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Welcome as OPERA IN CONCERT
celebrates its Thirty-Fourth Season of presenting rare operas, new sounds and
thrilling voices. Here are some highlights of our achievements: Opera in Concert’s 20th Anniversary
performance of HAMLET (1974) was broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation and by Radio Canada. In 1994 Guillermo Silva-Marin, the original Hamlet, was appointed General Director
of Opera in Concert. Mr. Silva-Marin has extended OIC’s programming with an
adventurous repertoire including Marschner’s DER
VAMPYR, Verdi’s LUISA MILLER, Bellini’s LA
SONNAMBULA and Catalani’s LA WALLY, as well as
Canadian works FLORENCE, THE LADY WITH THE LAMP by Timothy Sullivan, THE
SHIVAREE and NIGHT BLOOMING CEREUS by John Beckwith, DEIRDRE by Healey Willan and THE FOOL by Harry Somers. Opera in Concert’s 25th Anniversary
performance of Thomas’ MIGNON featuring sopranos Isabel Bayrakdarian
and Tracy Dahl, tenor Benjamin Butterfield and bass Marcel Beaulieu was
broadcast by CBC Radio Two – Saturday Afternoon at the Opera – on Nov. 6,
1999. The legacy of rarely-heard repertoire performed by Canadian artists
continued with Opera in Concert’s Handel Trilogy
(ALCINA, ARIODANTE and SEMELE). Canadian artists who began
their careers with Opera in Concert include Richard Margison,
Ben Heppner, Joanne Kolomyjec, Rosemarie Landry,
Paul Frey, Jean Stilwell, Russell Braun, Brett Polegato
Isabel Bayrakdarian, Michael Schade,
Frederique Vézina, Marc
Boucher, Susan Eyton-Jones and David Dong Qyu Lee. Many are still singing on important opera stages
around the world. Among the 123 OIC concert productions which have been loved and admired by audiences, there have been many
Canadian premieres such as Schumann’s GENOVEVA, Montemezzi’s
L’AMORE DEI TRE RE, Thomas’ HAMLET, Verdi’s GIOVANNA D’ARCO,
Rimsky-Korsakov’s SADKO and Handel’s SEMELE. There have been
performances at the Algoma Fall Festival, the Shaw Festival, and special
performances of our Opera in Concert Chorus for the Stratford Festival, the
Toronto and Montreal Symphonies and the National Ballet of Canada. Add to
this two CBC Radio broadcasts, CDs of Rameau’s
CASTOR ET POLLUX, Handel’s RINALDO and the soon to
be released LA GRISELDA by Vivaldi, all on the Naxos Label and you can see why OIC has ample reasons to
celebrate. Opera in Concert’s 31st
Season of fire and ice presented some great music from Penella
to Prokofiev, from Donizetti to our very own Canadian composers: Timothy
Sullivan and Charles Wilson, Opera in Concert strives to accomplish its
mandate of presenting rarely heard operas with the best of Canadian talents.
We hope to see you during the 2007-2008 Season with more "rarities in
performance". In the meanwhile, please consider joining our PATRONS
CIRCLE and help support one of Canada’s premiere opera companies. Click here to see our exciting 2007-08
Season repertoire. |
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