Canadian Opera Company Announces May Schedule

The Canadian Opera Company has announced their performances and events for this May. That month will see new productions, concerts and discussions on famous operas. COC has also begun registration for its summer programs for children. Here is the complete schedule:

OPERAS
La Cenerentola by Gioacchino Rossini
9 performances: April 23, 28, May 1, 7, 10, 13, 19, 22 and 25, 2011
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue.)

Opening the COC's spring season is Gioacchino Rossini's delightful La Cenerentola, based on the beloved fairytale Cinderella. This colourful and imaginative comic opera features a spectacular cast including one of the most prominent bel canto tenors on the international stage, American Lawrence Brownlee, in his COC debut as the Prince, Don Ramiro. Returning to the COC to sing Angelina (Cenerentola) is American mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong. Dandini, Ramiro's valet, is sung by COC regular, baritone Brett Polegato and American bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen returns to sing Alidoro. Making his COC debut leading the COC Orchestra and Chorus is Italian conductor Leonardo Vordoni. This vibrant and animated production is ideal for all ages and is directed and designed by the creative Spanish theatre troupe Els Comediants, led by director Joan Font.

Single tickets for La Cenerentola are $62 - $281 (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.

*New this season - Standing Room tickets for only $12. Sixty spaces are available and tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. the morning of the performance at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office. Limit of two tickets per person. Subject to availability.

Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss
8 performances: April 30, May 3, 12, 15, 18, 21, 27 and 29, 2011
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

Continuing the COC's 2010/2011 spring season is Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos. This opera-within-an-opera's madcap backstage melodrama is a precursor to the onstage expressions of love, loss and spiritual transformation. Sir Andrew Davis, Lyric Opera of Chicago's music director and Conductor Laureate of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, makes his much-anticipated company debut conducting the COC Orchestra. Leading a stellar cast are internationally renowned Canadian stars, soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, singing the role of Ariadne, and tenor Richard Margison, singing the role of Bacchus. Making their COC debuts are celebrated Canadian soprano Jane Archibald as Zerbinetta, the charming comedienne of the faux opera, and renowned British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote as the Composer. Returning to the COC is multiple award-winning Australian director Neil Armfield.

Single tickets for Ariadne auf Naxos are $62 - $281 (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.

*New this season - Standing Room tickets for only $12. Sixty spaces are available and tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. the morning of the performance at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office. Limit of two tickets per person. Subject to availability.

Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck
8 performances: May 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 24, 26 and 28, 2011
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

Christoph Willibald Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, the first Gluck opera to be performed in the company's history, closes the 2010/2011 season. Canadian director Robert Carsen makes his long-awaited return to the COC with his acclaimed Lyric Opera of Chicago production of this masterpiece. Renowned countertenor Lawrence Zazzo and Armenian-Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian perform the title roles in a story in which love confounds death and art triumphs over all. Rising young opera star, and COC Ensemble Studio member, soprano Ambur Braid sings the role of Amore. Also returning to lead the COC Orchestra and Chorus is renowned Baroque specialist, conductor Harry Bicket.

Single tickets for Orfeo ed Euridice are $62 - $281 (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.

*New this season - Standing Room tickets for only $12. Sixty spaces are available and tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. the morning of the performance at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office. Limit of two tickets per person. Subject to availability.

TOUR THE FOUR SEASONS CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Saturdays at 12 p.m. (with some exceptions)
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)
Tickets: $13 for adults; $7 for students and seniors; and FREE for children 12 and under

The COC invites the public to take a tour of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Public tours are an exciting opportunity to learn more about the opera house, its history, architecture and innovative acoustic design. Each hour-long tour is led by trained docents and includes background information and access to the Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre and R. Fraser Elliott Hall.

Tickets for tours are available in person at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information about tour availability at the Four Seasons Centre, visit coc.ca or call COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231.

FREE CONCERT SERIES IN THE Richard Bradshaw AMPHITHEATRE
PRESENTED BY NATIONAL BANK
May 3 - May 31, 2011
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Ave.)

The Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre presented by National Bank 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.

May 3, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Piano Virtuoso Series
Debussy Preludes: Colour and Light
Still in his 20s, collaborative pianist and COC Ensemble Studio graduate Christopher Mokrzewski returns to his soloist roots in a program of Debussy preludes.

May 4, 2011
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Vocal Series
Songs for a New World
Baritone Brett Polegato sings about the wonders of our planet, celebrating the sun, moon, stars, flowers, animals and man in works by Schumann, Ireland, Vaughan Williams, Ravel and Finzi.

May 5, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Piano Virtuoso Series
Shostakovich and Rachmaninov
In his Toronto debut, London-based Russian Tartar pianist Rustem Hayroudinoff performs Sergei Rachmaninov's dramatic and rarely performed Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 28 in D Minor. He opens the program with three of the Preludes and Fugues by Dmitri Shostakovich.

May 10, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Vocal Series
Sides of Us
Internationally-acclaimed Canadian tenor Richard Margison shares the stage with his 18-year-old daughter Lauren, a budding jazz/blues singer, who has recently returned to her first love, opera. The two perform a program ranging from jazz, blues and folk to opera and art song, accompanied by COC Ensemble Studio alumnus Christopher Mokrzewsi.

May 12, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Vocal Series
Serenata Italiana
Artists of the COC Ensemble Studio present a delightful selection of lesser-known Italian arias, art songs and ensembles.

May 17, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Chamber Music Series
Beethoven and Golijov: Visions of Eternity
Toronto's celebrated Tokai Quartet perform Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131 and Golijov's hauntingly beautiful Tenebrae with COC Ensemble Studio soprano Jacqueline Woodley and clarinetist Kornel Wolak, and choreographed for four dancers by Matjash Mrozewski.

May 19, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Chamber Music Series
Good Vibes
The Rudolph Family Chamber Players (Kathleen Rudolph, flute; Theresa Rudolph Koczó, viola; John Rudolph, percussion; and Csaba Koczó, violin) present a delightfully diverse program featuring Beethoven's Variations on "La ci darem la mano," Paul Chihara's Redwood, Fauré's Morceau de Concours, Kob's Homage to Keith Jarrett and Gary Burton, Joseph Green's Xylophonia and Christopher Caliendo's Sincerita.

May 24, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Vocal Series
21st-Century Troubadour
Singer/guitarist Doug MacNaughton performs the intimate music created when composers explore the connections between the text and the self-accompanied singer. The program includes works by John Beckwith,
William Beauvais, arrangements of works by Fauré and Schubert as well as works by contemporary composers.

May 26, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Vocal Series
Les Adieux
The graduating artists of the COC Ensemble Studio perform a special "farewell" concert of their favourite arias and ensembles.

May 31, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Dance Series
Camille Claudel (L'importante)
Toronto-based French theatre company Théâtre la Tangente presents Camille Claudel (L'implorante), a work for two dancers and a narrator, conceived and directed by Claude Guilmain and inspired by the correspondence between the French poet and diplomat Paul Claudel and his sister, the beautiful and notorious sculptor and famous model, confidante and lover of Auguste Rodin, Camille Claudel.

EVENTS
OPERA EXCHANGE
Ariadne auf Naxos from A to Z
May 14, 2011, from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Walter Hall, University of Toronto, 27 King's College Circle
Target: University Students/Adults
Tickets: $20

The Opera Exchange series provides an in-depth look at three operas performed by the Canadian Opera Company over the course of the 2010/2011 season. The last Opera Exchange lecture for the season takes place on May 14, 2011, bringing together local and international academics to lead explorations and analysis on the themes and music of Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos.

The May 14 lecture begins with "Classical Ariadnes" by Alison Keith from the University of Toronto's Classics department. Keith's remarks are followed by Duke University's Frances Hall Fox Professor in Humanities, Bryan Gilliam, who will offer a lecture entitled "Ariadne auf Naxos from A to Z: Ariadne, Zerbinetta, and Transformation." A panel discussion involving members of the COC's Ariadne auf Naxos production will close the event.

Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased at coc.ca or by contacting COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231. Discounts are available for UofT students and faculty.

The Opera Exchange series is presented in collaboration with the Munk School for Global Affairs and the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto.

REGISTRATIONS
SUMMER YOUTH INTENSIVE
July 4 - 8, 2011 from 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre, 227 Front St. E.
Target: Youth 13 - 18
Tuition: $175 per week (some bursaries available)

The Summer Youth Intensive offers youth interested in theatrical production and the performing arts a week-long immersion into the world of opera. Participants choose from one of two focuses, performance or production, and gain hands-on experience by taking part in a series of exciting workshops led by professional artist-educators. No previous experience with opera or the performing arts is required.

Registration is now open for the Summer Youth Intensive online at coc.ca or in person at the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre, located at 227 Front St. E., or at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W. For more information, contact education@coc.ca or call 416-306-2692.

SUMMER OPERA CAMP
July 11 - 15, 2011, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.; Target: Children 7 - 9
July 18 - 22, 2011, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.; Target: Children 10 - 12
Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre, 227 Front St. E.
Tuition: $175 per week (some bursaries available)
Before and after daycare available, at an additional cost; visit coc.ca for details

During the COC's week-long Summer Opera Camps, participants will play, sing, dance and create visual art with professional artist-educators. Drawing inspiration from the stories and music of popular children's operas, as well as the COC's mainstage productions, participants will invent their own operatic adventure for to be performed for friends and family on the last day of Summer Opera Camp. No previous experience with opera or the performing arts is required.

Registration is now open for Summer Opera Camp online at coc.ca or in person at the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre, located at 227 Front St. E., or at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W. For more information, contact education@coc.ca or call 416-306-2692.

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