COC Announces Advance Listings for January 2012 Performances and Special Events

Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America. The company enjoys an international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation.

JANUARY 2012

OPERAS
Tosca by Giacomo Puccini
14 performances: Jan. 21, 25, 29, 31, Feb. 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 21, 23, 25, 2012
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

The fire and passion of one of the most popular operas of all time, Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, opens the Canadian Opera Company's winter season. The company revisits its lavish 2008 production to showcase internationally renowned Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka in the title role. She portrays the famous opera singer who gets caught in a web of corruption, lust and betrayal while trying to protect her lover Cavaradossi from Scarpia, the bloodthirsty chief of police. Alternating with Pieczonka as Tosca is COC favourite Julie Makerov, while tenors Carlo Ventre and Thiago Arancam make their COC debuts as Cavaradossi. American baritone Mark Delavan portrays the evil Scarpia. Returning to direct the production that brings the chapels, palaces and fortresses of 19th-century Rome to life is Paul Curran, artistic director of Norwegian Opera.

Single tickets for Tosca are $12 - $318 (specially priced $22 tickets are available for people under the age of 30). Tickets are available online at coc.ca, by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or in person 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.

Love from Afar by Kaija Saariaho
8 performances: Feb. 2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 18, 22, 2012
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

The COC's winter season marks the Canadian premiere of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's Love from Afar, a haunting musical creation that has become one of the most successful 21st-century operas. Director Daniele Finze Pasca, best known for his work with Cirque du Soleil, brings his signature style to a visually arresting production and conjures a dreamlike atmosphere in which reality isn't quite as it appears. This story of a world-weary medieval troubadour from France who journeys to meet a beautiful woman living in Tripoli features an all-Canadian cast of voices both familiar and new to the COC stage. On the heels of his resounding success this fall with the COC's Iphigenia in Tauris, celebrated baritone Russell Braun portrays the troubadour Jaufré Rudel. Erin Wall, one of the most exciting young sopranos on the current operatic scene, makes her COC debut as his faraway desire, Clémence. The enigmatic pilgrim who carries messages between the two lovers is sung by COC Ensemble graduate mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó. COC Music Director Johannes Debus leads the COC Orchestra and Chorus through the lush score, built on an innovative combination of traditional instrumental sections and electronics.

Single tickets for Love from Afar are $12 - $318 (specially priced $22 tickets are available for people under the age of 30). Tickets are available online at coc.ca, by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or in person 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.

FREE CONCERT SERIES IN THE
Richard Bradshaw AMPHITHEATRE
Jan. 10 - Jan. 31, 2012
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.

Date
Series
Artist
Jan. 10, 2012
12 - 1 p.m.
Dance Series
Chinese Traditions: Then and Now
The Little Pear Garden Collective, a company dedicated to the rich traditions of Chinese performing arts, presents a visually stunning selection of classical and contemporary dance works.

Jan. 11, 2012
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Jazz Series
She Sings He Plays
A unique presence on the Toronto jazz scene for more than two decades, vocalist Julie Michels re-joins her long-time duo partner, jazz guitarist Kevin Barrett, for a performance of selections from their latest CD, She Sings He Plays. These top-flight improvisers bring the spontaneity of a jazz session to their unique arrangements of classic songs by the likes of Paul Simon and the Beatles, as well as Latin standards and many other favourites.

Jan. 12, 2012
12 - 1 p.m.
Dance Series
dances for one two three and four
Peggy Baker, celebrated dance artist and leader of Peggy Baker Dance Projects, showcases her company's most recent work by sharing the inspiration, working methods and choreographic architecture of a solo (on earth), a duet (armour), a trio (coalesce) and a quartet (Piano/Quartet). Baker performs with a talented group of dancers, including Ric Brown, Larry Hahn, Sean Ling, Sahara Morimoto and Andrea Nann.
Jan. 17, 2012
12 - 1 p.m.
Vocal Series
In Praise of Women
Artists of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio present a vocal concert celebrating music written by female artists, ranging from Hildegard von Bingen to composers of the present day.

Jan. 19, 2012
12 - 1 p.m.
Chamber Music Series
East Meets West: Debussy and Tan Dun
Inspired by the COC's production of Handel's Semele - in which Chinese culture merges with Baroque opera - artists from the COC Orchestra perform two masterpieces for string quartet: Tan Dun's Eight Colours and Debussy's String Quartet in G Minor. Both works demonstrate the vibrant compositional results of East-meets-West cross-cultural exchange.
Jan. 24, 2012
12 - 1 p.m.
Jazz Series

Jazz con Salsa Mexicana
Multi-award-winning jazz pianist Hilario Durán leads a talented group of young musicians from Humber College through an exciting program of Latin Jazz, with a particular focus on the rhythms and music of Mexico.

Jan. 26, 2012
12 - 1 p.m.
Piano Virtuoso Series
Étude Fantasies
Mexican-born pianist Alejandro Vela returns to the
Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre with a dazzling selection of concert études by great masters of the past and present. The program features works by Schubert, Rachmaninov, Corigliano and Kapustin.

Jan. 31, 2012
12 - 1 p.m.

Chamber Music Series
Mirror of Memory: Chamber and Vocal Music of
Kaija Saariaho
Soundstreams, an international organization dedicated to new directions in music, presents a stunning selection of works by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho (Love from Afar). The program features a performance of Tag des Jahrs by one of Canada's most illustrious choral ensembles, the Elmer Iseler Singers. A leading interpreter of contemporary music, soprano Carla Huhtanen offers her rendition of the Leino Songs. The program concludes with selections of the composer's chamber works.

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