Vancouver Opera to Host OPERA'S GREATEST HITS AND MORE! Concert, 1/24
By: Matt Smith Jan. 13, 2015
Vancouver, BC ~ Following the success of last year's "Opera's Greatest Hits - and More!" concert at the Surrey Arts Centre, Vancouver Opera again brings the best of opera hits and Broadway tunes to Surrey. The affordable, family-friendly concert will be performed by this year's participants in VO's acclaimed Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists program, a springboard for artists on the verge of launching international careers.
EVENT: "Opera and Broadway Take Centre Stage!"
DATE: Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 7:30pm.
LOCATION: Surrey Centre Stage, at Surrey's new City Hall:
13450-104 Avenue (1 block north of the Surrey Central SkyTrain Station)
TICKETS: Tickets are $25 ($15 for seniors/students with ID), including service charges. Tickets are now available from the Surrey Arts Centre Box Office, online at tickets.surrey.ca or by telephone at 604-501-5566.
The Program
During the 90 minute concert (including intermission), audiences will hear selections from the world's most famous operas, including Carmen, The Marriage of Figaro, La bohème, Die Fledermaus and more, as well as numbers from My Fair Lady, West Side Story, South Pacific, Sweeney Todd and other Broadway hits.
The Performers
Winnipeg native mezzo-soprano Laurelle Jade Froese had her professional debut in Saskatoon Opera's Die Zauberflöte in 2014. That year, she completed her Masters of Music at the University of Toronto, under the tutelage of soprano Wendy Nielsen. Ms. Froese is a 2013 & 2014 Jeune Ambassadeur Lyrique Laureate and has represented Canada at the Minsk Opera House in Belarus. She appeared as the gypsy Mércèdes in VO's recent production of Carmen, will appear as Ida in Die Fledermaus in February / March 2015 and will understudy The Beggar Woman and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd in April / May 2015.
Soprano Caitlin Wood graduated from the University of Toronto with a Masters in Operatic Performance under the tutelage of Mary Morrison. Her past roles have included Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance) and Patience (Patience) with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Winnipeg; Despina (Così fan tutte) and Nannetta (Falstaff) with Opera NUOVA; and Johanna (Sweeney Todd) with Dry Cold Productions. She recently was a winner in the Western Canada District Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition and will compete in the NW Regional Audition on February 15, 2015. Ms. Wood was the 2012-2013 recipient of the Richard Bradshaw Graduate Fellowship in Opera. She appeared as the gypsy Frasquita in VO's recent production of Carmen and will understudy Adele in Die Fledermaus and Johanna in Sweeney Todd this spring with Vancouver Opera.
Tenor Rocco Rupolo completed the Opera Diploma Program at the University of Toronto. Mr. Rupolo recently performed the role of Satyavan in Holst's opera S?vitri and Pylade in a scene study of Iphigénie en Tauride with Vancouver Opera's Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program. He understudied the role of Don Ottavio in VO's 2014 production of Don Giovanni, performed the role of Le Remendado in VO's recent production of Carmen and will understudy the roles of Alfred in Die Fledermaus and Anthony Hope and Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd this spring with Vancouver Opera.
Baritone and Nova Scotia native Zachary Read completed his Masters in Operatic Performance at the University of Toronto under the guidance of Patrick Raftery, where he sang Creon in Antigone, an opera project by four University of Toronto composers. Before his studies in Toronto, Mr. Read sang Guglielmo in the Accademia Europea dell'Opera production of Così fan tutte in Pistoia, Italy. He appeared as Moralès in VO's 2014 production of Carmen and will perform Ivan in Die Fledermaus and Jonas Fogg in Sweeney Todd this spring with Vancouver Opera.
Pianist Kimberley-Ann Bartczak holds a Master's Degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Toronto. During her studies, she was the répétiteur for the university's opera program, accompanist for the university's Women's Chorus and for the Mississauga Festival Choir, and music director for Opera 5's production of Milton Granger's Talk Opera. Ms. Bartczak was also a pianist and coach at the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy (COSI), at Opera on the Avalon, and at St. Andrews Opera Workshop. A native of Montreal, and very active in the choral community, Ms. Bartczak was the conductor for the Choir Chant- O-Vent, as well as accompanist to many semi-professional choirs in the Montreal area. Ms. Bartczak is currently in her second year of the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program with Vancouver Opera.
About Vancouver Opera
Vancouver Opera is the second largest opera company in Canada. It is regarded worldwide for its fine mainstage productions; for its country-leading education programs, which have reached more than 1.6 million children and their families during the past 40 years; for its innovative and award-winning community programs; and for forging groundbreaking cross-cultural creative partnerships that have brought opera to new generations of Canadians. Visit www.vancouveropera.ca to find out more.
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