Newsletter • Bulletin Summer 2009 Été
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NATIONAL CAPITAL OPERA SOCIETY • SOCIÉTÉ D'OPÉRA DE LA CAPITALE NATIONALE Newsletter • Bulletin Summer 2009 Été P.O. Box 8347, Main Terminal, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 3H8 • C.P. 8347, Succursale principale, Ottawa (Ontario) K1G 3H8 OPERA LYRA GETS IT RIGHT by Murray Kitts For their first venture into Russian opera with actor, as Lenski the doomed poet. This opera Tchaikovsky‘s Eugene Onegin, Opera Lyra contains a number of small, but very impor- Ottawa made all the right moves. The sets from tant roles, as each one has an aria or an im- Vancouver Opera were fine, even though it portant passage. The portrayal of the faithful took a bit too long for some scene changes. servant by Emilia Boteva was quite touching. Malabar’s costumes were good, although I Hugues Saint-Gervais gave a charming and always feel that the Empire dresses make the amusing performance as Monsieur Triquet the younger female characters look too matronly. French master reminding us of the pursuit of There was great atmospheric lighting for the French culture by the Russian nobility. Bass duel scene. The Opera Lyra Chorus really Peter Volpe was as impressive a Prince reached a new high point of professionalism Gremin as you would find anywhere. I have in this production. Not only did they sing with nothing but praise for the stage direction by verve and passion but they danced and Joseph Bascetta. It’s true he had a good set danced well, much to the delight of their cho- and first class people to work with but one reographer. They were joined by an excellent had to be especially impressed when one saw group of professional dancers, some leaping what he did with stage movement at Tatiana’s into the air in the Russian dance. As for the birthday party in Act II. Attendance was not singers - all were first rate. Of course one ex- great for this production which is unfortunate pected and received a great performance from for those who missed seeing it. It seems to Russell Braun as the complex anti-hero. What me that the newspaper ads were not very at- a delight to hear Inna Dukach, just beginning tractive and that media cover- an impressive international career, as age was particularly sparse. Tatiana especially in the fa- To sum up - this mous Letter Scene. As the was opera at its best. frivolous Olga, Elizabeth Don’t miss any of the Turnbull contrasted well three great operas next with her younger imagi- season: The Magic native sister. Rounding Flute (we’re calling out the quartet of it the Brian Law principals was Rich- Winners’ Magic Photo by Jean Levac, ard Troxell, an ex- The Ottawa Citizen Flute), Macbeth cellent tenor and fine Inna Dukach and Russell Braun and Manon. Summer2009 NEWSLETTER • BULLETIN Été 2009 PRESIDENT’S REPORT - AGM 2009 The past year has been one which brought great sat- The first was caused by the last minute decision of isfaction to the Board and to our members. But there the Motor Club to use the room which they have have been some difficulties to overcome as well. furnished as their clubroom at the very time our op- Given the excellent financial management by our trea- era was to be shown. Since this had never happened surer, Gordon Metcalfe, the Board decided that we in the past the best that could be arranged was an should increase the value of the Brian Law Opera Schol- improvised showing of the opera Fedora in another arship from $3,000 to $5,000 for first place, and from room. This proved to be unsatisfactory and we are $1,500 to $3,000 for second place. These awards plus working on a plan to avoid this happening again. The the $500 donated by Pat Adamo for third place should second problem arose from the fact that the date prove a substantial attraction to aspiring singers in the chosen for the showing of Don Pasquale proved to National Capital Region. But more than the monetary be one when many of our regular patrons were not rewards the success of former recipients should inspire able to attend. So we will have to attempt to choose others to attempt such difficult and demanding careers. our dates more carefully with better input from our We are so fortunate that our past winners are such at- members. Elizabeth Meller did an excellent job in tractive personalities as well. I have received emails from trying to contact as many people as possible on both Joshua Hopkins and Yannick-Muriel Noah thanking occasions. She was hampered by the fact that no list NCOS members for messages of congratulations to them. of names with telephone numbers and email addresses What marvellous publicity it will be for our next was easily accessible. You will note that as of today scholarship competition in November when, in Opera such a list now exists for future reference. Lyra Ottawa’s fall production of Mozart’s The Magic Our newsletter under David Williams with Flute, Shannon Mercer, Joshua Hopkins and Joyce El- assistance from Tom McCool continues to provide Khouri all have leading roles. We are also trying to help excellent useful information to our members. They in opera production in the community with donations of turn are grateful to contributors like Shelagh Will- $1,000 to Opera Lyra Ottawa for their young artist iams, Ute Davis and Vera-Lee Nelson for their re- programme (acknowledged in their recent programme views and articles. for Eugene Onegin) and of $500 to Pellegrini Opera An organization such as ours depends on (acknowledged in a thank-you letter from Maria Pellegrini). the willingness of its members to serve on the Board The success of the recent performance of Madama But- of Directors. Last year we were fortunate enough to terfly by the latter company becomes another source of have Elizabeth Meller with her large collection of satisfaction for us. opera DVD’s and experience in presenting them join November 21st 2009 is the date of the next com- the Board. This year I am very pleased to announce petition and we started preparing for it late last year. All that Vera-Lee Nelson has consented to join the Board was going well until we were told by authorities at our and serve as Membership Chairperson, relieving Jean usual venue, the Unitarian Congregation, that they would Saldanha of the double duty of Secretary as well as require us to have insurance for the night of the competi- Membership. Also joining the Board is Jim Burgess tion. I want to express my thanks to all the Board mem- whose invaluable expertise in all computer matters bers for their participation in the thorough discussion of has enabled us to have such an excellent website. this problem. What finally convinced the majority of the Jim has worked for a number of years with Tom Board that we should keep our usual venue was the pos- McCool and Renate Chartrand to establish and keep sibility that moving it to another locale where we might up-to-date regular information on our website. It has not require insurance would make Board members per- become an essential tool in the process of the Brian sonally liable in case of an accident. Once November Law Opera Scholarship Competition. The Brian Law 21st is over we will have a full year to decide where to Committee consists of Renate Chartrand, Ute Davis, hold the following competition and under what terms. Peggy Pflug, Jean Saldanha and myself. We have a Opera Alla Pasta ran into difficulties on two occasions. big job ahead of us this year but we know we can 2 Summer2009 NEWSLETTER • BULLETIN Été 2009 PRESIDENT’S REPORT - (continued) rely on the help from the other Board members and would repeat such a wonderful trip. Please let me know if welcome assistance from NCOS members on the night of you would be interested. I’m sure Congress travel the contest. would again provide us with a splendid experience. This year Gerald Finley, a special friend of our Finally I wanted to mention the passing of Cy club, was acclaimed for his role in Doctor Atomic and Torontow who, with his wife Norma, has assisted us was in Gramophone’s best opera DVD of the year and with the distribution of the newsletter for many years, won that magazine’s award for the year’s best vocal re- at least twenty by my reckoning. Those who knew cording. What a delight it was to go by bus to Gerald’s this fine man will remember him fondly. debut at the Met in 1988 and again some years later when he starred in Don Giovanni, meeting with him both times. It occurred to me that the October 28th debut of Joshua Hopkins in Puccini’s Turandot would be an occasion to Mark Your Calendar Saturday November 21, 2009 The Ninth Brian Law Scholarship Competition Recital Membership Renewal A gentle reminder. The annual membership dues for the NCOS are for the calendar year. If you have not yet renewed for 2009 please forward your payment for renewal and any changes of informa- tion to the Treasurer, Gordon Metcalfe, 1782 Devlin Crescent, Ottawa, ON K1H 5T6 3 Summer2009 NEWSLETTER • BULLETIN Été 2009 Bouquets and Brickbats by Shelagh Williams The Spring offerings of the Canadian Opera Company and brilliance. Canadian bass Philip Ens was in fine (COC) included Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, Puccini’s voice and suitably menacing as Fiesco, but unfor- La Boheme, and Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream tunately looked younger than Boccanegra! Finally, - certainly a mixed bag! the pernicious Paolo Albiani, Amelia’s unsuccess- The run opened with the magnificent 2008 ful suitor and subsequently Boccanegra’s assassin, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (ROH) produc- was effectively acted and sung by American bari- tion of Verdi’s powerful historically-based Simon tone Daniel Sutin.