Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival to Return With OPERAS & ARIAS: A CELEBRATION! in September

Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival will celebrate the return of opera to the BMO Mainstage in Sen̓ákw/Vanier Park. The rising stars of the UBC Opera Ensemble and members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra present Opera & Arias: A Celebration, featuring all-time favourite arias and choruses from opera's most iconic productions, in four special performances on September 12 and 13. Nancy Hermiston, BC Entertainment Hall of Fame inductee, directs this in-concert staging. Maestro Leslie Dala leads members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. All performances are hosted by Christopher Gaze, the Artistic Director of Bard on the Beach.

"I am thrilled to welcome the return of opera to our BMO Mainstage as we offer these enchanting performances," said Christopher Gaze, Bard on the Beach Artistic Director. "We are delighted to continue our collaboration with the UBC Opera Ensemble and the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. The return of this Bard summer tradition will be a true celebration, with repertoire drawn from a range of much-loved classic works, including Carmen, La Traviata and Die Fledermaus. You'll be humming those melodies as you leave the theatre!" Full programme repertoire here.

• Christopher Gaze and Catherine Thornsley on Opera & Arias: A Celebration!

The UBC Opera Ensemble was created in 1995 by Professor Hermiston and draws from advanced students in the UBC School of Music. This year's program, A Celebration! will feature both familiar and debut soloists, with a cast including: Leila Kirves, Catherine Thornsley (Metropolitan Opera 2022 Laffont Competition semi-finalist), Neil Craighead, Philip Wing, Mariana Iguavita, Emma Jang, Gabriel Chona Rueda, Wanshuai Yu, Alexandra Baird, Alessandra Ianni, Jason Somerville, Liam Robertson, Denis Petrov, Pablo Romero Moreira, Kevin Liu, Ming-Xuan Chung, Magdalena How, Rachel Buttress, Ian McCloy, Holly Duerichen, Alyssa Nicole Samson, Emma Petersen Melland, Kevin Sohn, Xiang Li, Mara Ayque, Kathleen Isaza, Katie Fraser, Zachary Martin, Yuhui Wang, Sarah Anderson-Caulfield, Kenda McDermott, Hannah Ernst, Christina Demeo, Carly King, Zach Martin, Melanie Hiepler, Olivia Rapos, Jing Jang, Caelan Prescott, Claire Bidulka, Kendra Baldwin, Skye Wilkinson, Adriana Zaharijevic, Rebekah Leon, Saba Taghiakbari, Zhilun Liu, Hans Grunwald, Matthew Gorlitz and Rafael Laurindo.

Ticket prices (Regular Adult) for Opera & Arias (and all Festival plays) include all fees & taxes and start at $27. Prices for special events, a Youth rate and group bookings can be found online at bardonthebeach.org or by calling the Bard Box Office at 604-739-0559, daily from 12 noon through 6pm.

Bard on the Beach gratefully acknowledges the corporate sponsors and donors who support and sustain the Festival and its programs. In addition to the Music Series Sponsor, VCAD (Visual College of Art & Design), support in 2022 comes from the Peter and Joanne Brown Foundation (Season Sponsor), BMO Financial Group (BMO Mainstage) and Paul and Darlene Howard (Howard Family Stage), along with Production Sponsors Lawson Lundell LLP, BlueShore Financial Group and Polygon Homes; Season Media Sponsors The Vancouver Sun and Global BC, as well as many other valued sponsors and partners. Bard also thanks the City of Vancouver Cultural Services Department, the Vancouver Park Board, the Province of British Columbia, the B.C. Arts Council, Canadian Heritage, and the Canada Council for the Arts for their continuing support.

About Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival

Bard on the Beach is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit, professional Shakespeare festivals. Established in 1990, Bard's mission is to create transformational experiences through exceptional theatre, training and education opportunities that inspire, resonate, and promote the exchange of ideas. As well as its annual summer Festival, Bard offers year-round education and training programs for youth, adults and theatre professionals in its administrative home at the BMO Theatre Centre in Olympic Village as well as in schools and community facilities throughout the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

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