Edmonton Opera program - The Magic Flute

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Winter 2015 contents

4 Message from

the Director

20 Program Notes

25 Artists’ Profiles

36 Making The Magic Flute

6 Partners and Sponsors

9 Premiere Circle

11 Director’s Circle

39 Edmonton Opera Chorus and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

12 Friends of Edmonton Opera

43 Lucia di Lammermoor

14 Planned Giving

44 Remembering Irving Guttman

15 Endowment Fund

47 Rob Hood Fund

17 Composer Bio

18 Synopsis

Cast and Production Credits

Administration Office: 15230-128 Ave., Edmonton, AB T5V 1A8 Ph: 780-424-4040 Fax: 780-429-0600 Email: info@edmontonopera.com www.edmontonopera.com

51 Edmonton Opera Board and Staff 54 Upcoming Events

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Message from the director The Magic Flute has always been one of those pieces that has been a challenge for me.

Don’t get me wrong — I love the music, but it is the story that has always left me feeling like I am not quite smart enough to understand it. I always feel as though I should know more about the Masons and Masonic rites before taking on a production of this opera. I understand it is a fantasy, but I guess I just want to understand the point of Papageno and Tamino’s journey a little better than I usually do.

And then Edmonton Opera approached me about directing a new production of The Magic Flute. I am always up for a challenge and so I set forth to figure out how to best tell this story and to make it as powerful as possible. I started to study the music and the text closely.

I continually went back to the Masonic symbolism but I just could not make sense of why it was important to the telling of the story — other than the obvious “Three” symbolism. I know very little about the Masons — I would guess that I am in the majority on this — and focusing on that element seemed to diffuse the relevance of the story.

After several weeks of research, I came to realize that the Masons and their traditions were not central to the story, but rather that The Magic Flute is essentially about a journey to higher enlightenment, a rite of

passage to the discovery of love: brotherly, paternal, maternal and yes, romantic, sensual love. This opera is filled with life lessons, the small things that we overlook that are still applicable today. Within the character of Monostatos, for example, we are shown someone who is misunderstood and alienated; he is a character that doesn’t belong to any place or anyone. The other characters in the piece represent many other themes that are also present in our everyday lives: friendship, trust, love, desire, greed and power.

When working with the designers, we were all on board in making this production colourful and exotic. Bollywood was our inspiration, though not our final destination. Our goal was to create a world of layers and colours where pop-up storybook images set the stage upon which these vibrant characters could come alive.

In the end, I wanted to ensure one main thing — that all of the elements would help to support the telling of this beautiful and magical tale. The story of a journey where friendships are formed, love is discovered, life lessons are learned, challenges are faced and conquered, and trust and honesty are shown to be the basis of an enlightened life.

– Robert Herriot

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PARTNERS

and

SPONSORS

SEASON SPONSORS

The Rob Hood Fund Production Sponsors the barber of seville

the magic flute

Francis Price & Marguerite Trussler

Lucia di Lammermoor

Shelley & Guy Scott Family Foundation opening night sponsor

opening night sponsor

Jim & Sharon Brown Season Supertitles Sponsor

Emerging Artist Sponsors

Gold Partners

SPONSORS

media Supporters

6 THE magic flute

Official Supporters

Suggitt PUBLISHERS

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The Edmonton Opera gratefully acknowledges the Kucey Dental Group, who offers complimentary dental services for EO artists, and Dr. Mat Rose, who offers medical services for EO artists.

Edmonton Opera is grateful for the support of these sponsors, suppliers and media partners.

For more information about supporting the Edmonton Opera, please call 780.392.8719 or email development@edmontonopera.com.

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Who supports all artists from comprimario to prima donna?

We do.

We know our artists help shape and grow our community, now and in the future. That’s why ATB Financial celebrates local art, history and culture, fostering creativity in Alberta and beyond. atb.com

ÂŽATB Financial is a trade name/registered trademark of Alberta Treasury Branches.

Premiere Circle Creating sustainability The objective of the Premiere Circle is to seek the support of dedicated individuals and corporations who will commit to a minimum of $10,000 a year for five years to create the sustainability fund. Our target by the end of the 2014/15 season is to have 100 Premiere Circle members.

The Premiere Circle began in August 2014, spearheaded by the Edmonton Opera board of directors, to create a sustainability fund to both supplement operations and create long-term working capital for the Edmonton Opera.

Since August 2014, the Premiere Circle has received support from the following individuals.

Monica & Jim Allen Al-Terra Engineering Robert & Michelle Bessette Kevin & Penny Birkholz Jim & Sharon Brown John Cameron Drs. Carol & David Cass Clark Builders Richard S. Cook Judy & John Cosco Laurence Jewell Dianne Kipnes Irving Kipnes Ledcor Group of Companies Ashif & Zainul Mawji

Phil Milroy & Jane Russell Dr. Thomas & Melanie Nakatsui Jack & Esther Ondrack Francis Price PricewaterhouseCoopers Marguerite Trussler Bernie Robitaille Arnold & Grace Rumbold Shelley & Guy Scott Family Foundation Standard General Construction Angus & Heather Watt Wheaton Family Foundation Bill Winter Paulette Winter Glenn & Sandra Woolsey

Edmonton Opera continues to be a part of the cultural fabric in Edmonton, engaging the community in innovative ways.

For more information or to subscribe to the Premiere Circle, please contact Gwen Horvath, Premiere Circle Concierge, at gwen.horvath@edmontonopera.com or 780.392.7837.

Season SponsorS $250,000 Rob Hood Fund Dianne & Irving Kipnes Foundation Creekwood The Barber of Seville Production Sponsor $150,000 Francis Price & Marguerite Trussler The Magic FlutE Production Sponsor $150,000 Creekwood

lucia di lammermoor Production Sponsor $150,000 Shelley & Guy Scott Family Foundation Visionaries & Evening sponsors $50,000 Jim & Sharon Brown The Magic Flute opening night sponsors Judy & John Cosco Shelley & Guy Scott Family Foundation

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MINI edmonton

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Edmonton Opera director’s circle The Director’s Circle recognizes those patrons whose significant financial support and ongoing commitment enable Edmonton Opera to continue to produce award-winning and compelling art in our community.

Bravo and thank you!

For more information about the Director’s Circle or to become a member, please call the donor services line at 780.392.8719.

MaestroS $25,000 C.J. Woods, FCA $15,000+ Andy & Marianne Elder $10,000+ Arrow Engineering Russell M. & Marjorie Purdy LEADERS $6,000+ Larry & Ellen Eberlein Frederic & Alma Gojmerac Mark & Nancy Heule Alan Rose & Judy Schroder Ed Wiebe & Marcia Johnson $5,000+ Heritage Insurance & Consulting Ltd. Jeffrey Jansen Steel-Craft Door Prod. Ltd Dr. Oksana Suchowersky TD Canada Trust Chris & Vivian Varvis

PATRONS $3,000+ Branko & Jasna Calic Fath Group/O’Hanlon Paving Dr. Christine Kyriakides Steven & Day LePoole Judy & Stuart Mackay Bertrand Malo Laurel McKay Arliss Miller Eira Spaner BenefactorS $1,750-$2,999 Tricia Abbott Justice Darlene Acton James Archibald & Heidi Christoph Rhonda Baker Douglas K. Bingham & Sheila Janki-Bingham Jennifer Brown David & Patricia Cassie Dr. Mary Chisholm Marian Clarke Elaine Coachman Joseph & Pat Fernando Hans & Susanne Forbrich Peter & Astrid Griep

Linda Hamilton Dr. Karen & Pam Hofmann HUB International Canada West Brian Kucey & Elena Hernandez-Kucey Igor & Galia Kwetny Joan Lopatka & Bill Rutledge Hilliard & Nancy Macbeth Stephen & Lynn Mandel Rod & Heleen McLeod Michael & Mariette Meier Ken & Gerda Miller Neil & Susan Miller Risha Milo John Oberg Eleanor Olszewski Aline Pratch Drs. Paolo Raggi & Pauline Alakija Dr. Leonard Ratzlaff James E. & Vivian Redmond Tulane Rollingher Margaret Slate | Slate Personnel David Steer & Larissa Whiting Harold & Kay Veale Peter & Joyce Walton Dr. P.J. White & Patty Whiting Robert A. Wilson Paola Zanuttini Gerhard & Inge Zmatlo

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friends SustainerS

($1,000-$1,749) Robert Balfour Michael Boire Dr. Lorraine Bray Greg Christenson Sandi Ann Darrell John & Ann Dea Stephen Dougans Dolores Eaton Donald S. Ethell Felesky Flynn Brent Fillmore Jim & Shirley Funk Bill Grace Todd Grundy A.R. Grynoch & P.V. Sing Gabor Gyenes & Erika Mullner Bruce Hagstrom Simon Laroche Peggy Marko Alan Mather & Helgard Proft-Mather Bob McNally Dr. Keith & Brenda McNicol Fred & Helen Otto Pals Geomatics Corp Dennis Todoruk & Susan Stauffer Stella Varvis & Paul Grossman Paul Verhesen Ralph James Wood Ralph Young

SUPPORTERS

($500-$999) John Adria Tom & Sandy Allison Derek Alty Andree Aston Joan Bensted Bob Bowhay Bernie Corry Louis & Marcelle Desrochers Ivan & Ksenia Fedyna Fiona Fjeldheim Bill Giebelhaus Robert& Diane Gomes Doug Goss Dave Hancock Alice Harrison Douglas & Dorothy Hollands Rob Jolley Ken Keenleyside Paul Leonard Neil & Jean Lund Brenda MacDonald

of

Greg & Patrece Maluzynsky Devon J Mark & Allen Vander Well David McCalla Denis & Ruth McGettigan Les Moss William Pechtel Dr. George & Teresa Pemberton Fay Plomp Dr. Clarence H. Preitz Dr. Dean Rokosh Marshall Sadd Kathryn Sandilands Michael & Nance Smith Brian & Dawn Vaasjo Frank Van Veen Knut Vik & Frank Calder Tim Yakimec

CONTRIBUTORS ($250-$499) Brian Baker Jayson Barclay Armand & Lucie Baril Walter & Stella Baydala Mareena Bobey Colleen Brennan Janet Carle Chris Chantler & Colleen McKenna Craig David Corbett Iris Diduck-Rudnisky Sophie Drolet Dwayne Dufva Jim & Bonnie Ebbels Dr. Kevin Foster Terry Freeman John Greer Ross Haffie Paul Hobern Martin Hodgson Doug Horner Dr. Jiri Hrazdil Prof Corp Nathan Isbister Christopher Jack Marcel Jakob Pavel & Sylva Jelen Shafin Kanji David & Sandra Kraatz Shawn & Jane Kubiski Libuse Kuzel Richard J Lain Franklin C Loehde Kelly MacFarlane & Christopher Mackay Francesco Mannarino Paul & Lori Martens Linda Medland-Davis Tereena Morelli Kevin & Robyn Mott

Edmonton Opera Chung Chu Janet M. Clark Roger & Carol Cohen Joseph & Marta Collier Mark Collins Connect Homes Judy Coulombe Dr. Diane Cox Robin Crane Brenda Dale Mike & Marnie Davis James & Gail DeFelice Roger Delbaere Darrell Demchuk Kathy Demuth Frank W. Deys R.J. & Janet Dmytruk James C Dobie Maggie Dower Frank & Muriel Dunnigan Tim Eckert Edmonton Japanese Community Association Martin & Jacqueline Elton Tom & Heather Etsell Leanne Eyo Werner Fenske Lois Field Karin Fodor Vanessa Gardner Phil Gaudreault Brent Gelland MEMBERS Gordon & Colleen George ($100-$249) Allan & Krista Gilliland J Lynn Adams Gerda Goetz Barbara Allen F.S. & Margaret Golberg Scott & Alma Allen Jon & Heather Goor Catherine Andrew Sherry Gourdry Dr. David Atkinson Crystal Graham Nancy Aust Dr. Halfdan Baadsgaard Charles & Ann Grant Raymond & Roberta Baril June Greig Brenda Gross Vicki Barrow Avi Habinski William Bartelds Ulf-Hilmar Hahn Mike & Tracy Bateman Matthew Haley Heidi Benoit Joceylyn Hamilton Marc R Bisson John Hampson Linda Bogdan Jonathon Hancock Jelena Bojic Zenia J Hawrysh Dr. Grace Bokenfohr Dr. T Hayashi Scott & Juanita Brattly R & Barbara Henderson Aaron Breitkreuz Jeremy & Elizabeth Herbert John Edmond Brick Kevin Heselton Joanne Burek & Ty & Tayne Hewer Lee Stickles Dr. Judith Hibberd Johnathan Charles Kris Hildebrand W. Calvert Dr. John-Paul Himka Maurizio Capano Curtis Hollister Chris Chantler & Donna A. Holowaychuk Colleen Mckenna Karla Horcica Donald Chisholm Gwen Horvath

Sally & Barry Munro Alfred Nikolai Dr. Edward & Geri Papp C.H. Parks Jason Portas Marc Prefontaine Lisa Redmond Scott Reed David Rees & Linda Miller Michael Roma Carolynne E Ross John M Ross Jesse Rudge Generoso Russo Edmund & Orla Ryan Alison Seymour R & W Sherbaniuk Doug & Devika Short Gerry & Barbara Sinn Bill & Marlene Smith Campbell & Rosalind Sydie Dave Tarkowski Michelle Taylor Mike Tighe & Rachel Mandel William Tonn Andrew & Kirsty Wallace Terry Whittingham Brian & Joanne Wong Mark Zutz Wade Zwicker

Stuart Houston Mike Hruska Bonny Hubert Dr. Sheila L Hughes W.H. Hurlburt Bonnie Hutchinson Erik & Franziska Jacobsen Susan Jaksich Janet Jansen Christian Jonean Alan Jones Alison Kabaroff Rene & Anna Kiens HaNeul Kim John Kim Debra King Shirley Kirkpatrick Andrew Paul Kowalchyk Dr. Elizabeth Krause Greg Krischke J. Allen Kucay Lorraine & Stan Kucey John Kuzyk Jean Langley & Tim Winton Mark LaRue Jack & Diane Latham Colleen Lathan Patricia Marie Lavender David & Leslie Leeworthy Steven Lenarduzzi Colin & Jennifer Linton John Little Stuart Loe Doug & Joan Longley David Lynch Richard & Jean Lyne Lowell & Donna Lyseng Ian B MacDonald Jessica MacDonald Denise MacIver Cameron MacRae Hana Marinkovic Joan H Marshall John & Cathleen Matthews Jason Maurer Dwain & Monique May Karen Mazurek Mickey Melnyk Nicole Merrifield Zoltan & Brigitte Meszoly Ronald & Carole Middleton Janet Millar Paul Monson Renn Moodley Dr. Kyle Murray Tina Naqvi-Roth Ole & Marilyn Nielsen Andrey Niklevich Michael O'Dell Wade O'Neill Anthony Olivares

Donations made in memory of Howard Irving: Kathryn Buchanan J.E. Cote

Joseph & Pat Fernando Richard Fraser

Larry Judge John Karvellas

Justice Andrea Moen Alec & Irene Murray

Francis Price & Marguerite Trussler

Thank you to those who have previously donated in memory of Kimberly Heard, Dr. Robert J. Buck, Dr. Lee Anholt, Dr. John Martin, Norah McKillop, Ernie LeMessurier, Dr. David Cook, and in honour of Dianne and Irving Kipnes.

12 THE magic flute

Aaron & Jean Oshry Dr. Hanne Ostergaard Frank Palko Glenn A R Paone David Parbery William Pigden Carlos Raposo & Judy Strachan Eugene & Jeanne Ratsoy Yvonne Rekken Jordan Rice Jason James Richardson Hilary Rose Kerry Rose Susan & Greg Rosychuk Nola Ruhl Kathleen Ryks Barbara Sadler Wells Jelena & Dusan Savic Tom & Bev Sawyer Roger Schilf Tony Scozzafava Rod Shaigec Christine Siegel Cory Smith Michael Smith Dr. Thomas Snyder Mike Staines Sheila Steinhauer-Mozejko Shawn D Stevens Bobbi Stobbart Anne Strack Martin & Heike Stribrny Brigitte Suess Jean Sult Coady Summerfield Susie Sykes Mark & Sarah Taylor Louis Te Robert Thompson Alison Toews John & Mandy Trapp George Vailas Dennis Vance Terry & Michele Veeman Trudy Velichka Gus & Patricia Visman Matthew Walker Joan Welch Randy Williams & Janice MacDonald Elaina M Wisser John Womchlek Sara Wright Serene Yau Jim Yih Leanne & Steve Young

Sincere thanks go to those individuals who, through their gifts, have demonstrated their belief in making opera a vital part of our cultural community. To donate or for additional information, phone the donor services line at 780.392.8719 or email individual.giving@edmontonopera.com.

Only 2014/15 season donations and/or pledges processed up to Jan. 5, 2015, are listed. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our donor information. If we have made an error or omission, please call the donor services line at 780.392.8719. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Although space limitations allow us to list only charitable contributions of $100 or more, we gratefully acknowledge all donations. Each gift, regardless of size, helps to make Edmonton Opera performances possible. Thank you!

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Edmonton Opera’s Director’s Circle (donations of $1,750 or more) is our way of providing special recognition to our generous individual donors for their outstanding and sustained annual support. Director’s Circle members enjoy a number of exclusive opportunities throughout the season, to enhance their overall operatic experience.

Please contact Mickey Melnyk, Stewardship Officer, at mickey.melnyk@edmontonopera.com or 780.392.7819 for more information about becoming a DC member.

The Premiere Circle is comprised of dedicated individuals and corporations who have committed to a five-year, $10,000-per-year contribution, ensuring the sustainable future of Edmonton Opera. For more information about Premiere Circle experiences and commitments, please contact Gwen Horvath, Fund Development Manager, at gwen.horvath@edmontonopera.com or 780.392.7837.

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PLANNED GIVING

by SHELLY K. CHAMASCHUK It takes a lifetime to build up an estate, and yet it seems little time, in comparison, is spent to determine what should happen with an estate after passing. Everyone is encouraged to put a will in place to ensure that the distribution of their estate is properly planned.

W

A basic will can be done, leaving your estate to your family and those who matter to you. However, you may also wish to consider the ability to continue to give back to the community by leaving a charitable gift in your will. A charitable gift leaves money or other assets to those organizations which have given you joy, such as the opera. This would be such a wonderful legacy to you and a thoughtful way to give back on your way out.

There is also a significant tax benefit to charitable gifts.

hen you include Edmonton Opera in your estate plans, you provide a foundation for great opera in Edmonton to future generations.

If you wish to know more about giving to the opera, you are welcome to contact Mickey Melnyk, Stewardship Officer, at 780.392.8719.

Shelly K. Chamaschuk is a partner with the law firm of Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP who practises in the area of estate planning. Shelly can be reached at schamaschuk@rmrf.com or 780.497.3364.

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14 THE magic flute

Aria Legacy Help Edmonton Opera Sing Forever Edmonton Opera creates award-winning and compelling art, and strives to keep that art accessible for the Edmonton community. Aria Legacy is your opportunity to share that dream in a focused and personal way, with a gift to our endowment program that will last into perpetuity. Endowment gifts of any size are appreciated.

For more information on how you can help sustain Edmonton Opera for generations to come, please call the donor services line at 780.392.8719.

Edmonton Opera

ENDOWMENT FUNDS Edmonton Opera’s Endowment Funds: Sam & Sonia Azer Family Fund Frederic & Alma Gojmerac Family Fund Canada Cultural Investment Fund Edmonton Opera Staff Contributions Fund Edmonton Opera Endowment Fund Irving Guttman Opera Endowment Fund The Dianne and Irving Kipnes Opera Fund John and Barbara Poole Family Fund Francis Price and Marguerite Trussler Family Fund Dwight Purdy Memorial Fund David Cook Fund for Edmonton Opera Oline and Roderick Markine Family Fund Arnold & Grace Rumbold Fund Cecilia Fund In Memory of Howard Irving: J.E. Cote Richard Fraser Larry Judge John Karvellas Alec & Irene Murray Francis Price & Marguerite Trussler

Edmonton Opera applauds the following visionaries for contributing to or establishing a legacy of support for the future of opera in our community. Many of these contributions have been matched by the Canada Cultural Investment Fund. Thank you.

Endowment Donors & Aria Legacy Members John Adria Tricia Abbott Justice Darlene Acton Peter & Barbara Allen Rebecca Anderson Sam & Sonia Azer Alan and Alice Bell Robert Bessette Jelena Bojic Dr. Grace Bokenfohr Katherine Braun Jennifer Brown John Cameron Erin Clyde Richard S. Cook Glenda Dennis Maggie Dower Marianne & Andy Elder Ivan & Ksenia Fedyna

Laura Fitzgerald Karin Fodor Sandra Gajic Fred & Alma Gojmerac Karen Good Jennifer Hinnell Andy Hladyshevsky John & Susan Hokanson Dorothy & Douglas Hollands Gwen Horvath W.H. Hurlburt Jeffrey Jansen Laurence Jewell Ha Neul Kim Debra King The Dianne & Irving Kipnes Foundation Betty Kolodziej Juri and Helle Kraav

Tara-Lee LaRose Franklin C. Loehde Brenda MacDonald Amanda MacRae Cameron MacRae Bertrand Malo Stephen & Lynn Mandel Devon J. Mark & Allen Vander Well Roderick & Oline Markine Peggy Marko Alan Mather & Helgard Proft-Mather Julian Mayne Jeff McAlpine Jeff McCune Rod & Heleen McLeod Bob & Bev McNally Mickey Melnyk

Arliss Miller Kyle & Colleen Murray Dr. Thomas & Melanie Nakatsui Wesley M. Pedruski Barbara Poole Clarence & Elizabeth Preitz Francis Price Protostatix Engineering Consultants Russell & Marjorie Purdy Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer LLP Robert & Asha Rock Clayton Rodney & Raymond Cameron Analee Roman Hilary & Robert Rose

Arnold & Grace Rumbold Kelly Sheard Katie Soles Michael Spassov Darren Staten Catherine Szabo Lauren Tenney Karen Trace Marguerite Trussler Chris & Vivian Varvis Stella Varvis Angus Watt Howard & Joan Welch Adrienne E. Wong Tim Yakimec Serene Yau Stacy Young Gerhard & Inge Zmatlo

Additional financial contributions from members of the Edmonton Opera Chorus.

A generous endowment gift has been made by the Edmonton Opera Guild in honour of the Edmonton Opera Chorus.

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symphony

TOWER

9704 - 106 STREET (780)701-0058

Composer

BIOGRAPHY

Edmonton Opera presents

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

the

January 31, February 3 & 5, 2015

Born on Jan. 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria, the composer Mozart was baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart.

Production sponsored by Creekwood

He learned to play the piano by watching his older sister receive lessons from their father, who was a court musician and composer.

By the age of five, the young Mozart was composing and could also

play the clarinet and violin. Starting in 1762, Mozart’s father took the two siblings on the first of several European tours, where the children performed in various courts.

At the age of 17, Mozart was appointed assistant concertmaster for the Royal Court of Salzburg, but later fell out of favour with the Archbishop von Colloredo when he wanted to find more prosperous employment.

This resulted in Mozart relocating to Vienna, where he composed as a freelance musician. He had become accustomed to a lavish lifestyle,

however, and coupled with the Austrian-Hungarian War, often

struggled to pay the bills.

He married Constanze Weber in 1782, against the wishes of his father, who felt the marriage would cause an interruption in Mozart’s career.

Constanze’s mother strongly encouraged the marriage, however, and the couple wed on Aug. 4, 1782. They had six children, although only

two survived infancy.

In 1784, Mozart became a Freemason, which influenced his music as well. The spiritual overtones in The Magic Flute were not only new territory for Mozart, but for opera in general at the time.

In December 1787, Emperor Joseph II appointed Mozart as his chamber composer — a position that was not only an honour, but intended as incentive to keep Mozart in Vienna. Mozart still travelled, trying to stabilize his finances and popularity, but was unsuccessful. Historians believe that his periods of hysteria, coupled with spells of hectic creativity, may be evidence that he had some form of bipolar disorder.

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder Premiere: Sept. 30, 1791 Conductor Director Assistant to the Director

Leslie Dala Robert Herriot Kim Mattice-Wanat

The Cast Tamino First Lady Second Lady Third Lady Papageno Queen of the Night Monostatos Pamina Spirit One Spirit Two Spirit Three First Priest/First Armed Man Second Armed Man Second Priest/Sprecher Sarastro Papagena

Adam Luther Betty Waynne Allison Tanya Roberts Catherine Daniel John Brancy Teiya Kasahara Michael Barrett Jessica Muirhead Alla Salakhova Fenya Fitzpatrick Aanchel Gupta Robert Clark Greg Maluzynsky* Bertrand Malo Neil Craighead Jacqueline Woodley

*non-equity member

with members of the Edmonton Opera Chorus and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

He was quite productive between 1790 and 1791, however, producing

works that revived much of his public notoriety.

Mozart died of illness on Dec. 4, 1791, in Vienna. Despite the speculation surrounding his death, including possibility of poisoning by the Italian composer Antonio Salieri, historians suggest there is little evidence to prove that Mozart and Salieri’s relationship was anything more than a professional rivalry. Mozart was buried in a common grave, which was standard at the time for most Viennese, and the exact location remains unknown.

Even by 16th-century standards, Mozart died at a young age. And yet, in half a lifetime, he composed over 600 pieces of music, including operas, symphonies, concertos and single pieces for the piano — there were few branches of music he did not touch.

magic flute

Scenery & Lighting Designer Costume Designer Sound Designer Chorusmaster Repetiteur Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager Apprentice Assistant Stage Manager

Bretta Gerecke Deanna Finnman Robert Smale Peter Dala Jeremy Spurgeon Ha Neul Kim Anna Davidson Gina Moe Morgan Graumann

Supertitles composition created by Robert Herriot.

There will be one 20-minute intermission between Acts 1 and 2.

The performance is approximately 2 hours and 42 minutes long, including intermission.

Edmonton Opera is a professional company operating within the jurisdiction of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.

Edmonton Opera is a member of the Professional Opera Companies of Canada and Opera America.

THE magic flute 17

SYNOPSIS

by Stephan Bonfield

Act I Tamino, a prince from a faraway land, enters, pursued by a snake. He faints from fear, and the Three Ladies appear and magically slay the monster. Each Lady quarrels with the other over the handsome Tamino as to who should claim him for her own. They finally leave together.

Papageno, who catches birds for the Queen of the Night, enters clad in colourful feathers. When Tamino awakens, he assumes that it is the strange Papageno who killed the monster. When Tamino identifies himself as a prince, Papageno casually brags that he killed the serpent. The Three Ladies overhear the lie and arrive to punish Papageno by placing a padlock on his mouth. They show Tamino a portrait of the Queen’s daughter, Pamina. He falls in love with her immediately. When the Queen of the Night arrives with great ceremony, she overwhelms the prince, and pleas for Tamino to save Pamina from “the evil enemy” Sarastro, who she claims abducted her daughter. Tamino agrees to the quest, and Papageno, now free from the padlock, is ordered to accompany him. The Three Ladies present Tamino with the Magic Flute, and to Papageno, a set of magic bells. The Ladies explain that the Three Spirits will guide them to Sarastro’s fortress.

Meanwhile, in Sarastro’s palace, Monostatos, a slave to both Sarastro and his own lusts, has just captured Pamina as she was trying to escape. A nonchalant Papageno, wandering around the castle, frightens Monostatos and he runs off. Papageno explains to Pamina that the Queen, her mother, has sent help to rescue her.

Tamino, meanwhile, is guided to the three temples by the Three Spirits, but he is rebuffed by voices of the priests when he tries to enter the first two temples. However, at the third temple a Speaker emerges and challenges Tamino’s knowledge of his own quest.

Incredulous and defiant, Tamino learns from the Speaker that the Queen has deceived him and that Sarastro is not the tyrant she made him out to be. Tamino, confused by this revelation, is told that if he wants to learn the truth, he must seek wisdom among the brotherhood of the temple, and join them through their initiation rituals.

Papageno and Pamina are re-captured by Monostatos, but they escape when Papageno hypnotizes the slaves with his magic bells.

No sooner than Papageno and Pamina begin celebrating their newfound freedom, Sarastro and his people are heard arriving with great fanfare. Papageno fearfully asks Pamina what she will tell the mighty Sarastro when he catches her again, and she announces “the Truth!” As she confesses to Sarastro that she tried to escape, Monostatos brings in Tamino. Tamino and Pamina seem to recognize one another though they have never met before.

When they embrace, people react in shock. Monostatos expects his due reward for preventing Pamina’s escape but is instead punished by Sarastro for his shameful behaviour toward her.

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Sarastro is praised for his justice as he announces that Tamino and Papageno must be taken to the Temple of Trials to be prepared for the tests they must face.

Act II Sarastro and his priests pray that Tamino be successful in his trials. If Tamino joins the Brotherhood, he could be of service in defending them against the Queen of the Night, who seeks to destroy the priests. During the trial of silence, Tamino and Papageno are tempted by the Three Ladies.

Monostatos tries once again to violate Pamina, but he is frightened off by the unexpected arrival of the Queen. She gives her daughter a knife and demands she murder Sarastro. After she leaves in a fury, Sarastro arrives and explains to Pamina that in his land there is no vengeance, only love. Meanwhile, Monostatos defects to the Queen who promises her daughter to him in marriage after he helps the Queen defeat Sarastro.

Tamino and Papageno continue their trials. Papageno has little success with self-discipline, to the consternation of Tamino. While musing on blissful thoughts of home and hearth accompanied by a spouse, Papageno unexpectedly meets an old woman who introduces herself as his future wife.

Pamina finds Tamino, but is aggrieved when he does not speak to her, not knowing that he is still under a vow of silence.

Brokenhearted, she vows to commit suicide.

Meanwhile, the old woman transforms into a young girl, before Papageno’s eyes. When she vanishes, he runs off to find her.

The Three Spirits arrive in time to prevent Pamina’s suicide and instead lead her to Tamino, who has finished all but his final trial.

Beckoned by the Armed Men, Pamina leads Tamino through the final trial of fire and water.

Papageno, despondent at not being able to find Papagena, decides to hang himself. However, the Three Spirits tell Papageno to play his magic bells. Papagena re-appears and the two rejoice, proclaiming how many little Papagenos and Papagenas they will have together.

Meanwhile, the Queen of the Night, the Three Ladies and Monostatos break into the temple to destroy it, but they are blinded by light and are destroyed. Along with Sarastro, all hail Tamino and Pamina, victorious over the trials of the temple, and of life.

PROGRAM NOTES the

a�ic flute

There is nothing in all opera quite like The Magic Flute’s mixture of serious operatic forms, pantomime, popular touches, stratospheric vocal heights, ingenuousness, naiveté, sophistication and playfulness, all moulded together — indeed, as if by magic — into a score of genius. No wonder it holds such a special place in the hearts of all opera lovers.

It was written for theatrical circumstances very different from those of the aristocratic court theatres we normally associate with operas of the period. Emanuel Schikaneder (1751–1812) was the epitome of the roguish theatrical man: actor, singer, musician, writer, producer, entrepreneur and the manager of Vienna’s Theater auf der Wieden. This theatre catered to a more populist public, who enjoyed the spectacular, the exotic, the humorous and a touch of the farcical; especially successful was the Zauberoper, the “magic opera,” in which events were aided by some magic object or another.

Schikaneder was also a friend of Mozart, and at some point in 1791 (or possibly 1790), when his theatre needed a popular hit and Mozart needed the money, Schikaneder approached Mozart to collaborate on a Zauberoper. Mozart composed much of it in a little wooden summer-house (which survives) on the grounds of the theatre, interrupted by the commissioning of the Requiem and the writing (in 18 days!) of the opera La clemenza di Tito for the coronation of the king of Bohemia. The Magic Flute was completed on Sept. 29, 1791, a day before the first performance in which Schikaneder himself played Papageno.

The origins of the libretto are to be found in a story, Lulu, or The Magic Flute, by Jakob Liebeskind, contained in Weiland’s popular anthology of such stories. For its development, it draws on a French novel, Sethos, by Abbé Jean Terrasson, set among the mysteries of Isis and Osiris in Egypt. There has been much discussion about who actually wrote the libretto, with various candidates put forward, mostly well after the event. I personally am sure Schikaneder is the sole author — he was a consummate man of the theatre, particularly versed in fairytales and fantastical stories, and this one has his stamp on it.

The libretto has, though, provoked much controversy, particularly among musicologists. Some have wondered how such sublime musical genius could lower itself to such base

20 THE magic flute

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) material. Goethe had the best riposte to that, commenting, “More knowledge is required to understand the value of this libretto than to mock it.” As early as the decade in which the opera was written it was seen as a political allegory, notably as a parable of the French Revolution, still looming so large in the European consciousness. Louis XIV is represented by the Queen of the Night, the French people by Tamino and Freedom by Pamina.

More recently, Professor Chailley in his 1968 book The Magic Flute, Masonic Opera exhaustively examined a possible link with Masonic ritual, although he was not the first to put forward the idea. Mozart and Schikaneder were both Freemasons, as was another influence on the libretto, their friend Baron Ignaz von Born, who had himself drawn on Sethos for an article on Mason ritual. In this interpretation there is a hidden Masonic allegory in the story (and in the music) which represents less the opposition of Good and Evil than that between Man and Woman, as well as the initiation rites of the Lodge. Much of the strange imagery and twists and turns of the plot thus reflect Masonic symbolism.

The evidence is too convincing to doubt this interpretation, and it seems more than likely that Schikaneder drew on Born’s article for details of imagery. It is a complex subject, but those who are interested will enjoy Chailley’s book, and will never see The Magic Flute in quite the same light again.

However, we do not need knowledge of Masonic ritual to recognize in the work the kind of archetypal imagery endemic to both folk tales and dreams, and the kind of imagery Schikaneder’s theatre regularly used and which his audience appreciated. We now understand how such imagery can affect us subconsciously, and that, as in dreams, these effects are powerful enough to accept the seeming incongruity of the surface story. In this light, the story is a hero-adventure in which Tamino makes the journey from teenager to man. Initially he is under the care of his mother (the Queen of the Night), but has to break away from her (which is why she turns against him). He needs to find his own sense of adult masculine self (Sarastro), as well as his feminine side (Pamina) — or, if you like, his soulmate.

He is threatened by his own fears (Monostatos), he meets the kind of old men (in the Temple) and boys who often accompany such journeys in dreams and in tales, and he has to undergo tests. He is accompanied by a parallel figure, Papageno, who is

by Mark Morris what he might become if he fails to make the transformation, but everything turns out well as he reaches the light of self-knowledge at the end.

For when it comes down to it, what fairytales give us is what director Rob Herriot has so aptly described in his director’s notes as “the many themes that are also present in our everyday lives: friendship, trust, love, desire, greed and power.” The fairytale basis means that the opera responds to strong, evocative, symbolic visual imagery that, like fairytales themselves, is more effective if it isn’t literal — the “colourful and exotic” that this production has aimed at.

In the first production, Mozart himself played the glockenspiel behind the scenes, as Schikaneder, playing Papageno, mimed playing on stage. In one performance, as Schikaneder paused, Mozart suddenly improvised an arpeggio. Another pause came up.

Schikaneder waited, sure that the mischievous Mozart would do it again. But no, silence.

Schikaneder raised his sticks to go on, and suddenly there was another chord from the back of the stage. Schikaneder hit his stage glockenspiel in frustration, and shouted (to the delight of the audience), “Shut up!”

Mozart was indeed in his element.

None of this, of course, is possible without the marvellous music.

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THE magic flute 21

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If you take a drive through the south Edmonton neighbourhood of Creekwood, you’ll immediately feel a sense of community. Whether you spot a family snowshoeing around the many trails, partaking in a music festival, or a group of moms joining in a complimentary strollercise class, life in Creekwood is special.

The community spirit felt here is spreading. For the second year, Creekwood is both a season sponsor of the Edmonton Opera and a production sponsor for The Magic Flute. “The importance of art in your daily life is a major reason Creekwood is involved with the opera,” said Jenn Brown, project manager for the neighbourhood.

“We are excited to be able to give tickets to people who have never experienced the opera. Appreciating the arts and incorporating them into your life is inspiring and very fulfilling. Having the opportunity to support the opera and offer these niche experiences to our residents adds to the amazing community spirit here, more than just roads, grass and homes.”

Art in communities — whether it’s physical pieces like statues or ties to theatre organizations — is not necessarily something people look for when they’re buying a house, Brown said, but it does become important after the fact.

“People want to know how their community ties in to the greater city.

A sense of belonging is important,” Jenn explained.

“It's a great thing when everyday conversations between neighbours, friends and strangers begin with the opera, a topic which otherwise may not come up,” Brown continued. “Ticket giveaways on social media and through our partner Southgate Centre have garnered good engagement — we have many authentic opera fans living in and around Creekwood.”

By supporting the opera and encouraging Creekwood residents to experience the art form Brown says, “It’s just another reason people love living in Edmonton.”

“The importance of art in your daily life is a major reason Creekwood is involved with the opera.”

THE magic flute 23

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Artists’

PROFILES Leslie Dala Conductor

Leslie Dala is the associate conductor with Vancouver Opera where he recently conducted the world premiere production of Stickboy. He has also led VOA productions of Albert Herring, La Bohème, The Magic Flute, Rigoletto, The Threepenny Opera and West Side Story. As music director of the Vancouver Bach Choir he has conducted La Damnation de Faust of Berlioz, Les Noces, Messiah, the Creation and the Canadian premiere of John Adams’ Oratorio El Nino. Leslie has been on the music staff of the Canadian Opera Company, the Santa Fe Opera, l’Opera National du Rhin and is a frequent guest conductor with the UBC Opera Ensemble and Soundstreams Canada with whom he led a tour to China and Taiwan.

Performance of Leslie Dala is sponsored by MNP

Robert Herriot Director

Canadian stage director Rob Herriot returns to Edmonton Opera after having last directed The Mikado in 2012.

He has directed five productions for the company, including HMS Pinafore, Daughter of the Regiment, Pirates of Penzance and Tosca. Other productions include Lucia di Lammermoor, La Bohème, Carmen, Rigoletto and Don Pasquale (Manitoba Opera), La Traviata (Opera Hamilton), Carmen (Arizona Opera), Don Pasquale (Opera Hamilton, Connecticut Opera and Utah Opera) as well as Barber of Seville and La Bohème for Calgary Opera. He was the stage director for Calgary Opera’s inaugural Summer Festival with a production of Pirates and subsequent production of Candide. He is thrilled to be back with his Edmonton Opera family.

Bretta Gerecke

Scenery & Lighting Designer She works across Canada and in the United Kingdom as a designer for theatre and opera.

Bretta is the resident designer at Catalyst Theatre, where she has designed world premieres that have toured internationally to Great Britain, Australia, the United States and across Canada.

Bretta also works at the Citadel Theatre, Canadian Stage, Calgary Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Theatre Calgary, the Stratford Festival, the Banff Centre and Factory Theatre. She is the recipient of over 20 Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards, Jessie Richardson Awards and Betty Mitchell Awards for Set, Lighting and Costume Design, the Enbridge Emerging Artist Award, the Global Women of Vision Award and Avenue Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40.

Deanna Finnman Costume Designer

Deanna’s 14-year association with the Edmonton Opera as the head of the wardrobe department and resident costume designer has included costume design credits for Lakme, Pirates of Penzance and Fidelio. Her designs for Edmonton Opera’s South Pacific, The Emperor of Atlantis and, most recently, The Mikado, have earned Sterling Awards for Best Costume Design. She is thrilled that The Magic Flute has allowed her the opportunity to collaborate once again with Rob Herriot and Bretta Gerecke, and showcase the artistry of her talented wardrobe team.

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THE magic flute 25

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Artists’

PROFILES Adam Luther Tamino | tenor

Adam Luther returns to Edmonton Opera after having appeared in Salome in 2013. He recently made his debut with Michigan Opera Theatre as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, a role he will sing with Pacific Opera Victoria and Saskatoon Opera later in the 2014/15 season. Recently Adam has appeared as Don Jose in Carmen (Saskatoon Opera), Froh (Das Rheingold, Pacific Opera Victoria), Danilo (The Merry Widow, Toronto Operetta Theatre) as well as in Lucia di Lammermoor, Salome and Tristan und Isolde (Canadian Opera Company). Other recent credits include Anatol (Vanessa, Pacific Opera Victoria) and Rodolfo (La Bohème, Against the Grain Theatre). Adam will make his concert debut in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in the spring with the Ottawa Choral Society.

Betty Waynne Allison First Lady | soprano

Betty Waynne Allison is excited to be back at Edmonton Opera after her company debut last season as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus. Based out of British Columbia, she is an alumna of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble. Major credits to her name include the world premiere of Mary’s Wedding (Pacific Opera Victoria), the title role in Floyd’s Susannah (Florentine Opera) and Alice in Falstaff (L’Opèra Metz). Betty performs a versatile repertoire, from Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) and Tatiana (Eugene Onegin) to Vixen (Cunning Little Vixen) and Miss Jessel (Turn of the Screw).

Tanya Roberts

Second Lady | soprano Tanya Roberts has performed over 40 opera and musical theatre roles throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East. Engagements include performances with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, Michigan Opera Theatre, Lyrique-en-mer Festival de Belle-Île, Tel Aviv Vocal Arts Festival and the Ohio Light Opera. Tanya made her solo debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the Very Special Promenades Concert Series and as the Soprano I cover in Bach’s Mass in B minor. Upcoming engagements include Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) with Sound of Austria in Vienna. Tanya is a native of Toronto and a graduate of McGill University.

Catherine Daniel Third Lady | soprano

Edmonton’s Catherine Daniel studied voice with coloratura soprano Tracy Dahl at the University of Manitoba. She was a member of the Atelier Lyqrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, and later became a member of the Opera Studio Nederlands. Career highlights include roles as Carmen in Tilburg, Dido/Sorceress in a European tour and playing Mercedes in Manitoba Opera’s Carmen.

She recently sang the role of Maria in Opéra de Montréal’s production of Porgy and Bess and Kate Pinkerton in Edmonton Opera’s Madama Butterfly. Upcoming projects include a Messiah tour with New York Harlem Productions in Europe.

John Brancy

Papageno | baritone American John Brancy has been hailed by the NY Times as a "vibrant, resonant presence.” His upcoming debuts include the Glyndebourne Festival, Opera Saratoga and Opera Theater St. Louis. Previous operatic engagements include lead roles at Oper Frankfurt, Opera San Antonio, Le Théâtre du Châtelet and Semperoper Dresden. John has also been showcased in solo recitals at the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, the Broad Stage, Hahn Hall, Opera America, the Hugo Wolf Akademie and Carnegie Hall. On the concert stage, he has performed chamber music concerts with the San Francisco and Boston symphonies, Handel’s Messiah (Musica Sacra and the Charleston Symphony) and Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Stuttgart Festival Orchestra. John is a recipient of the Sullivan Foundation Grand Prize and winner of the 2013 Marilyn Horne Song Competition.

Teiya Kasahara

Queen of the Night | soprano Canadian Teiya Kasahara has been praised as singing with “a dynamic mix of sweetness undercut by strength” (Opera Canada). Her signature role as the Queen of the Night has already hit Vancouver Opera, Highlands Opera Studio, Opera Kitchener, cities in the Czech Republic and at the Aalto-Musiktheater Essen (Germany). Her triumph as Solana in Canada’s first lesbian opera, When the Sun Comes Out, at the Queer Arts Festival has led to further concert performances at Toronto’s World Pride Festival, and marking her debut as producer and director. She has performed with the Canadian Opera Company, National Ballet of Canada, Edmonton Opera and Against the Grain Theatre. Recent performances include Hope in the Toronto premiere of Shelter (Tapestry Opera), and the leading roles in the doublebill Offenbach-Hahn (Opera 5).

THE magic flute 27

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Artists’

PROFILES Michael Barrett

Alla Salakhova

Monostatos | tenor

Spirit One

Michael Barrett is a former member of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio. COC roles include High Priest of Neptune in Idomeneo, Remendado in Carmen, Snout in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel and Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, a role he also performed with Vancouver Opera. Recent highlights include Spalanzani and Nathanael in The Tales of Hoffmann (Edmonton Opera), Third Jew in Salome and First Commissary in Dialogues des Carmelites (COC) and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (Opera Nova Scotia). He was Quint in Turn of the Screw (Against the Grain Theatre) and reprised Salome’s Third Jew for Edmonton Opera.

Alla is thrilled to be making her debut with Edmonton Opera this season. She has placed in two international competitions with Cantilon Choirs, as well as individually in the Edmonton Kiwanis Music Festival and the Alberta Provincial Music Festival for voice. Alla’s previous shows include Citadel Theatre’s A Christmas Carol, Les Miserables and Oliver (Cantilon Choirs), the Grand Duchess in You Can’t Take It With You and Alicia in My Very Own Story (Wagner Theatre Co.). She is excited to be currently working on Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Wagner Theatre Co.) and Mary Poppins with Cantilon Choirs.

Jessica Muirhead

Fenya Fitzpatrick

Pamina | soprano

Spirit Two

Jessica Muirhead made her debut as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at the Vienna Volksoper in 2005. Since then, she has performed all over Europe and parts of North America. Highlights include Musetta in La Bohème (Bayerische Staatsoper), Marguerite in Faust and Mimi in La Bohème (Semperoper Dresden), Alice in Falstaff (Glyndebourne on Tour in England), Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon), and Contessa Almaviva, Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) and Micaëla (Carmen), all at the Canadian Opera Company. Recently she performed in a staged version of Handel’s Saul (New York City), and made her Violetta debut in La Traviata under the direction of Sir Jonathan Miller.

Fenya Fitzpatrick’s mother says that she was singing before she could even talk; she started her vocal training with the Cantilon choral program at the age of 5. Having progressed through the Primary and Children’s Choirs, she is now in her fourth year as a member of the Cantilon Chamber Choir. Fenya has been grateful for the opportunity to compete with them at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Llangollen in 2011, as well as the Béla Bartók International Choir Competition in Debrecen, Hungary, in 2014. She is currently a Grade 11 student at Victoria School of the Arts.

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Artists’

PROFILES Aanchel Gupta Spirit Three

Aanchel Gupta is 16 years old. She has sung with the Cantilon Chamber Choir since 2008, and studies voice with Heather Johnson. Aanchel has won numerous competitions at local, provincial and international levels. In 2011, she was awarded first place in the Folk Song Solo competition at the International Choral Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales. In 2012, she performed the Youth role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Richard Eaton Singers and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. In July 2014, while touring through Europe with the choir, she performed the role of Aninku in the children’s opera Brundibár at the Terezin concentration camp.

Robert Clark

First Priest/First Armed Man | tenor Known for his fresh-voiced and technically refined singing, Robert Clark was recently featured in Opera Canada as one of its Artists On Stage. Recent and upcoming engagements include The Vaudevillian in Shot! (Nickel City Opera, Buffalo, N.Y.), Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor (Edmonton Opera), The Steersman in The Flying Dutchman (Calgary Opera), Flask and Ahab (cover) in Moby Dick (Calgary Opera), Tamino in The Magic Flute (Highlands Opera Studio), Macduff in Macbeth (Pacific Opera Victoria) and Roderigo in Otello (Calgary Opera).

Bertrand Malo

Second Priest/Sprecher | bass-baritone Bertrand Malo graduated from McGill University in 2003 with a bachelor of music in voice performance. In 1999, he started his career with first prize in his category at the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition in Potsdam, N.Y. He has recently performed with Edmonton Opera, singing in several productions such as Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Christopher Sly, Don Giovanni, Fidelio, Le nozze di Figaro and Salome. In the concert arena, he has appeared as a guest soloist in Seven Last Words of Christ by T. Dubois, Requiem by G. Fauré, the Vermont International Opera Festival galas and the Edmonton Verdi Festival.

Neil Craighead

Sarastro | bass-baritone An alumnus of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, Neil Craighead was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and grew up in Calgary.

He has been featured in Ariadne auf Naxos (Pacific Opera Victoria) and Roberto Devereux (Canadian Opera Company) and as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte (Saskatoon Opera). Last season, Neil appeared for the COC as a Cappadocian (Salome), the Jailer (Dialogues des Carmelites) and Publio in the Ensemble Studio performance of La clemenza di Tito.

Other operatic credits include Colline (La Bohème, Against the Grain Theatre), Leporello and Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni, the Centre for Opera Studies, Italy), and Sciarrone in Tosca (COC).

Jacqueline Woodley Papagena | soprano

Jacqueline Woodley’s recent performances include her Montreal Symphony Orchestra debut under Kent Nagano, Adele (Die Fledermaus, Edmonton Opera), appearances at the Vancouver Early Music Festival and the Ottawa International Music Festival with Les Voix Baroques, and Handel’s Messiah both for the National Arts Centre Orchestra and in a staged version for Against the Grain Theatre. Jacqueline created the role of Milica – Bride in the première of Ana Sokolović’s opera Svaba – Wedding with Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, as well as the American première with Philadelphia Opera and subsequent Canadian and European tours. A recent alumna of the Canadian Opera Company Studio Ensemble (2010–12), Jacqueline performed and covered several mainstage roles.

Peter Dala Chorusmaster

Peter Dala began his conducting career 30 years ago with the Basel Ballet and guest conducted for the Zurich Ballet. He conducted for seven years at the Hungarian State Opera and the National Ballet of Hungary. As Edmonton Opera’s chorusmaster from 1996 to 2012 and resident conductor from 2001 to 2012, he prepared the chorus for some 40 operas, has played over 50 operas as repetiteur and has conducted over 30 operas. In 2001 he began his affiliation with Alberta Ballet and was named music director in 2005. He has conducted over 40 different productions for them. Recently, he worked on the University of Alberta drama department’s The Threepenny Opera.

THE magic flute 33

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Artists’

PROFILES Jeremy Spurgeon Repetiteur

British-born Jeremy Spurgeon won scholarships to study both piano accompaniment and organ at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.

Later, he studied organ with Lionel Rogg at the Geneva Conservatory where he gained the Premier Prix de la Classe de Virtuosité. In 1980 he came to Edmonton as director of music at All Saints’ Cathedral and has since appeared in concert with many Canadian and international ensembles, singers and instrumentalists, including the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Richard Eaton Singers, Pro Coro Canada and Edmonton Opera.

Jeremy has performed as piano accompanist and organist across Canada and Europe.

Robert Smale Sound Designer

Bobby Smale is a theatre professional from Edmonton. Primarily he is a sound designer, but is also known to design lighting, projections, production manage and technical direction for theatre, live events and festivals. One of his credits include lighting design for Kill Your Television’s Victor and Victoria’s Terrifying Tale of Terrible Things. Sound design credits include Edmonton Opera’s productions of Die Fledermaus and The Mikado, sound and media design for Keyano Theatre’s The Blue Light in Fort McMurray, and lighting and projection design for Next Year’s Man of Steel (Shadow Theatre). Currently he is working at MacEwan University as a designer and sessional instructor.

Ha Neul Kim Stage Manager

The 2014/15 season is Ha Neul Kim’s 13th season with Edmonton Opera. A graduate from the University of Alberta with her BFA degree in technical theatre production specializing in stage management, she has been the Edmonton Opera’s stage manager since 2007. She has been the assistant stage manager for many past Edmonton Opera and Manitoba Opera productions, as well as stage managing for the main stage during the Queen’s royal visit, field stage for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2005 World Masters Games, and has worked in theatres across Canada. She has previously taught opera stage management at the University of Alberta.

Anna Davidson

Assistant Stage Manager Anna is thrilled to be back at the opera this season.

Recent Edmonton Opera credits include The Barber of Seville, Madama Butterfly, Die Fledermaus, Salome, Eugene Onegin and The Mikado. She has worked as a stage manager or as an assistant stage manager for the Citadel Theatre, Northern Light Theatre, Shadow Theatre, Workshop West, Theatre Network, Concrete Theatre and l’Uni Théâtre.

She is a graduate of the theatre production program at MacEwan University and the theatre performance program at Red Deer College.

Anna is also a freelance technician and member of IATSE local 210.

Gina Moe

Assistant Stage Manager Recent assistant stage manager credits include Eugene Onegin, Tales of Hoffmann, Aida, Tosca, Abduction from the Seraglio, La Bohème, Otello, Pirates of Penzance, Rigoletto and The Flying Dutchman (Edmonton Opera). Stage manager credits include Little One (Theatre Network), Craniatrium (Firefly Theatre), 6.0: How Heap and Pebble Took on the World and Won (Lunchbox Theatre and Northern Light Theatre), An Accident, Heroine, Jailbait and Victoria Martin: Math Team Queen (Northern Light Theatre), Boeing Boeing (Mayfield Dinner Theatre), Bitch Slap! (Guys in Disguise), and numerous productions with Teatro la Quindicina, Theatre Calgary and the Citadel Theatre. Gina is a two-time winner of the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes award for Outstanding Achievement in Production.

Making the With the holidays over, Santa Claus might want to check out Edmonton Opera’s production facility, as the north-end building could be serious competition for St. Nick’s toy workshop.

Since September, nearly every inch of the production facility has been used to build The Magic Flute — carpenters, welders and painters working on the scenery in the shop, while the wardrobe crew builds costumes at the opposite end of the building.

“We have about 15,000 square feet of floor space dedicated to the scenic shop, and sadly, that is about a quarter of what we seem to need,” said Clayton Rodney, Edmonton Opera’s production and technical director.

“So constantly, what happens is pieces go out on the floor, they get cut, assembled, then they have to wait for the next step so they get disassembled, stored against a wall, then brought back for other phases. It’s a constant ballet of things moving around.”

Rodney plays the role of a middleman — once scenery designer Bretta Gerecke supplied him with drawings of the scenery pieces to scale, he was able to create technical drawings in AutoCAD that the carpenters referenced to build each piece.

This design is the product of an award-winning Canadian team — Gerecke worked with director Robert Herriot and costume designer Deanna Finnman to create what they describe as an exotic pop-up storybook world, where everything pops up, drops down or slides in to create a world where the audience doesn’t know what is coming next.

Adding metal to the mix Once the shop had the technical drawings, work began on two pieces used at the top of the show — metal frames that form six panels upstage, midstage and downstage, and a forest cut out of wood.

The panels open and close throughout the performance, each time reshaping the stage and revealing something new. It’s like turning a page in a pop-up book, Gerecke said.

Welding the aluminum frames was a new skill set for the opera’s welders; the metal was not only a stylistic choice, but a practical one too.

“For aluminum, you think, ‘Oh yeah, it’s aluminum, that will weigh nothing.’ No, they’re a few hundred pounds per panel.

36 THE magic flute

a�ic in flute Our biggest panels, fully assembled, I’m guessing are around 700 pounds. So not as heavy as steel by any means,” said Rodney, adding there is also consideration to the weight of the fabric on the panels, the paint and the hardware required to slide the panels on and off stage.

As both the scenery designer and the lighting designer, Gerecke laughed when she said it poses a unique challenge because she can become angry with herself for putting a scenery piece in the way of a lighting cue.

“The set was designed to be lit,” she said. “Translucent panels, and the panels themselves open and close to reveal various locations, so the joy of this set for me is going to be getting to light it.”

In addition to the frames, three arches were welded for the temple scenes. The triangular structures are wrapped with shelf green poly strapping — the same material used to hold pallets together — creating a twisted vine look.

Welding the various shapes took about 14 weeks, so while the welders sometimes took up the entire shop floor, more often than not they shared the space with another part of the process.

“Two-dimensional storybook thinking” To start, plywood boards were laid out on the floor, and, with the help of a grid, the head of properties traced the outline of the forest to cut.

“There’s a forest depiction, I think it was in [Rudyard Kipling’s] Just So Stories, and it’s absolutely beautiful — similar, but a bit more romantic and curvilinear,” Gerecke said. “We had a great moment of inspiration of, ‘Well, what if we make that a bit more angular and a bit more powerful?’”

Once the majority of the frames were out of the way, work continued quickly on the rest of the wooden scenery pieces.

The palm trees and rocky staircase are framed as theatrestyle flats, while the sun is framed as a TV-style flat — more prominently three-dimensional.

“There are six palm trees — a pair downstage, a pair midstage and a pair upstage,” Rodney said. “Basically, everything in this show creates a forced perspective moving upstage, so the legs taper in, the borders drop slightly. We start with this wide box and it gets smaller as you go on. It’s very much two-dimensional storybook thinking.”

For a series of time-lapse videos capturing the set build, interviews with Herriot, Gerecke and Finnman, a timeline of the hours put into the costume build and more behind-the-scenes media, please visit edmontonopera.com.

Mid-winter colour therapy And, he joked, the points on the sun are so sharp that when the Queen of the Night is blinded by the light at the end of the performance, the sun’s rays might skewer her.

“The colour on [the sun] is great,” Rodney said. “I love the colour, it’s so bright, and I’ve seen the costumes that go with it as well, and you might want to bring your sunglasses for that moment.”

The colour palette is reminiscent of warm spice tones, and the way they blend on the angular scenery pieces was a conscious design decision to create contrast, Gerecke said.

late December and early January). In this production, installing a stage deck on top of the Jubilee stage allows for the use of a trap door, knife tracks that keep scenery pieces on a specific course, concealing pyrotechnics and of course, it’s much easier to paint a travelling stage instead of the Jubilee floor itself.

From start to finish, the entire process is layered, as the costume build started in the middle of the scenery build, in mid-November.

The wardrobe crew will be busy right up until opening night, as every clothing article, including headwear, is made from scratch, instead of modifying existing pieces.

“The colours are fairly bold for this production,” she said. “It will definitely brighten the spirit of everyone who sees it, because it will be February in Edmonton, and who doesn’t want a little colour therapy in February in Edmonton?”

All told, by closing night, more than 50 people — shop, wardrobe and running crews, as well as administration staff — will have had some hand in bringing Mozart’s last opera to life (and that doesn’t even begin to include the 16 principals, 32 chorus members and 50 Edmonton Symphony Orchestra musicians).

At the end of November, the scenery pieces were moved to the side so that the stage deck assembly could begin (the contraption for the Queen of the Night was the last piece built, in

In an opera where the word “magic” is right in the title, Gerecke was the first to admit it during a shop tour in late November: “It’s the magic that’s complicated.”

Metal frames that form the six panels Painted sun for the end of the opera

Frames with fabric and hardware

THE magic flute 37 Palm trees assembled

Beginning of paint on forest panels

Stage deck in the process of painting

THE magic flute 37

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Edmonton Opera Magazine is published four times per year by Playhouse Publications Ltd. The contents of Edmonton Opera Magazine may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved by Playhouse Publications Ltd.

Inquiries should be made to: Playhouse Publications Ltd. • 10177 - 105 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 1E2 Ph: 780-423-5834 • Fax: 780-413-6185 • www.playhousepublications.ca PLAYHOUSE PUBLICATIONS LTD. President & Publisher: Rob Suggitt Art Director & Designer: Christine Kucher Advertising Sales: Barry Powis, Glenda Dennis Administration: Amber Grmek Edmonton Opera Magazine is a product of Playhouse Publications Ltd., an affiliate of Suggitt Publishers.

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38 THE magic flute

chorus

and orchestra

edmonton opera Chorus Soprano Janine Bamford Natasha Da Fonseca Jill Hoogewoonink Betty Kolodziej Joyce LaBriola Lydia-Ann Levesque Ann Parry Kristin Piehl Cristina Weiheimer

Mezzo

Tenor

Bass/Baritone

Nora Abercrombie Sable Chan Linda Farrah-Basford Krista Lessard Patrece Maluzynsky Laura Winton Seang Youn Choi

Garreth Borgstrom Mathew Glenn Raimundo Gonzalez Cole MacIver Mike Otto Robert Rock Daniel Rowley

John Adria Eric Epp Hans Forbrich Andrew Hladyshevsky Nick Horobec Greg Maluzynsky Andrae Marchak Francis Price John Yun

edmonton symphony orchestra | William Eddins, Music Director Violin 1

Viola

flute

Trombone

Robert Uchida Virginie GagnĂŠ Laura Veeze Broderyck Olson Richard Caldwell Joanna Ciapka-Sangster Alison Stewart Anna Kozak Aiyana Anderson-Howatt Neda Yamach

Stefan Jungkind Charles Pilon Clayton Leung Rhonda Henshaw Mikiko Kohjitani Andrew Bacon

Elizabeth Koch Shelley Younge

John McPherson Kathryn Macintosh

Oboe

Bass Trombone

cello

clarinet

Violin 2 Dianne New Susan Flook Heather Bergen ZoĂŤ Sellers Robert Hryciw Tatiana Warszynski Murray Vaasjo Jim Cockell

Lidia Khaner Paul Schieman

Christopher Taylor

tIMPANI Barry Nemish

Sheila Laughton Ronda Metszies Gillian Caldwell Derek Gomez Victor Pipkin Julie Amundsen

Julianne Scott David Quinn

bass

horn

Orchestra Personnel Manager

Allene Hackleman Megan Evans

Eric Filpula

Librarian

trumpet

Aaron Hawn

Robin Doyon Frederic Payant

ESO Production Staff

Jan Urke John Taylor Janice Quinn Rob Aldridge

bassoon Matthew Howatt Edith Stacey

Keyboard Jeremy Spurgeon

Jerrold Eilander Mike Patton

THE magic flute 39

HELPING OUR ARTS COMMUNITIES

Take Centre Stage

At MNP, we know that a thriving arts and cultural community can spur economic growth, inspire innovation and accelerate the creative vitality of the region. We like to believe we have earned a five-star reputation in strengthening our cultural communities and industries through our support for artists and arts organizations since 1945.

To find out how MNP can help your organization shine, contact Darren Turchansky at 780.453.5378 or darren.turchansky@mnp.ca

40 THE magic flute

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THE magic flute 41

Does your style demand both

BEAUTYand BRAWN?

Lucia

di lammermoor

Arguably, the reason for the sustained popularity of

Lucia di Lammermoor rests on one moment: the mad scene in Act III. “For me, what makes it amazing is because of the incredible vocal, vulnerable and acting demands put on that one woman at stage centre,” said director Brian Deedrick, referring to soprano Simone Osborne, who will make her role and company debut this spring at Edmonton Opera.

“What leads to her mad scene is the point of the opera, so you don’t want to [give that away], but as Lucia descends into her madness, the way it plays itself out on stage is heartbreaking. And I think it’s just so magnificently realized by Donizetti, and I would hope by Simone, that’s the thing people go home remembering.”

Robert Breault, who will sing the role of Edgardo, added that the story is a well-conceived, cautionary tale with well-paced drama and memorable tunes.

“There are many so-called mad scenes in opera,” said Breault, who has sung the role of Lucia’s forbidden lover at Opera Arizona, Madison Opera, Utah Opera and Chautauqua Opera. “The Lucia mad scene is by far the most famous and is in itself worth the price of a ticket.

Donizetti was able to convey, through a beautiful music convention, the complete and utter destruction of Lucia’s peace of mind.”

Deedrick has worked with all three of the leading roles — Jason Howard (Enrico), Breault and Osborne — in previous productions, as well as conductor Robert Tweten.

Just as the cast will have their music prepared by the time they arrive in Edmonton this spring, Deedrick is currently doing his homework and research in order to tell the story in the best way.

“I’m trying to figure out a way — can I go to Scotland before rehearsals start and make that part of research?” Deedrick asked with a laugh, adding that he is also reading the novel by Sir Walter Scott.

He has also decided to give the audience a chance to get a better sense of Enrico and Edgardo and what keeps them apart, by including the rarely performed Wolf’s Craig scene.

“To me, it is just such an amazing way to begin the second act so that we have a quiet moment in all of this to bring, for the one time only, the two together in a private place and get a better sense of why this whole inevitable tragedy is happening,” Deedrick said.

The opera has not been performed in Edmonton for nearly 20 years, and is at the Jubilee Auditorium April 18, 21 & 23, 2015. Tickets are still available by calling 780.429.1000 or at edmontonopera.com.

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THE magic flute 43

Remembering

Irving Guttman Not too many people get one chance to build an opera company.

Irving Guttman was lucky enough to have three opportunities.

Known as the father of opera in Western Canada, Guttman was closely associated, sometimes simultaneously, with the Edmonton Opera (33 years), Manitoba Opera (21 years) and the Vancouver Opera (16 years) either right from the start, or nearly. He also worked with Saskatchewan Opera (10 years) and Calgary Opera (four years) in addition to directing various productions around the world. He passed away on Dec. 7, 2014, in Vancouver, where he had resided on and off for over 40 years.

But Guttman’s legacy remains strong in Edmonton, where his work as the artistic director from 1965 to 1998 influenced numerous chorus members, artists and staff who remain with the company today.

“Stage managing for Irving was a delight — he worked very quietly — having gained great respect from artists and chorus, all who can get loud and unruly in large group rehearsals,” said Tim Yakimec, who, before becoming Edmonton Opera’s general manager and artistic director, stage managed for the company for 10 years.

“A favourite line he used to mutter only loud enough for my ears was, ‘Oh my God, she’s ruining my opera!’ He would then proceed to work with the individual and fix the scene. He had a great sense of hyperbole — and would never panic — he would methodically fix things. This gave a great sense of trust to all he worked with.”

During his tenure, Guttman was regularly able to convince performers to brave the seasonally bitter cold of the Prairies, and in doing so, introduced Edmontonians to the likes of Montserrat Caballe, Beverly Sills, Joan Sutherland, Teresa Stratas, Anna Moffo, Ermanno Mauro, José Carreras, Huguette Tourangeau, Judith Forst, Richard Margison, Marilyn Horne, Louis Quilico and more, many in their Canadian debut.

He loved grand opera — Puccini and Verdi in particular, remembered Betty Kolodziej, an Edmonton Opera chorus member who has performed in more than 90 productions since starting with the chorus in 1974. Many chorus members also remember when Guttman directed them to “Just go over there and do something Egyptian!” during the 1989 production of Aida.

Canadian opera director Brian Deedrick said that from the moment he became interested in opera as a kid in Lacombe, he was aware of Guttman.

44 THE magic flute

As an adult, he found himself in Vancouver during Expo ’86.

“I don’t know where I found the nerve, but I tracked down a phone number for the legendary Irving Guttman and called to ask ‘the great man of opera’ if he would ever find the time to allow an unknown schmedrick like me to meet with him, and ask questions about this ‘opera stuff,’” Deedrick wrote in an email.

To Deedrick’s surprise and eternal gratitude, Guttman and his partner Robert Dales invited Deedrick to their apartment for an afternoon to talk about opera.

“I knew nothing, except that I loved the art form, and we had an extraordinary and illuminating couple of hours discussing how and if a theatre guy like me could break into, train or learn to enter the world of opera,” Deedrick continued.

Guttman’s willingness to mentor others may have come from his own history — without much of a singing voice, he tried many avenues into the industry before becoming an assistant to the director at the Canadian Opera Company, Herman Geiger Torel.

From there, Guttman would go on to assistant direct and direct his own operas, including televised performances for the CBC. Another instance of his legend is found with the Montreal Festival: Guttman was asked if he could direct The Marriage of Figaro for them. He was confident enough to answer that he could stage it right then, in the board president’s office, if they so desired. The five-performance run sold out by the second night, and another five nights had to be added. He was asked back the following year to direct Don Giovanni, and remained associated with the festival throughout its lifespan.

“I won’t be remembered for directing a couple of good operas here and there,” Guttman told the Globe and Mail in May 1991, days before his 25th anniversary gala at Edmonton Opera.

“It will be for having started this cultural thing in the West, having kept it alive and well. … I’ve loved opera since I was 13 years old. I have my quiet way of working. I love my work and I’m honest. I care about the art more than about me, but the work rewards me tremendously.”

The Irving Guttman Endownment Fund was established in 1991, and has provided funds for young, local artists to pursue opportunities. Recent recipients of the fund include Taylor Fawcett and Daniel Rowley. Donations to the fund in memory of Irving Guttman can be made by calling 780.392.8719.

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Thank you for helping us fund excellence at the Stollery Children’s Hospital.

To learn more, visit www.stollerykids.com or call 780.433.5437.

Rob hood fund

The Edmonton Opera is the grateful recipient of a generous gift from the Rob Hood Fund.

Mr. Hood’s direction was that these legacy funds be used to attract operatic singers of the highest calibre.

The first gift from the Rob Hood Fund was an award to Metropolitan Opera stars Angela Brown and Carl Tanner, who were two of the lead singers in Aida. Our second gift was committed to renowned soprano Anne Sophie Duprels, who appeared in the lead role of Madama Butterfly in April 2014. Butterfly was the first opera ever performed by Edmonton Opera in 1963 and part of its inaugural season, so this was a most apt acknowledgement of the company’s legacy in its 50th anniversary season.

Dr. Irving Guttman, artistic director emeritus of the Edmonton Opera, shared his memories of Mr. Hood.

“I first met Robert when he joined our chorus in 1965. Two things were clear between us, we both loved opera and while he was serious and dedicated about his singing, we agreed that it was important to pursue one’s passions but not necessarily aspire to singing on the Met stage. He contributed to Edmonton Opera as both a board and guild member. That said, I believe his work in our chorus was seminal to his fine appreciation of the power and presence of the human voice. With his personal experience as a bass, his respect grew for the voices of the operatic greats of the time. He liked to call it ‘fine singing!’

“Rob was very principled in his belief that there were certain ways to do things, which extended to being a rather private person, to dressing properly and to being immensely loyal to his friends and colleagues.

“Aside from his avocation, Rob was well placed in his work with the Alberta government’s culture portfolio. He was always committed to high standards, personally and professionally, and I am certain those were valued qualities in his work, thus making him known and respected in the arts community in the province and beyond.”

The actors at the jube aren’t pixels – they’re real and they’re right in front of you. Here are just a few tips on how to make your night stand out.

1 Skip the lines at intermission! Pre-order your refreshments at any of our concessions.

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Giving Props...

The Jube is proud to have Edmonton Opera as one of its Resident Companies. With a proud 50 year history, Edmonton Opera is committed to producing opera of the highest possible calibre and making their productions as accessible as possible in the community.

Check out our new website at jubileeauditorium.com!

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edmonton opera board of directors 2014-2015 season Richard Cook, Chair Francis Price, Vice Chair Ken Keenleyside, Treasurer Irv Kipnes, Past Chair Robert Bessette Jennifer Brown

John Cameron Mary Clonfero

Craig Corbett Ashif Mawji

Melanie Nakatsui Bernie Robitaille

Robert Rock Stella Varvis

Irving Guttman, Artistic Director Emeritus (Oct. 27, 1928 – Dec. 7, 2014)

edmonton opera staff Executive Tim Yakimec, General Manager & Artistic Director

Finance Debra King, Interim CFO Serene Yau, Accountant

Community Relations Cameron MacRae, Senior Manager, Marketing Catherine Szabo, Communications Manager Jennifer Hinnell, Grants Officer Lauren Tenney, Marketing Coordinator

Fund Development Grant Smith, Director of Advancement Gwen Horvath, Fund Development Manager Mickey Melnyk, Stewardship Officer

Box Office Joanne Madeley, Box Office Manager Celyne Runzer, Box Office Clerk

Artistic Administration Ha Neul Kim, Artistic Manager & Resident Stage Manager Peter Dala, Chorusmaster

Production and technical Clayton Rodney, Production & Technical Director Greg Brown, Head Carpenter Deanna Finnman, Head of Wardrobe & Resident Wardrobe Designer Chantel Fortin, Head of Properties Patsy Tomkins, Production Assistant Kathy Cooper, Assistant Head Carpenter Vincent Meseck, Carpenter Kris Aasen, Carpenter

Ivan Siemens, Head Welder AndrĂŠ-Michel Lavoie, Assistant Head Welder Shanna Orgovan, Head Scenic Art Megan Kumpula, Assistant Head Scenic Art Katie Hartfeil, Scenic Artist Brenda Inglis, First Assistant Wardrobe Michelle Warren, Second Assistant Wardrobe/Assistant Milliner Avril Stevenson, Cutter Margie Berggren, Milliner Kathleen Mulder, Dyer & Stitcher Ava Siemens, Stitcher Danine Regenwetter, Stitcher & Head Dresser Kathryn Neuman, Stitcher & Dresser Genevieve Savard, Stitcher

Production and technical Stage Crew Geoff Bacchus, Head Stage Carpenter & Pyrotechnics Technician Greg Brown, Assistant Stage Carpenter Al Kliss, Head Fly Alison Hardy, Head Electrics Joseph Race, Assistant Electrics Chantel Fortin, Head Properties Katie Hartfeil, Assistant Properties Robert Smale, Head of Audio Steve Malonik, Assistant Head of Audio Danine Regenwetter, Head Wardrobe Dresser Kathryn Neuman, Assistant Wardrobe Dresser Cathy Nicoll, Head Make-up Noreen Jani, Assistant Make-up Judy Morley, Head Wigs & Hair Nancy Horn, Wigs & Hair Jacquie Dawkins, Supertitle Cuer Nanc Price, Volunteer Photographer

THE magic flute 51

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THE magic flute 53

Upcoming

events

Feb. 12, 2015 Join us at the annual Valentine’s Day Gala for dinner, along with romance and entertainment under a starry night at the Shaw Conference Centre, in support of the Edmonton Opera.

April 1, 2015 Enjoy your favourite beverage and a casual discussion about Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at the Mercer Tavern on 104 Street, 7 p.m.

This event is complimentary, food and drinks not included.

April 12, 2015 Accompanied by great food, the cast of Lucia di Lammermoor will perform intimate recitals during Opera Brunch at the Royal Glenora Club. Please note the venue change; the 11 a.m. start time remains the same.

April 16, 2015 The education dress rehearsal allows students to experience opera firsthand.

Teachers can contact education@edmontonoopera.com to arrange tickets.

April 18, 21 & 23, 2015 Witness the tragic marriage of Lucia di Lammermoor and one of the most famous mad scenes in all of opera this spring.

June 19, 2015

Operatic voices perform amongst the greenery of the Devonian Botanic Garden for Opera al Fresco, an elegant garden party with wine and hors d’oeuvres.

For more information or to purchase tickets to any of these events, please call 780.429.1000, or visit edmontonopera.com.

54 THE magic flute

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