olwyn Lewis Company Manager Karen Olinyk Assistant, Artistic Administration & Music MUSIC Sandra Gavinchuk Music Administrator Sandra Horst Chorus Master Wayne Vogan Music Librarian, Coach Elizabeth Upchurch Head of the Ensemble Studio & Coach Wendy Nielsen Head Vocal Consultant Derek Bate Assistant to the Music Director Music Staff Rachel Andrist Timothy Cheung Andrea Del Bianco Jenna Douglas Stephen Hargreaves Anne Larlee Ben Malensek Michael Shannon Kathryn Garnett Scheduling Manager

Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure Aviva Fortunata Clarence Frazer Andrew Haji Iain MacNeil Owen McCausland Jennifer Szeto Production Assistants Adriana Dimitri Jane Honek Production Assistants Adriana Dimitri Jane Honek

Shawna Green Production Co-ordinator

Andrew Walker Assistant Scene Shop Carpenter

Hannah Gordon Assistant to the Production Department

Richard Gordon Head Scenic Artist

Gunta Dreifelds SURTITLES™ Producer Zane Kaneps SURTITLES™ Editor

Nina Dragani´ c Director of Programming – Free Concert Series

Scott Williamson Rehearsal Head Technician

Olwyn Lewis SURTITLES™ Assistant

PRODUCTION

Guy Nokes Properties Supervisor

Supernumeraries Co-ordinators Analee Stein Elizabeth Walker

Peter W. Lamb Director of Production

Stephanie Tjelios Resident Properties Builder/Co-ordinator

DEVELOPMENT

Chuck Giles Technical Director

Kathy Frost Resident Properties Buyer/Co-ordinator

Christie Darville Chief Advancement Officer

Barney Bayliss Associate Technical Director

Tracy Taylor Properties Builder/ Co-ordinator

Amy Mushinski Manager, Government Relations

Daniele Guevara Lighting Co-ordinator

Properties Builders Carolyn Choo Wulf

Janet Stubbs Foundation Development

Assistant Technical Directors Melynda Jurgenson Wendy Ryder

Sandra Corazza Costume Supervisor

Stephen Gilles Director of Development

Lee Milliken Production Manager

Janice Fraser Head Electrician Joel Thoman Assistant Electrician Bob Shindle Head of Sound Craig Kadoke Assistant Sound Paul Watkinson Head Carpenter

Ian Cowie Orchestra Personnel Manager

David Alexander Head Flyman

16

David Retzleff Head Scene Shop Carpenter

PROGRAMMING

David Middleton Assistant Carpenter

COC Ensemble Studio Gordon Bintner Karine Boucher Charlotte Burrage

Cori Ferguson Head of Wig & Make-up Crew

Carolina Valenzuela Assistant Head Scenic Artist

Birthe Joergensen Archivist – Joan Baillie Archives

Ondrej Golias Assistant Librarian

Amy Cummings Scene Shop Co-ordinator

Daniel Graham Head of Properties Core Crew Scott Clarke Doug Closs Terry Hurley Paul Otis

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

Cassandra Spence Costume Co-ordinator Christina Del Monte Costume Assistant

Peter Hussell Senior Manager, Advancement Operations

Sue Furlong Resident Tailor

Dawn Marie Schlegel Associate Director, Donor Relations

Assisted By Gulay Cokgezen Karen Donaldson Carolyn Kasperski

Emma Noakes Donor Relations Officer

Additional Costumes By Industry Costumes Martino Nyugen

Natalie Sandassie Senior Development Officer, Annual Programs and Patron Engagement

Additional Millinery By Kaz Maxine Nancy Hawkins Head of Wardrobe Leslie Brown Wardrobe Assistant Sharon Ryman Wig & Make-up Supervisor

Bree Callahan Co-ordinator, Annual Programs and Patron Engagement Alexandra Folkes Co-ordinator, Annual Programs and Patron Engagement

Victor Widjaja Senior Development Officer, Friends of the COC Heather Cassels Individual Giving Co-ordinator, Friends of the COC Francesco Corsaro Senior Development Officer, Institutional Gifts Sarah Heim Senior Development Officer, Partnerships Nikita Gourski Development Communications Officer Tracy Abergel Senior Manager, Special Events

Eldon Earle Marketing Co-ordinator

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Kristin McKinnon Assistant Publicist

Lindy Cowan, CPA, CA Director of Finance and Administration

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH Katherine Semcesen Associate Director, Education and Outreach Gianmarco Segato Adult Programs Manager Vanessa Smith School Programs Manager Blanche Israël Interim Children and Youth Programs Co-ordinator TICKET SERVICES

Laura Aylan-Parker Senior Development Officer, Special Events and Ensemble Circle John Kriter Donation Database Officer Olena Moldovan Donation Database Officer COMMUNICATIONS Steve Kelley Chief Communications Officer Claudine Domingue Director of Public Relations Gianna Wichelow Senior Manager, Creative and Publications Jennifer Pugsley Media Relations Manager Claire Morley Associate Manager, Editorial Meighan Szigeti Associate Manager, Digital Marketing Kiersten Hay Digital Marketing Co-ordinator

Andrea Salin Ticket Services Manager Nikki Tremblay Assistant Ticket Services Manager David Nimmo Group Sales Co-ordinator Lillian Fung Ticket Services Supervisor Ticket Services Representatives James Baldwin Ernest Cayemen Aurelie Dufour Anna Kay Eldridge Peter Genoway Sylvie Goncalves Cat Haywood Keith Lam Kevin Morris Paulina Saliba Kat Smiley Darcy Stoop CALL CENTRE Richard Paradiso Call Centre Manager Call Centre Representatives Catherine Belyea Taisa Dackiw Ion Handrabur Wendy Limbertie Margaret Terry

Lorraine O’Connor, CHRP Human Resources Manager Amalie Vanderzwet, CPA, CA Finance Manager General Accountants Florence Huang Zoran Orli´ c (FSCPA) Vera Brjozovskaia Accounting Clerk Payroll Accountants Jovana Bojovic Jeanny Won

Usman Khalid Nicholas Martin Kathleen Minor Heather Reid Building Operators Dan Bisca Dan Popescu Adrian Tudoran Paula Da Costa Eurest Services Supervisor Eurest Services Team Jennifer Barros Malaku Godana Nash Lim Jimmy Pacheco Sugey Torres FOUR SEASONS CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Steven Sherwood Manager, IT Services

Alfred Caron Director, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

Brad Staples Database Reporting Specialist

Elizabeth Jones Associate Director, Business Development

Tony Sandy IT Services Assistant

Shannon Churm Business & Events Co-ordinator

Katarina Božovi´ c Receptionist/ Switchboard Branka Hrsum Mailroom Clerk/Courier

Jefferson Guzman Associate Director, Patron Services

BUILDING SERVICES

Kim Hutchinson-Barber Assistant Manager, Patron Services

Joe Waldherr Associate Director, Facilities Management

Julia Somerville Assistant Manager, Front of House

Christian Coulter Assistant Manager, Operations

Brigitte Lang Assistant Manager, Food & Beverage

Maintenance Assistants Ryszard Gad (COC) Branislav Peterman (COC) Julian Peters (COC) James Esposito (FSCPA) Mark Healy (FSCPA) Piotr Wiench (FSCPA)

Patron Services Supervisors Stuart Constable Enrique Covarrubias Cortes Jamieson Eakin Lori MacDonald Melissa McDonnell

Security Supervisor Dave Samuels

Patron Services Assistant Jennifer Toulmin

Security Officers George Balyasin Agostino Cogliano Abdi Gulleed Natalia Juzyc

Patron Services Leads Karol Carstenson Christine Groom Skye Plowman Rosemary Williams

FSCPA – Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

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SUPPORTING TORONTO’S GROWING ARTS COMMUNITY TODAY, AND FOREVER

As Naming Donor of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, we are proud to be a lifelong friend of the fine arts experience for the patrons here and from around the world.

ENJOY THE PERFORMANCE fourseasons.com

LIFE TRUSTEES COUNCIL The Life Trustees Council salutes the leaders of the COC community whose efforts have been integral to the company’s artistic evolution and transformative history of accomplishment.

Earlaine Collins David Ferguson (Chair) Jerry and Geraldine Heffernan

Ben Heppner Henry N. R. Jackman Adrianne Pieczonka

E. LOUISE MORGAN SOCIETY The E. Louise Morgan Society was created to reflect the vision and commitment of its founder and the members who have created a legacy of leadership, passion and philanthropy in support of the goals of the Canadian Opera Company.

Each of these donors has contributed a cumulative total of more than one million dollars over the past 15 years. Their support is critical to the company’s success and we are forever indebted to their commitment and generosity.

Tony and Anne Arrell The Estate of Dr. Larry M. Agranove ARIAS: Canadian Opera Student Development Fund The Gerard & Earlaine Collins Foundation The late John A. Cook The Estate of Horst Dantz and Don Quick Jerry and Geraldine Heffernan Kolter Communities

The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation Roger D. Moore E. Louise Morgan Tim & Frances Price Colleen Sexsmith Joey & Toby Tanenbaum Anonymous (2)

MAJOR GIFTS & SPECIAL PROJECTS The COC offers its sincere thanks to the individuals listed below for their extraordinary support.

PRODUCTION UNDERWRITERS

PERFORMANCE AND ARTIST SPONSORS

ENSEMBLE STUDIO SUPPORTERS

Demonstrating their leadership and generosity, these donors have underwritten the COC’s main stage productions.

The following donors extend their generous support to individual artists and productions

Encouraging the next generation of artists, these donors support the COC’s Ensemble Studio.

$500,000 + Jerry & Geraldine Heffernan The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation Colleen Sexsmith

$100,000 + Jack Whiteside

$1,000,000 Peter M. Deeb

$50,000 – $99,999 Sue Mortimer

$500,000 – $999,999 The Slaight Family Foundation

$100,000 – $499,999 Paul Bernards David Roffey & Karen Walsh $50,000 – $99,999 The Asper Foundation

$25,000 – $49,999 Earlaine Collins J. Hans Kluge Françoise Sutton Anonymous (1) Up to $25,000 Robert Sherrin Sarah Billinghurst Solomon & Howard Solomon Carol Swallow Riki Turofsky & Charles Petersen Kristine Vikmanis & Denton Creighton

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$25,000 – $499,999 Anne & Tony Arrell Ethel Harris & the late Milton E. Harris Hal Jackman Foundation Roy and Marjorie Linden Roger D. Moore The Stratton Trust W. Garfield Weston Foundation

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Opera at its finest CIBC is proud to sponsor the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville

MAJOR GIFTS & SPECIAL PROJECTS Up to $25,000 ARIAS: Canadian Opera Student Development Fund Marcia Lewis Brown Margaret Harriett Cameron and the late Gary Smith Earlaine Collins Ninalee Craig Catherine Fauquier Patrick Hodgson Family Foundation Peter & Hélène Hunt Alexandra Jonsson Jo Lander Rosemarie Landry Tom C. Logan Colleen Sexsmith June Shaw and the late Dr. Ralph Shaw Jack Whiteside Brian Wilks Anonymous (1)

GENERAL PROGRAM SUPPORTERS Providing general program support is critical to the COC’s artistic mission. $1,000,000+ Tim & Frances Price

$100,000+ Anne & Tony Arrell Anonymous (1) Up to $25,000 Bruce C. Bailey A. R. Deane & Mary Nesbitt The Parvez-Tyab Family Trust

SPECIAL PROJECTS In March 2015, the COC’s groundbreaking production of Handel’s Semele travelled to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The COC thanks the following donors for their support of this milestone for the Company.

ENDOWMENT SUPPORT Making a gift to the Endowment ensures the long-term stability for the COC and its artists. $100,000+ Hon. Henry N. R. Jackman Anonymous (1) $25,000 – $99,999 Michael W. & Wanda Plachta Endowment Fund Up to $25,000 Anonymous (1)

Walter M. & Lisa Balfour Bowen Philip Deck & Kimberley Bozak David & Kristin Ferguson Jerry & Geraldine Heffernan Peter M. Partridge Colleen Sexsmith Kris Vikmanis & Denton Creighton Jack Whiteside Anonymous (1)

INDIVIDUAL GIVING ANNUAL SUPPORT LEGACY AND BEQUEST GIFTS

MEMORIAL AND HONORARY DONATIONS

The COC honours the memory of the following patrons whose vision and generosity has provided lasting support.

The COC expresses its sincere appreciation to all donors who have made memorial and honorary donations.

Estate of Horst Dantz and Don Quick‡ Estate of Egon Homburger‡ Estate of Henri Kolin Estate of Manack Sanjara Estate of J.M. (Doc) Savage‡ Estate of Helen Allen Stacey Estate of Jeanie Irwin Walker Anonymous (1)

In Memory of Margaret Elder Bell Fern Cohen Roy Albert Cross Rev. Richard Downey Deidre Gipp David Murray Harley Stephen Walter Ireland Janet Lo Sigmund Mintz Ingeborg Mraz Eric Rump Darko Seifert Sylvia Shawn Dick H. Stroink Joan T. Watson

‡ designates funds directed to the COC’s Endowment

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

In Honour of Walter Bowen Frank Ciccolini Sr. Earlaine Collins Ninalee Craig Johannes Debus Yael Dunkleman Michael Gibbens and Julie Lassonde Stephen Gilles Earl B. Law Wailan Low Judy and Wilmot Matthews Robert Morassutti Elizabeth Pizzinato and Richard Paquet Frances and Tim Price Barbara and Iain Scott Colleen Sexsmith David Stanley-Porter Michele Symons Beverly Zerafa As of March 15, 2015

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GOLDEN CIRCLE GOLDEN CIRCLE COMMITTEE Mark Appel Stewart Burton Stephen Marshall Judy Matthews Frances Price (Chair) Colleen Sexsmith Michele Symons GOLD, $50,000 + Anne & Tony Arrell**** Cecily & Robert Bradshaw* David G. Broadhurst** In memory of Gerard H. Collins**** Jerry & Geraldine Heffernan**** The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation**** Roger D. Moore**** Colleen Sexsmith*** Anonymous (1) SILVER, $25,000 – $49,999 Andrew Peller Limited* Mark & Gail Appel*** Paul Bernards*** Barbara Black** The Black Family Foundation Philip Deck & Kimberley Bozak*** George & Kathy Dembroski**** Michael Gibbens & Julie Lassonde* Rennie & Bill Humphries**** Ronald Kimel & Vanessa LaPerriere**** Susan Loube & William Acton** James Nicol & Christine Milne David Stanley-Porter**** Jack Whiteside*** BRONZE, $12,500 – $24,999 Dr. & Mrs. Hans G. Abromeit**** Philip & Linda Armstrong** Ms Nora Aufreiter* Mr. Philip J. Boswell**** Walter M. & Lisa Balfour Bowen**** Susanne Boyce & Brendan Mullen**** Marcia Lewis Brown* Stewart & Gina Burton* Wendy M. Cecil**** Dr. John Chiu in memory of Yvonne Chiu, C.M.**** Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Christ**** Stephen Clarke & Elizabeth Black** The Max Clarkson Family Foundation**** J. Rob Collins & Janet Cottrelle****

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Sydney & Florence Cooper** Ninalee Craig*** Mr. & Mrs. Leslie Dan*** Jean Davidson & Paul Spafford**** Jill Denham & Stephen Marshall** David & Kristin Ferguson**** George Fierheller**** Lloyd & Gladys Fogler*** Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts*** Robert Fung** Roger & Kevin Garland** The Hon. William C. Graham & Mrs. Catherine Graham**** Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin*** Ethel Harris & the late Milton Harris**** William & Nona Heaslip Foundation**** Mr. Peter Hinman & Ms Kristi Stangeland Douglas E. Hodgson**** Michael & Linda Hutcheon**** Justin S. Linden* Jeff Lloyd & Barbara Henders* Mr. & Mrs. J. S. A. MacDonald**** Bobby & Gordon MacNeill** Ms Anne Maggisano Judy & Wilmot Matthews* Hon. Margaret Norrie McCain*** John & Esther McNeil**** Don McQueen & Trina McQueen, O.C. ** John McVicker & B. W. Thomas**** Delia M. Moog*** Jonathan Morgan & Shurla Gittens** Sue Mortimer**** Nicholas & Rosemary Mutton* Mrs. Christl & Mr. Karl Niemuller*** Donald O’Born*** Peter M. Partridge**** Mr. Tim & Mrs. Frances Price**** Ms R. Raso**** David Roffey & Karen Walsh**** Barrie D. Rose & Family*** Philip & Maria Smith** Stephen & Jane Smith**** Marion & Gerald Soloway** David E. Spiro*** Ryerson & Michele Symons Riki Turofsky & Charles Petersen** Ms Kristine Vikmanis & Mr. Denton Creighton**** The Youssef-Warren Foundation****

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL AMBASSADORS Catherine Bergeron Diane Adamson-Brdar Thomas J. Burton Ninalee Craig Colleen Sexsmith (Chair) TRUSTEE, $7,500 – $12,499 à la Carte Kitchen Inc. Margaret Atwood & Graeme Gibson*** Mr. & Mrs. Avie Bennett**** Dr. David & Constance Briant**** Paul G. Cherry & Dean C. Noack**** Marilyn Cook* Ms Lindsay Dale-Harris & Mr. Rupert Field-Marsham**** Andrew Fleming** Peter & Shelagh Godsoe** Dr. Melvyn L. Iscove*** Bernhard & Hannelore Kaeser**** J. Hans Kluge** Jean V. Kramar** Mr. Gurney Kranz**** Mr. Philip Lanouette** Paul Lee & Jill Maynard**** Anne Lewitt** Jerry & Joan Lozinski**** Amy & John Macfarlane* Kathleen McLaughlin & Tim Costigan* Dr. Judith A. Miller*** Douglas L. Parker**** Annie & Ian Sale* Dr. David Shaw** Françoise Sutton*** Carol Swallow*** Anonymous (1) PATRON, $3,750 – $7,499 Laurie & Fareed Ali** Sue Armstrong**** Ron Atkinson & Bruce Blandford**** Mona H. Bandeen, C. M. ** Karen & Bill Barnett* Henk Bartelink in memory of Oskar & Irmgard Gaube*** Dr. Frank Bartoszek & Mr. Daniel O’Brien**** Dr. Gail Beck, O. Ont. & Mr. Andrew Fenus* Dr. Thomas H. Beechy**** Mr. & Mrs. Eric Belli-Bivar*** Dr. Catherine Bergeron*** Tom Bogart & Kathy Tamaki** Peter Brieger & Beverley Hamblin*

Dr. Jane Brissenden & Dr. Janet Roscoe**** Mrs. Donna Brock*** Alice Burton*** Margaret Harriett Cameron**** Joe & Laurissa Canavan Cesaroni Management Limited*** Frank Ciccolini**** The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson* Mr. & Mrs. William J. Corcoran*** Lindy Cowan† & Chris Hatley*** Brian J. Dawson*** Dr. Jeanne Deinum**** Carol Derk & David Giles** Mrs. A. Ephraim Diamond & Family**** Peter & Anne Dotsikas** Jeffrey Douglas Vreni & Marc Ducommun*** Mr. Albert D. Dunn* Bud & Leigh Eisenberg*** Joseph Fantl & Moira Bartram** Mr. & Mrs. Fraser M. Fell**** Kimberley Fobert & Robert Lamb†**** Margaret & David Fountain**** The Fraser Elliott Foundation**** Dr. & Mrs. Wm. O. Geisler*** Ann J. Gibson**** Rose & Roger Goldstein**** Michael & Anne Gough**** Dr. Noëlle Grace & Mr. Morris Shohet**** Ronald & Birgitte Granofsky**** Douglas & Ruth Grant* John & Judith Grant** Al & Malka Green** John Groves & Vera Del Vecchio**** James & Joyce Gutmann**** Dr. Albert Haddad George & Irene Hamilton**** Hampton Securities Ltd. * Scott & Ellen Hand*** Maggie Hayes** Hon. & Mrs. Paul Hellyer**** Chris Hoffmann & Joan Eakin** Michiel Horn & Cornelia Schuh**** Ken Hugessen & Jennifer Connolly** The Jackman Foundation*** Mr. Robert C. Jefferies Ms Elizabeth Johnson** Alexandra Jonsson Dr. Joshua Josephson & Ms Elaine Lewis**** Lorraine Kaake**** Patrick & Barbara Keenan**** James & Diane King** Dr. Elizabeth Kocmur**** Murray & Marvelle Koffler**** John B. Lawson, C.M. Q.C. ****

Mr. J. Levitt & Ms E. Mah** Daniel & Janet Li** Vincent & Helene Lobraico* Tom C. Logan* Jonathan & Dorothea Lovat Dickson** Douglas L. Ludwig & Karen J. Rice*** Peter H. Lunney Mr. Jed MacKay**** Mrs. R. MacMillan **** Dr. Colin McGregor Mailer**** Mrs. J. L. Malcolm* Dr. & Mrs. M. A. Manuel* Frederick J. Marker & Anne Dupré Fernando Martinez-Caro Dr. & Mrs. Donald C. McGillivray**** Paul & Jean McGrath**** Ronan McGrath & Sarah Perry* June McLean**** Mr. Ian McWalter* Mr. Ulrich Menzefricke**** Bruce & Vladka Mitchell* Mr. Noel Mowat** Dr. M. L. Myers & the late Dr. W. P. Hayman*** Dr. Shirley C. Neuman** Eileen Patricia Newell*** Sally-Ann Noznesky**** E. Oliana & A. Iu*** Janice Oliver*** Keith & Brenda Ottaway*** The Ouellette Family Foundation Julia & Liza Overs**** Dr. & Mrs. William M. Park**** John & Gwen Pattison** John & Carol Peterson*** June C. Pinkney**** Polk Family Charitable Fund** Julian Porter, Q.C. ** Margrit & Tony Rahilly**** Rob & Penny Richards*** Margaret A. Riggin* Gordon Robison & David Grant* Cameron Rusaw & Anne-Marie Sorrenti Judy & Hy Sarick**** Sam & Esther Sarick**** Helen & John Scott** June Shaw & the late Dr. Ralph Shaw**** Allan & Helaine Shiff**** David & Hilary Short*** Hume Smith**** Dr. Harley Smyth & Carolyn McIntire Smyth** Philip Somerville* Dr. John Stanley & Dr. Helmut Reichenbächer*** Wayne Stanley & Marina Pretorius*

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Doreen L. Stanton**** Janet Stubbs†** Mr. & Mrs. Gordon Taylor**** Wendy J. Thompson**** Anthea Thorp**** Ian Turner*** Sandra & Guy Upjohn*** Dita Vadron & James Catty** Donald & Margaret Walter**** Hugh & Colleen Washington** William R. Waters**** Ruth Watts-Gransden**** Dr. Virginia Wesson*** Dr. Jack Williams & Dr. Dorothy Pringle*** Ms Lilly Wong* Mr. & Mrs. Richard Wookey**** Linda Young* Helen Ziegler*** Susan Zorzi** Sharon Zuckerman**** Anonymous (3) MEMBER, $2,250 – $3,749 D. C. Adamson-Brdar**** Dr. & Mrs. Larry M. Agranove**** Donna & Lorne Albaum** Mr. & Mrs. Roberto & Nancy Albis*** David & Debbie Allan Clive & Barbara Allen**** Mr. Thomas & Mrs. Claire Allen** Dr. D. Amato & Ms J. Hodges**** Anne-Marie H. Applin*** Valerie Armstrong**** Philip Arthur & Mary Wilson* Virginia Atkin*** Mr. Jeff Axelrod & Dr. John Goodhew John Bailey** James C. Baillie** Marilyn & Charles Baillie**** Andrew & Cornelia Baines**** Janice A. Baker**** Richard J. Balfour**** Lindy Barrow** Julia Bass & David Hamilton*** Alice & Tom Bastedo*** Mr. & Mrs. Peter & Sondra Beck* Ms Marie Bérard†*** Nani & Austin Beutel**** Dody Bienenstock** John & Mandy Birch* Anneliese & Walter Blackwell**** Ian & Janet Blue*** John & Ila Bossons** Mr. W. Bowen & Ms S. Gavinchuk†**** Mr. Stephen Bradley Mrs. Carolyn Bradley-Hall & Mr. William Bradley***

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Join the Ensemble Circle

Three acclaimed opera productions Invitations to special events Post-performance toast with artists Henry N. R. Jackman Lounge access

Exclusive backstage tour Attend working rehearsal Admission to Operanation ‌ and much more

The Ensemble Circle is a rapidly expanding community of young people who appreciate and support opera and the arts in Toronto. By becoming a member, you join a network of your peers from across the arts, media and business communities, and benefit from a personalized introduction to the world of opera and the Canadian Opera Company.

Call 416-306-2309

E-mail lauraa@coc.ca

Visit ensemblecircle.ca

Photos from Operanat10n: A Night of Temptation, 2013. Left: Cameron McPhail and Catherine Affleck. Photo: Ryan Emberley.

Centre: Photo: Tara Noelle. Right: (l-r) Katie Jones, Ashleigh Semkiw and Marissa Semkiw. Photo: Tara Noelle

Mrs. Richard Bradshaw*** Rob & Teresa Brouwer** Mr. Ingvar & Mrs. Sheila Brogren Brian Bucknall & Mary Jane Mossman**** Jane Budrevics** Christopher & Elizabeth Buller Thomas J. Burton** Maureen Callahan & Douglas Gray** Sharon & Howard Campbell** Ken & Denise Cargill** Brian & Ellen Carr**** Gail Carson**** Drs. Carol & David Cass Cara Celotti & Tom Nicolopoulos Lee M. Chambers Prof. Alfred L. Chan & Mr. Michael Farewell*** Dr. & Mrs. Albert Cheskes*** John D. Church Dr. Howard M. Clarke*** Edward Cole & Adrienne Hood*** Brian Collins & Amanda Demers* Mr. Andrew Combes* Tony & Elizabeth Comper* Mr. & Mrs. R. W. Corcoran Murray & Katherine Corlett**** Harold & Anita Corrigan*** Dr. Lesley S. Corrin**** Bram & Beth Costin Gay & Derek Cowbourne** Mary & John Crocker**** Ruth & John Crow*** Carrol Anne Curry*** Dr. & Mrs. Michael & Ute Davis** Michael & Honor de Pencier**** Mrs. Rosario de Wit-Farro*** Angelo & Carol DelZotto*** Charles Dennis & Steve Kelley† Mr. & Mrs. A. J. Diamond* J. DiGiovanni* Olwen & Frank Dixon** James Doak & Patricia Best*** Sandra Z. Doblinger** Ms Petrina Dolby*** Dr. James & Mrs. Ellen Downey** Bernita Drenth Marko Duic and Gabriel Lau**** Mrs. Anne W. Dupré William & Gwenda Echard**** Jean Patterson Edwards** Wendy & Elliott Eisen**** Jordan Elliott & Lynne Griffin* Robert Elliott & Paul Wilson** Christoph Emmrich & Srilata Raman Dr. & Mrs. John Evans*** Fabris Inc. * Mr. Eddy Fan George A. Farkass**

Gail & Bob Farquharson* Darren Farwell Catherine Fauquier*** Bill Fearn & Claudia Rogers**** Lee & Shannon Ferrier**** William & Rosemary Fillmore*** Mrs. Lois Fleming**** David & Wendy Flores-Gordon Goshka Folda* J. E. Fordyce**** Robert & Julia Foster** Linda & Ken Foxcroft* Mrs. Ingrid Fratzl Rev. Ivars Gaide & Rev. Dr. Anita Gaide*** Ann Gawman*** Dr. Barry A. Gayle**** The Honourable Irving Gerstein & Mrs. Gail Gerstein** Ben & Sarah Glatt**** Mary & Lionel Goffart* Dr. Eudice Goldberg* Dr. Fay Goldstep & Dr. George Freedman** Deanna A. Gontard**** Dr. Paul W. Gooch Tina & Michael Gooding*** Wayne A. Gooding**** Goodman Family* Mr. Finn Greflund & Mrs. M. Ortner** Mr. Carmen & Mrs. Vittoria Guglietti** Ellen & Simon Gulden**** Dan Hagler & Family*** Ms Pamela Hallisey Francess G. Halpenny**** Mr. Adrian J. Hamel Beverly Hargraft** Mr. Harquail & Dr. Sigfridsson* Michael Harris & Carol Rak** Paul & Natalie Hartman* Caroline Helbronner*** Jacques & Elizabeth Helbronner*** Thea Herman & Gregory King*** William E. Hewitt*** Pamela Hoiles Richard & Donna Holbrook**** Sally Holton**** Emmy & Walter Homburger*** Drs. Walter & Virginia Hryshko* Ms Judith Hull Anthony C. J. Humphreys**** Peter & Hélène Hunt**** Eva Innes & David Medhurst* Elliott Jacobson & Judy Malkin** Paul Jaggard & Ruth Caswell Lynne Jeffrey**** Laurence Jewell** The Norman & Margaret Jewison Charitable Foundation****

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E. Patricia Johnson** Dr. Albert & Bette Johnston** Joyce Johnston*** Miriam Kagan H. L. Katarynych*** Dr. Joel Keenleyside**** David W. & Sheryl L. Kerr* Joseph Kerzner & Lisa Koeper**** Inta Kierans**** Ellen & Hermann Kircher**** Mr. Martin Kirr & Ms Suzanne McCuaig Mr. Douglas Klaassen** Michael & Sonja Koerner*** Robin Korthals & Janet Charlton** Valarie Koziol* William & Eva Krangle**** Richard T. La Prairie* Elizabeth & Goulding Lambert*** Jo Lander**** M. J. Horsfall Large** Marc Lebeau & Guylaine Lefebvre Dr. Connie Lee*** Linda Lee & Michael Pharoah**** Neal & Dominique Lee** Dr. Richard Lee & Mr. Gary Van Haren** Alexander & Anna Leggatt*** Joy Levine*** Mr. Peter Levitt & Ms Mai Why*** Mr. Kejun Liang L. Liivamagi & Dr. D. N. Cash Marjorie & Roy Linden**** Dr. & Mrs. W. G. Lindley**** Janet & Sid Lindsay*** Anthony J. Lisanti*** In memory of Janet Lo** Dr. Vance Logan**** A. Benson Lorriman**** Dr. Robert G. Luton**** James & Connie MacDougall**** Dr. & Mrs. Richard Mackenzie**** Tom MacMillan**** Macro Properties Ltd. ** Mr. A. Mafrici**** R. Manke**** Mr. & Mrs. R. Gordon Marantz**** Roberto Mauro† & Erin Wall Mrs. Ettore Mazzoleni*** Dr. & Mrs. John A. McCallum**** The Hon. Barbara McDougall*** Darcy & Joyce McKeough* Don McLean & Diane Martello Guy & Joanne McLean**** M. E. McLeod**** Jean M. McNab**** Mr. Timothy McNicholas* Mark & Andrea McQueen*** Shawn McReynolds & Elaine Kierans*

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Dr. Davender Mehra & Dr. Ellis Galea Kirkland* Dr. Don Melady & Mr. Rowley Mossop*** Eileen Mercier**** Ms Andrea Miller Marvene (Cox) & Gordon Miller** Lee Milliken† & Doug MacNaughton** Patricia & Frank Mills*** Dr. & Mrs. Steven Millward** Florence Minz Audrey & David Mirvish*** Dr. David N. Mitchell & Dr. Susan M. Till*** Mr. Donald Mitchell Eva Mocarski* Anne Moore**** Mr. Robert Morassutti**** Ruth Morawetz & Ken Judd*** Alice Janet Morgan*** Ms Rosalind Morrow** Drs. Christopher & Pippa Moss*** Gael Mourant & Caroline Hubberstey* Mr. Joseph Mulder** Anne Murdock** Marilyn & Amy Mushinski† Matt & Debbie Mysak*** David & Mary Neelands*** Dr. Emilie Newell* Dr. Steven Nitzkin**** Simon & Marlene Nyilassy* Dr. James & Mrs. Valda Oestreicher*** Martin & Myrna Ossip* Eileen & Ralph Overend* Clarence & Mary Pace** Dr. & Mrs. N. Pairaudeau**** Lee Parsons* Dr. Roger D. Pearce*** Dr. A. Angus Peller* John & Penelope Pepperell* M. J. Phillips**** Robin B. Pitcher**** Wanda Plachta**** Mary Jean & Frank Potter*** Georgia Prassas**** Ms Jill Presser & Mr. John Duffy* Mr. Alan Pyatt Dr. Mark Quigley**** Stephen Ralls & Bruce Ubukata*** The Carol & Morton Rapp Foundation**** Professor C. Edward Rathé**** Kenneth F. Read**** Mrs. Richard Gavin Reid** Grant L. Reuber**** Mrs. Gabrielle Richards** Carolyn Ricketts**** Ms Nada Ristich* Emily & Fred Rizner** Clara Robert*

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Mr. Mike & Ms Stacy Robitaille Steve & Richa Roder Dr. Michael & Mary Romeo**** John & Hannah Rosen* Mrs. Gertrude Rosenthal**** Ken & Helen Rotenberg** Rainer & Sharyn Rothfuss**** Peter A. Roy & Leah Taylor Roy Drs. Orest & Maureen Rudzik**** David A. Ruston*** Ms Sharon Cookie Sandler**** Mallory Morris Sartz & John Sartz**** Go Sato**** Bruce Schaef**** Fred & Mary Schulz** Dr. Marianne Seger**** Carol Seifert & Bruno Tesan*** Robert & Geraldine Sharpe**** Victor & Rhoda Shields**** Milton & Joyce Shier**** William Siegel & Margaret Swaine** Dr. Bernie & Mrs. Bobbie Silverman** Rod & Christina Simpson In memory of Dr. Bernard Slatt* Dr. & Mrs. Jeremy Sloan** Jay Smith & Laura Rapp* Ms Muriel Smith & Mr. Eric Ojala**** Dr. Joseph So*** John & Ellen Spears**** Martha E. Spears*** Rosemary Speirs Alex & Kim Squires**** Oksana R. Stein*** Mr. & Mrs. Gary & Sula Stern* Dr. & Mrs. Stephen Stern*** John D. Stevenson**** James H. Stonehouse** Eric Tang & Dr. James Miller** Mr. Arthur Paul Tarasuk* Tesari Charitable Foundation** Elizabeth Tory**** Mr. Alex Tosheff* Dory Vanderhoof & Rosalind Bell** Edmond & Sylvia Vanhaverbeke**** Dr. R. B. Van Winckle* Stefan Varga & Dr. Marica Varga* Dr. Yvonne Verbeeten** Dr. Helen Vosu & Donald Milner**** Richard & Nathalie Wachsberg* Elizabeth & Michael Walker*** Ann & Marshall Webb** Peter Webb & Joan York**** Dr. Bogomila Welsh** Ms Eleanor Westney** Melanie Whitehead*** Mr. Brian Wilks*

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

Elizabeth Wilson & Ian Montagnes**** Mr. Gregory Wilson John Wright & Chung-Wai Chow* Dr. Jackson Wu & Dr. Viviana Chang* Ms June Yee** Morden Yolles**** Walter Zwig**** Anonymous (28) FRIENDS OF THE COC SUSTAINING FRIENDS $1,600 – $2,249 Iivi Campbell**** Jayne & Ted Dawson**** Mr. Steven D. Donohoe**** Mr. James Hamilton* Bill Heaslip**** Mr. Josef Hrdina* Mr. Sumant Inamdar** Dr. Paul & Mrs. Marcia Kavanagh Mrs. Mary Liitoja**** Mrs. Annette Oelbaum* Ms Marianne Orr* Barbara & Peter Pauly** Norbert & Elizabeth Perera**** Ms Adrianne Pieczonka Mr. & Mrs. Domenic Porporo** Ms Joan Sinclair** David Smukler & Patricia Kern** The Sorbara Group**** Ms Peg Thoen** Dr. M. Lynne Thurling & Dr. John Treilhard*** Vernon & Beryl Turner**** Gordon Waugh**** Anonymous (1) ASSOCIATE FRIENDS $1,100 – $1,599 Carol & Ernest Albright**** Gail Asper & Michael Paterson Michael & Janet Barnard** Don Biderman**** Dr. B. Derek & Dr. Anne W. Birt**** Ellen & Murray Blankstein* Darlene & Peter Blenich* Murray & Judy Bryant*** Dr. Wendy C. Chan* Patricia Clarke** Robert D. Cook** Mr. Neil Crawford* Mr. Stuart Davidson Mr. Darren Day*** Dr. Christine Dunbar** Howard & Kathrine Eckler*** Lawrence Enkin** R. Dalton Fowler**** John H. Galloway****

Alison Girling & Paul Schabas** Aviva & Andrew Goldenberg** Ricardo Gomez-Insausti* David Gordon & Wendy Flores Gordon* Roy & Gail Harrison**** Sylvie Hatch**** David Holdsworth & Nicole Senécal* Richard & Susan Horner**** James Hughes*** Mr. Kazik Jedrzejczak**** Ms Elisa Kearney Ms Suanne Kelman & Dr. Allan J. Fox** The Hon. Dennis Lane, Q.C. & Mrs. Sandra Lane**** Jason & Stephanie Lewis* Andrew & Harriet Lyons P. Anne Mackay**** Mrs. Janet Maggiacomo** Karen & Craig** Georgina McLennan**** Mr. David Milovanovic & Dr. Cinda Dyer Mr. Carl Morey**** Mr. Sean O'Neill**** Marjorie & Anne Pepper** Ms Victoria Pinnington*** Mr. Andrew Prodanyk Lola Rasminsky & Bob Presner Dr. Peter Ray**** Dr. Shelley Rechner**** Amye & DeeAnn Hagler Sagar Mr. Michael Samborsky** William & Meredith Saunderson**** Dr. Anabel M. Scaranelo Ms Elisabeth Scarff**** Beverly & Fred Schaeffer**** Dr. & Mrs. W. K. Stavraky*** Norma & George Steiner**** Vera & Pavel Straka*** Dr. Peter Voore**** Ron Williams* Nina & Norman Wright*** Carole & Bernie Zucker*** Anonymous (6) CONTRIBUTING FRIENDS $700 – $1,099 Ms I. M. Allen**** Dr. M. Al Sayyab Dentistry Professional Corp.

Dr. I. L. Babb Fund at the Toronto Community Foundation**** In memory of M. Baptista*** Peter & Leslie Barton** Mrs. Lynn Bayer*** Catherine Belyea+ Michael Benedict & Martha Lowrie****

Jeniva Berger**** Anthony Bird**** Dr. Jennifer Blake** Ms Marlene Bohn* Mary Brock & Brian Iler**** Ms Judith Burrows*** Ms E. Burton*** Mr. Bill Cameron* Betty Carlyle**** Mark Cestnik & Natercia Sousa**** Geoffrey & Bilgi Chapman**** Harold Chmara & Danny Hoy**** Joe T. R. Clarke**** Ms Rovena Cooper Mr. Sylvain Crozon M. P. Davies** Anita Day Don DeBoer & Brent Vickar*** Mr. Michael Disney* Wendy Drahovzal Ms Eleanor L. Ellins**** Mr. Arthur English** Joe & Helen Feldmann*** Brian A. Ferguson**** Dr. James Ferguson Bruce & Mary Fillier Tom Flemming**** Jennifer & Frank Flower*** Angelo Furgiuele & Family* Douglas G. Gardner**** Mr. M. Gerwin & Mrs. J. Rutledge** Girish & Bharati Ghatalia Elinor Gill Ratcliffe C.M., O.N.L., LLD (hc) Dr. Wilfred S. Goodman**** Mrs. Marion A. Green**** Mrs. Suzy Greenspan** Dr. & Mrs. Voldemars Gulens**** Dr. & Mrs. Brian & Cynthia Hands**** Sandra Hausman** Peter L. Henniger* Dr. Paul Cooper & Mr. David Hiebert In memory of Pauline Hinch** Istvan & Gilian Hlinyanszky Mr. Sylvain Houle* Dr. Ivan & Mrs. Diana Hronsky**** In loving memory of Joyce Whitney Hughes* Mr. David Hutton*** Mr. Chris Ibey*** Douglas & Dorothy Joyce**** Lilian Kilianski+ & Brian Pritchard* Mai Kirch**** Dr. & Mrs. L. A. Kitchell**** Serguei Kloubkov Mr. & Mrs. I. P. & O. M. Komarnicky***

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Mr. Christopher J. Kowal* Mr. Jonathan Krehm* Gediminas P. Kurpis**** Mr. James R. Lake**** Harry Lane*** Alan & Marti Latta**** Giles le Riche & Rosemary Polczer*** Mr. Tom Le Seelleur** Claus & Heather Lenk* Mr. Yakov Lerner* Mr. & Mrs. G. Lorenson Dr. Francois Loubert* Deidre Lynch* Tyler & Claire Macnamara Kathy Marton* Dr. Lynn McAslan Mary McClymont**** Mary McGowan**** Jil McIntosh** Mr. Bruce McKeown**** David & Jean McLay**** Sylvia McPhee**** Janis Medland* Dr. Alan C. Middleton*** Janina Milisiewicz**** Kamini & Lynne Milnes* Frank & Anne Moir*** Blake Murray & Nancy Riley**** Peter Naylor Larry Nevard Mr. Tomi Nishio**** David Northcote & Suzanne Betcke* Mrs. Jean O'Grady** Ms Cristina Oke*** Karen Olinyk†* Joan Pape**** Mr. James C. Pappas**** Mr. Joseph & Mrs. Letizia Paradiso*** David Peachey & Georgia Henderson** Justice Michael L. Phelan & Susan Phelan Dr. Wadermar A. Pieczonka**** Dr. Alice Pitt & Dr. Deborah Britzman Ed & Beth Price*** Mr. Robert Radke Annette & Jim Ray Marat Ressin Ms Virginia Robeson** Dorothy & Robert Ross*** M. & G. Sanvido**** Patti & Richard Schabas** Nancy A. Schiefer in memory of Walter Schiefer**** Valerie Schweritzer & Chris Reed**** Marlene Pollock Sheff* John Spears**** Phil Spencer****

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Mr. Paul Steep & Ms Anne McNeilly* Helga & Klaus Stegemann*** Jane & Ted Stephenson**** Penelope K. Sullivan**** Larry & Judy Tanenbaum**** Ria Tietz**** Dr. Claude Tousignant** Mr. & Mrs. David G. Trent**** Maria & Ian Tulip**** Dr. Nancy F. Vogan**** Mr. Wayne Vogan†**** George Vona & Lark Popov** Barbara J. Weider* Mr. John M. Welch**** James & Margaret Whitby**** F. Whittaker** Mr. Takahiro Yamanaka Ms Diana Yenson* David A. Young Ms Iris Zawadowski* Anonymous (9) THE ENCORE LEGACY The Encore Legacy is the planned giving program of the Canadian Opera Company.

Planned giving is making the decision today to provide a gift for the Canadian Opera Company that may not be realized until after your lifetime.

Gifts planned today, that will ultimately affect your estate, allow you to make a statement of support that will become a lasting legacy to the COC. The Canadian Opera Company gratefully acknowledges and thanks the following individuals who have included the COC in their estate planning: Susan Agranove & Estate of Dr. Larry M. Agranove Isobel Allen Renata Arens & Elizabeth Frey Mrs. Rosalen Armstrong Ron Atkinson & Bruce Blandford Lindy Barrow Mr. L. H. Bartelink J. Linden Best & James G. Kerr David Bowen Mr. Philip J. Boswell Marnie M. Bracht Gregory Brandt Mrs. Ann Christie Earl Clark The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson Brian Collins & Amanda Demers Earlaine Collins David H. Cormack Ninalee Craig

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Anita Day & Robert McDonald Ann De Brouwer Helen Drake Rowland D. Galbraith Douglas G. Gardner Ann J. Gibson Michael & Anne Gough L. A. Grover George & Irene Hamilton Joan L. Harris James Hewson John R. Higgins Mr. Kim Yim Ho & Walter Frederic Thommen Douglas E. Hodgson Matt Hughes Michael & Linda Hutcheon Lynne Jeffrey Ann Kadrnka Ben Kizemchuk Kathryn Kossow Mr. Gurney Kranz Jo Lander Peggy Lau Marjorie & Roy Linden Tom C. Logan, A.R.C.T. Ms Lenore MacDonald Dr. Colin M. Mailer R. Manke Tim & Jane Marlatt Mr. Shawn Martin Margaret McKee Sylvia M. McPhee Dr. Alan C. Middleton Eleanor Miller Sigmund & Elaine Mintz Donald Morse Sue Mortimer Mr. & Mrs. James D. Patterson Mervyn Pickering Gunther & Dorothy Piepke Wanda Plachta Ms Georgia Prassas K. F. Read Dr. John Reeve-Newson Mrs. Margaret Russell Sharon Ryman† Cookie & Stephen Sandler John & Helen Scott Claire Shaw R. Bonnie Shettler David E. Spiro Dr. D. P. Stanley-Porter Doreen L. Stanton Lilly Offenbach-Strauss Drs. W. & K. Stavraky Janet Stubbs† Ann Sutton Ronald Taber Riki Turofsky & Charles Petersen N. Suzanne Vanstone Marie-Laure Wagner Hugh & Colleen Washington

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

Marion C. Wilson Marion York Tricia Younger Anonymous (63) OPERATOURS DONORS $700 + (As of February 19, 2014) Dr. & Mrs. Larry M. Agranove**** Anneliese and Walter Blackwell**** Brian J. Dawson*** Jayne & Ted Dawson**** Brian A. Ferguson**** Ben & Sarah Glatt**** Mr. & Mrs. I. P. & O. M. Komarnicky*** John B. Lawson, C.M. Q.C.**** Dr. Colin McGregor Mailer**** Mary McClymont**** John & Esther McNeil**** Sue Mortimer in memory of Clive Bennett Mortimer**** Mrs. Annette Oelbaum* Joan Pape**** Mr. Michael Samborsky** Allan & Helaine Shiff**** Ria Tietz**** Melanie Whitehead*** CORPORATE MATCHING PARTNERS The Canadian Opera Company gratefully acknowledges the following organizations that have matched gifts by their employees: Canadian Tire Corporation Limited IBM Canada Ltd. Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc Goodman & Company, Investment Counsel Ltd. FM Global Foundation The above Individual Support Gifts were made as of March 25, 2015. * ** *** **** †

five to nine years of support 10 to 14 years of support 15 to 19 years of support 20 or more years of support COC administration, chorus or orchestra member

Despite the staff’s extensive efforts to avoid errors and omissions, mistakes can occur. If your name was omitted, listed incorrectly or misspelled, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

We would appreciate being notified of any errors at 416-847-4949.

Make the most of your opera experience!

Post-performance toasts Backstage receptions Working rehearsals Exclusive recitals and concerts Season preview VIP ticket services Opening-night parties Henry N. R. Jackman Lounge access

President’s Council and Golden Circle members help make everything we do possible. Join them to share in the thrill and excitement of opera as never before, while supporting the artistic mission of the Canadian Opera Company.

For further information, contact us at presidentscouncil@coc.ca, visit coc.ca/Support, or call 416-363-5801.

*The COC recognizes donations from all individual giving programs with a charitable tax receipt for the maximum amount allowable under the Canada Revenue Agency guidelines.

Top: Opening night celebration for La Bohème, 2013. Photo: Dave Cox | Middle: Centre Stage Gala, 2013. Photo: Jenna Marie Wakani | Bottom: General Director Alexander Neef, Così fan tutte director Atom Egoyan and Music Director Johannes Debus at the 2014/2015 Season Launch. Photo: Dave Cox

MAJOR CORPORATE SPONSORS 2014/2015 SEASON BMO Financial Group Pre-Performance Chats BMO Financial Group Student Dress Rehearsals Verdi’s Falstaff generously underwritten in part by

Official Automotive Sponsor of the COC at the FSCPA

Presenting Sponsor of SURTITLES™

Supporter of Ensemble Studio and Centre Stage

Glencore Ensemble Studio School Tour

Official Canadian Wine of the COC at the FSCPA

Production Sponsor Rossini’s The Barber of Seville

Production Sponsor Puccini’s Madama Butterfly

Production Sponsor Puccini’s Madama Butterfly

Preferred Jewellery Partner

Preferred Fragrance

Program Sponsor After School Opera Program

Preferred Hospitality Sponsor

Golden Circle Hosting Partner

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Presenting Sponsor Opera Under 30 Preferred Credit Card and Operanation TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege*

Preferred Dry Cleaner

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

Preferred Medical Services Provider

2014/2015 SPONSORS PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Barrick Gold Blake, Cassels & Graydon Burgundy Asset Management Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP Fionn MacCool’s Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Linden & Associates McCarthy Tetrault LLP Norton Rose Fulbright LLP Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP HOSTING SPONSORS

GALA RECEPTION SPONSOR Maison Birks GOLD SPONSORS Brookfield Asset Management Linden & Associates Scotiabank OPERANATI0N: LIGHT UP THE NIGHT PRESENTING SPONSOR TD Bank Group DINNER SPONSOR Hampton Securities PREFERRED FRAGRANCE REVEAL by Calvin Klein

PREFERRED FLORISTS Bloom The Flower Company Quince Flowers CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION DONORS $50,000+ The Slaight Family Foundation The Hal Jackman Fund at the Ontario Arts Foundation $10,000 – $49,999 Audrey S. Hellyer Charitable Foundation The Chawkers Foundation Cineplex Great West Life, London Life and Canada Life J.P. Bickell Foundation The Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation OCC Lasik The McLean Foundation The W. Garfield Weston Foundation Anonymous (1) $5,000 to $9,999 The Hope Charitable Foundation JMV Food Services Canada Ltd. Local 58 Charitable Benefit Fund Metcalf Foundation Mill Street Brewery Shinex Window Cleaning Inc. Unit Park Holdings Inc. The WholeNote Magazine

JEWELLERY PARTNER Maison Birks PARTNERING SPONSOR Burgundy Asset Management CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS Bloomberg Bonnie Shore Canaccord Genuity Element Financial Corp.

Torkin Manes LLP EVENT SUPPORTERS BT/A Chairman Mills Mill St. Perrier Quince Flowers Ryan Emberley Photography 10tation Event Catering The Knot Group The Room Toronto Life Trius Wines Wellington Printworks J.P. Wiser’s ® Canadian Whisky Lot No. 40™ Canadian Whisky Pike Creek™ Canadian Whisky Jameson® Irish Whiskey The Glenlivet® Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aberlour® Single Malt Scotch Whisky Beefeater® Gin

$2,500 – $4,999 Hicks Memorial Fund at The Calgary Foundation Vida Peene Fund at the Canada Council for the Arts Milgram Group of Companies Ltd.

FINE WINE AUCTION 2015

$1,000 – $2,499 Aimia D’Avignon Freight Services Inc. Gill Ratcliffe Foundation Jarvis & Associates Judith Teller Foundation Loch-Sloy Holdings Ltd. MAC Cosmetics O’Shanter Development Company Ltd. The Powis Family Foundation

PARTNERING SPONSORS Gillam Group Inc. RR Donnelley Canada Inc.

CENTRE STAGE: ENSEMBLE STUDIO COMPETITION GALA 2014 COMPETITION SUPPORTERS RBC and RBC Foundation Peter M. Deeb Hal Jackman Foundation PLATINUM SPONSOR Mercedes-Benz OPERA UNDER 30 SPONSOR TD Bank Group Please visit coc.ca for additional information

PRESENTING SPONSOR Graywood Group

SUPPORTING SPONSOR Geoffrey Pennal of CIBC Wood Gundy EVENT SUPPORTER Steinway Piano Gallery Toronto WINE SPONSOR Trius Wines CATERING 10tation Event Catering CHEESE SPONSOR The Cheese Boutique AUCTIONEER Stephen Ranger Fine Art Valuation & Consultancy

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GOVERNMENT SUPPORT The Canadian Opera Company gratefully acknowledges the generous support of these government agencies and departments.

OPERATING SUPPORT

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $157 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.

Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 157 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.

ENSEMBLE STUDIO

SPECIAL PROJECT FUNDING For the many programs and special initiatives undertaken each year by the Canadian Opera Company, we gratefully acknowledge project funding from: Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Department of Canadian Heritage Employment and Social Development Canada Ontario Arts Council Canada Council for the Arts

CREDITS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Canadian Opera Company would like to thank all those who volunteer both on a daily basis and for special events with the company.

Michael Cooper: Official photographer The COC is a member of Opera America, Opera.ca. and TAPA. The COC operates in agreement with Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.

The COC operates in agreement with I.A.T.S.E., Local #58, Local #822, Local #828.

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

BACKSTAGE AND BEYOND

OUR WONDERFUL COC DONORS ARE HELPING US CELEBRATE A GREAT SEASON AT SOME UNFORGETTABLE EVENTS, INCLUDING PARTIES, BACKSTAGE MEET-AND-GREETS WITH ARTISTS, AND A TRIP TO NYC!

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2 1. & 2. Our supporters were some of the first opera lovers in North America to hear Christine Goerke’s Wagnerian vocal power when she sang “Träume” from Wagner's Wesendonck-Lieder at the 2015/2016 Season Launch Celebration; afterwards Vice Chair of the COC Board of Directors Colleen Sexsmith enjoyed champagne and a chat with our Brünnhilde.

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Photos: Chris Hutcheson

3.&4. Snapping pictures of the Don Giovanni cast at the post-opening performance party: Sasha Djihanian and (l-r) Jane Archibald, Michael Schade, Russell Braun and his wife Carolyn Maule.

Photos: Joey Lopez

5.

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Ensemble Studio alumna and new Development team member Janet Stubbs, current Ensemble Studio member Gordon Bintner, Ensemble alumna Simone Osborne, and COC Board member Phil Deck after the 15/16 Season Launch Celebration. Photo: Chris Hutcheson

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

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6. COC Life Trustee and long-time Artist Sponsor Earlaine Collins with Russell Braun, Carolyn Maule, and General Director Alexander Neef at the Don Giovanni opening night party. Photo: Joey Lopez 7.

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President’s Council member Barbara Keenan, Golden Circle member Jane Smith, Ensemble Studio alumna and Development team member Janet Stubbs, and PC member Julia Bass attend a reception after the Ensemble Studio’s first concert of the 2014/2015 season. Photo: Karen Reeves

8. President and Trustee of the Asper Foundation Gail Asper, COC Board Chair Tony Arrell, Executive Director of the Asper Foundation Moe Levy, and COC Music Director Johannes Debus mark the Asper Foundation’s generous support of the COC with a toast in the Henry N. R. Jackman Lounge.

Photo: Dave Cox

9. President’s Council member Dr. Barry J. Hood with COC Concertmaster Marie Bérard after the opening of Don Giovanni. Photo: Joey Lopez The colourful splendour of the COC’s Semele carried through to the opening night party festivities at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).

10. Peter Partridge, one of the generous donors who made the COC’s tour to BAM possible.

11. Semele selfie with tenor Colin Ainsworth (Jupiter), Lady Linda Wong Davies (KT Wong Foundation), Jane Archibald (Semele) and Hilary Summers (Ino/Juno). Photos: BAM

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12. COC Director of Production Peter Lamb (far right) celebrated with his partner, dancer Veronica Tennant and William Lynch, director of leadership gifts at BAM.

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Catch up with blogs and explore Look and Listen at coc.ca.

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JOIN US IN 2015/2016!

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MOZART

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO Love conquers all. Especially reason.

No opera is more convincing – or as consistently beautiful – in portraying the fluid enchantments, maze-like confusions, and bouts of sheer blindness brought on by love.

On the eve of their wedding, Figaro and Susanna’s romance is shaken when their employer, the Count, takes an extramarital interest in Susanna. This sets in motion a day of schemes and counter schemes, sexual intrigues and mistaken identities, embroiling the entire household in a web of erotic passions.

A sparkling cast of Mozartian singers take us into this magnificent, seriously witty farce, set to some of the most sublimely beautiful music ever written, from the Countess’s ravishing arias to virtuosic ensembles such as the Act II finale. Hailed as a “masterpiece” (Bloomberg News), this new-to-Toronto production by Claus Guth draws visual inspiration from the films of Ingmar Bergman and the plays of Ibsen and Strindberg, while fusing stylized gesture and choreography with Mozart’s score to deliver a “shattering, unforgettable” (The Guardian) account of the elemental forces of human nature.

February 4 – 27, 2016 NEW COC PRODUCTION Uli Kirsch as Cherubim in The Marriage of Figaro (Salzburg Festival, 2011). Photo: Monika Rittershaus

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

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BIZET

CARMEN Live free or die.

Carmen. The name alone conjures up myriad allusions: freedom-loving gypsy, sexual predator, fatalistic soul. Carmen has inspired ballets, movies and one of the world’s most enduringly popular operas, set to the driving passion and sensual heat of Georges Bizet’s score.

The story is one that could be ripped from the headlines of today, or anytime: Carmen enters into a tragic love affair with a young soldier whose jealousy is at odds with her unrelenting desire for freedom. She soon tires of him and seeks fresh excitement in the arms of another man.

Joel Ivany, of Toronto’s Against the Grain Theatre, directs a young and brilliant cast including two of the most outstanding Carmens on the opera stage today: Anita Rachvelishvili, who has sung Carmen with “smoldering, earthy sexuality"( New York Times) at the Met, La Scala and Berlin; and Clémentine Margraine, whose "passion and menace" (Opera News) has made her Carmen such a hit in Rome and Berlin.

April 12 – May 15, 2016 COC PRODUCTION

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A scene from Carmen (COC, 2010).

Photo: Michael Cooper

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

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ROSSINI

MAOMETTO II Love and war collide in Rossini’s epic drama In his grand bel canto drama Maometto II, Rossini unleashes his full arsenal of vocal pyrotechnics on the historical tale of the great Turkish Sultan, Maometto, and his quest to conquer the Holy Roman Empire. Mostly known for effervescent comedies like The Barber of Seville, Rossini was also a master of serious opera, the most famous being William Tell.

After its 1820 Naples premiere, Maometto II was not seen again in its original form until 2012 at Santa Fe Opera. There, it was lauded as a “thrilling [piece of] experiential theater” (Opera News) in the same David Alden production that will appear on our Toronto stage next Spring. Along with set and costume designer Jon Morrell, Alden has brought the opera’s action forward from its historical 15th-century origins to the time of its creation in 1820. Strikingly-coloured, Napoleonic era, First Empire gowns glow jewel-like against a neoclassical marble colonnade. Surprising coups des théâtres are peppered throughout, including the sudden emergence of a statue of three galloping horses on which Maometto makes a dramatic exit.

Mastering Rossini’s fearsome vocal demands will be superstar Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni making his COC debut as “a chilling and complex Maometto. His dashing stage presence and virile voice exude menacing authority” (New York Times). COC favourite Elizabeth DeShong - no stranger to Rossini’s roulades that she so expertly tossed off as our 2011 Cenerentola - returns as Calbo, one of bel canto’s great, heroic pants roles. The young, rich-toned American soprano Leah Crocetto debuts as Maometto’s forbidden love, Anna. Conductor Harry Bicket (Hercules, 2014) makes a welcome return to the podium.

April 29 – May 14, 2016 NEW COC PRODUCTION Luca Pisaroni as Maometto II (Santa Fe Opera, 2012).

Photo: Ken Howard

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

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TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW

ABOUT

Bluebeard’s Castle/ Erwartung

Nina Warren as The Woman and Noam Markus (lying down) as the Lover in Erwartung (COC, 2001).

Photo: Michael Cooper

BY GIANMARCO SEGATO

Above: Robert Lepage Photo: Julie Perreault

Right: The proscenium-hugging gold frame, designed by Michael Levine is visible here. Peter Fried as Bluebeard and Sara Fulgoni as Judith in Bluebeard's Castle (2001). Photo: Michael Cooper

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1. PUTTING THE COC ON THE MAP

2. DESIGNED BY THE TIMES

Québec City native Robert Lepage is indisputably one of the most original theatre artists Canada has ever produced.

His ground-breaking 1993 production of Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung was a watershed moment for the COC, establishing it as one of the world’s most visionary and compelling opera companies. Following its Toronto premiere, it garnered world-wide acclaim touring to New York, Edinburgh, Melbourne and Hong Kong.

This spring Toronto audiences will be hearing the stunning sonic effects of these two revolutionary scores for the first time in the acoustic splendour of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Set and costume designer Michael Levine draws inspiration for his visuals from the social and artistic zeitgeist of the period of composition. He cites Austrian

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW About Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung

painter Gustav Klimt’s richly gilded canvases as a reference for the huge gold frame that surrounds the proscenium and points to the sombre, unnerving works of Klimt’s Norwegian contemporary, Edvard Munch, as inspiration for his stage design.

3. “IT WAS A REAL CELEBRATION OF THE NEUROTIC, A CELEBRATION OF THE ‘ANTI’” Robert Lepage describes Erwartung as very “dark; a work of despair; Schoenberg doesn’t give any keys or clues to this piece. It’s very erratic— a sort of Freudian voyage.”

He highlights these Freudian aspects by setting the opera in a mental ward where the sole character, “The Woman,” is straightjacketed and flooded by memories as she recounts the events of her search for her lover.

4. BEYOND TONALITY Largely self-taught, Viennese composer Arnold Schoenberg’s (1874-1951) innovative

Arnold Schoenberg

experiments with harmony moved art music away from the late-Romantic lushness of Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler towards an atonal sound world that threw over the conventional rules of Western harmony. With his early opera Erwartung (1909), he extended the boundaries of tonality so far as to become the first composer to overstep them. You can hear guided samples at coc.ca/LookAndListen.

5. WHEN THE OLD BECOMES NEW Unlike Schoenberg, Hungarian Béla Bartók (1881-1945) did not reject contemporaries such as Richard Strauss and Claude Debussy—in fact, early works such as Bluebeard’s Castle (1911) were strongly influenced by their style.

Instead, it was his research into the old, forgotten folk melodies of Hungary that freed him to create a unique musical fabric dominated by surprising, new dissonances.

Béla Bartók

Catch up with blogs and explore Look and Listen at coc.ca.

6. “IT WAS THE END OF A LOT OF EMPIRES…” In 1903, spurred on by the new anti-Austrian, anti-Habsburg movement in Hungary, Bartók declared in a letter: “all my life, in every way I shall serve but one aim; the benefit of the Hungarian nation.” He completed Bluebeard’s Castle in 1911, just six years before the collapse of the AustroHungarian Empire. As the production’s creator, superstar Canadian director Robert Lepage, points out, “It was the end of a lot of empires; the end of a lot of Bluebeards who possessed lands and jewelry, but whose money was stained with blood.”

7. UNLEASHING THE SUBCONSCIOUS… Schoenberg’s Erwartung is very much a product of the Expressionist movement that swept through all the arts during the early 20th century.

His break from the traditional Western harmonic tradition with atonality unleashed a similarly “expressionist” sound world equipped to expose heated emotions of frightening power that had theretofore remained under wraps. Schoenberg’s librettist, the young medical student Marie Pappenheim, based her text on the elliptical, resonant language of patients undergoing psychoanalysis.

As a member of the medical community, Marie may well have been familiar with “Anna O,” one of Sigmund Freud’s most famous patients— certainly there are similarities between that case and the text of Erwartung.

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TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW About Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung

8. “THE SEISMOGRAPHIC RECORDING OF TRAUMATIC SHOCKS” Erwartung’s complex score is particularly challenging due to its “in-between” status— Schoenberg wrote it after he had abandoned tonality (c. 1909) but before he had devised the 12-tone system (early 1920s). German philosopher and musicologist Theodor Adorno famously described it as being akin to “the seismographic recording of traumatic shocks;” a fragmentary score that almost never settles on any type of repeated theme or motif that might potentially offer definitive answers.

Malgorzata Walewska as Judith and John Relyea as Bluebeard (Seattle Opera, 2009). Photo: Rozarii Lynch

9. “WE CAN ONLY KNOW FOLK MELODIES THROUGH DIRECT CONTACT WITH PEASANTS” Previous to Bartók’s re-discovery of his homeland’s rich treasury of authentic melodies, the Hungarian classical “nationalist” style had been dominated by folk-like popular songs which were in fact corruptions of truly indigenous music.

However, Bartók did not simply incorporate these folk materials verbatim; any of his “melodies” are entirely his own. Instead, he used them as models to intensify rhythms, expand his tonal palette and ultimately, explore the new dissonances that came to define his music. You can hear guided samples at coc.ca/LookAndListen.

10. THE PLAYERS Canadian star, bass John Relyea, relishes the psychological challenges posed by Bluebeard who spends the entire opera in continual dialogue with his latest wife, Judith: “the through line of emotional tension is unbroken, relentless; likewise the score builds up dramatically as things get deeper and darker and doesn’t let you go.”

Relyea’s Judith will be Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova with whom he has worked at Covent Garden.

Relyea feels this will be “especially important in a piece that is very intimate; very exposed psychologically —having established trust with a colleague beforehand is extremely helpful in creating

something very real earlier in the process of developing the characters.”

Canadian mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó’s (The Woman, Erwartung) association with this production goes back to her days in the COC Ensemble Studio when she understudied the role of Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle. She calls her new role “probably the most challenging thing I’ve worked on to date.

After looking at the first three pages I thought, ‘It’s never going to stick in my head,’ but it’s extremely satisfying when the puzzle falls into place!”

Gianmarco Segato is Adult Programs Manager at the Canadian Opera Company.

FOR FURTHER INSIGHT INTO BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE AND ERWARTUNG, READ ANATOMY OF AN OPERA IN THE SPRING EDITION OF PRELUDE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT COC.CA/PUBLICATIONS.

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

PATRON INFORMATION AND POLICIES Etiquette Patrons are reminded that R. Fraser Elliott Hall is an extremely lively auditorium and that all audience noise will be accentuated and audible to other patrons.

Turn off all electronic devices, avoid talking, coughing, humming, moving loose seats, kicking the backs of seats, rustling programs, and unwrapping candies or cough drops. In consideration of patrons with allergies please avoid wearing strongly perfumed beauty products and fragrances. Please remain in your seat until the performance has completely ended and the house lights have been turned on.

Electronic Devices The use of mobile and smartphones and all other electronic devices is extremely disruptive and is strictly prohibited during performances. If a patron has an emergency and needs to be contacted during a performance, he or she should contact Patron Services for assistance before the performance.

Cameras/Recording Devices The use of cameras, video cameras or sound-recording devices of any kind is prohibited in R. Fraser Elliott Hall during performances. Any person using an unauthorized recording device while the performance is in progress will be required to surrender or erase any recordings, photographic or digital images and may be asked to leave. No refunds will be issued.

Latecomers In the interest of safety and for the comfort of all patrons and performers, latecomers may not enter the auditorium or be seated unless there is a suitable break in the performance (usually intermission). Patrons leaving the auditorium during the performance or returning late after intermission may not be readmitted or may be accommodated in an alternate viewing location.

Children and Babes-in-Arms All patrons, including children, must have a ticket for the performance. All children must be seated next to an accompanying adult. Young children should be able to sit quietly throughout the performance. If unable to do so, children and their accompanying adult will be asked to leave the auditorium. Babes-in-arms will not be admitted.

Patron Services Located in the Lower Lobby, the following services are available: coat and parcel check, booster seats, back supports, infrared hearing-assistive devices and rental of binoculars, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Medical Emergencies and First Aid A house doctor is present at all performances.

Please contact an usher if medical services are required.

Lost and Found During performances please speak with an usher or visit Patron Services at the Coat Check in the Lower Lobby.

Following performances, all lost and found items will be stored at the security desk at Stage Door. Please call 416-363-6671 for information.

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Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

Ticket Services Canadian Opera Company subscriptions and individual tickets are available through COC Ticket Services ONLINE: coc.ca

BY PHONE: 416-363-8231 or long distance 1-800-250-4653 Monday to Friday – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

IN PERSON: Four Seasons Centre Box Office 145 Queen St. W. Monday to Saturday – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or through first intermission Sunday (performance days only) – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or through first intermission The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office also services ticketing needs for The National Ballet of Canada and all other Four Seasons Centre events.

Group Sales Groups of 10 or more enjoy savings on regular individual ticket prices. For more information or to reserve seats call 416-306-2356.

Parking There is parking on a first-come, first-served basis for about 200 vehicles underneath the Four Seasons Centre.

The entrance is located on the west side of York Street, south of Queen Street. Additional parking is conveniently located just steps away in the Green P lot underneath Nathan Phillips Square. For directions visit greenp.com.

Four Seasons Centre Facility Tours Tours of the Four Seasons Centre now include backstage access! For more information, visit fourseasonscentre.ca.

BMO Financial Group Pre-Performance Opera Chats The Canadian Opera Company Volunteer Speakers Bureau offers free, insightful chats about the stories, music and background of all COC performances, 45 minutes prior to each performance in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre.

Food and Beverage Service A pre-order system for intermission refreshments is available at all bars throughout the Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room. Food and beverages are not permitted in R. Fraser Elliott Hall.

Special Events and Catering The Four Seasons Centre is available for rental for all of your presentation, meeting or special events needs, with spaces accommodating from 20 to 2,000 people and full catering services. For further details visit fourseasonscentre.ca or call 416-363-6671.

Take it up an octave.

The perfect combination of refined style, athletic

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A Daimler Brand

Visit your local dealer or AllNewC.ca

Mercedes-Benz is proud to be the Official Automotive Sponsor of the Canadian Opera Company at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Š 2015 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.