Canadian Opera Company Releases Full Performance Schedule for Spring Season
By: Matt Smith Mar. 17, 2015
The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini
13 performances: April 17, 19 (2 p.m.), 21, 26 (2 p.m.), 29, May 2 (4:30 p.m.), 7, 9, 13, 15 (Ensemble Studio Performance), 19, 21, 22, 2015
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)
Start time: 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted above
The Canadian Opera Company opens its spring season with a
new production of Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville from acclaimed Spanish theatre troupe Els Comediants. Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins stars as the wily barber Figaro, who helps a nobleman win the woman of his dreams. The role of Count Almaviva, the young suitor seeking Figaro's assistance, is shared by two exciting young tenors: American Alek Shrader and Romanian Bogdan Mihai. Rising star mezzo-sopranos, Italian Serena Malfi and American Cecilia Hall, share the role of Rosina, the opera's charming young heroine. Scottish- born conductor Rory Macdonald leads the COCs Orchestra and Chorus through Rossini's show-stopping and sparkling tunes. El Comediants' Cubism-inspired set plays with scale and proportion, while bursts of day-glo colour and innovative lighting conjure a fantasy world hovering between fairy tale and vaudeville.
Regularly priced single tickets for The Barber of Seville range from $49 - $424, with specially priced $22 tickets available for people under the age of 30. To purchase, go to coc.ca, call COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or visit the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
FREE CONCERT SERIES IN THE
RICHARD BRADSHAW AMPHITHEATRE
April 1 - 30, 2015
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts 145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)
The Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre is a unique opportunity to experience diverse artistic programming in what has become one of Toronto's most exciting cultural hubs. Six inspiring series offer concerts, dance performances and engaging presentations that feature both up-and-coming young artists and established international stars. All performances are FREE to the public, with admission on a first-come, first- served basis. Concertgoers are encouraged to arrive early as late seating is not available.
Date
April 1, 2015 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
April 2, 2015
12 - 1 p.m.
April 7, 2015
12 - 1 p.m.
April 9, 2015
12 - 1 p.m.
April 14, 2015
12 - 1 p.m.
Series
Vocal Series
Chamber Music Series
Piano Virtuoso Series
Vocal Series
Chamber Music Series
Artist
Alice in Operaland
Under the direction of Ann Cooper Gay, the exuberant young artists of the Canadian Children's Opera Company perform excerpts from Alice in Wonderland, a magical, newly commissioned opera with music by Errol Gay and libretto by stage director Michael Patrick Albano. Gergely Szokolay accompanies the performance on piano.
Chamber Connections: Brahms
Three international rising stars from The Glenn Gould School (violinist Cordelia Paw, horn player Mikailo Babiak and pianist Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula) unite to perform one of the undisputed highlights of the entire chamber music repertoire: the Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano in E-flat Major by Johannes Brahms.
Croquis Français
Award-winning American pianist Alice Gi-Young Hwang presents a colourful selection of French repertoire that captures the humour, subtlety and sonority of the French aesthetic. The program includes works by Poulenc, Ravel, Satie, Chopin, Debussy, Philip Lasser and Jean Françaix.
Poetic Love
Tenor Andrew Haji and bass-baritone Gordon Bintner, both award-winning young artists of the COC Ensemble Studio, tackle two of the towering masterpieces of the German Lied repertoire: Schumann's Dichterliebe and Schubert's Schwanengesang. They are accompanied by Ensemble Studio pianist Jennifer Szeto.
Contrasts and Connections
Artists of the COC Orchestra unite with Toronto Symphony Orchestra principal cellist Joseph Johnson in a program of works written at the dawn of the two world wars: Stravinsky's L'Histoire du Soldat and Bartók's Contrasts. The program is rounded out by the Concerto à Tre by German-born American composer Ingolf Dahl.
April 15, 2015
12 - 1 p.m.
April 21, 2015
12 - 1 p.m.
April 23, 2015
12 - 1 p.m.
April 28, 2015
12 - 1 p.m.
April 30, 2015 12 - 1 p.m.
Dance Series
elegant equations
Celebrated Canadian choreographer Peggy Baker presents excerpts and shares the inspiration, methods and motives that underlie the conception and creation of locus plot. This full evening work is set to premiere in Peggy Baker Dance Projects' upcoming Toronto season.
Paratopia
Raagini Dance creator Bageshree Vaze presents excerpts from the world premiere Kathak trio, Paratopia, revealing 21st-century Kathak and Indian classical dance aesthetics in a contemporary, global reality. Vineet Vyas accompanies her with live tabla music.
The Futile Precaution:
Highlights from The Barber of Seville
The young artists of the COC Ensemble Studio present highlights from one of the most beloved and sparkling works in the operatic repertoire: Rossini's comic masterpiece, The Barber of Seville.
In Praise of Women: Music for Harpsichord
American pianist and COC music staff member Stephen Hargreaves presents a richly varied program of harpsichord music composed or inspired by women. The program features compositions by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Patricia Morehead, Germain Tailleferre and Wanda Landowska. Music celebrating women in mythology, such as Jacques Duphly's Les grâces and Medée and works by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer, round out the program.
Dance Series
Piano Virtuoso Series
Vocal Series
Piano Virtuoso Series
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The Baroque Dance Transfigured American pianist Erik Lawrence explores the rich and |
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fascinating world of Baroque dance forms on a contemporary keyboard. The program features a Baroque dance suite by Bach, paired with Brahms' Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. |
TOUR THE FOUR SEASONS CENTRE
FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
April 12, 19, 26, 2015
Start time: 10:30 a.m.
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts 145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue) Cost: $20/adults; $15/seniors and students
The Canadian Opera Company opens the doors of the
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on April 12, 19
and 26, 2015 with 90-minute tours for the general public. These
extensive tours include backstage access and are an exciting
opportunity to learn more about the first purpose-built opera
house in Canada, its history, architecture and innovative acoustic design. Starting at 10:30 a.m., each tour is led by trained docents and includes information and access to the magnificent Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre and R. Fraser Elliott Hall, as well as backstage areas like wig rooms and dressing rooms, the orchestra pit, and other spaces that only a stage door pass could unlock.
Tickets for public tours are $20/adults and $15/seniors and students, and can be purchased in advance at coc.ca or at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets will also be available on the morning of the tour starting at 10 a.m. at the welcome desk located in the main lobby.
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