Kris Vikmanis
Jack Whiteside
Paul Bernards
“Spending time with an artist, learning about their journey – on both professional and personal fronts – is fascinating in its own right, and we have all become friends,” Kris says of her past experience as an artist sponsor. This season, she is sponsoring Canadian John Relyea, a bass-baritone whose first appearance at the Met was hailed by the New York Times as the kind of debut “young singers dream about.” Kris is overjoyed to be Relyea’s sponsor as he makes his COC debut in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann this spring. Having seen Relyea at the Met, Ms Vikmanis has a pretty good idea of what’s in store: “I suspect I will be enchanted.”
“I’m very excited to be supporting a Canadian artist of such high calibre,” Jack says of Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, a singer who has achieved great things at home and abroad. Her iridescent, dramatic vocals have won her critical acclaim – and plenty of standing ovations – throughout Europe, North America and Asia. “It’s a great thrill that she’s here: one of Canada’s top opera singers, performing one of opera’s quintessential roles as Tosca with one of the best opera companies. And she’ll be back to sing with the COC in the near future. How great is that?” The convergence of high artistic standards and vocal talent that Mr. Whiteside attributes to the company is, of course, made possible in large part by supporters like him. “I’m very proud of the success of this company and its new home,” he says, “so if I can do my own little bit to help out, I’m delighted to do so.”
For Paul Bernards, being the artist sponsor of director Christopher Alden has proven to be “incredibly rewarding… I can’t say enough good things about this kind of opportunity.” Christopher Alden’s distinguished career of engaging with the operatic repertoire in innovative ways has yielded stimulating results for the COC, with The Flying Dutchman, last presented in 2010, and most recently, this fall’s Rigoletto. For both of those operas, Paul received an intimate perspective on how the production was conceived and executed. “You get involved with the life of the production, you go to closed rehearsals. You see how art takes shape as a living and breathing thing. For anyone who is interested in opera, it’s an enlightening, and surprisingly fun, experience.”
John Relyea
Adrianne Pieczonka
From left: John Relyea, photo: Dario Acosta; Adrianne Pieczonka, photo: Andreas Klingberg
We highlight three other members of the COC community who, through artist sponsorships, have made an individual commitment to exceptional opera artists and the outstanding work they create.
Christopher Alden Prelude Magazine 15