NATIONAL CAPITAL OPERA SOCIETY • SOCIÉTÉ D'OPÉRA DE LA CAPITALE NATIONALE Newsletter • Bulletin Winter 2009 Hiver P.O. Box 8347, Main Terminal, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 3H8 • C.P. 8347, Succursale principale, Ottawa (Ontario) K1G 3H8 Wonderful Wexford by Shelagh Williams With Irish heritage, a given name with an “Irish” spelling, comedy with libretto based on Goldoni’s commedia and a hankering for hearing unusual operas and seeing new dell’arte L’Impresario delle Smirne. Although Pedrotti opera houses, it was a given that the Friends of the NACO’s was a contemporary of Verdi, his forte was comic opera October tour to Ireland, including Wexford Festival Opera in the tradition of Neapolitan opera buffa, and he was also (WFO)’s new Opera House, would find me an eager par- an important conductor. The opera’s story centres on a ticipant! What a wonderful little opera house it is - Ireland’s small struggling opera company in eighteenth century first purpose built opera house! It took them three years Venice during Carnival, with its two prima donnas vying and only $50 million, but the WFO Board are very proud for the attentions of Abdala, a rich entrepreneur from Dam- that they managed to squeeze a new larger, almost secret ascus, who has come to hire an opera company for the opera house into the same centre town site as before! The next season in the Middle East. Of course, the inevitable original unpretentious streetscape now opens into a lovely misunderstandings and suspicions, both professional and foyer with stairs to the many reception areas, rooftop ter- amatory, result in lively scenes, culminating in the hilarious races and 5 bars, where the well-dressed audience in black final ball, with the two prima donnas in similar costumes tie and evening gowns mingled and drank their glasses of and their menfolk dressed as Turks like Abdala. Natu- champagne! (Hey - this was the rally, in the end, all is amiably re- opening weekend of both the solved and true love triumphs. house and the season!) The A co-production of WFO and classic horseshoe-shaped audi- three Italian theatres, where it torium is gorgeous, lined with was seen in October 2007, this black walnut wood from opera about opera was updated Canada for superb acoustics! to post-WWII Italy, permitting They now have 770 comfortable stylish costumes by Claudia seats, twice the old number, with Pernigotti. Attractive and inno- no one too far from the stage to vative sets by Federico Bianchi, see or hear well - really very like some of which only needed to the Canadian Opera Company’s be flipped for the next scene, all new house, although smaller. Opera House at Night nicely lit by Paul Keogan, gave The newish Artistic Di- director Rosetta Cucchi, also rector, appointed in 2005, is Canadian David Agler, and he Assistant to the WFO Artistic Director, ample scope for has carried on the WFO’s motto for choosing the year’s three her energetic, gag-filled treatment - for example, both prima opera rarities: “One for the head, one for the heart, and one for donnas trying to hide under the same bead-covered table! fun”. This year’s trio were R.R. Bennett’s twentieth century It was an absolute hoot, completely delighting a young Mines of Sulphur, which we saw recently at Glimmerglass opera neophyte on our tour -she could hardly wait for her Opera (GGO), Rimsky-Korsakov’s Snegurochka (The Snow second opera the next night! Italian conductor Leonardo Maiden), and Carlo Pedrotti’s Tutti in Maschera (Everyone Vordoni matched this staging with relish, delivering an ex- in Disguise). We saw the last two mentioned. citing and lively reading of the score, and fortunately had We started off with opening night of Pedrotti’s best the necessary prima donna voices to carry through his in- known work, Tutti in Maschera, a delightful melodious tentions - interestingly, both young singers we had seen (continued on Page 3) Winter 2009 NEWSLETTER • BULLETIN Hiver 2009 President's Message 2009 marks an important landmark in the history of the tion and it is fitting that 2009 is a year in which the NCOS. Twenty-five years ago a group of opera lovers came competition will be held in its biennial cycle, awarding together to try to revive the summer opera season at the for the first time a top prize of $5,000 to an outstand- NAC which had been so abruptly cancelled. What a loss it ing young artist. Mark November 21 on your calen- was. Among the most memorable productions was dar. Among those winners recently in the public eye Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades with Jon Vickers and are: Julie Nesrallah with her classical music programme, Maureen Forester. In spite of our representations the sum- Yannick-Muriel Noah a soloist in this year’s Messiah mer festival has not as yet been successfully revived. But, as at the NAC, Joyce El-Khoury recent winner of a you know, our society has made significant contributions to $10,000 George London Scholarship, and word has it the development of opera in our region by donating funds to about the appearance of Shannon Mercer and Joshua Opera Lyra and other performing groups. OPERA ALLA PASTA Hopkins in a forthcoming Opera Lyra production. The continues to attract lovers of opera and good food. A new NCOS Board with your assistance will enthusiastically Board member, Elizabeth Meller, is now helping to choose continue our work of promoting opera singing and pro- and introduce our opera presentations. Our proudest achieve- ductions in the National Capital Region. ment has been the Brian Law Opera Scholarship competi- February 15, 2009 OPERA ALLA PASTA May 3, 2009 Donizetti's Sunday Afternoon at the Opera Rimsky- Don Pasquale AAll video showings begin Korsakov's La Scala at 2 PM at St. Anthony's The Tsar's Bride Production Soccer Club and are followed by a Call 613-721-7121 Bolshoi delicious meal. Cost: $15 by Feb 12 to reserve. Production NATIONAL CAPITAL OPERA SOCIETY Board of Directors 2008-2009 President Murray Kitts, 613-830-9827, kmitts1637 rogers.com Past President Bobbi Cain Vice President Ute Davis, 613-236-3736, muted rogers.com Secretary Jean Saldanha, Margaret.Saldanha 3web.net Membership Jean Saldanha, Margaret.Saldanha 3web.net Treasurer Gordon Metcalfe, 613-521-6759, FX613-521-5727, gmetcalfe0123 rogers.com Publicity Renate Chartrand, 613-741-3290, renchar magma.ca Ute Davis, 613-236-3736, muted rogers.com Events Peggy Pflug, 1-613-679-1347, Pflug sympatico.ca Pat Adamo, 613-729-9518 Elizabeth Meller, 613-721-7121, emeller rogers.com Newsletter David Williams, 613-237-6754, d.s.williams sympatico.ca Please replace the space in Website: ncos.ca (ncos ncos.ca) the above e-mail addresses with the "@" symbol. Jim Burgess: Webmaster 2 Winter 2009 NEWSLETTER • BULLETIN Hiver 2009 DWonderful Wexford (continued from Page 1) recently at Glimmerglass Opera. Blonde coloratura splendidly with firm authority, helped by the fine sing- soprano Sarah Coburn as Vittoria looked gorgeous ers - many also Russian - and orchestra he had to work in the high-style costumes, sang her impossibly high with. Among the men, baritone Igor Tarasov was stal- trills effortlessly, and acted believably and comically wart as the much put-upon Mizgir, who finally wins as a prima donna. Equally surprising, matching her in Snow Maiden’s love only to lose her, and American every respect, was mezzo Laura Vlasak Nolen as her tenor Bryan Hymel with his beautiful voice brought out rival Dorotea. I didn’t recognize her, even though I all the humour and humanity of the role of Tsar. Again, had seen her last summer at GGO as a believable the women were much more compelling. Czech mezzo ”manly” Cesare in Giulio Cesare - what an actress! Katerina Jalovcova sang the important pants role of The men acted well and sang well enough, but were the amorous shepherd Lel, whose lovely singing charms not memorable. However, as an ensemble, the all of the females in the vicinity, and awakens the Snow troupe shone in this funny, rousing romp - this was Maiden to life. As Spring Beauty, German mezzo Natela opera-making on a very high plane. Nicoli brought to the beginning and final scenes a lovely Snegurochka, Rimsky-Korsakov’s third warm voice and believability as a mother. Soprano Irina and favourite opera, is entirely different, based on a Samoylova has sung Snow Maiden with the Bolshoi, and fairy-tale play by Ostrovsky about the coming of with her fair haired beauty and brilliant clear coloratura spring - Canadians, like Russians, can warm to that! perfectly portrayed the untouchable ice-maiden. How- In a prologue and four acts, the opera basically tells ever, I felt Georgian soprano Lina Tetruashvili, whom we the story of the Snow Maiden, daughter of Spring saw in the spring with Sarasota Opera in the lead in La Beauty and Father Frost, with a heart of ice who, Rondine, really kept the piece moving as the saucy when she finally falls in love on the Sun God Yarilo’s Kupava, who in the end catches Lel from under the noses Day, becomes vulnerable to Yarilo’s rays and melts! of all the other females! Rimsky-Korsakov’s lovely folk - all in just under four hours! Director John Fulljames like tunes, beautifully orchestrated, illustrated this enchanting and designer Dick Bird enlivened the proceedings if overlong fairy tale - his usual subject matter - for an with humorous touches such as having Spring Beauty enjoyable outing of this rarely performed work. fly in during the Prologue aided by an airport ground Wexford Festival Opera is truly a festival.