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Feb.27,2005 -Mar.6,2005 |
Six Operas for the New Season
Exciting, unique performances in the works at new COC location
Originally Published: 2005-02-06
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Macbeth
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The Canadian Opera Company unveiled the program for its 2005/2006 season, which will be performed in COC's new home, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, still under construction.
The list includes six operas, four new productions and two reruns from previous COC seasons: Verdi's Macbeth; Bizet's Carmen; Händel's Rodelinda; Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung, from the Ring Cycle; Bellini's Norma; and Berg's Wozzeck.
The season opens on September 22 with Macbeth, followed on September 29 by Carmen and on October 18 by Rodelinda. On January 30, 2006, Götterdämmerung will be performed; Norma will be featured on March 30, and Wozzeck the following day.
Although two Italian operas are included in this remarkable lineup, there is no Italian singer or conductor, not even in a minor role. How can that be? Were they all fully booked up? Too expensive? Was the COC shopping around for less expensive performers?
This strange situation contrasts with declarations by COC general manager Richard Bradshaw, who said: "This season furthers COC's quest for artistic excellence; it is full of challenging, bold, creative work, and the audiences will love it. These operas will be warmly received in our new place at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts."
How can they produce an opera with no Italians in the cast, considering that the audience includes numerous Italians and that the very word "opera" implies Italy?
This will be the last year of performing at the Hummingbird Centre; the singers as well as the audiences will cease to be bothered by the Centre's poor acoustics.
Regarding the Four Seasons, this new theatre located at Queen and University follows European concepts with its horseshoe shape, and will seat 2,000 people who finally will be treated to exceptional sound, says the Canadian Opera Company.
The COC also announced that the 2005/2006 season will be somewhat different from the others. Usually, a season includes two productions per run, but due to the extraordinarily heavy demands posed by Götterdämmerung, the winter run will include only one. So, the season will have three operas in the autumn run, one in winter, and two in spring.
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