Vancouver Opera Blog

Twenty Questions with Hasmik Papian

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:00:00 PST

Having sung on some of the most prestigious opera stages including the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, Bastille Opera Paris and the Metropolitan Opera, Hasmik Papian is regarded as one of the most successful lyrical-dramatic sopranos in the world. Hasmik Papian will be open Vancouver Opera's Golden Anniversary season in her signature role as Bellini's Norma.

Guilty musical pleasure?
Can any musical pleasure be guilty…?

Where do you love to sing?
On stage.

What is your idea of earthly happiness?
To spend time with my wonderful daughter.

To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
Those that cause no damage.

Who are your favourite heroes/heroines of fiction?
Hamlet. Carmen.

Who are your favourite characters in history?
Lord Byron. Woodrow Wilson.

Who are your favourite heroes/heroines in real life?
Helmut Schmidt (ex chancellor of Germany). Sofia Loren.

Who is your favourite author?
Anton Chekhov.

Your favourite musician?
Violinist Zino Francescatti.

Your favourite composer?
Beethoven.

What quality do you most admire in a person?
Never loosing one’s love of life – even in difficult moments.

Your favourite virtue?
Sincerity.

Your favourite occupation?
Walking where the landscape is exciting (like in the mountains).

What did you want to be as a child?
A violinist. (I actually became one, before becoming a singer.)

Your most marked characteristic?
Seriousness. New colleagues frequently ask me after three weeks of rehearsals: How comes we never see you smiling or laughing?

What do you most value in your friends?
Fidelity.

For what would you like to be remembered?
Being gentle and tolerant.

What natural gift would you most like to possess?
I can’t think of any which I don’t have.

What is your motto?
It’s never too late.

What non-opera song do you rock?
“La Bohème” – not the opera from Puccini, but the chanson from Charles Aznavour!

VO Wants You to Get O.U.T.!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:14:37 PST

This season, Vancouver Opera is encouraging patrons to Get O.U.T. – Get Opera Under Thirty, that is. Launching Friday, November 13th at 9:00 am, the Get O.U.T. program will allow patrons aged 18 to 29 to enjoy selected seats at VO productions for $25 - a saving of up to 75%.

Designed for a younger audience but not exclusive to students, Get O.U.T. is the first ticket program of its kind for a major arts organzation in Vancouver.

Get O.U.T. tickets will be made available for each production in VO’s Golden Anniversary season: Norma (November 28 – December 5, 2009); Nixon in China (March 13 – 20, 2010); The Marriage of Figaro (April 24 – May 4, 2010); and Madama Butterfly (May 29 – June 10, 2010).

Available exclusively to patrons aged 18 – 29, Get O.U.T. tickets can be purchased only with a special promotion code, which will be announced though VO’s blog and social media presences. Ticket limit is 2 per person.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's launch!

Tootin' Our Gala Horn

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:40:53 PST

"...splendid."

"...flash of showmanship."

"...ecstatically sung.."

"It would be hard to think of a better kick-off."

Words that described the Golden Anniversary Gala on November 6.

Click here to read the rest of Georgia Straight's review.

Tuesday Trivia: Belli Bellini

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:04 PST

To say that Vincenzo Bellini was well loved in his native Catania region of Sicily would be an understatement. Bellini is considered by some to be the quintissential "bel canto" composer of opera. Test your knowledge of the "Swan of Catania" with this Tuesday Trivia.

1. There's one degree of separation between Bellini and Freddy Mercury. Who is it?
2. In Naples he studied under what noted composer of his time?
3. Bellini wrote his first opera at what age?
4. In what year did Bellini's first opera premiere at La Scala?
5. What was that opera?
6. There is one degree of separation between Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. Who is it?
7. A performance of Norma inspired landmark tree to be named after it. Where?
8. Giuditta Pasta, who created the role of Norma, created what other notable Bellini role?
9. Bellini was superstitious. What evil omen did he receive shortly before his death?
10. Where is there a gravestone but no remains of Bellini?

Enter your guesses as comments and we'll post the answers next week!

Bonynge, Guttman, Cunningham & Littler Speak Tonight!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:10:39 PST

Richard Bonynge in 1963, for his conducting debut in VO's Faust.

Our first “Opera Speaks” event of our Golden Anniversary season is fast approaching and we are very excited to hear all the amazing stories of VO’s past from our esteemed panel: Dr. Irving Guttman, widely known as the father of opera in western Canada; legendary conductor Richard Bonynge; William Littler (music columnist for the Toronto Star); and Rosemary Cunningham, author of Bravo! The History of Opera in British Columbia. The event will be hosted by VO's General Director James W. Wright. We will also hear an excerpt from Norma performed by a cast member from VO's upcoming production.

Monday, November 9, 7-9 pm
Alice MacKay Room, Vancouver Public Library Central Branch
Admission is free. Arrive early; seating is limited.

BOV: Habanera on tuned bike horns

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:25:34 PST

A dear friend and a brillant musician, Mike Lorenz percussionist extraordinare in one of his weird and wacky moods.

Like this? Want to see more of our favorite opera videos? Join us on YouTube!

Dress You Up

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:24:11 PST

We got a local celeb in our midst!

Our very own wardrobe supervisor, Parvin Mirhady, is getting featured in BC Business Magazine!

Every month BC Business Magazine spotlights a full page on different businesses or industries at work. For the November issue, Vancouver Opera was selected!

The Assistant Art Director, Ben Oliver met Parvin at the wardrobe department and spent half a morning taking pictures on the preparations for the upcoming Norma production.

Here are a couple of shots taken of the photoshoot:

Thanks to Parvin who's makes sure that the outfits everyone wears on stage stand out and look absolutely amazing!

~ Ling Chan, Assistant to Managing Director

They Left Their Hearts In San Francisco

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:00 PST

Photo credit by Clive Barda & San Francisco Opera

We love it when our friends visit other cities. And that's because they love telling us all about the amazing operas they saw!

D.S. Spring and Diana Herbst spent last week in San Francisco and was at the opera. Three nights in a row! That's devotion. D.S. and Diana thoroughly enjoyed the San Francisco Opera and were literally blown away by both Diana Damrau and Juan Diego Florez.

Here's D.S.'s write up about the fantastic visit:

October 21st, 2009
Salome / Richard Strauss

Salome is a short, but intense, one-act opera about obsessions and fixations. It has been described as “a scherzo with a fatal conclusion.” What a performance on October 21st! It was absolutely superb. Nadja Michael has to be the quintessential Salome in opera today. Her portrayal of Salome, both singing and acting as well as appearance, exuded uninhibited sexuality and psychosis. Her dance of the seven veils was the most alluring I have ever seen. Greer Grimsley was great as Jokanaan, just as he was in the Vancouver production last May.

The sets were dramatic, yet simple, which, along with the lighting, enhanced the psychodrama taking place on stage. Sean Curran, the Director and Choreographer, kept the focus on the psychotic characters and their actions. The orchestra, under the baton of Nicola Luisotti, who is the new San Francisco Opera Music Director, played the lush and sometimes dissonant music of Strauss beautifully and supported the singers well.

This performance will be remembered as the one to measure all future Salome productions by.

October 22nd
The Daughter of the Regiment (La Fille du Régiment) / “Gaetano Donizetti

This was an absolute delight! Everyone was there to hear and see Diana Damrau as Marie and Juan Diego Flórez as Tonio and they did not disappoint. They could not have been better suited for these roles – Damrau as an attractive tom-boy teenager and Flórez a young love-sick lad -- and their voices blended superbly. Flórez effortlessly knocked off the show-stopping cavatina, “Pour mon âme quell destin” with its nine high Cs to everyone’s enjoyment.

This production by Laurent Pelly is shared by Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera, Covent Garden and the Vienna State Opera. Its sets by Chantal Thomas were visually very effective. Even though this is a rather silly opera, it was filled with humor, drama and pathos. With leads like Diana Damrau and Juan Diego Flórez I would go experience this opera again and again and again.

October 23rd
The Abduction from the Seraglio (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

This opera had gorgeous ensemble singing by Mary Dunleavy as Constanze and Matthew Polenzani as Belmonte, Anna Christy as Blonde and Andrew Bidlack as Pedrillo. However, other aspects of this production by Chas Rader-Shieber were disconcerting. The dialogue, spoken in English, had been updated to current everyday street slang, which was incongruent with the staging and with sets reminiscent of the first performance in Vienna in 1782 depicting an 18th century theater complete with apparent chandelier and candle lighting. Other than a door rising from the floor at center stage when needed, the audience was left to imagine the surroundings of the many short scenes in this opera.

Conductor Giuseppe Finzi, the recently appointed Assistant Music Director of San Francisco Opera, led the orchestra at a much slower tempo than one normally hears with this opera, thus losing some of its energy and liveliness.

If you are coming to the opera just to hear great ensemble singing and can ignore the antics and incongruences on stage, then you will go home well satisfied.

Vote Now For Operabot!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:21:18 PST

Vote Here on the blog for your favorite Operabot video!

Through midnight, November 13th, we'll be hosting the Operabot popular vote contest right here on our blog.

View all the entries HERE ON OUR CONTEST SITE.

Then come back and choose your favorite!

One of four prizes will be given to the video with the most votes. Another three videos will be awarded prizes based on the choices of our judges from the animation industry here in Vancouver.

Big thanks to Wacom for a donation of a Intuos 4 Tablet! Wacom rules!

News on our Operabot screening party to come.

Vote now for your favorite!

Big Norma Is Watching You

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:51:12 PST

If you happen to be on the corner of Robson and Granville, take a look skywards at the giant screen of the Future Shop building.

And wait for it...wait for it...

Vancouver Opera's flaming Norma head looking out at you! Oh, the wonders of technology!

Illustration by Edel Rodriguez / Video by Tim Matheson

If you like that, you're going to LOVE our Norma opera!

Tickets to Norma can still be purchased online or call our box office at 604-683-0222.

~ Ling Chan, Assistant to Managing Director

Buy in the Back, Sit in the Front!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:02:14 PST

We’ve just opened up a new block of subscription seats at amazing discount prices!

For a limited time, you can purchase a subscription in the rear mezzanine but sit up close to all the excitement in the front of the Orchestra! That's a saving of up to $250 per subscription!*

Come see our first 3 operas for $225 or all four operas for only $299!

Offer Expires November 18th!

This offer is available exclusively through the VO Ticket Centre, open 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri.
Call: 604-683-0222
Visit: 835 Cambie St. (between Robson & Smithe)
**Tell them the VO blog sent you**

* This offer may not be combined with any other offer or used to replace tickets already purchased. Service charges and conditions apply.

Bonynge, Guttman and Littler at Opera Speaks @ VPL

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:25:40 PST

Defining Moments

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:29:16 PST

Photo by Tim Matheson

And the birthday love keeps coming...

In today's Globe and Mail, Marsha Lederman writes about five defining moments in Vancouver Opera's history, which include Norma (1963), Nabucco (1983), Carmen (1986), Peter Grimes (1995) and The Magic Flute (2007)

Do you agree? Disagree?

We would be over the moon thrilled to hear about your favourite VO milestone productions! For a list of every opera produced by Vancouver Opera, click here and leave your feedback in our new guestbook at the bottom of the page!

~ Ling Chan, Assistant to Managing Director

Making the News

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:09:21 PST

Photo by Barry Glass

Vancouver Opera will be celebrating half a century this year! The party begin tomorrow with the Golden Anniversary Concert and Gala and will carry out through 2010 with Norma, Nixon in China, The Marriage of Figaro and Madama Butterfly.

So what a wonderful treat it was to see our name in the papers this morning! See us here in Vancouver Sun and Epoch Times.

We couldn't ask for a better way to kick-start our birthday!

~ Ling Chan, Assistant to Managing Director

Nixon in China: Community Engagement Series

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:53:07 PST

We’re wrapping an exciting and informative community engagement series around our March production of Nixon in China.

For several years Vancouver Opera has worked to demonstrate the relevance of opera to the lives of 21st century British Columbians; our Nixon project is no exception; in fact–it represents the pinnacle of community engagement for VO to-date.

I invite you to engage your mind and your imagination. Explore music, history, politics, dance and visual art in preparation for the Canadian premiere–and a new VO production–of John Adams’s imaginative and important opera...

Click our Nixon in China blog to check out the calendar of events...

Let There Be Singing!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:19:06 PST

Although we won't let ALL the cats out of the bag, we can tell you who will be singing what at the Golden Anniversary Concert November 6. But you must be there to check out our very special guests! (shhhhhhh!)

VO Golden Anniversary Concert Program
Friday, November 6th, 2009
Orpheum Theatre - 7:00 PM

Maestro Jonathan Darlington – Conductor/Host
Michael Cavanagh - Director
Guest Soloists
Vancouver Opera Orchestra & Chorus
*Artists and program subject to change*

Opening Orchestral Number
Bernstein - Candide Overture
Puccini – Turandot “ Tu che di gel sei cinta” (Sally Dibblee)
Remarks and Video (Irving Guttman & Justin Woolfrey)
Lillian Alling – Scene 9, Chorus, John Arsenault, Barb Towell & Heather Pawsey
Mozart – Don Giovanni – “Là ci darem la mano“ (Brett Polegato, Kathleen Brett)
Richard Strauss – Der Rosenkavalier - "Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren…” (Kimberly Barber, Tracy Dahl)
Remarks and Video (Richard Margison)
Mozart – Don Giovanni – ”Dalla sua pace” (Benjamin Butterfield)
Verdi – Simon Boccanegra - "Il lacerato spirito" – (Alain Coulombe, Chorus) Remarks and Video (Ben Heppner)
Korngold – Die tote Stadt - "Pierrot's Tanzlied" (Brett Polegato)
Bizet – The Pearl Fishers - "Ton coeur n'a pas compris le mien..." (Kathleen Brett, Benjamin Butterfield)
Puccini – Tosca – "Va Tosca", (Yalun Zhang, Chorus)
Remarks and final Video (Judith Forst)
Act 2 of Die Fledermaus in English with Chorus

Click here to buy concert tickets!
For Gala Packages call the VO Ticket Centre at 604-683-0222

Tuesday Trivia: Darwin Awards for Composers

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:51:59 PST

Musical Geniuses? Maybe.

Otherwise? Not so much.

Post your answers in the comments section. Here's your quiz:

Match the eight composers to the unfortunate circumstances of their demise (alleged or real).

1. Robert Schumann
2. Jean-Baptiste Lully
3. Charles-Valentin Alkan
4. Alban Berg
5. Peter Tchaikovsky
6. Henry Purcell
7. Maurice Ravel
8. Ernest Chausson

a. Died when a bookcase fell on him
b. Died by riding his bicycle into a wall
c. Died when he smashed his foot with a pole while keeping rhythm and it got infected.
d. Died from cholera after drinking unboiled water.
e. Died after getting sick in the cold after being locked out by his wife
f. Died from mercury poisoning as a complication of syphilis treatment
g. Died from complications from an insect bite
h. Died from complications after being whacked in the head while in a taxi

Folks, We Got Ourselves A Winner!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:08:31 PST

Given a choice between a 2009 BMW X3, 2009 BMW 128i Cabriolet or $50,000, which grand prize would YOU choose?

Well, for one winner, it was the cash! A big congratulations to Roger Getz from Williams Lake, BC for winning the 2009 Summer BMW Lottery with the golden ticket number of 4848.

But don't you worry. Your chance to win can be with this month's November Audi A5 Lottery! Tickets are only $40 each, 3 for $100 or 7 for $200.

Purchase your ticket online here or the old fashion way by calling the Lottery Department at 604-682-2871 ext. 4836

~ Ling Chan, Assistant to Managing Director

Happy Birthday to Us! Here's A Gift For You!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:18:35 PST

Pastry Chef Kaeko Kanno from Kreation, one of eight bakeries creating birthday cakes for VO’s gala concert.

To celebrate our 50th Birthday, we are offering a 50% discount to our Gala Concert!*

Help us celebrate our Golden Anniversary. Come to the Gala Concert and save on selected seats! Get 50% off tickets to the concert event of the season!

Hear great singing from Tracy Dahl, Brett Polegato and other international singers, along with the VO Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Jonathan Darlington.

Enjoy opera favourites from Don Giovanni, Turandot, The Pearl Fishers, and Der Rosenkavalier. Laugh through Act 2 of Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus!

And after the concert, enjoy a piece of birthday cake, baked by one of eight amazing Vancouver bakeries!

To redeem this special offer, use promotion code 2230.

Call the VO Ticket Centre today at 604-683-0222 or buy online here.

*discount cannot be combined with any other offer or used to replace previously purchased tickets.

Hear VO's Founding Artistic Director At "Opera Speaks" forum November 9

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:32:15 PST

Dr. Irving Guttman, widely known as the father of opera in western Canada, will share his memories of how it all started 50 years ago, at an evening of memories and fascinating historical insights. He joins Maestro Richard Bonynge, William Littler (music columnist for the Toronto Star), and author Rosemary Cunningham, whose book Bravo! The History of Opera in British Columbia is hot off the press. The host will be VO's General Director James W. Wright.

Hear about the divas, the dramas, and the ups and downs of the early days, from the people who were there! And hear an excerpt from Norma performed by a cast member from VO's upcoming production.

Monday, November 9, 7-9 pm
Alice MacKay Room, Vancouver Public Library Central Branch
Admission is free. Arrive early; seating is limited.

7 More Operabots. All in a Row.

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:43:54 PST

Just as the clock struck midnight on November 1, Operabots #10, #11, #12, #13, #14 and #15 made like stealth ninjas, storming the Vancouver Opera office and making their presence known.

A big thank you to the final Operabot submissions:

The Marriage of Figaro by Amanda Pierce, Beverly De Moss and Kim Chang Fatt

Madama Butterfly by Brandon Cathay at Art Institute of Colorado

Madama Butterfly by Irene Ha

Madame Boterfly by Christine Cornell

Madama Butterfly by Olaf Miller, Curt Spurging and Aaron Robinson

Madama Butterfly by Gabriela Mejia and Chris Holbrow

Madama Butterfly by Paul and Dongkun

Operabot has now officially closed! Vancouver Opera would like to thank everyone for their Operabot submissions. Really, we are totally amazed at all the creativity and effort.

Three winners will be chosen by a panel of judges from Vancouver's leading animation studios. One winner will be chosen by popular vote. The judging will take place at a special screening party we'll be hosting! (details to come!)

So tell your friends and make sure to vote for your favourite animated shorts!

~ Ling Chan, Assistant to Managing Director

BOV: Bean Does Opera

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:16:43 PST

This week's Bizarre Opera Video comes courtesy of Rowan Atkinson, Mr. Bean. Although he pretty much butchers what's going on during Mio Bambino Caro, you'll notice it's the only schtick he does that gets any money.....

Mr.Bean OPERA - Free videos are just a click away

For all the Bizarre Opera Videos you'll ever want, join us on our YouTube Channel.

Join Us To Celebrate Vancouver Opera's Golden Anniversary!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:28:43 PST

Are you new to opera? Do you want to bring friends to a feel-good evening of singing? This is a perfect "sampler" of some of opera's greatest hits.

Featuring excerpts from Mozart's Don Giovannii, The Pearl Fishers, Turandot, Tosca, and Act 2 of Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus!

International Soloists: Brett Polegato, Tracy Dahl, Sally Dibblee, Kathleen Brett, Kimberly Barber, Yalun Zhang, Benjamin Butterfield & Alain Coulombe. Featuring the VO Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Jonathan Darlington.

Call the Vancouver Opera Ticket Centre 604-683-0222
Or get your tickets online!

Twenty Questions with John Arsenault

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:59:37 PST

An active tenor with Vancouver Opera Chorus, John Arsenault has appeared in minor roles in Salome and Fidelio. John recently turned heads as Pinkerton in Vancouver Island Opera's production of Madame Butterfly. John will help kick off the season with his role of Flavio, a centurian, in Vancouver Opera's Norma.

Guilty musical pleasure?
I love lots of different music, and I don’t believe in guilt!

Where do you love to sing?
In the shower or in my car, or better yet on the operatic stage.

What is your idea of earthly happiness?
A beautiful tropical beach, or an old European city to explore.

To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
Good food… and the TV show LOST. Did I mention LOST?

Who are your favourite heroes/heroines of fiction?
Well, the ones I know best are characters in operas… but I love all the characters in La Boheme. I don’t know why, but I have always been very drawn to that story.

Who are your favourite characters in history?
Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, da Vinci, Shakespeare, and so many more.

Who are your favourite heroes/heroines in real life?
Terry Fox, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, pretty much anyone who gives of themselves to make the world a better place.

Who is your favourite author?
Ken Follett for his “Pillars of the Earth”

Your favourite musician?
Maria Callas, cliché but absolutely true. She’s thrilling.

Your favourite composer?
Puccini

What quality do you most admire in a person?
Authenticity

Your favourite virtue?
Compassion.

Your favourite occupation?
Opera singer or conductor, I love them both equally.

What did you want to be as a child?
A medical doctor.

Your most marked characteristic?
I make people laugh (on purpose!)

What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty and trust.

For what would you like to be remembered?
Being a good person who cares about other people.

What natural gift would you most like to possess?
A fast metabolism.

What is your motto?
You get what you give.

What non-opera song do you rock?
Brian Wilson by the Barenaked Ladies.

Operabot #8 Has Landed!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:51:21 PDT

The Mirimichi blitzkrieg continues!

Up for your consideration as master of the universe is John Landry's animated short on The Marriage of Figaro. Don't you just love the heavy rock guitar riff when the credit rolls? Good work.

Contest runs until November 1, 2009.

Three winners will be chosen by a panel of judges from Vancouver's leading animation studios. One winner will be chosen by popular vote. The judging will take place at a special screening party we'll be hosting! (details to come!)

So tell your friends and make sure to vote for your favourite animated shorts!

~ Ling Chan, Assistant to Managing Director