Review: (Vancouver / Opera) Stickboy

(photo: Tim Matheson)

Almost
by Jay Catterson, Editor, Dance

Stickboy, the new work being presented by Vancouver Opera is based on spoken word artist Shane Koyczan's novel about a boy who gets bullied by his peers, and the effects of bullying on himself and those around him. Koyczan returns to provide the libretto, with music by Neil Weisensel. 

Now is it really an opera, and were they successful in bringing this story to the stage? This show is more multi-media performance art in the style of opera rather than a true opera, and at times the show brilliantly works, but most of the time it did not. The music by Neil Weisensel was evocatively lush, and his score is performed by a brilliant cast. However, the major problems lie with Koyczan's libretto. The audience is immediately thrust into a scene where Boy (brilliantly performed by tenor Sunny Shams) is being bullied by a bunch of schoolkids in a snowy playground, and similar bullying scenes occur so frequently throughout the first and second acts that we don't really have a chance to empathize with Boy's character. If they excised a few of these scenes to give the story (and the audience) a chance to breathe, perhaps spacing out Boy's journey with a few more moments of joy, we would really feel the impact of those horrific bullying scenes more.

Review: (Vancouver) Carmen (Opera)

(photo by Tim Matheson)

Inspired (and Flawed)
by Jay Catterson

After a long and languid summer break, the 2014-2015 Vancouver Opera season opened on Saturday night with the sure-fire opera hit, Georges Bizet's Carmen. This was a great move on the part of Vancouver Opera to reinvigorate interest in the company, and the music is recognizable enough for many opera newcomers to feel a sense of comfort. In fact, it seems like the company has reinvigorated their brand, with a freshly minted logo and show artwork that reflects a fresh, contemporary opera company that is both relevant and relatable.

First-Person: Director Joel Ivany on Carmen (Vancouver Opera)

Michel St. Aubin's costume design

Conquering Carmen (x 2)
by Joel Ivany

Carmen is a stage director's dream. This piece has it all. Rich characters, a juicy story and tunes that seep into our minds and hearts.  

This is the first production of Carmen that I've had the pleasure to direct and I'm also excited to be making my debut with one of Canada’s great opera companies, Vancouver Opera.

Review: (Vancouver) Albert Herring

(photo by David Cooper)

A Birthday Aptly Celebrated
by Jay Catterson

The Vancouver Opera, in collaboration with Pacific Opera Victoria, presents Benjamin Britten's 1947 operatic parody of English village life, 'Albert Herring'. For those unfamiliar with the plot, the story begins with the May Queen Committee of the town of Loxford, led by the autocratic Lady Billows (Sally Dibblee), desperately seeking out a pious girl (read: virgin) to be Queen of the May. When their search seems rather hopeless, Police Superintendent Budd (Giles Tomkins) suggests that they choose a King of the May instead; in this case, Albert Herring (Lawrence Wiliford), the awkward, sheltered boy who spends most of his time working at his mother's greengrocery. The committee unanimously chooses Herring to be their first ever King of the May, and Lady Billows revels in the chance to use Herring's example to teach the Loxford girls a lesson. Before Herring's coronation ceremony, Alfred's best friend Sid (Aaron Durand), with the help of his girlfriend Nancy (Sylvia Szadovszki), decide to spike Albert's lemonade with rum to help loosen him up a bit. This leads to Herring fleeing the town on a night of debauchery, whilst the whole town deals with the aftermath during the search for his whereabouts. 

Review: (Vancouver) Tea: A Mirror of Soul

Nancy Allen (photo: Tim Matheson)

Good Intentions...
by Jay Catterson

An operatic barrage of references to a certain hot beverage amidst the sounds of water, paper and stone made its Canadian debut at Vancouver Opera's production of "Tea: A Mirror of Soul". Composed by Tan Dun, the Oscar award-winning composer of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", the story centres around Seikyo, a Japanese prince-turned monk who laments the loss of love due to his quest for the mythical Book of Tea. As exotic as this tale of East meets West may sound, this production was too tepid and languid a cup for most operagoers' tastes, including mine.  

The production has to be commended for trying to push the boundaries of contemporary opera in a visually and aurally stimulating way. Overall, the score is intricately complex and effective; Dun's use of natural sounds -involving an impressive trio of onstage percussionists utilizing large clear water basins, big sheets of paper and stone bowls- and overtone singing and chanting from the chorus and orchestra (enunciating hard consonant sounds like 'k' and 't' in a perfectly calculated manner) create a haunting, ethereal soundscape. The dynamically gorgeous set design by Rumi Matsui and ravishing costumes by Masatomo Ota truly make this production a sumptuous sight. And even the principals dazzle, with Roger Honeywell's bright, intense tenor stealing the spotlight as the Prince. 

Review: (Vancouver) The Magic Flute

Teiya Kasahara (photo credit: Tim Matheson)

Amaze-Deus

A celebrated Magic Flute comes back to Vancouver

by Jay Catterson
(this article has been corrected)

The acclaimed West Coast-inspired production of Mozart's The Magic Flute by the Vancouver Opera has returned to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, this time with new staging and visual enhancements not originally seen in its first incarnation back in 2007. The production, directed by James W. Wright Robert McQueen, felt exciting, fresh and current, firmly planting one foot in tradition and the other in the 21st century. 

Traditional opera purists might feel otherwise, with the original German libretto being swapped out for an English one with traces of Musqueam language strewn throughout, but this production works overall. Added to this production is the use of dazzling high definition projections, combined with curtains and simple set design (mainly consisting of an overhead causeway and a rocky outcrop that was moved about by stagehands), to effectively transport the viewer to the ethereal forest world of the Coast Salish. At times I felt that Sean Nieuwenhuis' projection design was a tad jarring, but for the most part it was highly effective, almost cinema-like, in combination with Kevin McAllister's scenic design.

Review: (Vancouver) The Barber of Seville

Joshua Hopkins as Figaro, Sandra Piques Eddy as Rosina (photo credit: Tim Matheson.)

Lights, camera, Figaro!

Vancouver Opera seduces with Rossini

by Angela Descalzi

If you watched the Looney Tunes as a child, you will remember Bugs Bunny’s version of The Barber of Seville. That was my first ever encounter with Figaro and this comedic opera. It remained in my memory for years, up until last night, when for the first time, I went to see the Vancouver Opera’s production at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

The Abominable Showman, October 9, 2011

To be or not to be

Rufus Wainwright, Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, Luc Plamondon’s Starmania and the bastardization of opera by “adapted” rock musicals

by Richard Burnett

The very day al-Qaeda terrorists flew two jetliners into NYC’s World Trade Center on 9/11, Luc Plamondon was in Paris watching a one-night-only revival of his famous rock musical Starmania, in which terrorists bomb the 121st floor of the fictional Golden Tower skyscraper in Las Vegas. 

“The cast was terrified,” Plamondon told me a couple of years ago. “And the audience was dead silent at the end of the performance. It was amazing that Starmania had predicted 9/11. What I wrote [in Starmania] had become reality.”

Starmania, of course, is the great 1978 rock opera that lyricist Plamondon co-wrote with famed French songwriter Michel Berger. Or at least it used to be great. 

Feature: Opera across the country

Love From Afar, coming to the COC

(Photo: Annemie Augustijns)

Opera Nation

Canadian opera companies juggle Italian masterpieces with mainstream Broadway fare for their 2011-2012 seasons

By Richard Burnett

The upcoming 2011-2012 opera season across Canada continues to rely on old Italian classics by such tried-and-true composers as Giuseppe Verdi, Rossini, Puccini and Leoncavallo.