Vancouver Opera Blog

VO at the Shore 'n' Shine

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:14:53 PDT

Come on down to Trev Deeley this Sunday for the Shore 104.3FM Shore'n'Shine! You can see some sweet Harleys, enjoy a pulled pork barbeque and enter VO's Harley lottery!

Click here to find out more about the lottery.
Tickets are $20 each, or 3 for $50, or 7 for $100. (The packs of 15 have already sold out). The grand prize draw will be held on June 20, so get your tickets soon!

Win a car or take the cash!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 27 May 2013 15:32:23 PDT

Come by our display in Pacific Centre from tomorrow (Tuesday May 28) to Sunday (June 2) and enter to win a 2013 Porsche Boxster or Cayenne! Staff from VO Lotteries will be on the lower level, by Le Chateau and Aldo.

With your ticket purchase you'll also be entered into our early bird draw this Friday for 4 prizes of $1,000 each... but you can't win if you don't enter!

Buy tickets and find out more here!

Field Trip!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:58:00 PDT

It was another sunny day on Granville Island for me and our Vancouver Opera In Schools Manager, Melissa Tsang. This was our third trip in as many weeks to visit Emily Carr University of Art and Design where we had the pleasure of working with illustration students in their Professional Applications class. The students were tasked with creating an illustration for VOIS' 2013-2014 production of The Barber of Barkerville ... and did they ever deliver!

The process was both rewarding and difficult with so many fantastic submissions to choose from. It was a tough choice but in the end we awarded the commission to Danielle Jette for her fresh and fun take on this production. You can see more of her work at www.daniellejette.com

A big thank you to all the students who submitted illustrations and to ECUAD Professors Durwin Talon and Justin Novak for the amazing opportunity to work with these talented emerging artists.

This is a partnership that I hope continues for a long time. The illustration students at ECUAD are producing some very impressive work - and who doesn't love a field trip?

- Annie Mack, Graphic Designer

20 Questions with Nancy Allen Lundy

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:18:44 PDT

Did you know that Nancy Allen Lundy is a fan of Eminem, Muhammed Ali and Milan Kundera? Read on to find out more as we ask her 20 Questions!

Guilty musical pleasure?

The music of Eminem.

Where do you love to sing?

Besides on stage? All the usual places; stairways, showers, parking garages...

What is your idea of earthly happiness?

A rainy day, a warm blanket, a comfy chair next to the fireplace with a good book, nowhere to be and a glass of montepulciano.

To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
Sloth and gluttony.

Who are your favourite heroes/heroines of fiction?

Don Draper in Mad Men, The Old Man (and the Sea), and Cartman.

Who are your favourite characters in history?

Muhammad Ali, JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Elvis.

Who are your favourite heroes/heroines in real life?
My brother and sister. My brother for being everything for his wife and children, and my sister for being the best mother I know.

Who is your favourite author?

At the moment, Milan Kundera.

Your favourite musician?

The most engaging performance I ever experienced was hearing Martin Sexton live, alone with his guitar. Unbelievable.

Your favourite composer?

A difficult question. One answer would be, the one who's music I'm engaged to sing at the moment. The other answer is that this question is unquantifiable. As apples are much better at being apples than oranges are, so too is Schubert a better Schubert than Ravel. In each there is greatness and in all there is music.

What quality do you most admire in a person?
Intelligence, because from that springs humor.

Your favourite virtue?

Humility.

Your favourite occupation?

Duh!!

What did you want to be as a child?

My big sister.

Your most marked characteristic?

My desire to make people laugh at my own expense

What do you most value in your friends?

Authenticity.

For what would you like to be remembered?

For not messing up my son too badly.

What natural gift would you most like to possess?

I always wondered what it would be like to breathe underwater.

What is your motto?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

What non-opera song do you rock?

Everything Rickie Lee Jones ever wrote and/or sang.

Have you ever tried to drag a piano up a flight of stairs?

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:57:39 PDT

We have – twice – and don’t recommend that you do.

Pianos are a pretty valuable asset at Vancouver Opera. In fact, we own and make use of over a dozen on a regular basis. When we moved into the O’Brian Centre two years ago, our collection came along. When our movers and technical crew realized that our new facility was both multi-level and devoid of any sort of lifting mechanism, they were forced to fall back on their creativity.

By “creativity”, we really mean “brute strength and blind luck”. We are fortunate to have both in ample supply at Vancouver Opera. That said, it wasn’t an ideal scenario, and there were a couple of close calls that brought a Monty Python sketch or two to the minds of many.

Since taking residence in the O’Brian Centre, we’ve maintained a commitment to ensuring that our facility – and the work it supports – is as accessible as possible to audiences both existing and new. This commitment has been realized to date in many ways: open houses, community engagement events, cross-cultural public lectures and other contextual initiatives that bring Vancouver Opera’s artistry and educational programming to the forefront of our new community. Over the past year, we’ve seen well over one thousand individuals from many backgrounds cross the O’Brian Centre’s threshold in response to these initiatives.

In the midst of all of this activity, even more is happening behind the scenes – such as the continuous up-fitting of

the O’Brian Centre. Now that we’re officially in Phase Three of this project, its focus has shifted to something VO takes very seriously: accessibility.

The work currently being done in the Martha Lou Henley Rehearsal Hall will substantially increase the community’s access to our facility. In large part thanks to significant recent investments from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund – itself a project arm of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the federal government department responsible for arts and culture in Canada – and the City of Vancouver’s Cultural Infrastructure Grant Program, we are about to install an exterior elevator at the O’Brian Centre. This elevator will have its work cut out for it once it’s up and running: in addition to regularly moving bulky equipment (such as those pianos – as well as other delicate musical instruments), the elevator will ensure that our facility is accessible to individuals of all ages and mobility levels. As our Ticket Centre happens to be located on the second floor of the O’Brian Centre, this is a big deal!

Construction and installation of this elevator is already underway, and should be completed by late Fall of 2013. VO staffers are working with project leaders, consultants and cultural planners throughout the community so as to ensure that this project is completed on time, on budget and with minimal impact on the company’s day-to-day operations. Taking full residence in the O’Brian Centre has been an intensive and involved process that continues to depend on the commitment of the Opera’s many stakeholders: VO’s staff and Board, our patrons, our supporters and the community at large.

In many ways, our decision to relocate to the O’Brian Centre can be viewed from the same perspective you might take with regard to dragging those two pianos up a flight of stairs: both processes involve a lot of hard work and heavy lifting, and you do run the risk of bruising more than your ego. But, when many hands are doing the lifting, each step of the way, the load becomes that much easier to bear.

Joseph Bardsley
Development Manager, Grants & Proposals

VO + ECU

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:04:21 PDT

Melissa at
Emily Carr University

Today was a beautiful day to head to Granville Island for our first of three partnership sessions with Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

Annie Mack, VO's Graphic Designer and I are working with illustration students in ECU's Professional Applications class to create an illustration for Vancouver Opera In Schools' 2013-2014 production of The Barber of Barkerville.

Annie with students
reviewing samples of VOIS materials

For the first class we met with students and presented our VOIS illustration brief. In next week's class we'll review concept sketches and have an in class critique and feedback session. By week three we will have selected an artist from the submitted revised illustrations.

It's a fun and fast process. The illustration will be used right away for The Barber of Barkerville marketing materials, and you'll spy them soon in our house program for our mainstage production of Tea: A Mirror of Soul.

-Melissa Tsang, VOIS Manager

Earlier recognition of our First Nations Magic Flute

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:43:19 PST

As we prepare for the opening performance of The Magic Flute this Saturday, I was reviewing some material from our premiere of the work in 2007. I came across two letters written to us by then-Lieutenant Governor The Honourable Iona Campagnolo, sent to us after she attended the opening performance.
I was as moved when I read these letters again as I was when they were first received; I felt then - and feel now - that she captured the essence of our project to fuse Coast Salish culture with Mozart's great work from the 18th Century. Here are quotes from those letters:

"I commend [Vancouver Opera] for your leadership and courage and for ... creating an unforgettable setting.... You have made a significant contribution to honouring the millennial history of British Columbia-based First Nations culture with this production, marking a departure from a history of which most of us are less than proud."

In a letter to the company's Chair of the Board she wrote:

"...we were ... honoured to understand the immense cultural gifts both of western society and of the coastal First Nations who have made this land we now share their home since 'time immemorial'."

- James Wright
General Director, Vancouver Opera

Behind the Scenes at Magic Flute

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:20:01 PST

VO's Technical Director Dan Paterson shows us the end result of many hours troubleshooting our WATCHOUT computer. This production's HD projections require video to be sent to three outputs. Dan's video card can handle that but... as always with computers... it wasn't very easy to get it to work.

Video & Projection Designer Sean Nieuwenhuis, Projectionist Brad Dobbs, Assistant Videographer Tobie Caplette and Dan spent 5 hours trying to solve the issue. Finally they brought in Dan's former driver and IT whiz kid, Aemil Folgizan, to trouble shoot and eventually fix the problem.

Here's 45 second test video of the Low Smoke Generator Waterfall Effect we will be using in The Magic Flute.

The first blast of fog wasn't getting the CO2 delivered properly so it just comes blasting out, but at the 28 second mark the fog begins to behave the way we want it to in the show.

And here are two pretty cool pictures of the “Bell” Box which has been updated and re-visioned for this show to light up wirelessly and be illuminated from within whenever it is being used.

- Dan Paterson

Technical Director, Vancouver Opera

Prepping for the Opera America Conference in Vancouver

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:05:32 PST

Bruce Wright, James Wright and Marc Scorca

Vancouver Opera is hosting the Opera America international conference May 8-11, preceded by the Opera.ca Colloquium on Canadian Co-production May 6 and 7.

More than 400 opera professionals, trustees and volunteers will come to Vancouver, which last hosted the conference in 1999.

In preparation for the conference, OperaAmerica President and CEO Marc Scorca visited Vancouver last Thursday and Friday for a "site visit", checking out venues, including the Hyatt Hotel, the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, and other sites.

He met with Vancouver Opera's senior management team as well as VO board members. He also timed the walk from one venue to another as many of the delegates will do - and he did so in the midst of Friday's deluge. In spite of Thursday and Friday's weather, Scorca pronounced himself extremely excited about the conference returning to Vancouver later this spring!

Even with a heavy schedule off site visit to-dos, he managed to squeeze in a scrumptious dinner at Kirin Restaurant on Alberni Street with Vancouver Foundation Chair Bruce Wright and VO's James Wright before taking the red-eye back to New York City Friday night.

- James Wright
General Director, Vancouver Opera

Could you be our next Executive Assistant?

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 11:46:51 PST

Another position is available here at VO: Executive Assistant.

Employment Type: Full Time

Reporting to the General Director, the Executive Assistant assists the General Director by ensuring smooth coordination of meetings, travel, and information, and by keeping efficient records and files; acts as secretary and liaison to the Board of Directors and its Committees; and coordinates the Annual General Meeting

RESPONSIBILITIES

For the General Director:
• Write, edit and word process correspondence, reports and other documents
• Maintain office files
• Arrange special staff and management meetings and coordinate the logistics
• Schedule appointments, meetings, travel arrangements, and other activities; maintain calendar
• Process and balance quarterly expense report of General Director. Reconcile report with accounts payable accountant
• Take notes at Board and Executive Committee meetings and at annual general meetings; transcribe, distribute; file
• Online research re media, government and other relevant sites
• Some graphics work in Microsoft Word and other software
• Scanning, electronic filing and file distribution
• Other duties as assigned

For the Board of Directors and its Committees:
• Take minutes at Board and Executive Committee meetings, and at the Annual General Meeting
• Draft minutes for approval by the Board Secretary
• Prepare and distribute meeting packages for Board and Executive Committee members
• Collate and deliver materials for distribution at Board meetings
• Arrange the logistics of Board meetings and Annual General Meetings
• Maintain Board orientation and information materials on the VO website
• Arrange Board orientation and committee meetings as required
• Liaise with and field inquiries from Board Directors
• Handle government filings on behalf of the Board
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:
• At least 2 years experiences as an executive assistant
• Fluent in spoken and written English
• Literate in MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and other programs
• Self-motivated and resourceful, with the proven ability to multi-task and operate successfully under tight deadlines and time pressures
• Energetic and enjoys a fast pace, dynamic, challenging and team-oriented work environment
• Strong writing, reading, listening and speaking communications skills
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills

COMPENSATION
• Commensurate with experience.
• Full time permanent employment status is subject to three months probation period performance assessment. Benefits subject to successful completion of probationary period.

REPORTS TO: General Director
DIRECT REPORTS: None
LIAISES WITH: Chair of the Board, and Board of Directors of the Vancouver Opera Association, and Vancouver Opera Foundation. Executive Committee, Committee on Directors; Vancouver Opera Guild President. All staff, particularly the Directors of departments.

TO APPLY:
Please submit cover letter and resume by mail or email to:
Human Resources
Vancouver Opera
1945 McLean Drive
Vancouver, BC V5N 3J7
recruiting@vancouveropera.ca
Deadline: January 23 2013
No telephone calls, please. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview.

VO is hiring!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:41:02 PST

We're looking for a Telemarketing Manager!

Employment Type: Full Time

Preferred Start Date: March 18, 2013

Vancouver Opera is Canada’s second largest opera company and is regarded nationally and internationally for the quality of its performances, for its education programs, and for its exemplary community-engagement initiatives. Currently in its 53rd season, VO produces four mainstage productions a year, along with a production that tours extensively to schools and community venues throughout B.C. The company enjoys the support of government at all levels, as well as that of foundations, corporations, individual donors and sponsors, and thousands of dedicated subscribers and ticket buyers.

DESCRIPTION
Vancouver Opera seeks an experienced telemarketing/telefunding professional to join its marketing team. Reporting to the Director of Marketing, and working closely with VO Ticket Centre, Marketing, and Development staff, the Telemarketing Manager is responsible for the management of Vancouver Opera’s telemarketing and telefunding callers and for the successful execution of all Vancouver Opera telephone campaigns.

JOB SUMMARY:
- Setting and achieving sales goals
- Overseeing the operation of the call centre and telemarketing/telefunding callers on all aspects of recruitment, hiring, training, scheduling, coaching, motivation and discipline
- Preparing scripts for individual campaigns
- Planning, organizing, and managing the optimal use of sales leads
- Managing the calling schedule in order to maximize contact rates
- With the VO Ticket Centre, coordinating sales fulfillment to ensure excellent customer service
- Recording and reporting sales and caller results in an accurate, consistent, regular, timely manner
- Providing analysis and strategy on all campaigns, based on data

QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS
- At least three years’ experience as a telemarketer/telefunder in the arts
- Considerable experience as a team leader/manager
- Knowledge and skill in best practices of telemarketing, telefunding and customer service.
- Strong management, leadership and interpersonal skills that inspire callers to achieve consistently high results individually and as a team;
- Strong organizational skills in planning and managing schedules;
- Strategic focus on how to utilize resources and opportunities to maximize results
- Exceptional oral, written and computer skills;
- Proven proficiency with data retrieval, reporting and analysis
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, Outlook) and databases
- Knowledge of Tessitura would be an asset.

Salary: Commensurate with experience; generous benefits package provided.

Please send a letter and resume by mail or email to:
Doug Tuck
Director of Marketing
Vancouver Opera
1945 McLean Drive
Vancouver, BC V5N 3J7
dtuckvancouveropera.ca
NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE

We thank everyone who applies. Only those who are selected for an interview will be contacted.

The position may be offered before the deadline if the right candidate is identified.

A Cities Summit in Kansas City

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:10:12 PST

I was honoured to be asked to participate recently in a conference in Kansas City, Missouri, The New American City, produced by the Vancouver outfit CityAge. The two-day conference billed itself as an opportunity “to discuss how to make our cities engines of innovation and job creation.” The Mayor of Kansas City, Sly James, promised “national and international dialogue on building – and rebuilding – our cities for the 21^st Century”.

The two days were packed with panel discussions on a broad range of topics, including infrastructure, urban services and governance, technology’s role in re-shaping the 21^st Century city, transportation, and more. I am pleased that there was a session entitled “Culture Cities: A Catalyst for a Resilient Community and Economy,” in which I participated. I was joined by a the director of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (KC), a representative of the Mayor of Chattanooga, and a principal consultant of Lord Cultural Resources (Chicago). The thrust of our session was why it is important for major cultural institutions to do a better job of reflecting all segments of their communities, how that can result in more vibrant culture throughout the community – including resilient organizations of all sizes – and how this can be accomplished.

These were big topics with no easy “sound bite” answers. We all contributed examples of our work that we felt were moving our organizations and communities in the right direction. I talked especially about Vancouver Opera’s First Nations-inspired Magic Flute and our opera for young people, Naomi’s Road, which told the story of a Japanese Canadian family during the World War II Internment. I made the point that regional organizations will thrive if they are able to “localize” their work and demonstrate its relevancy to our contemporary, regional audience.

In addition to our session on culture and the arts, each day was opened with a musical performance: day one was the jazz saxophonist Bobby Watson and day two was a Mozart concert performed by members of the Kansas City Symphony.

I was very pleased to see the reaction from the 500+ attendees both to the panel on culture and the musical presentations; there seemed to be universal recognition that culture has a large role in defining a city, and must take its rightful place alongside the other elements of city- (and I would add province-) building.

James W. Wright
General Director (on sabbatical)

All I want for Christmas is more time

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 11:16:28 PST

Melissa Tsang

Last week a young lad came to the theatre with his 80 year-old grandmother. The next day he wrote us to say it was his first opera, he had a great time and he would most definitely be back.

I couldn't help thinking about all of the families who came to see the show together. There were teens with parents, little ones with grandparents. For some it was a first time introduction to a new life experience. For others, it was an opportunity to share with their family a kind of experience that they’ve loved for a lifetime.

I've never ever seen a show with any of my grandparents before, and now only one of my grandparents remains alive. How terribly sad it feels to not share something that you love with the people you love.

This Christmas, give your family and friends the gift of shared time and shared love. If you wait until next year, it may be too late.

- Melissa Tsang
Manager, Vancouver Opera In Schools

A satisfied patron!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 15:53:51 PST

Here's a nice letter we received from a happy patron!

I attended Pirates of Penzance last Thursday night and it was the highlight of...my month.

At the least.

It was so well executed and so much fun. I had fun. Fun! What a concept!

It was uplifting, heartening.

It lightened my outlook.

I couldn’t get enough of Christopher Gaze, and wanted more more more of the Modern Major General song.

I so appreciated the “take heart, take heart” section at the end.

Frederick was a complete babe. Hot.

The program was well written, I very much appreciated the write up with the words of the Modern Major General, and humourous footnotes. And the write up by Mr. Forst.

It was so lovely to have a production like this to lighten my load, it helps one out of the gloom and oppression and heaviness of life.

Also – booking the tickets through your office was also a pleasure. A pleasure. I got a real person on the phone, first of all. Without any trouble. And not only that, the real person was very helpful, considerate, understanding, genuine. And helped me get great seats.

You obviously have a well run outfit going there.

I am not into Opera, and sadly from your perspective this little venture won’t get me coming to your regular productions. Unless you do more musicals, which of course ain’t Opera.

But who cares! You made me so happy and did (one of the things)one hopes one can do through performance and the arts – uplift the human spirit.

We hope you enjoyed Pirates as much as this patron did!

PNE Livestock Building Plaque Presentation

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 11:06:07 PST

On Saturday, I attended the Vancouver Heritage Foundation Places that Matter PNE Livestock Building Plaque Presentation & Parks Canada Japanese Canadian Internment Plaque Remounting Presentation at Hastings Park.

The event at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver coincides with the 70th anniversary year of the internment of Japanese Canadians. The afternoon included an unveiling of a plaque at the Livestock Building, a reading of the Parks Canada Japanese Internment Plaque in Momiji Gardens, and information and story sharing.

VO subscriber and ORT donor, Ms. Ellen Crowe-Swords in a photo with the newly unveiled plaque. Ellen was interned at the Livestock Building when she was 3 months old.

I was most moved when Mary Ohara shared her memories of being interned as a child at Hastings Park. She described how while there she was there, she contracted the mumps. At the time they had cleared out the livestock basement by pushing the coal to the side. The children were put there for 10 days, so that they wouldn't spread the disease. She recalled the dungeon-like room, and as an older child, looking after the young children aged 5, 6 and 7, who were confused and scared without their mothers. I had the chance to meet Mary later that afternoon. She was very happy to hear that VO is sharing Joy Kogawa's story of Naomi's Road and at the same time, helping to educate children about this significant part of history. Joy was also there to witness the plaque unveiling that afternoon.

Ellen Crowe-Swords (VO subscriber/ORT donor), Ann-Marie Metten (Historic Joy Kogawa House), Joy Kogawa (author of Naomi's Road and Obasan; was interned to the BC interior during World War II).

Todd Wong provided musical entertainment at the end of the afternoon. Todd is the president of the Historic Joy Kogawa House.

What united attendees - which included representatives from the Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens' Association, Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, Vancouver Japanese Language School, Powell Street Festival Society, Vancouver Japanese Gardeners Association, Vancouver Heritage Foundation, City of Vancouver, National Association of Japanese Canadians and many other members of the Japanese Canadian community - was the unified message of hope that the history and stories be preserved, not forgotten, and that these stories continue to be shared with our children and future generations so that such unjust actions never happen again.

MLA Naomi Yamamoto who, earlier this year, introduced the motion to to Japanese Canadians for the internment.

Places that Matter plaque text at the Livestock Building

Over 3,000 Japanese Canadian women, children and tuberculosis patients were unjustly detained here under traumatic and deplorable conditions between March 1942 - March 1943. A public facility since 1929, the Livestock Building gained national historic significance as a federally authorized wartime marshalling site. The incarceration, confiscation of property and forced dispersal from the coast of 22,000 innocent Japanese Canadians from 1942-1949 was officially acknowledged as unjust by Canada in 1988.

In commemoration of all Japanese Canadians Interned

Gama (Endurance) - Giri (Duty) - Ganbare (Perseverance)

Visit the Places That Matter Facebook page for more photos and to see both plaques.

At the event, I also met Brendan Uegama, filmmaker of the award winning short film, Henry's Glasses, a story based on the Japanese Canadian internment. Brendan attended the event with his father who was interned to the Kootenays.

Naomi's Road tours BC again in April-May 2013. Find moreinformation here, or download the study guide.

- Melissa Tsang, Vancouver Opera in Schools Manager

Pirates Previews!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 11:19:46 PST

Everyone's excited about Pirates! Here are some links to the latest previews.

G&S Comic Opera a Treasure
Stuart Derdeyn's write-up in The Province

At Play with Pirates' Roger Honeywell
Janet Smith interviews our Frederic in The Straight

A Timeless Shot Across the Bow
David Gordon Duke's preview in The Sun

Christopher Gaze's "Technique and Elbow Grease"
in The Sun

A Proclamation

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 14:42:27 PST

A Proclamation

Whereas we are pirates, or as close as you are going to get in these parts.

And whereas some of the better looking of us are performing in Vancouver Opera’s production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, December 1^st to 9^th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, directed by andstarring Christopher Gaze, and featuring the amazing Judith Forst as Ruth, tickets at www.vancouveropera.ca

And whereas we believe in shameless self-promotion

And whereas pirates have certain standards

And whereas we have observed that the commuter ferries that ply these waters are in a word wimpy

And whereas the Aquabuses in particular, painted as they are with rainbow colours, are an embarrassment

And whereas pirates rule the sea and coastal waters

And whereas “False Creek” is a weird name, and who thought of it anyway?

Now therefore we hereby declare that we are seizing this vessel in the name of pirates and light opera everywhere

And we demand that the skipper of this vessel give up command of his ship – pah! – TUB! forthwith.

And we do say, as one voice, Arrrrr!!

(Photos and video coming soon!)

Production Notes

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:00:28 PST

by Graham Forst

The Pirates of Penzance was Gilbert & Sullivan’s fifth collaboration, written in 1879, one year after the opening of the greatly successful HMS Pinafore. It is the third most performed of the G & S collaborations, behind only The Mikado and Pinafore.

From the outset, Pirates was a huge success, and it has come to be thought of as containing Sullivan’s best score. After the London premiere in April of 1880 (Pirates actually had its world premiere in New York on New Year’s Eve 1879 with an eye to securing American copyright), contemporary critics said of Pirates thatits verse and music “were of simultaneous growth, so closely and firmly are they interwoven” that it “presented a clear advance upon its precursors, containing more variety, marked character, and careful workmanship.”

William Schwenk Gilbert (1836-1911) and Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) were originally brought together in 1875 by the impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte, with the intention of developing

a more “proper” or, in a word, “English” alternative to the“naughty” French operettas of Jacques Offenbach and other composers in the French opéra comique tradition. (Just compare Pinafore and Mikado to Orpheus in the Underworld or La Belle Hélène to see how radically G & S converted the genre of light opera!) G & S’s comic operas differ from their French predecessors

in another important way: whereas the French operettas tended towards pure frivolous escapism and sentimentality, G & S’s operettas are primarily satiric, taking on Victorian sexual repression (for example Frederic's reaction to seeing the Major-General's daughters for the first time—and vice versa!), justice, duty, class structure, Victorian “earnestness” and self-righteousness, moralism, and of course politics—all of which we find in G & S’s contemporaries as well: Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Dickens of course, and Shaw not too long after. The enormous popularity of the journal Punch further attests to the growing popularity of satire in Victoria’s time. Also, G & S’s work sublimely deflated the syrupy romanticism of Johann Strauss, and in doing so caught a wave as the middle and upper classes in England were becoming ready to laugh at themselves.

The G & S formula was simple: start with a ridiculous premise and work out the logical consequences. Mike Leigh, the great British film director (who wrote and directed the magnificent biopic of G & S, Topsy Turvy) said it best: “With great fluidity and freedom, [Gilbert] continually challenges our natural expectations. First, within the framework of the story, he makes bizarre things happen, and turns the world on its head. Thus the Learned Judge marries the Plaintiff, the soldiers metamorphose into aesthetes, and so on, and nearly every opera is resolved by a deft moving of the goalposts.... His genius is to fuse opposites with an imperceptible sleight of hand, to blend the surreal with the real, and the caricature with the natural. In other words, to tell a perfectly outrageous story in a completely deadpan way.” Pirates picks up this “topsy-turvy” formula as noblemen-become-pirates-become-noblemen without straining our credulity (which we’ve already parked at the door), while farcically deflating English class-consciousness and obsessive obedience to “duty”. (The subtitle of Pirates is, satirically enough, “The Slave of Duty”.) Noel Coward spoke for much of his generation when he recalled, “I was born into a generation that still took light music seriously. The lyrics were hummed and strummed into my consciousness at an early age. My father sang them, my mother played them, my nurse breathed them through her teeth. My aunts and uncles sang them singly and in unison at the slightest provocation.” And it’s easy to predict there will be few of us tonight who don’t leave our beautiful Queen Elizabeth Theatre like Coward’s nurse, or our own parents, breathing this great score through our teeth, and just possibly singing "Poor Wand'ring One" or "When a Felon's not Engaged in his Employment" to our children and grandchildren, ensuring that this great tradition of English light opera will continue through the years.

Dr. Graham Forst teaches literature, philosophy and opera history at the Continuing Education programs at both the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University. In the summer, he lectures on opera history at the Banff Centre. He is a moderator of Simon Fraser

University’s popular Philosophers’ Cafes. He is married to our “Ruth,” mezzo-soprano Judith Forst.

Musical Notes from Kinza Tyrrell

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:56:11 PST

Dr. Kinza Tyrrell

When I mention the names Gilbert & Sullivan – or the more commonly abbreviated G & S – most of us can immediately recall text and melodies from one of their fourteen collaborations. G & S are as familiar as A&W and H&M. The Pirates of Penzance was written in 1879 on the heels of the highly successful HMS Pinafore. The title was meant to jab at copyright thieves who pirated Pinafore in the USA after its British premiere. Gilbert chose the quiet cove of Penzance on the west coast of England, suspecting it would be the last place they would have set foot. Ironically, research now reveals that Turkish pirates frequently raided Penzance Cove in medieval times and for centuries afterward!

Sullivan wrote the music to Act 2 first. Act 1 existed only in sketches. He travelled to America mid-composition for the Pinafore tour, but arrived in the US without the Act 1 sketches. (Did British Airways lose his luggage? Or was it because he didn’t have an iPad or a memory stick!). He had to rewrite the Act 1 music from memory! And to make matters worse, dwindling Pinafore ticket sales meant that the premiere of Pirates would be earlier than planned.

The Pirates Overture – a medley of memorable tunes that weave throughout the entire operetta – was completed only the night before the premiere. The basic structure is a sandwich: a lively opening, a slow middle section, followed by a lively ending. After that, there is an array of arias, accompanied recitative, duets, trios, and large ensembles involving chorus, with a smattering of spoken text interspersed throughout. Essentially an eclectic, Sullivan was inspired by opera, ballads, choral and church music. He even parodied classical composers ranging from Mozart to Verdi. When we first meet Mabel, for instance, "Poor Wand'ring One" is an example of a quick Gounod waltz. The complicated and clever patter scenes – which remind us of Mozart, Donizetti and Rossini – split our sides with humour. Then there is the bumbling Police Force chant in Act 2 – Anglican Church style. And we are transported to Schubertiade evenings when the Major-General sings his lullaby a là "Auf dem Wasser zu Singen".

Sullivan wrote to his mother three weeks before Pirates opened: “I think it will be a great success, for it is exquisitely funny, and the music is strikingly tuneful and catching.” And two days after the New York premiere: “The music is infinitely superior in every way to Pinafore – ‘tunier’ and more developed, of a higher class altogether. I think that in time it will be very popular.” His prediction came true. Sullivan was a master at crafting inventive and skillful melodies that instantly captured the dramatic intent of Gilbert’s text.

Arthur Sullivan was knighted in 1883 for his musical contributions and, after his death, regarded as the finest British composer of the 19th century. He inspired future generations of musical theatre composers (Hammerstein, Lloyd Webber and others) and his music is still frequently performed and recorded today by groups such as Welsh National Opera, the London Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic and the Glyndebourne Festival. And – of course – pastiches continue to surface in sitcoms, movies and on the internet: a favourite being “I am the very model of a modern US President” starring Ron Butler as Barack Obama.

Sit back and enjoy being tickled by “a fugue of which [you’ve] heard the music’s din afore” – G & S style!

Dr. Kinza Tyrrell is VO's Principal Répétiteur and Assistant Chorus Director. She is also Music Director of Vancouver Opera In Schools and Vancouver Summer Opera Studio, and Répétiteur at Opera Nuova, Centre for Opera Studies in Italy (COSI), and Opera As Theatre at The Banff Centre.

20 Questions with Christopher Gaze

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 12:14:36 PST

Christopher Gaze, O.B.C.

You probably know him best at the Artistic Director of Bard on the Beach... but you've very likely heard his voice in cartoon and commercials, seen him at the VSO's Tea & Trumpets serices, and maybe even watched him in a TED Talk.

And now you can see him onstage in our Pirates of Penzance, as he directs AND plays Major-General Stanley! Here are 20 Questions with Christopher Gaze.

Guilty musical pleasure?
The indie group “Stars”.

Best place to practice a monologue?
In the car.
What is your idea of earthly happiness?
Watching the world rugby 7-a-side tournament in Hong Kong.

Who are your favourite heroes/heroines of fiction?
Richard Hannay (the fictional character- a secret agent and army officer - created by Scottish novelist John Buchan) and George (Georgina to her parents) from Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five - she was the first heroine I encountered as a boy.

To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
A sweet tooth.

Who are your favourite characters in history?
Shakespeare, Elizabeth I and Churchill.

Stars!

Who are your favourite heroes/heroines in real life?
Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Who is your favourite author?
Thomas Hardy and DH Lawrence.

Your favourite musician?
My good chum Maestro Bramwell Tovey.

Your favourite composer?
Today - Arthur Sullivan!

What quality do you most admire in a person?
Kindness.

Your favourite virtue?
Decency.

Your favourite occupation?
Hugging my wife, Jennifer.

What did you want to be as a child?
A first class cricketer.

Your most marked characteristic?
My positive nature.

What do you most value in your friends?
Their honesty and loyalty.

For what would you like to be remembered?
As a kind man.

What natural gift would you most like to possess?
Fantastic co-ordination!

What is your motto?
It’s all good.

What role would you like to play? (that you have not already)
Sir Joseph Porter in HMS Pinafore.

Summer BMW Lotter Winner!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 12:32:23 PST

Congratulations to Boyd Topham of Vancouver! Boyd is the grand prize winner of our BMW lottery.

Boyd will take home his choice of a 2013 BMW 128i Cabriolet, 328i Sportline Sedan or $50,000 cash.

You could be next! Our next lottery is already up and running:

You could win a 2013 Audi S4 Sedan, A5 Coupe Premium, Q5 Cross-over SUV or $50,000 cash. Click here for more details and to enter.

Magic Flute Manga - the final instalment!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:50:05 PST

And here's the thrilling conclusion to our Magic Flute Manga!

Click to enlarge!

Next week we'll start posting the final manga of the season: Tea: A Mirror of Soul.
Missed some? Want to see them all again? Check out ALL the manga - including our archive - at OperaLive!

We Have A Winner!

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 10:29:38 PDT


VO Board Member Linda Kaser draws the lucky winner!

Trick or treat! No trick here – Boyd Topham of Vancouver just won $50,000 in our Grand Prize BMW lottery!

Congratulations to Boyd and lucky ticket number 2808! Thanks everyone who supported our raffle, and, no rest for the wicked, we have a new lottery to win a 2013 Audi or Cash starting up right away November 1^st, so you could be next!

- Lyndsay MacAulay, Lotteries Promotions Manager

Naomi's Road

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:50:31 PDT

Have you ever been to a Vancouver Opera In Schools performance?

VOIS is our touring program that brings opera to childen in different communities across the province. It's the largest opera school touring program in Canada, and for over 40 years, has introduced more than 1.5 million young people and their families to the power and beauty of opera in their own schools and communities.

VOIS tours include an energetic cast of professional singers with sets, props, costumes and piano accompaniment.... all stuffed into a van!

On tour right now:

Naomi's Road Composed by Ramona Luengen. Libretto by Ann Hodges.
Based on the novel Naomi's Road by Joy Kogawa.
Originally Commissioned by Vancouver Opera for Vancouver Opera In Schools 2005-2006.

Naomi’s Road is the coming-of-age story of a young Japanese-Canadian girl’s experiences as her family is moved from Vancouver to an internment camp in the interior of B.C.

In this sensitive, visually evocative production Naomi and her older brother Stephen struggle with the harshness of war, racism, bullying and loss of family.

Ultimately brother and sister triumph over their fears and discover the gifts that sustain them, music, words and love. Their resilience of spirit offers hope for the future and will lead audiences to discover the power of understanding and the beauty of compassion.

Would you like a chance to see Naomi's Road?

VOIS will be performing Naomi's Road at the Vancouver Opera Guild's fundraiser:

Sunday, November 4
2:00pm
Vancouver Academy of Music
1270 Chestnut Street, Vancouver

Tickets are $12 and available at the door, or in advance from 604-874-4042 or 604-738-2034 or lorehshaw.ca

There will be door prizes, a raffle, a silent auction and refreshments!

Learn more about the Vancouver Opera Guild here.Photo (Modified from the original): Japanese-Canadians being relocated to camps in the interior of British Columbia, 1942. Source: Library and Archives Canada/British Columbia Securities Commission collection/C-057249

La Bohème: An Earth-Moving Experience

clibby@vancouveropera.ca — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:28:45 PDT

We received this great letter from a VO patron today:

Hi Folks,
I am a season subscriber and attended the Saturday performance of La Boheme.

In Act One I noticed that the sloping set piece on the right side (with the window) was shaking quite a lot from side to side. It puzzled me that a performer's movements could so easily shake a well-designed set, and it started quite suddenly.

On the way home I heard of the Haida Gwaii earthquake, which was felt right about at that time (8:05 plus the wave travel time). The earthquake apparently caused swaying in other local buildings. So, as an Earth Scientist I put two and two together, and will suggest that we all saw the earthquake's effects on stage, though we didn't know it at the time.

Who knew that La Boheme would shake the Earth to this extent!

Best wishes,
Michael

Earth Scientist and VO subscriber Michael emerges from
under a lab table at last year's Great BC Shakeout
photo: The Royal City Record