Summer 2019 NEWSLETTER : BULLETIN Été 2018
Société d' Opéra National Capital de la Capitale Nationale Opera Society Summer 2019 NEWSLETTER : BULLETIN Été 2018 A Feast of Ottawa Singers! by Shelagh Williams The Canadian Opera Company(COC)’s final two of- butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, but when he was ferings of the season, Verdi’s Otello and Puccini’s La alone his voice and manner revealed his true nature, as Bohème were a testament to Ottawa singers, the in his Credo. His eyes had a red, devilish gleam and NCOS, and the Brian Law Opera Competition twice he dropped a lit match to dramatically light a (BLOC)! fire on stage! The staging of the oath of vengeance To begin, we saw the last night of Otello, star- between Iago and Otello at the end of Act II, with the ring the NCOS patron, baritone Gerald Finley, as knife to cut and blood to smear, was very powerful. Iago, originally Verdi’s title character! The produc- At the end, with Desdemona and Otello both dead, tion was created by English National Opera as a Iago just sat there with a big satanic smile on his face, co-production with Royal Swedish Opera and Teatro like the devil incarnate. It was fascinating to watch Real Madrid, and so came with director David Alden. Gerald Finley, without overacting, seem so easily to He gave us a fairly straightforward production, with orchestrate the downfall of first Cassio, then Otello, only a few quirky, head scratching aspects to distract and finally Desdemona, all the while appearing to be one from the opera itself and its marvellous music.
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