Eric Owens to Star in Handel's HERCULES at COC; Peter Sellars to Direct

Internationally renowned director Peter Sellars returns to the Canadian Opera Company this spring with a new company production of Handel's Hercules that propels the Greek myth into the modern day, giving voice to the untold horrors of war and the unspoken complications faced by veterans returning home. The COC premiere of Hercules reunites Sellars with celebrated conductor Harry Bicket and the all-star cast that presented this co-production with Lyric Opera of Chicago to unequivocal praise at its debut in Chicago in 2011. Hercules is sung in English with English SURTITLES and runs for seven performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on April 5, 11, 15, 19, 24, 27, 30, 2014.

One of the most powerful forces in the performing arts world today, director Peter Sellars (Tristan und Isolde, 2013) has created a production described "as a stinging, profoundly moving examination of the domestic aftermath of modern war" (Opera News) that is not only "capable of inspiring moral action" (Los Angeles Times) but "will follow you home and keep you thinking as well" (Chicago Sun-Times).

Using Handel's musical drama about the mythical hero's triumphant return home after a prolonged war abroad, Sellars's production of Hercules examines the heartbreaking conflict faced by returning soldiers of war and their families. "Ultimately, the verities Handel knew and captured so brilliantly in his music leap across time and space in Sellars' inspired update" (Chicago Tribune) where, in working with his frequent collaborators (set designer George Tsypin, costume designer Dunya Ramicova and lighting designer James F. Ingalls), Sellars has created a production that evokes ancient Greece while still locating the action clearly in the present.

Grammy Award-winning American bass-baritone Eric Owens makes his COC debut as Hercules. Internationally acclaimed for his commanding stage presence and inventive artistry, Owens's portrayal of this mythical veteran of war has been called a "poignant realization of the title character's struggle with psychological disintegration" (Opera News) and a Hercules that "speaks to you even in his silences ... and shakes you when he sings" (Chicago Sun-Times).

World renowned British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote (Ariadne auf Naxos, 2011) returns to the COC as Hercules' wife, Dejanira. Regarded as one of the great artists in opera today, Coote's performance of Dejanira has been called "riveting" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "ranks with theatrical performances of legends" (Los Angeles Times).

Britain's Lucy Crowe, one of the leading lyric sopranos of her generation, makes her COC debut as Iole, Hercules' prisoner of war. Crowe's Iole at Lyric Opera of Chicago was met with unanimous acclaim, declaring her "a major discovery" (Chicago Tribune) and "a new star born, both for her searing expression of a prisoner's pain and for the luminous light she shines on one of Handel's most compassionate arias, 'My breast with tender pity swells'" (Los Angeles Times).

American countertenor David Daniels (Xerxes, 1999) returns to the COC as Hercules' trusted aide, Lichas. "To say that he is the most acclaimed countertenor of the day, perhaps the best ever, is to understate his achievement. He is simply a great singer," (New York Times) and with Handel's opera he "was born for this music and his Lichas grabs your heart" (Chicago Sun-Times).

American tenor Richard Croft (Così fan tutte, 1992) is internationally renowned for his performances with leading opera companies and orchestras around the world and returns to the COC as Hercules' son, Hyllus. In this role, Croft is "firmly in his vocal element" (Chicago Tribune), delivering a performance that has been called "profound" (Los Angeles Times).

Internationally renowned Baroque specialist conductor Harry Bicket (Orfeo ed Euridice, 2011; Idomeneo, 2009; Rodelinda, 2005) returns to lead the COC Orchestra and Chorus through Handel's glorious music. Bicket was praised for his musical leadership of Hercules in Chicago, leading the "orchestra in a spirited performance that brings out the melancholy beauty of the score, as well as Handel's edgy, almost dissonant harmonies" (Huffington Post) and "conducted a performance true to the spirit of Handel's time yet truer still to Sellars' stress points" (Los Angeles Times).

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