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The opera is set in a playground full of kids, |
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The Queen of the Night sends the noble prince Tami no on a quest to rescue her daughter patina from the tyrant Sarastro. Like any proper hero, Tamiko has a roguish sidekick, the birdcatcher Papageno, and magical gadgets for protection – a flute for Tamino and chimes for Papageno.
Tami no and Papageno soon discover a mysterious world in which Sarasota and the Queen are not what they seem. Our heroes face a series of trials and misunderstandings as they seek love and wisdom (and, for Papageno, food, comfort, and a girl). As Tamino successfully endures the trials of silence, fire, and water, he is inspired by Pamina and guided by her steadfast love.
What transforms this sophisticated, joyous adventure into one of the most prodigious masterworks in the repertoire is, of course, Mozart’s music. Encompassing infectious folk airs, sonorous majesty, and coloratura pyrotechnics, it is stunning in its variety and beauty. And with a story and characters that inspire and amuse, The Magic Flute has something for everyone. Sublime and bewitching, it is an opera to grow up with and to grow old with.
Pacific Opera is proud to present its first Magic Flute in over 20 years. Conductor Timothy Vernon and Director Glynis Leyshon team up with designer John Ferguson to bring us a production infused with the graceful spirit and elegance of fin-de-siècle Vienna and inspired by Otto Wagner’s art nouveau structures with their harmonious marriage of beauty and function.
The exceptional ensemble cast includes Canadian coloratura Aline Kutan as the Queen of the Night, a role she recently performed at Glyndebourne, along with POV favourite Gary Relyea as Sarastro, Shannon Mercer as Pamina, and Colin Ainsworth as Tamino.
Pacific Opera Victoria's Opera-in-Schools program presents an opera about bullying throughout May, 2008. Elijah's Kite, a new children's opera by Canadian creators James Rolfe, composer and Camyar Chai, librettist, will be performed for some 7,000 students in 30 elementary and middle schools on southern Vancouver Island.
The opera is set in a playground full of kids, where nine-year old Elijah is lonely and frightened of Big Billy Brett, the school bully. Elijah brings his favourite kite to school and dreams of flying away. Elijah soon meets Miriam, the new girl in school, who's not afraid of Billy, but she becomes a bully too and Elijah is once again on his own. By the end of the opera, the kids all learn how to turn something negative into something good, and discover that co-operation can make Elijah's kite fly.
Elijah's Kite, a co-production between the Manhattan School of Music and Toronto's Tapestry New Opera, premiered in New York City on April 9, 2006. It had its Canadian premiere in November 2006 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa for Governor General Michaëlle Jean and an audience of school children. Since then it has been performed for thousands of kids across Ontario, and this production will mark its West Coast premiere.
The opera was created in consultation with PREVNet (Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network), an active network of Canadian researchers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governments working together to promote safe and healthy relationships for all Canadian children and youth.
A study guide, developed by Katherine McKenney and Debra Pepler of York University in collaboration with Pat McCarthy, outlines classroom activities to animate discussion and build understanding about bullying, as well as about the role of arts and theatre in our lives.
In addition, Pacific Opera Victoria is working in partnership with the University of Victoria's Centre for Youth and Society, directed by Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater, to develop additional teacher training and classroom resources for the Elijah's Kite school tour. The two organizations are hosting workshops for local educators on April 9 and April 20, 2008, to discuss the opera and its relevance to teachers and students in elementary and middle schools.
The tour of Elijah's Kite marks the beginning of a new approach to POV's in-school programming. “Our Opera-in-the-schools program will deliver in three key areas," notes David Shefsiek, Pacific Opera Victoria's Executive Director. "It will support educators in their work in the classroom, demonstrate how the arts can highlight relevant issues that affect our lives, and continue to engage children in the power of opera.”
The Victoria Foundation's Vital Signs report shows that 30.5% of 18 year olds in the province do not graduate high school. Through the themes of Elijah's Kite, Pacific Opera Victoria hopes to make a contribution toward engendering a more hospitable environment in our classrooms and schoolyards.
Elijah's Kite features five pre-professional opera singers from Vancouver Island, and three musicians (piano, bass and percussion). The Opera-in-Schools tour forms a large part of POV's Young Artist Program, which also offers professional and career development opportunities to the five singers, with coaching and classes by vocal coach Theresa Turgeon, director and choreographer Jacques Lemay, Kathleen Brett, and others.
Elijah's Kite Company
Stage director: Alison Greene
Music director: Giuseppe Pietraroia
Stage designer: Ian Rye
Stage manager: Steve Barker
Cast: Isaiah Bell, Michaela Dickey, Aaron Ferguson, Kathryn Humphries and Tamara Rusque
Musicians: Susu Robin, Kelby MacNayr and Sean Drabitt
Designated school representatives interested in future Opera in Schools Presentations may contact Pacific Opera Victoria at 250-382-1641.
Pacific Opera Victoria presents the Canadian premiere of an American opera. Based on Lillian Hellman’s 1939 play The Little Foxes, with a sweeping cinematic score that blends jazz, ragtime, spirituals and blues with hints of Copland and Bernstein, Marc Blitzstein’s Regina is presented April 17, 19, 22, 24 and 26, 2008 at the Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton Street in Victoria.
Regina is performed in English with a running time of approximately 2 ½ hours plus two intermissions. All performances begin at 8 pm. Priced between $25 and $100, tickets are available from the Royal and McPherson Box Office at (250) 386-6121, or on-line at www.rmts.bc.ca. Student RUSH tickets for those presenting valid student identification are available at the door of the theatre, 45 minutes prior to each performance, subject to availability. RUSH tickets are $15, inclusive of all box office charges.
Pacific Opera Victoria provides a fresh, new experience for audiences with the Canadian premiere of Marc Blitztein’s Regina. Based on Lillian Hellman’s 1939 play, The Little Foxes, Regina is presented April 17, 19, 22, 24 and 26, 2008 at Victoria’s Royal Theatre.
Regina tells the gloriously toxic tale of a nouveau riche southern family who have fuelled their greed through cynical marriages, the exploitation of workers, and now theft and murder. Regina Giddens and her two brothers, Ben and Oscar Hubbard, scheme for money and power. When her ailing husband Horace opposes her plans, Regina denies him his heart medication and he dies of a heart attack. Their daughter Alexandra, realizing the true cause of Horace’s death, finds the strength to leave her mother. Having double-crossed her brothers as well, Regina is left wealthy but alone.
Regina premiered on Broadway in 1949 to critical acclaim, but most agree that this work really belongs in the opera house. With its sweeping cinematic score that blends jazz, ragtime, spirituals and blues with hints of Copland and Bernstein, Regina is drenched in the language and music of America circa 1900. Blitzstein himself explained, “I wanted to write something as real musically to Americans as Italian opera is to the Italians”.
Timothy Vernon conducts this Canadian premiere, which will be recorded by CBC Radio for future broadcast on “Saturday Afternoon at the Opera”. Maestro Vernon has received national honours for his leadership in Canadian opera. His great musical acumen and passion have guided Pacific Opera Victoria since the company’s inception, and his unique ability to interpret new and existing works has engaged the community and made POV a nationally recognized symbol of artistic excellence. Glynis Leyshon, Artistic Director of the Vancouver Playhouse and former Artistic Director of the Belfry Theatre, returns to Victoria to direct the production with lighting designer Alan Brodie, costume designer Erin Macklem and choreographer Anne Wootten. Pam Johnson (POV’s 1999 Don Giovanni) is creating a set that evokes the languid nostalgia of the American South. This made-by-POV production of Regina will be presented by Utah Opera in January 2009.
Tallulah Bankhead described the role of Regina Giddens, which she created on Broadway, as “etched in acid”. Her sensational performance in the stage play The Little Foxes was followed by Bette Davis’s Oscar-nominated portrayal in the 1941 film. “Regina is a tour-de-force for an actor and requires no less intensity from a singer”, declares Timothy Vernon, Artistic Director of Pacific Opera Victoria. “We have contracted the finest opera actors for this Canadian premiere, many of whom have never performed with Pacific Opera Victoria, and we are especially delighted to announce that Kimberly Barber will make both her role and POV debut as Regina.”
Kimberly Barber has performed throughout the world and is acclaimed for the power and beauty of her voice and the intelligence and intensity of her acting. She performs opposite another newcomer to POV, Dean Elzinga, as Horace Giddens. Mr. Elzinga has impressed the New York Times with the “mesmerizing dramatic intensity” of his performances. They are joined by Robyn Driedger-Klassen as their daughter, Alexandra, and by Kathleen Brett (POV’s Roméo et Juliette) as Birdie, Tracie Luck as Addie, Doug MacNaughton (POV’s The Tempest) and Gregory Dahl (POV’s Don Giovanni) as Ben and Oscar, Lawrence Wiliford as Leo and DeAndre Simmons as Cal. Victoria’s jazz diva, Louise Rose, makes her POV debut as the appropriately named Jazz.
For more information, please contact Pacific Opera Victoria at (250) 385-0222. For additional information and to arrange interviews, please contact Heather Jeliazkov at (250) 888-3938 or ovationpr@shaw.ca.
Contact Us
Pacific Opera Victoria
1815 Blanchard Street, Suite 500
Victoria, BC V8T 5A4
Box Office 250.385.0222
Phone 250.382.1641
Fax 250.382.4944 |
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