DonGiovanni_Program_Final.pdf - Canadian Opera Company

C A NAD I A N O P E R A COM PA N YWinter 2015

Performance

DONGIOVANNI

nCANADIAN OPERA COMPANY EDITORS: Gianna Wichelow, Senior Manager, Creative and Publications; Claire Morley, Associate Manager, Editorial

nRJ PERFORMANCE MEDIA INC.: PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER: Joe Marino n CEO: Frank Barbosan SECRETARY TREASURER: Rajee Muthuraman n FINANCE: Gina ZicarinNATIONAL ACCOUNT DIRECTORS: Gary Bell, Tom MarinonART DIRECTOR/DESIGN: Jan Haringa

n Cover images: Don Giovanni: Russell Braun as Don Giovanni in the Canadian Opera Company/Teatro Real Madrid(TRM)/Festival d’Aix-en-Provence/Bolshoi Theatre co-production of Don Giovanni, 2013, TRM. Photo: Javier del Real.Die Walküre: Canadian Opera Company, 2006. Photo: Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera Company’s edition of Performance magazine is published quarterly by RJ Performance Media Inc., 2724 Coventry Road, Oakville, Ontario, L6H 6R1. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without writtenconsent is prohibited. Contents copyright © Performance Inc. Subscriptions available by contacting publisher. Direct all advertising enquiries to 2724 Coventry Road, Oakville, Ontario, L6H 6R1 or phone 905-829-3900

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CONTENTS4 TOP TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT

MOZART’S DON GIOVANNIBY NIKITA GOURSKI

10 SEMELE GOES TO BAM!

18 BACKSTAGE AND BEYOND

26 TOP TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT WAGNER’S DIE WALKÜREBY NIKITA GOURSKI

2015/2016 SEASON PREVIEW:12 LA TRAVIATA; 14 PYRAMUS AND THISBE; 16 SIEGFRIED; 20 THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO; 22 CARMEN; 24 MAOMETTO II

C A NAD I A N O P E R A COM PA N YWinter 2015

Performance

Top: Die Walküre (COC, 2006).Photo: Michael Cooper

Bottom: Kyle Ketelsen in Don Giovanni(Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, 2010). Photo: Pascal Victor/Artcomart

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THINGSTOKNOWABOUT

1. OPERA OF OPERAS

Musicians and music-loversoften refer to Don Giovannias the “opera of operas.” Find out why by listening toexcerpts from the stunning,genre-melding masterpiece atcoc.ca/LookAndListen.

2. SOURCE MATERIAL

The legend of Don Juanoriginates in traditionalSpanish folklore. The earliestrecorded version appears inthe play El Burlador de Sevilla(The Playboy of Seville),written by a Spanish monk,Tirso de Molina, and publishedin 1630. Other plays on thesubject proliferated throughoutthe 17th and 18th centuries,including one by Frenchplaywright Molière. At leastthree operas predate Mozart’streatment, testifying to thewidespread cultural fascinationwith the myth in 18th-centuryEurope.

3. STORY IN A NUTSHELL

Each treatment of the legendis different, but the story typically begins with DonJuan, a shameless libertineand womanizer, forcing himself on a lady of noblebirth and eventually murdering her father. TheDon then pursues severalother women. He is usuallyaccompanied by a servantwho is a wavering figure,sometimes reaffirming, sometimes bristling againsthis master’s dubious ethic.The story culminates with adinner party, at which a stonestatue (of the father killed byDon Juan) arrives at the feastand banishes the Don to Hell.

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season4 5

TOP10

BY NIKITA GOURSKI

DonGiovanniMOZART’S

Kerstin Avemo as Zerlina and Bo Skovhusas Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni, Festival d-Aix-en-Provence, 2010. Photo: Pascal Victor/Artcomart

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TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW about Mozart’s Don Giovanni

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season6

4. MIXING IT UPCollaborating with the brilliantlibrettist Lorenzo Da Ponte,Mozart mixed comedy andtragedy—including elementsof horror—to produce apotent, even disturbing combination, which succeededtremendously at its Praguepremiere in 1787. Up until thatpoint, operas about theunscrupulous seducer wereexclusively comedic.

5. WHO IS DON GIOVANNI?

Mozart gives him only two,notably brief arias, both ofwhich offer little informationabout the rake’s inner life or psychological self. Somemodern critics have speculatedthat Mozart and Da Pontedeliberately present DonGiovanni as a blank canvas,creating a psychological spaceinto which the audience, aswell as the characters, projecttheir fantasies, nightmares,fears, and desires. Meanwhile19th-century commentatorslike Søren Kierkegaard andE.T.A. Hoffmann becameenthralled with the symbolicvalue of Don Giovanni,explaining him as somethingmore than an individual man,something like a life-force, aprinciple of desire, or an emblemof the human soul itself, riven with the representativecontradictions of the humancondition. While the operawithholds any final answers,the persistence of the question explains the varietyof directorial approachestaken over the opera’s performance history.

6. RIVETING INTERPRETATION

Our production is staged bybrilliant Russian directorDmitri Tcherniakov, “an artistwhose work is on the edge of the cutting edge” (OperaNews). For a full profile andanalysis of Tcherniakov’s work,read Gianmarco Segato’spiece in the most recent issueof Prelude, available at theWelcome Desk and online atcoc.ca/Publications.

7. A FADED DONTcherniakov’s Don Giovannidefies the stereotype of asuccessful Casanova; he is not particularly young or old,nor is he a carefree playboy.Rather, he’s a troubled, sometimes unhinged figurewith a history—perhaps ofsome personal trauma—thatmakes him both invigoratingand dangerous. Moreover he lacks any of the outwardtraits we’d normally associatewith physical attractivenessor sexual charisma.Nevertheless, he exerts apowerful magnetism overthose around him. His clothesand haggard look are inspiredin part by Marlon Brando’scharacter in BernardoBertolucci’s seminal film LastTango in Paris.

Don Giovanni director Dmitri Tcherniakov

A scene from Don Giovanni, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, 2010.Photo: Photo: Pascal Victor/ArtComArt


FOR FURTHER INSIGHT INTO DON GIOVANNI, READ ANATOMY OF AN OPERA AND A PROFILE OF DMITRI TCHERNIAKOV IN THE WINTER ISSUE OF PRELUDE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT COC.CA/PUBLICATIONS.

TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW about Mozart’s Don Giovanni

8. ALL IN THE FAMILYIn a radical move, Tcherniakovredraws the relationships ofthe main characters, makingthem all part of a single family,which Don Giovanni—an outsider—has married into.This both complicates therelationships among the principals and generates new,revelatory meanings in theirinteractions. But whether we choose to take the familydevice literally or interpret itmetaphorically, as signifying a closed system of humanrelations, the results make for powerful theatre, pushingthe characters into intenseemotional territory “oftenmore meaningfully than in a straight reading” (OperaNews), one critic raved.

9. INSIDE A ROOM, WORLDS COLLIDE

The action is set inside awealthy bourgeois home (the room could be a library,drawing room, or main parlour).Intentionally, there are nospecific markers of the outerworld—we could be in Vienna,Prague, London, Paris, etc.—but the costumes are contemporary, and the interiorgives the impression of arespectable, well-establishedfamily. But if the Commendatore(the father, and master of this domain), represents aparticular moral code, and his family members uphold a system of values consistentwith that, then Don Giovanniis an eccentric force of dissent.He disrupts and rejects the

family’s hierarchy of values,and in negating a civilizedmorality of order and reason,transforms each of the familymembers for a time, estrangesthem from themselves, andopens a field of experiencethat was not accessible tothem before—all this can leadto moments of intoxicatingmadness that briefly realizeDon Giovanni’s utopian visionof absolute freedom.

10.EXPANDING TIMETcherniakov expands theopera’s 24 hour-time-frameinto several months, insertingtemporal gaps of days andweeks in between scenes that originally unfold in directsequence. By opening up the temporal structure of theopera this way, Tcherniakovallows for the possibility ofmuch greater personal changein the characters—we are no longer seeing someoneminute-by-minute, but returning to them after a longer period of time, in which their outlooks, motivations, and desirescould have changed moresubstantially than in a contracted time span.

Nikita Gourski is Development

Communications Officer at the

Canadian Opera Company.

(top) (l-r) Bo Skovhus as Don Giovanni and Kyle Ketelsen as Leporello. (right) A scene from Don Giovanni. Both images from

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, 2010. Photos: Pascal Victor/ArtComArt

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or the second time in only four years, the COC presents a signature production at oneof the most the prestigious art venues in the world, the Brooklyn Academy of Music

(BAM)! The COC performs Handel’s Semele March 4 – 10 as part of BAM’s 2015 spring season. A tantalizing mix of East and West, Baroque opera and 21st-century performance art,ancient myth and real-life tragedy, Semele was the sensation of the COC’s 2011/2012 season.


F

SEMELEGOESTOBAM!

“Both the adventurous staging and the consistently brilliant singing makeHandel’s Semele by far the best operaproduction I’ve seen from the COC.”barczablog, 2012

COC General Director, Alexander Neef“It’s truly an honour to have been invited to bring Semele to BAM. The centre’s international reputation and reach is anexceptional way for us to show new audienceswhat a great company we are. In 2011, wewere thrilled to be the toast of New York Citywith The Nightingale and Other Short Fables,and we look forward to a similar reaction thisyear with this fantastic Semele.”

Soprano Jane Archibald (Semele)“I am so delighted to be able to inhabit Semele’sworld once again! Performing this role with

the COC has been an absolute highlight ofmy career and it feels like such a wonderfulfit for me. The costumes are beautiful, the setis evocative and the production is thought-provoking. I'm very excited to share it withNew York audiences!”

Baritone Kyle Ketelsen (Cadmus/Somnus)“I’m extremely pleased to be debuting thisrole with the COC at the Brooklyn Academyof Music, which is known for its dedicationto cutting-edge art.”

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON ALL THE CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY’S ACTIVITIES, READ THE WINTER ISSUE OF THE COC’S MAGAZINE PRELUDE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT COC.CA/PUBLICATIONS.

In March 2015, the COC’s groundbreaking production of Handel’s Semele will travel to the BrooklynAcademy of Music. The COC thanks the following donors for their support of this milestone for theCompany.

The COC Tour to BAM has been generously underwritten byPhilip Deck and Kimberley BozakDavid and Kristin FergusonJerry and Geraldine Heffernan

Peter M. PartridgeColleen SexsmithKristine Vikmanis and Denton CreightonAnonymous

Jane Archibald as Semele (foreground) and William Burden as Jupiter (background) in the COC's Semele, 2012.Photo: Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

With an irresistible score and a heartbreaking story of grand romance, Verdi’s La Traviataepitomizes what great opera is all about.

From Violetta’s soaring and passionate declaration of independence, “Sempre libera,” to her heartfeltcry for Alfredo’s love, “Amami Alfredo;” from Germont’s fatherly plea in “Di Provenza il mar” to therousing “Libiamo,” Traviata is a glorious offering of some of Verdi’s most exciting melodies.

The role of Violetta demands vocal pyrotechnics and the dramatic conviction to carry the characterthrough a remarkable emotional arc, and we have wonderful exponents of the role in EkaterinaSiurina and Joyce El-Khoury, two of the most exciting young sopranos on the opera scene.

In this new production, renowned director Arin Arbus sets the story of devotion and sacrifice in the demimonde of 1850s Paris, featuring decadent parties and all-night balls, sumptuous setsand exquisite costumes, all unfolding against the rhythms, rituals, and debauchery of a rapidlychanging society.

October 8 – November 4, 2015

NEW COC PRODUCTION

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DAVID ROFFEY AND KAREN WALSH

Marina Rebeka as Violetta in La Traviata (Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2013). Photo: Todd Rosenberg

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Opera’s earliest beginnings collide with a bold, new Canadian world premiere in this intriguing andinnovative program. When opera was first invented in early 17th-century Italy, Claudio Monteverdiwas at the forefront with works like Lamento d’Arianna (1608) and Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (1624). As with most early opera, their subjects are drawn from mythology and history—here, the tales of Ariadne abandoned by Theseus on the island of Naxos; and, of Tancredi andClorinda whose tragic fates unfold on the battlefields of the Crusades.

Canadian composer Barbara Monk Feldman’s Pyramus and Thisbe (2010) is also based on a classicalmyth—the same saga of fated love famously adapted by Shakespeare for Romeo and Juliet. Inspiredby the ever-changing light and colour of her native Gaspé Peninsula, Monk Feldman’s transparentscore charts the emotional landscape between two star-crossed lovers and celebrates the catharticpower of letting love go.

Following virtuosic turns in 2012’s Love from afar and 2015’s Erwartung, Canadian mezzo sopranoand COC Ensemble alumna Krisztina Szabó continues her traversal of contemporary opera’s mostcompelling heroines as Monk Feldman’s Thisbe and then reaches back four centuries to playMonteverdi’s Arianna and Clorinda. Canadian baritone Phillip Addis (Marcello/Schaunard in 2013’s La bohème) returns as Pyramus and Tancredi. The compelling team of singer-actors is united underthe ever-probing eye of director Christopher Alden (Die Fledermaus, 2012; Rigoletto, 2011). COCMusic Director Johannes Debus leads the COC Orchestra.

October 17 – November 6, 2015

NEW COC PRODUCTION

Detail from Nicolas Poussin’s Landscape during a Thunderstorm with Pyramus and Thisbe, 1651.

Photo: U. Edelmann–Stadel Museum–ARTOTHEK

BARBARA MONK FELDMAN CANADIAN WORLD PREMIERE

PYRAMUSAND THISBEMONTEVERDI

IL COMBATTIMENTO DI TANCREDI E CLORINDA AND LAMENTO D’ARIANNA

Bold new Canadian meetsearly Baroque classic


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The journey of the hero Siegfried, as created by the revolutionary composer Richard Wagner, makesfor some of the most profound drama ever conceived. Wagner immerses us into a psychologicallypenetrating world of greed, fear, and self-discovery in a production created by innovative French-Canadian director François Girard and Toronto-born designer Michael Levine. Mirroring the emotionallandscape of Wagner’s stirring score, this production has been called “mind-blowing” (Eye Weekly),“awe-inspiring” (Toronto Sun) and “incandescent” (National Post).

Described as “huge of voice, unflagging of stamina, imaginative and energetic on the stage”(Seattle Times), formidable German tenor Stefan Vinke is the hero Siegfried, a man without fearwho battles dragons, fire, and gods in order to save the courageous Valkyrie Brünnhilde, who hasbeen cast into an enchanted sleep. Powerhouse American soprano Christine Goerke brings her“multi-hued miracle of gale-force power and pin point control” (Musical America) in a return to theCOC as Brünnhilde.

Wagner’s exhilarating, intoxicating and deeply personal score is brought to life by the COCOrchestra under COC Music Director Johannes Debus.

February 6 – 26, 2016

COC PRODUCTION

Production originally made possible byKOLTER COMMUNITIES

A scene from Siegfried (Canadian Opera Company, 2006).Photo: Michael Cooper

“Through furious fire have I come to you!”

SIEGFRIEDRICHARD WAGNER

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ALEXANDER NEEF, General Director

DON GIOVANNIby Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Dramma giocoso in Two Acts, Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, after the opera Don Giovanni Tenorio, o sia Il convitato di petra by Giovanni Bertati

First performance: Gräflich Nostitzsches Nationaltheater, Prague, October 29, 1787

New COC Production

Co-production with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Teatro Real Madrid and Bolshoi Theatre Moscow

Last performed by the COC in 2008

January 24, 27, 30, February 1, 3, 6, 12, 14, 18, 21, 2015

Sung in Italian with English SURTITLESTM

THE CAST Il Commendatore Andrea Silvestrelli Donna Anna, daughter of the Commendatore Jane Archibald Don Ottavio, Donna Anna’s new fiancé Michael Schade Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni’s wife and Donna Anna’s cousin Jennifer Holloway Zerlina, Donna Anna’s daughter from a previous marriage Sasha Djihanian^ Masetto, Zerlina’s fiancé Zachary Nelson Don Giovanni, Donna Elvira’s husband Russell Braun** Leporello, young relative of the Commendatore, living in his house Kyle Ketelsen

Conductor Michael Hofstetter Director Dmitri Tcherniakov* Associate Director Thorsten Cölle Set Designer Dmitri Tcherniakov* Costume Designers Dmitri Tcherniakov* and Elena Zaytseva Lighting Designer Gleb Filshtinsky Associate Lighting Designer Ayvar Salikhov Chorus Master Sandra Horst***^ Stage Manager Jenifer Kowal SURTITLES™ Producer Gunta Dreifelds

Performance time is approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes, including one intermission.

Production supported in part by

*Dmitri Tcherniakov is generously sponsored by Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon

**Russell Braun’s performance is generously sponsored by Earlaine Collins

***Sandra Horst and the COC Chorus are generously underwritten by Tim and Frances Price

^Graduate of the COC Ensemble Studio

Program information is correct at time of printing. All casting is subject to change.

Please visit coc.ca for additional information 1

Please visit coc.ca for additional information 3Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season2

his unusual production was ripeningwith an attempt to ask numbers of

questions of the work, which we soabsorbingly love. What is this force whichexists in the main hero, which permits himto bind so to himself? And what, at the end of the day, does he want from thosewomen, whom he makes fall in love withhim? What does he want from life overall?And why is he considered such a legendaryseducer, yet through the opera story it doesnot bring him great luck or great happiness?Why is Don Giovanni so sinful that hedeserves such a terrible punishment? Havenot we seen in other opera stories muchmore awful and sinful characters, and yetHell was not chasing after them as it doesDon Giovanni? And do we really believethat the Hell where Don Giovanni falls inat the end exists? And why, if he is guiltyof all possible sins and must be punished,why through the opera are we taking hispart, wishing victory to him, sympathizingwith him, with the final punishment comingas a tragic one?

Of course, in our production we werefinding numbers of unconventional andnew explanations of characters’ deedsimportant to us.

Don Giovanni is separated from the restof the characters. He always exists in hisown way, even when coupled with Leporello.It is he, and there are all the others. Therest of the characters are all together andhe is alone. It’s not by chance that in thefinal punishment they all get united.

At the end these two sides embodyabsolutely different ideas of how we shalllive our life.

All heroes are opposite Don Giovanniand that's why they are all united in our production. That is one family: solid, rich,bourgeois, with their traditions and strictrules of living.

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

T The Commendatore is the chief. He isan authority, a master, an embodiment ofbase of unshakable ground.

Donna Anna is his daughter and DonOttavio is her new partner. They are notyoung, they are rather middle-aged. Butthere is a younger couple—Zerlina andMasetto. And we are also tying up Zerlinainto this family knot by making her DonnaAnna’s daughter from a first marriage. AndZerlina and Masetto’s social circle is notthe lower one of the scale, not the bucolic peasant’s one. They are an equal part ofthis family clan. The traditional librettodivision into peasants and aristocratsbecomes the one between youths and adults.

Family relations between characters,which are invented in our production, pull them all into one family clan and areopposing them to Don Giovanni. Thatcomplicates relations between those whodid not know each other and existed in different territory in the initial libretto.

And Don Giovanni comes to their world.He has a feeling that he knows how our

life should be changed and he wants them to follow him. He is like a Messiah and a maniac at the same time. And he wantsthem all to throw away all their rules, barriers, traditions and feathering. He wantsto make them see everything differently.To become happy. To return back to thenatural, to the animal state, to invent newlanguage and to start everything from thescratch. Then everyone will understand thatwhat they are holding onto has no sense.

Don Giovanni in our production is not a young attractive seducer, playboy, fresh libertine.

The kind of revelation which came toour Don Giovanni could not come to theyoung seducer. It can come as a result of living experience, losses, traumas or re-evaluation of everything in midlife.

He wants to help each woman; he givesevery woman something which was notaccessible. The people in the end of thefirst act found themselves in a strange spotwhen they are following him, yet they areafraid of something, they are looking backtowards the initial point of departure. Theyare following him, but a worm of doubtremains in them.

And Don Giovanni is happy: we don’tneed anyone. We are all together. We do notneed a big world. No jealousy, no property,no fidelity. We are all together, we are allequal and we are all happy.

Later, they all start to be afraid, theystop trusting him and they will betray him.In the end they are taking vengeance onhim, revenging their credulity, weaknessthat they trusted him, followed themselvesand found inside something which theynever expected. They became scared. Andthe vengeance which Don Giovanni meetsis those peoples’ handiwork. They got uptogether to get rid of him and throw himout of their lives.

There is no stature whatsoever. Thatsimply cannot exist.

The whole finale is their scenario. Toterrify, to block, to pull away all forces andbring to death this desperate, exhaustedand ruined Don Giovanni.

We are spreading the action of DonGiovanni to half of a year; weeks, days ormonths pass between the scenes.

Between the scenes a number of interesting things happen and characterscome to the next episodes changed.

Don Giovanni in our production is surelynot the first Don Juan. He is not a founderof myth—he is only an heir. Or maybe thelast one in this historic gallery, tired andunderstanding all about everything. Inthose huge bookcases which we have onstage, most probably there is a great

quantity of literature on Don Giovanni as a legendary opera-literature seducer. Andmost probably those books were read byour Elviras, Annas, Zerlinas. So women inthis production are also armed from headto toe. They are armed with disillusion andirony. They’ve heard a lot about somebodyelse’s bitter experience. They don’t haveinnocence, holy unawareness in the kind of story in which they participate. Zerlina,first of all, recognizes her role—recognizesthat in this layout she is Zerlina, a naïve little fool, who will be seduced and abandoned, and that is why it is with suchpain she is making up her mind and yet,still one chance out of a hundred—at theend of the day she is daring.

There is no flirtation in it, no lightness,no game which will pleasantly tease thenerves. What is there is constraint, a veiledreproach: not for herself, but for thosewhose disappointment Zerlina already saw,an attempt to save the intercourse, thatnothing like that would happen to her.That he really needs her. That she is theone whom he was looking for all thoseyears. She would like to believe and she is afraid to believe.

To each of our female characters, DonGiovanni has attached many expectations,in the imagination of each of them he istruly unique. The one who attracts and the one who scares. Someone to whom it is so difficult to give a hand, and that is exactly what he waits for. His hand is craving for the free choice. His hand is not demanding—rather it’s asking for help.Help in some desperate metaphysicaladventure. And that handshake is attractive—like a jump into the abyss of theunknown. And that is why it is so difficultto dare to take it.

Dmitri Tcherniakov

Please visit coc.ca for additional information 5Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season4

MUSIC STAFFStephen B. Hargreaves (Head Coach)

Michael Shannon

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOREmanuele Lippi

ASSISTANT DIRECTORJoel Ivany

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERSTiffany Fraser

Stephanie Marrs

ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNERSKaileigh Krysztofiak

Andrea Nelson

ACTORConstantine Meglis

UNDERSTUDIES Leporello Stephen Hegedus Donna Anna Aviva Fortunata Don Giovanni Gordon Bintner Don Ottavio Andrew Haji Donna Elvira Karine Boucher Masetto Iain MacNeil

Donna Elvira who continues to mistakeLeporello for Don Giovanni meets DonnaAnna and Don Ottavio by chance. Zerlinaand Masetto join them. Mistaking Leporellofor Don Giovanni, they all want to executehim on the spot. Leporello manages toescape. Everybody feels that they cannotget rid of the destructive power of DonGiovanni over their respective fates.

Don Giovanni hears the voice of thedead Commendatore accusing him of horrible sins. In response, Don Giovanniprovokes the Commendatore and dareshim to dinner.

Don Ottavio tries to persuade DonnaAnna that they will soon find the way topunish the criminal, and that she shouldagree to marry him as soon as possible.

Don Giovanni organizes a boisterousparty, to which everybody is invited, eventhe late Commendatore. Joy is in fullswing when Don Giovanni sees the invitedCommendatore come in. The latter asksthe villain to repent. Don Giovanni doesnot at all admit his fault and challenges all and everything. But he is defeated andcrushed.

The avengers triumph...

Dmitri Tcherniakov

SYNOPSIS

Il CommendatoreDonna Anna, daughter of theCommendatore

Don Ottavio, Donna Anna's newfiancé

Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni's wifeand Donna Anna's cousin

Zerlina, Donna Anna’s daughter froma previous marriage

Masetto, Zerlina's fiancéDon Giovanni, Donna Elvira’s husbandLeporello, young relative of theCommendatore living in his house

The action takes place in the houseof the Commendatore.

ACT ILeporello, the faithful servant of all of DonGiovanni’s follies, witnesses a night scandalat the house of the Commendatore. DonnaAnna alerts the whole household and triesto stop an intruder who would like to leavethe house unseen. This intruder is DonGiovanni. The Commendatore hears theracket and comes to protect his daughter.Don Giovanni takes up the challenge. As a result the Commendatore is killed. DonGiovanni tries to run away.

Donna Anna and her fiancé Don Ottaviocannot accept the sudden and horribledeath of the Commendatore. Donna Annawants to take revenge on the unknownmurderer.

As Don Giovanni abandoned her, DonnaElvira is tortured with love and her cravingfor revenge. She finally finds him, but DonnaElvira’s grief only arouses indifference in Don Giovanni. He manages to escape. It is Leporello who answers in his stead.

Zerlina celebrates her engagement withMasetto. Don Giovanni cunningly managesto stay alone with the young girl. He charms

her and tempts her and leaves her with allsenses alert. Enters Donna Elvira and warnsZerlina against trusting Don Giovanni.Donna Anna and Don Ottavio encounterDon Giovanni and hope that he will givethem his support in the difficult time theyare living through. Don Giovanni gives themhis assurances. Donna Elvira persuadesDonna Anna not to believe in Don Giovanni’ssincerity. When Donna Anna remains alonewith Don Ottavio, she tells him about theevents of the fatal night and confesses thatthe murderer of her father is Don Giovannihimself.

Don Giovanni decides to set up a partyand to bring in guests.

Zerlina and Masetto come to this party.Donna Anna, Don Ottavio and DonnaElvira join them, planning to denounceDon Giovanni as the murderer of theCommendatore and the root of all theirmisfortunes. But Don Giovanni managesto reverse the situation and to take everybody in his wake. However, at the endeverybody gets out of the game, throwingaccusations into Don Giovanni’s face.

INTERMISSION

ACT IILeporello does not want to share the folliesand dangers of Don Giovanni’s life anymore,but the latter makes him take part in therealization of his new plans. According to one of these ideas, Donna Elvira, abandoned and unhappy, falls into thearms of Leporello whom she has to mistakefor Don Giovanni. Masetto yearns to getback to Don Giovanni and brings morepeople to help him. But Don Giovanni,whom they are forced to mistake forLeporello, manages to fool them and toteach Masetto a good lesson.

SYNOPSIS

Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season6 Please visit coc.ca for additional information 7

Tokyo and New York City Opera); Magnoliain Show Boat (Washington National Opera);and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro(Opéra National de Bordeaux/ONB).Upcoming engagements include excerptsfrom Der Rosenkavalier (Valencia Orchestra)and Adalgisa in Norma (ONB).

KYLE KETELSENLeporelloAmerican bass-baritoneKyle Ketelsen lastappeared at the COC asAlidoro in La Cenerentola.In regular demand by

the world’s leading opera companies andorchestras, his recent appearances includeLeporello (Lyric Opera of Chicago/LOC,Bayerische Staatsoper, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Teatro Real and Houston GrandOpera); Escamillo in Carmen (Teatrodell’Opera di Roma, Bayerische Staatsoperand Metropolitan Opera); Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia (LOC); andMéphistophélès in Faust (Opernhaus Zürich).Upcoming appearances include Escamillo(Minnesota Opera and Chorégies d’Orange).Mr. Ketelsen will also sing Cadmus/Somnus/High Priest in Semele when the COC toursto the Brooklyn Academy of Music inMarch 2015.

ZACHARY NELSONMasettoAmerican baritoneZachary Nelson is making his COC debut.Praised for his rich andpowerful voice, his recent

appearances include Belcore in L’elisird’amore, Escamillo in Carmen, the Speakerin Die Zauberflöte, Guglielmo in Così fantutte, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Marcelloin La Bohème, and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Semperoper Dresden/SD);

and Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale and thetitle role in Le nozze di Figaro (Santa FeOpera). Upcoming appearances includeDuke Robert in Guntram (WashingtonConcert Opera); and Paolo Albiani in SimonBoccanegra and the title role in Le nozze di Figaro (SD).

MICHAEL SCHADEDon OttavioCanadian tenor MichaelSchade last appeared at the COC as Tito in La clemenza di Tito.Other COC credits

include Die Fledermaus, The Magic Flute,Rusalka, Oedipus Rex, Il viaggio a Reims,Idomeneo, Il barbiere di Siviglia and L’elisird’amore. Recent appearances include thetitle role in Idomeneo and Tito, as well as the Prince in Rusalka and Flamand inCapriccio (Wiener Staatsoper); the titlerole in Schubert’s Fierrabras (SalzburgerFestspiele); Florestan in Fidelio (OpernhausZürich and Theater an der Wien); and thetitle role in Peter Grimes (HamburgischeStaatsoper). Upcoming appearances includeconcerts with Orchestre National de France,Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, GewandhausOrchestra, and Orchestre de Paris. Mr. Schadeis Artistic Director at the InternationaleBarocktage Stift Melk in Austria through2016.

ANDREA SILVESTRELLIIl CommendatoreItalian bass AndreaSilvestrelli is making hisCOC debut. One of themost sought-after basseson the international scene,

Mr. Silvestrelli’s recent appearances includeFerrando in Il Trovatore and Il Commendatore(Lyric Opera of Chicago); Hagen inGötterdämmerung and Fafner in Das

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

JANE ARCHIBALDDonna AnnaCanadian soprano JaneArchibald last appearedat the COC in the titlerole of Semele in 2012,which she sings again

in March 2015 when the COC tours to theBrooklyn Academy of Music. She also performed the role of Zerbinetta in Ariadneauf Naxos at the COC. Recent appearancesinclude Zerbinetta (Opéra national deParis/ONP, Royal Opera House, CoventGarden and Bayerische Staatsoper);Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Luciain Lucia di Lammermoor and Konstanze inDie Entführung aus dem Serail (OpernhausZürich); and Adele in Die Fledermaus(Metropolitan Opera). Upcoming engagements include Olympia (BayerischeStaatsoper) and the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte (ONP). Next season Ms.Archibald returns to the COC as Susannain The Marriage of Figaro.

RUSSELL BRAUNDon GiovanniCanadian baritone RussellBraun last appeared withthe COC as Ford in Falstaff.Other COC roles includethe Duke of Nottingham

in Roberto Devereux, Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore, Jaufré Rudel in Love from Afar,Orestes in Iphigenia in Tauris, PrinceAndrei Bolkonsky in War and Peace,Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande, CountAlmaviva in The Marriage of Figaro(which he sings again next season at theCOC), Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Enricoin Lucia di Lammermoor and the title rolein Billy Budd. Upcoming engagementsinclude Lescaut in Manon (MetropolitanOpera) and the world premiere of PeterEötvös’ Senza Sangue in Cologne and

New York (New York Philharmonic).Recent recordings include Fantasio(Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment)and Faust in the Met’s Live in HD series.

SASHA DJIHANIANZerlina Ensemble Studio graduatesoprano and Montrealnative Sasha Djihanianwas the winner of theFirst Annual COC

Ensemble Studio Competition. Recentlywith the COC she appeared as Pedro inDon Quichotte and Fiordiligi in the Ensembleperformance of Così fan tutte. Other COCroles include Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor,and she stepped in as Annio in a mainstageperformance of La clemenza di Tito as well as the Ensemble performance. She was a recent prizewinner at the JeunesEmbassadeurs Lyriques, was a nationalfinalist in the 2011 Metropolitan OperaNational Council Auditions, and representedCanada at the 2011 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Recent creditsinclude Nannetta in Falstaff (OperaHamilton) and Micaëla in Carmen (TeatroPetruzzelli and Castleton Festival). She singsSusanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Opera Lyra)this spring.

JENNIFER HOLLOWAYDonna ElviraAmerican JenniferHolloway is making herCOC debut. Recentappearances includeRosina in Il barbiere

di Siviglia (Opera Philadelphia); TempleDrake in Oscar Strasnoy’s Requiem for a Nun (Teatro Colón); Prince Orlofsky inDie Fledermaus and Musetta in La Bohème(English National Opera); Dorabella inCosì fan tutte (New National Theatre,




ELENA ZAYTSEVACostume DesignerRussian costume designerElena Zaytseva is makingher COC debut. She beganher career designing forfilm and television after

studying at the Saint Petersburg Academyof Theatrical Art, and she frequently collaborates with director Dmitri Tcherniakov.Recent productions include Prince Igor(Metropolitan Opera); La Traviata (Teatroalla Scala); Il Trovatore (La Monnaie andMikhailovskiy Theatre); Simon Boccanegra(English National Opera and BayerischeStaatsoper); Jenufa (Opernhaus Zürich);Don Giovanni (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence,Bolshoi Theatre and Teatro Real); Dialoguesdes Carmélites (Bayerische Staatsoper);The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh(Dutch National Opera and Gran Teatredel Liceu); Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk(Deutsche Oper am Rhein); and Macbeth(Opéra national de Paris). Upcoming projects include Lulu (BayerischeStaatsoper).

GLEB FILSHTINSKYLighting DesignerRussian lighting designerGleb Filshtinsky is makinghis COC debut. He graduated from the stagedirection faculty of the

Saint Petersburg Academy of TheatricalArt, specializing in theatre set design andhas worked as a lighting designer on over190 music and theatre productions inRussia and abroad. Recent credits includeCherevichki (Teatro Lirico di Cagliari); Aidaand La Traviata (Latvian National Opera);Tosca (Staatsoper Unter den Linden);Simon Boccanegra (Bayerische Staatsoperand English National Opera); Eugene Onegin(Bolshoi Theatre); Il Trovatore (SalzburgerFestspiele); Die Walküre, Otello and SemyonKotko (Mariinsky Theatre); Macbeth and

Eugene Onegin (Opéra national de Paris);The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh(Gran Teatre del Liceu and MariinskyTheatre); and Prince Igor (MetropolitanOpera). Upcoming productions includeJenufa (Teatro Comunale di Bologna); Lulu(Bayerische Staatsoper); and Il Trovatore(Salzburger Festspiele).

SANDRA HORSTChorus MasterSandra Horst’s mostrecent COC creditsinclude Falstaff andMadama Butterfly. Alsoat the COC she conducted

Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims. As director ofmusical studies at UofT Opera, she mostrecently conducted Gilbert and Sullivan’sHMS Pinafore. Ms. Horst has served aschorus master for Opera Theatre of SaintLouis and Edmonton Opera; a judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Councilauditions; and music staff of the JuilliardOpera Center, Chautauqua Institution,Boston Lyric Opera, and Banff Centre forthe Arts. She was one of the 100 Alumni of Achievement honoured by WilfridLaurier University and is a graduate of theCOC Ensemble Studio. This season Ms.Horst is also chorus master for The Barberof Seville.

EMANUELE LIPPIAssistant ConductorItalian conductorEmanuele Lippi is makinghis COC debut. Frequentlysought after as a pianist,coach and conductor,

his repertoire spans from Baroque to contemporary and includes opera, sacredand symphonic music. Recent appearancesinclude Beethoven’s Leonore III andSymphony No. 4; concerts and performances(International Conservatory Week Festivalat Glazunov Hall, Toyota Concert Hall,


Rheingold and Siegfried (Tyrolean FestivalErl); Crespel in Les contes d’Hoffmann andSparafucile in Rigoletto (Seattle Opera);Fafner in Das Rheingold (Houston GrandOpera/HGO); Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Pistola in Falstaff (SanFrancisco Opera/SFO); and Hunding inDie Walküre and Fasolt in Das Rheingold(Seattle Opera). Upcoming appearancesinclude Wurm in Luisa Miller (SFO) andFafner in Siegfried (HGO).

MICHAEL HOFSTETTERConductorGerman conductorMichael Hofstetter ismaking his COC debut.Frequently sought afterby major opera houses,

orchestras and festivals, he has conductedat Bayerische Staatsoper, HamburgischeStaatsoper, Danish Royal Opera, Gran Teatredel Liceu, English National Opera, HoustonGrand Opera, Salzburger Festspiele andHändel Festspiele Karlsruhe, among others.Opernwelt magazine nominated him severaltimes as “Conductor of the Year,” mostrecently in 2013 for his achievements asgeneral music director at Giessen. Recentengagements include Xerxes (EnglishNational Opera); Riccardo Primo (BadischesStaatstheater Karlsruhe); Der Freischütz(Styriarte Festival Graz/SFG); and StabatMater (Château de Versailles Spectaclesand Opéra de Lyon). Upcoming engagements include the festivalSchubertiade Hohenems; Eugene Onegin(Houston Grand Opera); and Il barbiere di Siviglia (SFG).

DMITRI TCHERNIAKOVDirector and Set andCostume DesignerRussian director and setand costume designerDmitri Tcherniakov ismaking his COC debut.

A graduate of the Russian Theatre Academy,he has received numerous awards for hisopera and theatre productions and wasnamed “Director of the Year” at the 2013International Opera Awards. His productionsinclude The Rake’s Progress, Wozzeck,Eugene Onegin and Ruslan and Ludmila(Bolshoi Theatre); Tristan und Isolde(Mariinsky Theatre); Aida (NovosibirskOpera and Ballet Theatre); Boris Godunov,The Gambler and The Tsar’s Bride(Staatsoper Unter den Linden/SUL);Khovanschina and Dialogues des Carmélites(Bayerische Staatsoper); Macbeth (Opéranational de Paris); Jenufa (OpernhausZürich); La Traviata (Teatro alla Scala);Simon Boccanegra (English National Operaand Bayerische Staatsoper); Don Giovanni(Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Bolshoi Theatreand Teatro Real); The Legend of the InvisibleCity of Kitezh (Dutch National Opera andGran Teatre del Liceu); Il Trovatore (La Monnaie); and Prince Igor (MetropolitanOpera). Upcoming productions includeParsifal (SUL) and Lulu (BayerischeStaatsoper).

THORSTEN CÖLLEAssociate DirectorGerman associate directorThorsten Cölle is makinghis COC debut. He studiedtheatrical sciences andopera stage direction in

Berlin and was stage director at StaatsoperUnter den Linden from 2005 to 2011, andsince then has worked in major internationalopera houses and theatres. He regularlycollaborates with director DmitriTcherniakov.


CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY ORCHESTRA

VIOLIN IMarie Bérard, ConcertmasterThe Concertmaster’s chairhas been endowed in perpetuity by Joey andToby Tanenbaum

Aaron Schwebel, AssociateConcertmaster

Jamie Kruspe, AssistantConcertmaster

Aya Miyagawa, ActingAssistant Concertmaster

Anne ArmstrongSandra BaronBethany BergmanNancy KershawDominique LaplanteYakov LernerJayne MaddisonNeria Mayer

VIOLIN IIPaul Zevenhuizen, PrincipalCsaba Koczó, AssistantPrincipal

James AylesworthElizabeth JohnstonBoris Kupesic*Marianne UrkeLouise TardifJoanna Zabrowarna

VIOLAKeith Hamm, PrincipalJoshua Greenlaw, AssistantPrincipal, on leave ofabsence

Sheila Jaffé, Acting AssistantPrincipal

Carolyn Blackwell*Rory McLeod*Rhyll Peel, on leave of absence

Beverley SpottonYosef Tamir

CELLOBryan Epperson, Principal, on leave of absence

Alastair Eng, AssociatePrincipal

Paul Widner, AssistantPrincipal, Acting Principal

Olga Laktionova, ActingAssistant Principal

Loewi Lin*Elaine Thompson

BASSAlan Molitz, Principal, on leave of Absence

Joseph Phillips*, ActingPrincipal

Robert Speer, AssistantPrincipal

Tom HazlittPaul Langley

FLUTEDouglas Stewart, PrincipalShelley Brown

OBOEMark Rogers, PrincipalLesley Young

CLARINETJames T. Shields, PrincipalColleen Cook

BASSOONEric Hall, PrincipalWilliam Cannaway*Elizabeth Gowen, on leave of absence

HORNJoan Watson, PrincipalGary Pattison

TRUMPETRobert Grim, PrincipalRobert Weymouth

TROMBONECharles Benaroya, PrincipalIan Cowie

BASS TROMBONEHerbert Poole

TIMPANIMichael Perry, Principal

CONTINUOHARPSICHORD

Michael Shannon*

CONTINUO CELLOAlastair Eng

BANDA 1Jamie Kruspe, ViolinMaurizio Baccante, CelloDaniel Lalonde*, Bass

BANDA 2Ashley Vandiver*, ViolinElaine Thompson, CelloRobert Wolanski*, Bass

LIBRARIANWayne Vogan

ASSISTANT MUSICLIBRARIAN

Ondrej Golias

STAGE LIBRARIANPaul Langley

PERSONNEL MANAGERIan Cowie

* extra musician



Zhou Xiao Yun International Opera Centrein Shanghai); Parsifal (co-productionbetween Osterfestspiele Salzburg,Semperoper Dresden and Beijing MusicFestival); and assistant conductor forFidelio, Tannhäuser, Parsifal, the RingCycle, Il Diluvio Universale (Accademia diMontegral and Tiroler Festspiele Erl/TFE).Upcoming productions include the Ring(TFE); Die Meistersinger and Tristan undIsolde (Beijing and Shanghai Festivals);and Petite messe solennelle (concerts andrecording at the Accademia dei Musici inFabriano).

JOEL IVANYAssistant DirectorCanadian stage directorJoel Ivany’s previousCOC credits includeassistant director forHercules, Dialogues des

Carmélites, Iphigenia in Tauris, Orfeo edEuridice and La Bohème. He is the founderand artistic director of Against the GrainTheatre (AtG) and was a recent finalist andwinner in the European Opera-DirectingPrize for his concept of Bellini’s I Capuletie i Montecchi. Mr. Ivany recently directed#UncleJohn (AtG); Carmen (Vancouver

Opera); the world premiere of East o’ theSun and West o’ the Moon (CanadianChildren's Opera Company); Macbeth(Minnesota Opera); Albert Herring(University of Toronto Opera); and Les contes d’Hoffmann (Edmonton Opera).Next season at the COC Mr. Ivany directsCarmen.

JENIFER KOWALStage ManagerThis is Jenifer Kowal’s23rd season with theCOC. Her numerousCOC stage managingcredits include Falstaff,

Roberto Devereux, Così fan tutte, PeterGrimes, Salome, La clemenza di Tito, Die Fledermaus, Semele, Tosca, Rigoletto,Aida, Carmen, The Flying Dutchman, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Fidelio, Warand Peace, Eugene Onegin, Don Carlos, La Traviata, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, theRing Cycle and, at the Brooklyn Academyof Music, The Nightingale and Other ShortFables. She was the production stage manager for Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera’sMiss Saigon, which also toured to Torontoand Schenectady. Ms. Kowal studied theatre at Indiana University.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICEWe are pleased to offer, for the convenience of all of our patrons, a pre-order system for intermission purchases. Our pre-order system is designed to decrease your wait timeat the bar during intermission and we invite you to make use of it at every COC performance. Bars are located throughout the Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room’s many levels. Food and beverages are not permitted in R. Fraser Elliott Hall.

OFFICERSMr. Tony Arrell, ChairMs. Colleen Sexsmith, Vice ChairMr. Paul A. Bernards,TreasurerMr. John H. Macfarlane,SecretaryMr. Alexander Neef, General Director(ex officio)Mr. Robert Lamb, Managing Director(ex officio)

MEMBERSMr. Mark AppelMs. Nora AufreiterMr. Robert BrouwerMs. Helen BurstynMs. Marcia Lewis BrownMr. Stewart BurtonMr. Philip C. DeckMr. Peter M. DeebMr. George S. DembroskiMr. William Fearn (ex officio)Mr. David Ferguson (ex officio)Mr. Adam FromanMr. Michael GibbensMr. Peter HinmanDr. Linda HutcheonMs. Carolyn Jarvis

Mr. Justin LindenMr. Jeff LloydMs. Anne MaggisanoMr. Stephen O. MarshallMs. Judy MatthewsMr. Jonathan MorganMr. Nick MuttonMs. Frances PriceMr. Arthur R.A. Scace, C.M.Mr. Philip S.W. SmithMr. Paul B. SpaffordMs. Michele SymonsMs. Kristine (Kris) VikmanisMr. Graham WatchornMr. John H. (Jack)Whiteside

HONORARY DIRECTORMr. Joey Tanenbaum, C.M.

COC OPERA GUILDSBrantford Opera Guild,David M. Cullen, PresidentKingston Opera GuildGrace Orzech, PresidentLondon Opera GuildErnest H. Redekop, PresidentMuskoka Opera GuildDr. Hans Heeneman, PresidentNorthumberland Opera GuildThais Donald, PresidentOakville Opera GuildMaureen Rudzik, PresidentSudbury Opera GuildDiane Moore, PresidentWestern New York Opera GuildDorothy K. Piepke, President

CANADIAN OPERA FOUNDATIONDIRECTORSMr. Tony Arrell Mr. Jonathan BloombergMr. J. Rob CollinsMr. Philip C. Deck, Vice ChairMr. William Fearn, ChairMr. David Forster, TreasurerMr. Gary GradMr. Michael GoughMr. Christopher HoffmannMr. David Spiro, Secretary

HONORARY DIRECTORSMr. George HamiltonHon. Dennis Lane

For more information on COC Guilds please visit coc.ca/Guilds

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS


SOPRANOSLaura KlassenAlexandra Lennox-PomeroyJennifer Robinson

MEZZO-SORPANOSSusan BlackSandra Boyes

TENORSStephen BellSam ChungSean ClarkStephen EricksonNicolas GroenewegenJohn KriterStephen McClare

BARITONES & BASSESKenneth BakerSung ChungMichael DownieJason NedeckyMichael SprouleJan VaculikGene Wu

CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY CHORUS



ADMINISTRATION AND STAFFALEXANDER NEEF, General Director

Robert LambManaging Director

Johannes DebusMusic Director

EXECUTIVE OFFICE

Marguerite SchabasExecutive Assistant to the General Director

ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION

Roberto MauroArtistic Administrator

Olwyn LewisCompany Manager

Karen OlinykAssistant, ArtisticAdministration & Music

MUSIC

Sandra GavinchukMusic Administrator

Sandra HorstChorus Master

Wayne VoganMusic Librarian, Coach

Elizabeth Upchurch Head of the EnsembleStudio & Coach

Wendy NielsenHead Vocal Consultant

Derek BateAssistant to the MusicDirector

Music StaffRachel AndristTimothy CheungAndrea Del BiancoJenna DouglasStephen HargreavesAnne LarleeBen MalensekMichael Shannon

Kathryn GarnettScheduling Manager

Birthe JoergensenArchivist – Joan BaillieArchives

Ian CowieOrchestra PersonnelManager

Ondrej GoliasAssistant Librarian

COC Ensemble StudioGordon BintnerKarine BoucherCharlotte BurrageJean-Philippe Fortier-LazureAviva FortunataClarence FrazerAndrew HajiIain MacNeilOwen McCauslandJennifer Szeto

Production AssistantsAdriana DimitriJane Honek

PROGRAMMING

Nina DraganicDirector of Programming– Free Concert Series

PRODUCTION

Peter W. LambDirector of Production

Lee MillikenProduction Manager

Chuck GilesTechnical Director

Barney BaylissAssociate TechnicalDirector

Lighting Co-ordinatorsDaniele GuevaraWendy Greenwood

Assistant TechnicalDirectorsMelynda JurgensonWendy Ryder

Janice FraserHead Electrician

Joel ThomanAssistant Electrician

Bob ShindleHead of Sound

Craig KadokeAssistant Sound

Paul WatkinsonHead Carpenter

David MiddletonAssistant Carpenter

Rupert BakerHead Flyman

Daniel GrahamHead of Properties

Core CrewScott ClarkeTerry HurleyPaul Otis

Amy CummingsScene Shop Co-ordinator

David RetzleffHead Scene ShopCarpenter

Andrew WalkerAssistant Scene ShopCarpenter

Richard GordonHead Scenic Artist

Carolina ValenzuelaAssistant Head ScenicArtist

Scott WilliamsonRehearsal HeadTechnician

Guy NokesProperties Supervisor

Stephanie TjeliosResident PropertiesBuilder/Co-ordinator

Kathy FrostResident PropertiesBuyer/Co-ordinator

Tracy TaylorProperties Builder/Co-ordinator

Properties BuildersCarolyn ChooWulf

Sandra CorazzaCostume Supervisor

Cassandra SpenceCostume Co-ordinator

Costume AssistantsNatassia BrunatoChristina Del Monte

Sue FurlongResident Tailor

Assisted byGulay CokgezenSharon GashgarianKaren HancockCarolyn KasperskiBarbara Nowakowski

Additional Costumes byMartino Nyugen

Additional Paint andBreakdown byChrome Yellow

Nancy HawkinsHead of Wardrobe

Leslie BrownWardrobe Assistant

Sharon RymanWig & Make-upSupervisor

Cori FergusonHead of Wig & Make-up Crew

Shawna GreenProduction Co-ordinator

Hannah GordonAssistant to theProduction Department

Gunta DreifeldsSURTITLES™ Producer

Zane KanepsSURTITLES™ Editor

Olwyn LewisSURTITLES™ Assistant

Supernumeraries Co-ordinatorsAnalee SteinElizabeth Walker

DEVELOPMENT

Christie DarvilleChief AdvancementOfficer

Amy MushinskiManager, GovernmentRelations

Janet StubbsFoundation Development

Stephen GillesDirector of Development

Peter HussellSenior Manager,AdvancementOperations

Dawn Marie SchlegelAssociate Director,Donor Relations

Emma NoakesDonor Relations Officer

Natalie SandassieSenior DevelopmentOfficer, AnnualPrograms and PatronEngagement

Bree CallahanCo-ordinator, AnnualPrograms and PatronEngagement

FSCPA – Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

Alexandra FolkesCo-ordinator, AnnualPrograms and PatronEngagement

Victor WidjajaSenior DevelopmentOfficer, Friends of the COC

Heather CasselsIndividual Giving Co-ordinator, Friends of the COC

Francesco CorsaroSenior DevelopmentOfficer, InstitutionalGifts

Sarah HeimSenior DevelopmentOfficer, Partnerships

Nikita GourskiDevelopmentCommunicationsOfficer

Tracy BriggsSenior Manager, Special Events

Laura Aylan-ParkerSenior DevelopmentOfficer, Special Eventsand Ensemble Circle

John KriterDonation DatabaseOfficer

Olena MoldovanDonation DatabaseOfficer

COMMUNICATIONS

Steven KelleyChief CommunicationsOfficer

Claudine DomingueDirector of PublicRelations

Gianna WichelowSenior Manager, Creativeand Publications

Jennifer PugsleyMedia Relations Manager

Claire MorleyAssociate Manager,Editorial

Meighan SzigetiAssociate Manager,Digital Marketing

Kiersten HayDigital Marketing Co-ordinator

Eldon EarleMarketing Co-ordinator

Kristin McKinnonAssistant Publicist

EDUCATION ANDOUTREACH

Katherine SemcesenAssociate Director,Education and Outreach

Gianmarco SegatoAdult ProgramsManager

Vanessa Smith School ProgramsManager

Blanche IsraëlInterim Children andYouth Programs Co-ordinator

TICKET SERVICES

Andrea SalinTicket Services Manager

Nikki Tremblay Assistant TicketServices Manager

David NimmoGroup Sales Co-ordinator

Lillian Fung Ticket ServicesSupervisor

Ticket ServicesRepresentativesJames BaldwinErnest CayemenAurelie DufourAnna Kay EldridgePeter GenowaySylvie GoncalvesMaureen GualtieriCat HaywoodKeith LamKevin MorrisPaulina SalibaKat SmileyDarcy Stoop

CALL CENTRE

Richard ParadisoCall Centre Manager

Call CentreRepresentativesCatherine BelyeaTaisa DackiwIon HandraburWendy LimbertieMargaret Terry

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Lindy Cowan, CPA, CADirector of Finance and Administration

Lorraine O’Connor, CHRPHuman ResourcesManager

Amalie Vanderzwet,CPA, CAFinance Manager

General AccountantsFlorence HuangZoran Orlic (FSCPA)

Vera BrjozovskaiaAccounting Clerk

Payroll AccountantsJovana BojovicJeanny Won

Steven SherwoodManager, IT Services

Brad StaplesDatabase ReportingSpecialist

Tony SandyIT Services Assistant

Katarina Božovic Receptionist/Switchboard

Branka Hrsum Mailroom Clerk/Courier

BUILDING SERVICES

Joe WaldherrAssociate Director,Facilities Management

Christian CoulterAssistant Manager,Operations

Maintenance AssistantsRyszard Gad (COC)Branislav Peterman(COC)Julian Peters (COC)James Esposito(FSCPA)Mark Healy (FSCPA)Piotr Wiench (FSCPA)

Security SupervisorsVidesh DookhuDave Samuels

Security OfficersGeorge BalyasinTammy HillNatalia JuzycUsman Khalid

Kathleen MinorHeather ReidCraig Thompson

Building OperatorsDan BiscaDan PopescuAdrian Tudoran

Paula Da CostaEurest ServicesSupervisor

Eurest Services TeamJennifer BarrosMalaku GodanaNash LimJimmy PachecoSugey Torres

FOUR SEASONS CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Alfred CaronDirector, Four SeasonsCentre for thePerforming Arts

Elizabeth JonesAssociate Director,Business Development

Shannon ChurmBusiness & Events Co-ordinator

Jefferson GuzmanAssociate Director,Patron Services

Kim Hutchinson-BarberAssistant Manager,Patron Services

Julia SomervilleAssistant Manager,Front of House

Brigitte LangAssistant Manager, Food & Beverage

Patron ServicesSupervisorsStuart ConstableEnrique CovarrubiasCortesJamieson EakinLori MacDonaldMelissa McDonnell

Patron ServicesAssistantJennifer Toulmin

Patron Services LeadsKarol CarstensonChristine GroomSkye PlowmanRosemary Williams


PRODUCTION UNDERWRITERSDemonstrating their leadership and generosity,these donors have underwritten the COC’smain stage productions.

$500,000 + Jerry & Geraldine Heffernan The Catherine and MaxwellMeighen Foundation Colleen Sexsmith

$100,000 – $499,999Paul BernardsDavid Roffey & Karen Walsh

$50,000 – $99,999The Asper Foundation

PERFORMANCE ANDARTIST SPONSORS The following donorsextend their generous support to individual artists and productions

$100,000 + Jack Whiteside

$50,000 – $99,999Sue Mortimer

$25,000 – $49,999Earlaine CollinsJ. Hans Kluge Anonymous (1)

Up to $25,000Robert SherrinSarah Billinghurst Solomon &Howard SolomonCarol SwallowRiki Turofsky & Charles PetersenKristine Vikmanis & Denton Creighton

ENSEMBLE STUDIO SUPPORTERS Encouraging the next generation of artists, these donors support theCOC’s Ensemble Studio.

$1,000,000Peter M. Deeb

$500,000 – $999,999The Slaight FamilyFoundation

$25,000 – $499,999Anne & Tony ArrellEthel Harris & the late Milton E. HarrisHal Jackman FoundationRoy and Marjorie LindenThe Stratton TrustW. Garfield WestonFoundation

MAJOR GIFTS & SPECIAL PROJECTSThe COC offers its sincere thanks to the individuals listed below for theirextraordinary support.

E. LOUISE MORGAN SOCIETYThe E. Louise Morgan Society was created to reflect the vision and commitment of its founder and the members who have created a legacy of leadership, passion and philanthropy in support of the goals of the Canadian Opera Company.

Each of these donors has contributed a cumulative total of more than one million dollarsover the past 15 years. Their support is critical to the company’s success and we areforever indebted to their commitment and generosity.

LIFE TRUSTEES COUNCILThe Life Trustees Council salutes the leaders of the COC community whose efforts have been integral to the company’s artistic evolution and transformative history of accomplishment.

Tony and Anne ArrellThe Estate of Dr. Larry M. Agranove ARIAS: Canadian Opera Student

Development Fund The Gerard & Earlaine Collins Foundation

The late John A. CookThe Estate of Horst Dantz and Don Quick

Jerry and Geraldine Heffernan Kolter Communities

The Catherine and Maxwell MeighenFoundation

Roger D. MooreE. Louise MorganTim & Frances PriceColleen Sexsmith

Joey & Toby TanenbaumAnonymous (2)

Earlaine CollinsDavid Ferguson (Chair)

Jerry and Geraldine Heffernan

Ben HeppnerHenry N. R. JackmanAdrianne Pieczonka

As Naming Donor of the Four Seasons Centre

for the Performing Arts, we are proud to be a

lifelong friend of the fine arts experience for the

patrons here and from around the world.

S U P P O R T I N G T O R O N T O ’ S G R O W I N G A R T S

C O M M U N I T Y T O D A Y , A N D F O R E V E R

E N J O Y T H E P E R F O R M A N C E

fourseasons.com

LEGACY AND BEQUEST GIFTS The COC honours thememory of the followingpatrons whose vision andgenerosity has providedlasting support.

Estate of Horst Dantz andDon Quick‡Estate of Egon Homburger‡Estate of John GordonHunterEstate of Ethel BerneyJackson‡Estate of Henri KolinEstate of Vida PeeneEstate of J.M. (Doc)Savage‡Estate of Helen AllenStaceyEstate of Jeanie IrwinWalkerAnonymous (1)

‡ designates funds directed to the COC’s Endowment

MEMORIAL ANDHONORARY DONATIONS The COC expresses itssincere appreciation to all donors who have madememorial and honorarydonations.

In Memory of Margaret Elder BellFern CohenRoy Albert CrossDerdre GippDavid Murray HarleyStephen Walter IrelandJanet LoEric RumpDarko SeifertSylvia Shawn

In Honour of Walter BowenEarlaine CollinsNinalee CraigYael DunklemanMichael Gibbens and Julie LassondeStephen GillesEarl B. LawWailan LowJudy and Wilmot MatthewsRobert MorassuttiElizabeth Pizzinato andRichard PaquetTim and Frances PriceBarbara and Iain ScottColleen SexsmithDavid Stanley-PorterBeverly Zerafa

As of January 15, 2015


Up to $25,000ARIAS: Canadian OperaStudent DevelopmentFund Bruce BaileyMarcia Lewis BrownMargaret Harriett Cameronand the late Gary SmithEarlaine CollinsNinalee CraigCatherine FauquierPatrick Hodgson FamilyFoundationPeter & Hélène HuntJo LanderTom C. LoganRoger D. MooreColleen SexsmithJune Shaw and the late Dr. Ralph ShawGraham WatchornRuth Watts-GransdenJack WhitesideBrian WilksAnonymous (2)

GENERAL PROGRAMSUPPORTERS Providing general programsupport is critical to theCOC’s artistic mission.

$1,000,000+ Tim & Frances Price

$100,000+ Anne & Tony ArrellAnonymous (1)

$10,000 - $25,999 Bruce C. BaileyA. R. Deane & Mary NesbittThe Parvez-Tyab Family Trust

SPECIAL PROJECTS In March 2015, the COC’sgroundbreaking production of Handel’sSemele will travel to theBrooklyn Academy ofMusic. The COC thanks the following donors for their support of thismilestone for the Company.

Philip Deck & Kimberley BozakDavid & Kristin Ferguson

Jerry & Geraldine HeffernanJudy & Wilmot MatthewsPeter M. PartridgeColleen SexsmithKris Vikmanis & Denton CreightonAnonymous (1)

ENDOWMENT SUPPORT Making a gift to theEndowment ensures thelong-term stability for the COC and its artists.

$100,000 +Hon. Henry N. R. JackmanAnonymous (1)

$25,000 – $99,999Michael W. & Wanda PlachtaEndowment Fund

Up to $25,000Anonymous (1)

MAJOR GIFTS & SPECIAL PROJECTS

INDIVIDUAL GIVING ANNUAL SUPPORT

Three acclaimed opera productions Invitations to special events Post-performance toast with artists Henry N. R. Jackman Lounge access

Join the Ensemble Circle

Call 416-306-2309

Exclusive backstage tour Attend working rehearsal Admission to Operanation … and much more

The Ensemble Circle is a rapidly expanding community of young people who appreciate and support opera and the arts in Toronto. By becoming a member, you join a network of your peers from across the arts, media and business communities, and benefit from a personalized introduction to the world of opera and the Canadian Opera Company.

E-mail [email protected] Visit ensemblecircle.ca

Photos from Operanat10n: A Night of Temptation, 2013. Left: Cameron McPhail and Catherine Affleck. Photo: Ryan Emberley. Centre: Photo: Tara Noelle. Right: (l-r) Katie Jones, Ashleigh Semkiw and Marissa Semkiw. Photo: Tara Noelle


GOLDEN CIRCLE

GOLD, $50,000 +Anne & Tony Arrell****Cecily & Robert Bradshaw* David G. Broadhurst**In memory of Gerard H.Collins****Jerry & Geraldine Heffernan**** The Catherine and MaxwellMeighen Foundation****Roger D. Moore****Colleen Sexsmith***Anonymous (1)

SILVER, $25,000 – $49,999Andrew Peller Limited*Mark & Gail Appel***Paul Bernards*** Barbara Black**The Black Family FoundationPhilip Deck & Kimberley Bozak***George & Kathy Dembroski****Michael Gibbens & Julie Lassonde* Ethel Harris & the late Milton Harris****Rennie & Bill Humphries**** Ronald Kimel & Vanessa LaPerriere****Susan Loube & William Acton**James Nicol & Christine MilneJack Whiteside***

BRONZE, $12,500 – $24,999Dr. & Mrs. Hans G. Abromeit****Philip & Linda Armstrong**Ms Nora Aufreiter*Mr. Philip J. Boswell****Walter M. & Lisa Balfour Bowen****Susanne Boyce & BrendanMullen****Rob & Teresa Brouwer**Marcia Lewis Brown*Stewart & Gina Burton*Wendy M. Cecil****Dr. John Chiu in memory ofYvonne Chiu, C.M.****Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Christ**** Stephen Clarke & Elizabeth Black** The Max Clarkson FamilyFoundation****J. Rob Collins & Janet Cottrelle**** Sydney & Florence Cooper**Ninalee Craig***Mr. & Mrs. Leslie Dan*** Jean Davidson & Paul Spafford****Jill Denham & Stephen Marshall**

David & Kristin Ferguson****George Fierheller****Lloyd & Gladys Fogler***Four Seasons Hotels &Resorts***Robert Fung**The Hon. William C. Graham &Mrs. Catherine Graham**** Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin***William & Nona Heaslip Foundation****Mr. Peter Hinman & Ms Kristi StangelandDouglas E. Hodgson****Michael & Linda Hutcheon****Bernhard & Hannelore Kaeser**** Justin S. Linden* Jeff Lloyd & Barbara Henders*Mr. & Mrs. J. S. A. MacDonald****Bobby & Gordon MacNeill** Judy & Wilmot Matthews*Hon. Margaret McCain*** John & Esther McNeil****Don McQueen & Trina McQueen, O.C. ** John McVicker & B. W. Thomas****Delia M. Moog***Jonathan Morgan & Shurla Gittens** Sue Mortimer**** Nicholas & Rosemary Mutton*Mrs. Christl & Mr. Karl Niemuller***Donald O’Born***Peter M. Partridge****Mr. Tim & Mrs. Frances Price**** Ms R. Raso****David Roffey & Karen Walsh****Barrie D. Rose & Family*** Philip & Maria Smith**Stephen & Jane Smith****Marion & Gerald Soloway**David E. Spiro***David Stanley-Porter****Ryerson & Michele SymonsRiki Turofsky & Charles Petersen**Ms Kristine Vikmanis & Mr. Denton Creighton****The Youssef-WarrenFoundation****

PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL

TRUSTEE, $7,500 – $12,499à la Carte Kitchen Inc.Margaret Atwood & Graeme Gibson***Mr. & Mrs. Avie Bennett****Dr. David & Constance Briant****

Paul G. Cherry & Dean C. Noack**** Marilyn Cook*Ms Lindsay Dale-Harris & Mr. Rupert Field-Marsham****Andrew Fleming**Peter & Shelagh Godsoe**Dr. Melvyn L. Iscove***Bernhard & Hannelore Kaeser****J. Hans Kluge**Jean V. Kramar**Mr. Gurney Kranz**** Mr. Philip Lanouette** Paul Lee & Jill Maynard****Anne Lewitt** Jerry & Joan Lozinski****Amy & John Macfarlane* Kathleen McLaughlin & Tim Costigan* Dr. Judith A. Miller***Annie & Ian Sale*Dr. David Shaw**Françoise Sutton***Carol Swallow***William R. Waters****

PATRON, $3,750 – $7,499Laurie & Fareed Ali**Sue Armstrong****Ron Atkinson & Bruce Blandford****Mona H. Bandeen, C. M. ** Karen & Bill Barnett*Henk Bartelink in memory ofOskar & Irmgard Gaube***Dr. Frank Bartoszek & Mr. Daniel O’Brien****Dr. Gail Beck, O. Ont. & Mr. Andrew Fenus* Dr. Thomas H. Beechy****Mr. & Mrs. Eric Belli-Bivar*** Dr. Catherine Bergeron*** Tom Bogart & Kathy Tamaki**Peter Brieger & Beverley Hamblin* Dr. Jane Brissenden & Dr. Janet Roscoe****Mrs. Donna Brock***Alice Burton*** Margaret Harriett Cameron**** Joe & Laurissa Canavan Cesaroni Management Limited***Frank Ciccolini****The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson* Mr. & Mrs. William J. Corcoran***Lindy Cowan† & Chris Hatley***Norman Curtis**** Brian J. Dawson*** Dr. Jeanne Deinum****Carol Derk & David Giles**Mrs. A. Ephraim Diamond &Family**** Peter & Anne Dotsikas**

Jeffrey Douglas Vreni & Marc Ducommun***Mr. Albert D. Dunn*Ron Dyck & Walter Stewart*** Bud & Leigh Eisenberg***Joseph Fantl & Moira Bartram**Mr. & Mrs. Fraser M. Fell**** Kimberley Fobert & Robert Lamb†****The Fraser ElliottFoundation****Dr. & Mrs. Wm. O. Geisler***Ben & Sarah Glatt****Ann J. Gibson****Peter & Shelagh Godsoe**Rose & Roger Goldstein****Michael & Anne Gough****Ronald & Birgitte Granofsky****Douglas & Ruth Grant*John & Judith Grant**Al & Malka Green**John Groves & Vera Del Vecchio****James & Joyce Gutmann****George & Irene Hamilton****Hampton Securities Ltd. *Scott & Ellen Hand***Maggie Hayes** Hon. & Mrs. Paul Hellyer****Chris Hoffmann & Joan Eakin**Michiel Horn & Cornelia Schuh****Ken Hugessen & Jennifer Connolly**Dr. Melvyn L. Iscove*** The Jackman Foundation***Victoria Jackman***Ms Elizabeth Johnson** Dr. Joshua Josephson & Ms Elaine Lewis****Lorraine Kaake****Patrick & Barbara Keenan****Dr. Joel Keenleyside**** Joseph Kerzner & Lisa Koeper****James & Diane King**Dr. Elizabeth Kocmur****Murray & Marvelle Koffler****John B. Lawson, Q.C. ****Mr. J. Levitt & Ms E. Mah** Daniel & Janet Li**Vincent & Helene Lobraico*Tom C. Logan* Jonathan & Dorothea Lovat Dickson**Mr. Jed MacKay****Mrs. R. MacMillan ****Dr. Colin McGregor Mailer**** Mrs. J. L. Malcolm*Dr. & Mrs. M. A. Manuel*Frederick J. Marker & Anne Dupré*Paul & Jean McGrath****Ronan McGrath & Sarah Perry* June McLean****

Mr. Ian McWalter* Mr. Ulrich Menzefricke****Bruce & Vladka Mitchell*Mr. Noel Mowat**Dr. Shirley C. Neuman** Eileen Patricia Newell***Sally-Ann Noznesky**** E. Oliana & A. Iu*** Janice Oliver*** Keith & Brenda Ottaway***The Ouellette FamilyFoundationJulia & Liza Overs****Dr. & Mrs. William M. Park****Douglas L. Parker**** John & Gwen Pattison**June C. Pinkney**** Polk Family Charitable Fund**Julian Porter, Q.C. **Mary Jean & Frank Potter*** Margrit & Tony Rahilly**** Rob & Penny Richards***Margaret A. Riggin*Gordon Robison & David Grant* Cameron Rusaw & Anne-Marie SorrentiJudy & Hy Sarick****Sam & Esther Sarick****Helen & John Scott**June Shaw & the late Dr. Ralph Shaw****Allan & Helaine Shiff****David & Hilary Short*** Hume Smith****Dr. Harley Smyth & Carolyn McIntire Smyth**Philip Somerville*Dr. John Stanley & Dr. Helmut Reichenbächer***Wayne Stanley & Marina Pretorius* Doreen L. Stanton****Mr. & Mrs. Gordon Taylor****Wendy J. Thompson**** Anthea Thorp****Ian Turner***Sandra & Guy Upjohn*** Dita Vadron & James Catty** Rosalind & Dory Vanderhoof**Donald & Margaret Walter****Hugh & Colleen Washington**Ruth Watts-Gransden****Dr. Virginia Wesson*** Dr. Jack Williams & Dr. Dorothy Pringle***Ms Lilly Wong* Mr. & Mrs. Richard Wookey****Linda Young*Helen Ziegler***Susan Zorzi**Sharon Zuckerman****Anonymous (2)

MEMBER, $2,250 – $3,749D. C. Adamson-Brdar****Susan Agranove & Estate of Dr. Larry M. Agranove**** Donna & Lorne Albaum**Mr. & Mrs. Roberto & Nancy Albis***David & Debbie Allan Clive & Barbara Allen****Mr. Thomas & Mrs. Claire Allen** Dr. D. Amato & Ms J. Hodges****Anne-Marie H. Applin***Valerie Armstrong****Philip Arthur & Mary Wilson* Virginia Atkin***Mr. Jeff Axelrod & Dr. John Goodhew John Bailey**James C. Baillie**Marilyn & Charles Baillie****Andrew & Cornelia Baines****Janice A. Baker****Richard J. Balfour****Lindy Barrow**Julia Bass & David Hamilton***Alice & Tom Bastedo***Mr. & Mrs. Peter & Sondra Beck*Ms Marie Bérard†***Nani & Austin Beutel****Dody Bienenstock** John & Mandy Birch*Anneliese & Walter Blackwell****Darlene & Peter Blenich* Ian & Janet Blue***John & Ila Bossons**Mr. W. Bowen & Ms S. Gavinchuk†****Mr. Stephen Bradley Mrs. Carolyn Bradley-Hall & Mr. William Bradley***Mrs. Richard Bradshaw***Mr. Ingvar & Mrs. Sheila Brogren Brian Bucknall & Mary Jane Mossman****Christopher & Elizabeth Buller Thomas J. Burton**Maureen Callahan & Douglas Gray**Sharon & Howard Campbell**Ken & Denise Cargill**Brian & Ellen Carr**** Gail Carson****Drs. Carol & David CassCara Celotti & Tom NicolopoulosProf. Alfred L. Chan & Mr. Michael Farewell***Dr. & Mrs. Albert Cheskes***John D. Church Dr. Howard M. Clarke***Edward Cole & Adrienne Hood***Brian Collins & Amanda Demers*Mr. Andrew Combes*


Please visit coc.ca for additional information 23Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season22 Please visit coc.ca for additional information

Tony & Elizabeth Comper*Mr. & Mrs. R. W. Corcoran Murray & Katherine Corlett****Harold & Anita Corrigan***Dr. Lesley S. Corrin****Bram & Beth Costin Gay & Derek Cowbourne**Mary & John Crocker****Ruth & John Crow***Carrol Anne Curry***Michael & Honor de Pencier****Mrs. Rosario de Wit-Farro***Dr. & Mrs. Michael & Ute Davis**Angelo & Carol DelZotto*** Charles Dennis & Steve Kelley†Mr. & Mrs. A. J. Diamond*J. DiGiovanni*Olwen & Frank Dixon**James Doak & Patricia Best***Sandra Z. Doblinger**Ms Petrina Dolby***Dr. James & Mrs. Ellen Downey**Marko Duic and Gabriel Lau**** William & Gwenda Echard****Jean Patterson Edwards**Wendy & Elliott Eisen****Jordan Elliott & Lynne Griffin* Robert Elliott & Paul Wilson**Christoph Emmrich & Srilata RamanDr. & Mrs. John Evans***Fabris Inc. *Mr. Eddy FanGeorge A. Farkass**Gail & Bob Farquharson*Darren Farwell Catherine Fauquier***Bill Fearn & Claudia Rogers****Lee & Shannon Ferrier****William & Rosemary Fillmore***Mrs. Lois Fleming****Goshka Folda* J. E. Fordyce**** Robert & Julia Foster** Margaret & David Fountain****Linda & Ken Foxcroft* Mrs. Ingrid FratzlRev. Ivars Gaide & Rev. Dr. Anita Gaide***Ann Gawman***Dr. Barry A. Gayle****The Honourable Irving Gerstein &Mrs. Gail Gerstein**Mary & Lionel Goffart*Dr. Eudice Goldberg*Dr. Fay Goldstep & Dr. George Freedman**Deanna A. Gontard****Dr. Paul W. GoochTina & Michael Gooding***Wayne A. Gooding****Goodman Family*

Dr. Noëlle Grace & the Shohet Family**** Jane Greene**Mr. Finn Greflund & Mrs. M. Ortner**Mr. Carmen & Mrs. Vittoria Guglietti**Ellen & Simon Gulden****Mr. Albert Haddad Dan Hagler & Family***Ms Pamela Hallisey Francess G. HalpennyMr. Adrian J. HamelBeverly Hargraft**Mr. Harquail & Dr. Sigfridsson* Michael Harris & Carol Rak**Mr. & Mrs. William B. Harris*** Paul & Natalie Hartman*Caroline Helbronner*** Jacques & Elizabeth Helbronner***Thea Herman & Gregory King***William E. Hewitt***Pamela Hoiles Sally Holton****Emmy & Walter Homburger***Drs. Walter & Virginia Hryshko*Ms Judith Hull Anthony C. J. Humphreys****Peter & Hélène Hunt****Eva Innes & David Medhurst* Elliott Jacobson & Judy Malkin**Paul Jaggard & Ruth Caswell Lynne Jeffrey****Laurence Jewell**The Norman & MargaretJewison CharitableFoundation****E. Patricia Johnson** Dr. Albert & Bette Johnston**Joyce Johnston***Alexandra Jonsson Miriam KaganMr. & Mrs. John & Donata KaldasH. L. KatarynychDavid W. & Sheryl L. Kerr* Inta Kierans****Ellen & Hermann Kircher****Mr. Martin Kirr & Ms Suzanne McCuaigMr. Douglas Klaassen** Michael & Sonja Koerner***Robin Korthals & Janet Charlton**Dr. Robert Kosnik****Valarie Koziol*William & Eva Krangle****Richard T. La Prairie*Elizabeth & Goulding Lambert***Jo Lander****M. J. Horsfall Large** Marc Lebeau & Guylaine Lefebvre Dr. Connie Lee***

Linda Lee & Michael Pharoah**** Neal & Dominique Lee** Dr. Richard Lee & Mr. Gary Van Haren**Alexander & Anna Leggatt***Joy Levine***Mr. Peter Levitt & Ms Mai Why***Mr. Kejun LiangL. Liivamagi & Dr. D. N. CashMarjorie & Roy Linden****Dr. & Mrs. W. G. Lindley****Janet & Sid Lindsay***Anthony J. Lisanti***In memory of Janet Lo**Dr. Vance Logan****A. Benson Lorriman****Douglas L. Ludwig & Karen J. Rice***Peter H. Lunney*Dr. Robert G. Luton**** James & Connie MacDougall****Dr. & Mrs. Richard Mackenzie****Tom MacMillan****Macro Properties Ltd. **Ole P. Madsen*Mr. A. Mafrici****R. Manke**** Mr. & Mrs. R. Gordon Marantz****Fernando Martinez-Caro Roberto Mauro† & Erin Wall Mrs. Ettore Mazzoleni*** Dr. & Mrs. John A. McCallum****The Hon. Barbara McDougall***Dr. & Mrs. Donald C. McGillivray****Darcy & Joyce McKeough*Mark & Andrea McQueen***Don McLean & Diane Martello Guy & Joanne McLean****M. E. McLeod****Jean M. McNab**** Mr. Thomas McNicholas*Shawn McReynolds & Elaine Kierans* Dr. Davender Mehra & Dr. Ellis Galea Kirkland*Dr. Don Melady & Mr. Rowley Mossop***Eileen Mercier****Ms Andrea Miller Marvene (Cox) & Gordon Miller**Lee Milliken† & Doug MacNaughton**Patricia & Frank Mills***Dr. & Mrs. Steven Millward**Florence Minz Audrey & David Mirvish***Dr. David N. Mitchell & Dr. Susan M. Till***Mr. Donald MitchellEva Mocarski* Anne Moore**** Mr. Robert Morassutti****

Ruth Morawetz & Ken Judd*** Alice Janet Morgan***Ms Rosalind Morrow**Drs. Christopher & Pippa Moss***Gael Mourant & Caroline Hubberstey* Mr. Joseph Mulder**Anne Murdock** Marilyn & Amy Mushinski†Matt & Debbie Mysak*** David & Mary Neelands***Dr. Emilie Newell*Dr. Steven Nitzkin****Simon & Marlene Nyilassy* Dr. James & Mrs. Valda Oestreicher***Benson Orenstein***Martin & Myrna Ossip*Eileen & Ralph Overend* Clarence & Mary Pace** Dr. & Mrs. N. Pairaudeau****Lee Parsons*Dr. Roger D. Pearce*** Dr. A. Angus Peller* John & Penelope Pepperell* John & Carol Peterson***M. J. Phillips****Robin B. Pitcher****Wanda Plachta****Georgia Prassas****Ms Jill Presser & Mr. John Duffy*Dr. Mark Quigley**** Stephen Ralls & Bruce Ubukata***The Carol & Morton Rapp Foundation****Professor C. Edward Rathé**** Kenneth F. Read**** Mrs. Richard Gavin Reid** Grant L. Reuber****Mrs. Gabrielle Richards** Carolyn Ricketts****Ms Nada Ristich*Emily & Fred Rizner**Clara Robert*Mr. Mike & Ms Stacy Robitaille Steve & Richa RoderDr. Michael & Mary Romeo****John & Hannah Rosen*Mrs. Gertrude Rosenthal****Ken & Helen Rotenberg**Rainer & Sharyn Rothfuss****Peter A. Roy & Leah Taylor RoyDrs. Orest & Maureen Rudzik****David A. Ruston***Ms Sharon Cookie Sandler**** Mallory Morris Sartz & John Sartz****Go Sato**** Fred & Mary Schulz**Dr. Marianne Seger****Carol Seifert & Bruno Tesan***Robert & Geraldine Sharpe****Victor & Rhoda Shields****

Milton & Joyce Shier****William Siegel & Margaret Swaine**Dr. Bernie & Mrs. Bobbie Silverman** Rod & Christina SimpsonIn memory of Dr. Bernard Slatt*Dr. & Mrs. Jeremy Sloan**Jay Smith & Laura Rapp*Ms Muriel Smith & Mr. Eric Ojala****Dr. Joseph So***John & Ellen Spears****Martha E. Spears***Rosemary SpeirsAlex & Kim Squires****Oksana R. Stein***Mr. & Mrs. Gary & Sula Stern*Dr. & Mrs. Stephen Stern***John D. Stevenson****James H. Stonehouse**Janet Stubbs**Eric Tang & Dr. James Miller** Mr. Arthur Paul Tarasuk* Tesari Charitable Foundation**Elizabeth Tory****Mr. Alex Tosheff* Edmond & Sylvia Vanhaverbeke****Dr. R. B. Van Winckle* Stefan Varga & Dr. Marica Varga*Mr. & Mrs. Henry & Ann Louise Vehovec****Dr. Yvonne Verbeeten**Dr. Helen Vosu & Donald Milner****Richard & Nathalie Wachsberg*Elizabeth & Michael Walker***Ann & Marshall Webb** Peter Webb & Joan York**** Dr. Bogomila Welsh**Ms Eleanor Westney**Melanie Whitehead*** Mr. Brian Wilks*Elizabeth Wilson & Ian Montagnes**** John Wright & Chung-Wai Chow*Dr. Jackson Wu & Dr. Viviana Chang* Ms June Yee** Morden Yolles**** Walter Zwig**** Anonymous (26)

FRIENDS OF THE COC

SUSTAINING FRIENDS $1,600 – $2,249Iivi Campbell****Mr. Steven D. Donohoe****Ted GoldenbergMr. James Hamilton*

Bill Heaslip****Mr. Josef Hrdina*Dr. Paul & Mrs. Marcia KavanaghMrs. Mary Liitoja****Mrs. Annette Oelbaum*Ms Marianne Orr*Barbara & Peter Pauly**Dr. Norbert V. Perera****Ms Adrianne PieczonkaMr. & Mrs. Domenic Porporo**Ms Joan Sinclair**David Smukler & Patricia Kern**The Sorbara Group****Dr. M. Lynne Thurling & Dr. John Treilhard***Vernon & Beryl Turner****Gordon Waugh****Anonymous (1)

ASSOCIATE FRIENDS $1,100 – $1,599Carol & Ernest Albright****Gail Asper & Michael PatersonMichael & Janet Barnard**Don Biderman****Ellen & Murray Blankstein*Darlene & Peter Blenich*Murray & Judy Bryant*** Dr. Wendy C. Chan*Patricia Clarke**Robert D. Cook**Mr. Neil Crawford*Mr. Stuart DavidsonMr. Darren Day***Dr. Christine Dunbar**Howard & Kathrine Eckler***R. Dalton Fowler****John H. Galloway****Alison Girling & Paul Schabas**Ricardo Gomez-Insausti*David Gordon & Wendy Flores Gordon*Sylvie Hatch****David Holdsworth & Nicole Senécal*Richard & Susan Horner****James Hughes***Mr. Sumant Inamdar**Mr. Kazik Jedrzejczak****Ms Elisa KearneyMs Suanne Kelman & Dr. Allan J. Fox**The Hon. Dennis Lane, Q.C. &Mrs. Sandra Lane****Jason & Stephanie LewisAndrew & Harriet LyonsP. Anne Mackay****Mrs. Janet Maggiacomo**Karen & Craig**Georgina McLennan****Mr. David Milovanovic & Dr. Cinda DyerMr. Carl Morey****


Mr. Sean O'Neill****Marjorie & Anne Pepper**Ms Victoria Pinnington***Dr. Peter Ray****Dr. Shelley Rechner****Amye & DeeAnn Hagler SagarWilliam & Meredith Saunderson****Ms Elisabeth Scarff****Beverly & Fred Schaeffer****Dr. & Mrs. W. K. Stavraky***Norma & George Steiner****Ms Peg Thoen**Dr. Peter Voore****Ron Williams*Nina & Norman Wright***Carole & Bernie Zucker***Anonymous (7)

CONTRIBUTING FRIENDS$700 – $1,099Dr. M. Al Sayyab DentistryProfessional Corp.Ms I. M. Allen****Dr. I. L. Babb Fund at theToronto CommunityFoundation****In memory of M. Baptista***Peter & Leslie Barton**Mrs. Lynn Bayer***Catherine Belyea+Michael Benedict & Martha Lowrie****Jeniva Berger****Anthony Bird****Dr. B. Derek & Dr. Anne W. Birt****Dr. Jennifer Blake**Ms Marlene Bohn*Mary Brock & Brian Iler****Ms Judith Burrows***Ms E. Burton***Mr. Bill Cameron*Betty Carlyle****Mark Cestnik & Natercia Sousa****Geoffrey & Bilgi Chapman****Harold Chmara & Danny Hoy****Joe T. R. Clarke****Ms Rovena CooperMr. Sylvain CrozonM. P. Davies**Anita DayDon DeBoer & Brent Vickar***Mr. Michael Disney*Wendy DrahovzalMr. Arthur English**Mr. Larry Enkin***Joe & Helen Feldmann***Brian A. Ferguson****Dr. James FergusonBruce & Mary FillierTom Flemming****Jennifer & Frank Flower***Angelo Furgiuele & Family*

Douglas G. Gardner****Martin Gerwin & Judith Rutledge*Girish & Bharati GhataliaElinor Gill Ratcliffe C.M., O.N.L.,LLD (hc)Aviva & Andrew Goldenberg**Dr. Wilfred S. Goodman****Mrs. Marion A. Green****Mrs. Suzy Greenspan**Dr. & Mrs. Voldemars Gulens****Dr. & Mrs. Brian & Cynthia Hands****Roy & Gail Harrison****Sandra Hausman**Peter L. Henniger*In memory of Pauline Hinch**Istvan & Gilian HlinyanszkyMr. Sylvain Houle*Dr. Ivan & Mrs. Diana Hronsky****In loving memory of JoyceWhitney Hughes*Mr. David Hutton***Douglas & Dorothy Joyce****Lilian Kilianski+ & Brian Pritchard*Mai Kirch****Dr. & Mrs. L. A. Kitchell****Serguei KloubkovMr. & Mrs. I. P. & O. M. Komarnicky***Mr. Christopher J. Kowal*Mr. Jonathan Krehm*Gediminas P. Kurpis****Mr. James R. Lake****Harry Lane***Alan & Marti Latta****Giles le Riche & Rosemary Polczer***Mr. Tom Le Seelleur**Claus & Heather Lenk*Mr. Yakov Lerner*Dr. David Levine*Mr. & Mrs. G. LorensonDr. Francois Loubert*Deidre Lynch*Tyler & Claire MacnamaraKathy Marton*Dr. Lynn McAslanMary McClymont****Mary McGowan****Jil McIntosh**Mr. Bruce McKeown****David & Jean McLay****Sylvia McPhee****Janis Medland*Janina Milisiewicz****Kamini & Lynne Milnes*Frank & Anne Moir***Blake Murray & Nancy Riley****Peter NaylorLarry NevardMr. Tomi Nishio****David Northcote & Suzanne Betcke*

Mrs. Jean O'Grady**Ms Cristina Oke***Karen Olinyk+*Joan Pape****Mr. James C. Pappas****Mr. Joseph & Mrs. Letizia Paradiso***David Peachey & Georgia Henderson**Dr. Wadermar A. Pieczonka****Dr. Alice Pitt & Dr. Deborah BritzmanEd & Beth Price***Mr. Robert RadkeAnnette & Jim RayMarat RessinMs Virginia Robeson**Dorothy & Robert Ross***Mr. Michael Samborsky**M. & G. Sanvido****Patti & Richard Schabas**Nancy A. Schiefer in memoryof Walter Schiefer****Marlene Pollock Sheff*John Spears****Phil Spencer****Mr. Paul Steep & Ms Anne McNeilly*Helga & Klaus Stegemann***Jane & Ted Stephenson****Penelope K. Sullivan****Ms Michelle Tan**Judith Teller Foundation**** Ria Tietz****Dr. Claude Tousignant**Mr. & Mrs. David G. Trent****Maria & Ian Tulip****Dr. Nancy F. Vogan****Mr. Wayne Vogan+****George Vona & Lark Popov**Barbara J. WeiderMr. John M. Welch****James & Margaret Whitby****F. Whittaker**Ms Diana Yenson*David A. YoungMs Iris Zawadowski*Anonymous (9)

THE ENCORE LEGACYThe Encore Legacy is theplanned giving program of theCanadian Opera Company.Planned giving is making thedecision today to provide a giftfor the Canadian OperaCompany that may not be realized until after your lifetime. Gifts planned today, that willultimately affect your estate,allow you to make a statementof support that will become a lasting legacy to the COC.

The Canadian Opera Companygratefully acknowledges andthanks the following individualswho have included the COC intheir estate planning:

Susan Agranove & Estate of Dr. Larry M. AgranoveIsobel AllenCallie ArcherRenata Arens & Elizabeth FreyMrs. Rosalen ArmstrongRon Atkinson & Bruce BlandfordLindy BarrowMr. L. H. BartelinkJ. Linden Best & James G. KerrDavid BowenMarnie M. BrachtGregory BrandtAnn ChristieEarl ClarkThe Rt. Hon. Adrienne ClarksonBrian Collins & Amanda DemersEarlaine CollinsDavid H. CormackNinalee CraigAnita Day & Robert McDonaldAnn De BrouwerHelen DrakeRowland D. GalbraithDouglas G. GardnerAnn J. GibsonMichael & Anne GoughL. A. GroverDavid G. HallmanGeorge & Irene HamiltonJoan L. HarrisJames HewsonJohn R. HigginsMr. Kim Yim Ho & Walter Frederic ThommenDouglas E. HodgsonMatt HughesMichael & Linda HutcheonLynne JeffreyAnn KadrnkaBen KizemchukKathryn KossowMr. Gurney KranzJo LanderPeggy LauTom C. Logan, A.R.C.T.Marjorie & Roy LindenMs Lenore MacDonaldDr. Colin M. MailerR. MankeTim & Jane MarlattMr. Shawn MartinMargaret McKeeSylvia M. McPheeDr. Alan C. MiddletonEleanor MillerSigmund & Elaine Mintz

Donald MorseSue MortimerMr. & Mrs. James D. PattersonMervyn PickeringGunther & Dorothy PiepkeWanda PlachtaMs Georgia PrassasK. F. ReadDr. John Reeve-NewsonMrs. Margaret RussellSharon Ryman†Cookie & Stephen SandlerClaire ShawR. Bonnie ShettlerDavid E. SpiroDr. D. P. Stanley-PorterDoreen L. StantonLilly Offenbach-StraussDrs. W. & K. StavrakyJanet StubbsAnn SuttonRonald TaberMrs. L. TreutlerRiki Turofsky & Charles PetersenN. Suzanne VanstoneMarie-Laure WagnerHugh & Colleen WashingtonMarion C. WilsonMarion YorkTricia YoungerAnonymous (59)

OPERATOURS DONORS $700 +(As of December 10, 2014)Mrs. Larry M. Agranove****Brian J. Dawson***Jayne & Ted Dawson****Brian A. Ferguson****Ben & Sarah Glatt****John B. Lawson, Q.C.****Dr. Colin McGregor Mailer****Mary McClymont****John & Esther McNeil****Benson Orenstein***Joan Pape****Ria Tietz****Melanie Whitehead***

CORPORATE MATCHINGPARTNERSThe Canadian Opera Companygratefully acknowledges thefollowing organizations that havematched gifts by their employees:

Canadian Tire CorporationLimitedIBM Canada Ltd.Ivanhoe Cambridge IncGoodman & Company,Investment Counsel Ltd.FM Global Foundation

The above Individual Support Giftswere made as of December 15, 2014.

* five to nine years of support** 10 to 14 years of support*** 15 to 19 years of support**** 20 or more years of support† COC administration, chorus

or orchestra member‡ Endowment

Despite the staff’s extensive effortsto avoid errors and omissions, mistakes can occur. If your name was omitted, listed incorrectly ormisspelled, we apologize for anyinconvenience this may have caused.We would appreciate being notifiedof any errors at 416-847-4949.

25Please visit coc.ca for additional information


Supporter of Ensemble Studio and Centre Stage

Presenting Sponsor of SURTITLES™

Presenting Sponsor Opera Under 30 and Operanation

Preferred Credit CardTD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege*

Official Canadian Wine of the COC at the FSCPA

Program Sponsor After School Opera Program

Glencore Ensemble Studio School Tour

Preferred Dry Cleaner

Preferred Hospitality Sponsor


MAJOR CORPORATE SPONSORS 2014/2015 SEASON

Preferred FragrancePreferred Jewellery Partner

Preferred Medical Services Provider

BMO Financial Group Pre-Performance ChatsBMO Financial Group Student Dress RehearsalsVerdi’s Falstaff generously underwritten in part by

Official Automotive Sponsor of the COC at the FSCPA

Golden Circle Hosting Partner

Production SponsorPuccini’s

Madama Butterfly

Production SponsorPuccini’s

Madama Butterfly

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

PERFORMANCE SPONSORSBarrick GoldBlake, Cassels & GraydonBurgundy Asset ManagementDavies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLPFionn MacCool’sFour Seasons Hotels and ResortsLinden & AssociatesMcCarthy Tetrault LLP Norton Rose Fulbright LLPOsler, Hoskin & HarcourtPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

HOSTING SPONSORS

PREFERRED FLORISTS Bloom The Flower CompanyQuince Flowers

CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION DONORS

$50,000+The Asper FoundationThe Slaight Family FoundationThe Hal Jackman Fund at the Ontario ArtsFoundation

$10,000 – $49,999Audrey S. Hellyer Charitable FoundationCineplexGreat West Life, London Life and Canada LifeJ.P. Bickell FoundationThe Lloyd Carr-Harris FoundationOCC LasikThe McLean Foundation The W. Garfield Weston FoundationAnonymous (1)

$5,000 to $9,999The Hope Charitable Foundation JMV Food Services Canada Ltd.Local 58 Charitable Benefit FundMill Street BreweryShinex Window Cleaning Inc.State StreetUnit Park Holdings Inc.The WholeNote Magazine

$2,500 – $4,999Hicks Memorial Fund at The Calgary FoundationVida Peene Fund at the Canada Council for the Arts

$1,000 – $2,499AimiaD’Avignon Freight Services Inc.Jarvis & AssociatesLoch-Sloy Holdings Ltd.MAC CosmeticsMilgram Group of Companies Ltd. O’Shanter Development Company Ltd. The Powis Family Foundation

CENTRE STAGE: ENSEMBLE STUDIO COMPETITION GALA 2014 COMPETITION SUPPORTERSRBC and RBC FoundationPeter M. DeebHal Jackman Foundation

PLATINUM SPONSORMercedes-Benz

OPERA UNDER 30 SPONSORTD Bank Group

GALA RECEPTION SPONSORMaison Birks

GOLD SPONSORSBrookfield Asset ManagementLinden & AssociatesScotiabank

OPERANATI0N: LIGHT UP THE NIGHTPRESENTING SPONSORTD Bank Group

DINNER SPONSORHampton Securities

PREFERRED FRAGRANCEREVEAL by Calvin Klein

JEWELLERY PARTNERMaison Birks

PARTNERING SPONSORBurgundy Asset Management

CONTRIBUTING SPONSORSBloombergBonnie ShoreCanaccord GenuityElement Financial Corp.Torkin Manes LLP

EVENT SUPPORTERSBT/AChairman MillsKnot PRMill St.PerrierQuince FlowersRyan Emberley Photography10tationThe RoomToronto LifeTrius WinesWellington PrintworksJ.P. Wiser’s ® Canadian WhiskyLot No. 40™ Canadian WhiskyPike Creek™ Canadian WhiskyJameson® Irish WhiskeyThe Glenlivet® Single Malt Scotch WhiskyAberlour® Single Malt Scotch WhiskyBeefeater® Gin.

FINE WINE AUCTION 2014PRESENTING SPONSORSTD SecuritiesBloombergGraywood Group

PARTNERING SPONSORSGWLM Inc.Thomson ReutersBlake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

SUPPORTING SPONSORSIAMGOLDOzz Electric

EVENT SPONSORSFalconcrest HomesMarel Contractors

CHEESE SPONSORThe Cheese Boutique

AUCTIONEERStephen Ranger Fine Art Valuation & Consultancy

2014/2015 SPONSORS

Production Sponsor Rossini’s

The Barber of Seville

CREDITS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe Canadian Opera Company would like to thank all those who volunteer

both on a daily basis and for special events with the company.

Michael Cooper: Official photographer

The COC is a member of Opera America, Opera.ca. and TAPA.

The COC operates in agreement with Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.

The COC operates in agreement with I.A.T.S.E., Local #58, Local #822, Local #828.

The Canadian Opera Company gratefully acknowledges the generous support of these government agencies and departments.

ENSEMBLE STUDIO

SPECIAL PROJECT FUNDING

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

For the many programs and special initiatives undertaken each year by the Canadian Opera Company, we gratefully acknowledge project funding from:

Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund

Department of Canadian Heritage

Employment and Social Development Canada

SUPERNUMERARIESAngela BellNancy MellowTimothy Ng

Max SokolovskiPeter Wismath

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $157 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.

Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 157 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.

OPERATING SUPPORT


Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season18 Catch up with blogs and explore Look and Listen at coc.ca. 19

BACKSTAGE AND BEYOND

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7. The cast and creative team of Falstaff celebrated agreat show at the opening night party afterwards.Photo: Dave Cox

8. Falstaff himself, baritone Gerald Finley, celebrated theopening of Falstaff with the Right Honourable AdrienneClarkson

9. COC General Director Alexander Neef and Head of theEnsemble Liz Upchurch celebrated the opening concertof the Free Concert Series in the Richard BradshawAmphitheatre, at which Ensemble Studio members performed. Photo: Karen Reeves

10.COC Board member Marcia Lewis Brown, EnsembleStudio baritone Gordon Bintner and soprano SimoneOsborne (Nannetta in Falstaff and an Ensemble Studioalumna) celebrated opening night of Falstaff.

11. KPMG guests Nazir and Yasmin Valani, and Margaretand Rob Brandl at a Backstage Toast for members of the COC’s Golden Circle. Photo: Joey Lopez

12.Ensemble Studio soprano Karine Boucher at a reception following the opening concert of the FreeConcert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre.Photo: Karen Reeves

13.Tim Reuss, Mercedes-Benz Canada President, with his guests at the Centre Stage Ensemble StudioCompetition gala. Photo: Jenna Wakani

1. Councillor Anthony Perruzza (far left) and Councillor Peter Leon (second from right) attended the MadamaButterfly backstage toast with their spouses. Photo: Joey Lopez

2. (l-r) Tenor Stefano Secco and his fiancée Sarah, mezzo-soprano Beth Clayton (Patricia Racette's wife), andsoprano Patricia Racette with a fluffy friend celebrated Madama Butterfly backstage along with COC GoldenCircle members. Photo: Joey Lopez

3. Beautiful table settings for the Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition Gala. Photo: Jenna Wakani

4. Centre Stage Co-Chairs and COC Board members Frances Price and Justin Linden celebrated an evening of great Canadian talent, both current and future. Photo: Jenna Wakani

5. Nicholas Mellamphy (Creative Director, The Room, Hudson's Bay), Nada Ristich (BMO Financial Group'sDirector, Corporate Donations), and Stephen Gilles (COC Development Department), at Centre Stage:Ensemble Studio Competition Gala. Photo: Jenna Wakani

6. An enthusiastic crowd attended the President’s Council Season Opening Party, held for the first time ever at the Four Seasons Centre. Photo: Dave Cox

OUR WONDERFUL COC DONORS ARE HELPING US CELEBRATE A GREAT SEASON AT SOME UNFORGETTABLE EVENTS INCLUDING PARTIES, GALAS, AND BACKSTAGE MEET-AND-GREETS WITH ARTISTS!

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February 4 – 27, 2016

NEW COC PRODUCTION Production Sponsor

Uli Kirsch as Cherubim in The Marriage of Figaro(Salzburg Festival, 2011). Photo: Monika Rittershaus

THEMARRIAGE OF FIGARO

MOZART


No opera is more convincing – or as consistently beautiful—in portraying the fluid enchantments,maze-like confusions, and bouts of sheer blindness brought on by love.

On the eve of their wedding, Figaro and Susanna’s romance is shaken when their employer, the Count,takes an extramarital interest in Susanna. This sets in motion a day of schemes and counter schemes,sexual intrigues and mistaken identities, embroiling the entire household in a web of erotic passions.

A sparkling cast of Mozartian singers take us into this magnificent, seriously witty farce, set to someof the most sublimely beautiful music ever written, from the Countess’s ravishing arias to virtuosicensembles such as the Act II finale. Hailed as a “masterpiece” (Bloomberg News), this new-to-Torontoproduction by Claus Guth draws visual inspiration from the films of Ingmar Bergman and the playsof Ibsen and Strindberg, while fusing stylized gesture and choreography with Mozart’s score todeliver a “shattering, unforgettable” (The Guardian) account of the elemental forces of human nature.

Love conquers all. Especially reason.


CREDIT: Daniel Kukla, Porcupine Wash (from the series “The Edge Effect”)

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Carmen. The name alone conjures up myriad allusions: freedom-loving gypsy, sexual predator, fatalistic soul. Carmen has inspired ballets, movies and one of the world’s most enduringly popularoperas, set to the driving passion and sensual heat of Georges Bizet’s score.

The story is one that could be ripped from the headlines of today, or anytime: Carmen enters into a tragic love affair with a young soldier whose jealousy is at odds with her unrelenting desire forfreedom. She soon tires of him and seeks fresh excitement in the arms of another man.

Joel Ivany, of Toronto’s Against the Grain Theatre, directs a young and brilliant cast including two of the most outstanding Carmens on the opera stage today: Anita Rachvelishvili, who has sungCarmen with “smoldering, earthy sexuality"( New York Times) at the Met, La Scala and Berlin; andClémentine Margraine, whose "passion and menace" (Opera News) has made her Carmen such a hit in Rome and Berlin.

April 12 – May 15, 2016

COC PRODUCTION

A scene from Carmen (COC, 2010). Photo: Michael Cooper

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22 Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

In his grand bel canto drama Maometto II, Rossini unleashes his full arsenal of vocal pyrotechnics onthe historical tale of the great Turkish Sultan, Maometto, and his quest to conquer the Holy RomanEmpire. Mostly known for effervescent comedies like The Barber of Seville, Rossini was also a masterof serious opera, the most famous being William Tell.

After its 1820 Naples premiere, Maometto II was not seen again in its original form until 2012 atSanta Fe Opera. There, it was lauded as a “thrilling [piece of] experiential theater” (Opera News) inthe same David Alden production that will appear on our Toronto stage next Spring. Along with setand costume designer Jon Morrell, Alden has brought the opera’s action forward from its historical15th-century origins to the time of its creation in 1820. Strikingly-coloured, Napoleonic era, FirstEmpire gowns glow jewel-like against a neoclassical marble colonnade. Surprising coups desthéâtres are peppered throughout, including the sudden emergence of a statue of three gallopinghorses on which Maometto makes a dramatic exit.

Mastering Rossini’s fearsome vocal demands will be superstar Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaronimaking his COC debut as “a chilling and complex Maometto. His dashing stage presence and virilevoice exude menacing authority” (New York Times). COC favourite Elizabeth DeShong—no strangerto Rossini’s roulades that she so expertly tossed off as our 2011 Cenerentola—returns as Calbo, oneof bel canto’s great, heroic pants roles. The young, rich-toned American soprano Leah Crocettodebuts as Maometto’s forbidden love, Anna. Conductor Harry Bicket (Hercules, 2014) makes a welcome return to the podium.

April 29 – May 14, 2016

NEW COC PRODUCTION Luca Pisaroni as Maometto II (Santa Fe Opera, 2012).

Photo: Ken Howard

Love and war collide in Rossini’s epic drama

MAOMETTO IIROSSINI


24 Canadian Opera Company 2014/2015 Season

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THINGSTOKNOWABOUT

1. THE ARTIST OF THE MODERN WORLD

Richard Wagner (1813–1883) is without a doubt one of the most important, not tomention controversial, artistsin human history. His influenceextends far beyond musicand has touched all aspectsof modern culture, from literature, poetry, fine arts,and cinema, to literary theory,politics, philosophy, andmore. Renowned music criticAndrew Porter has claimedthat “No artist has been moreinfluential than Wagner.”

2. TOTAL WORK OF ART

Wagner pursued aggressivereforms of traditional operastructures and insisted on thenotion of Gesamtkunstwerk,“a total work of art,” in which music and words areseamlessly integrated, andvarious art forms are combinedfor maximal expressive effect.Mythology, philosophy, dance,architecture, as well as thevisual and plastic arts, wouldall be synthesized andabsorbed into a unified, complete, multimedia experience. Wagner evendesigned a special performancevenue, the BayreutherFestspielhaus, where theseoperas of the future could be appropriately staged.


A scene from Die Walküre, COC, 2004.Photo: Michael Cooper

Wagner in Paris, 1861, approximately thirteen yearsbefore completing his monumental Ring Cycle.

DieWalküreWAGNER’S

BY NIKITA GOURSKI

TOP10

Catch up with blogs and explore Look and Listen at coc.ca. 27

3. THEATRE AS COMMUNITY

By “total work of art” Wagnerdidn’t just mean the combination of discrete artistic practices into a unifiedwhole. He also meant that theart work should bring peopletogether. (Wagner was farfrom the clichéd figure of a genius composing only forhimself; he was an essentiallypopular composer.) Indeed,Wagner was following—orwas trying to revitalize, in adistinctly modern way—thetraditions of ancient Greektheatre, in which a communitygathers to reaffirm its self-understanding and collectivevalues, as happens in religiousceremonies or festivals, forexample.

4. APEX OF MUSICAL STORYTELLING

Der Ring des Nibelungen,Wagner’s massive cycle comprising four interconnectedoperas, took approximately26 years to compose. Musiccritic Alex Ross has pointedout that the Ring’s entirescore is “more than two thousand printed pages [andif the music were played frombeginning to end] would lastfrom morning until midnight…arguably, the most ambitiouswork of art ever attempted.”There are only two operahouses in history that haveopened their inaugural seasonswith a full Ring Cycle: theBayreuther Festspielhaus in 1876 (see point 2) and theCOC’s Four Seasons Centrefor the Performing Arts in 2006.

5. MYTHS ABOUT OURSELVES

Drawn from Icelandic legends,ancient Norse poems, andarcane German myths, thestory of The Ring might seemcompletely disconnected fromordinary human concerns. Yet for all the flying horses,fantastic locales, and powerbattles among gods, dwarves,and giants, the operas of theRing Cycle are actuallysupremely human, presentinga completely recognizableworld of human emotions.Romantic passion, self-discovery, family dysfunction—these are the highs and lows the principal characters navigate, charting psychologicalexperiences that define thehuman condition.

6. GOOD PLACE TO START

Die Walküre is the one Ringopera that is most often presented as a stand-alonepiece. Full of accessible andbeautiful music, it is a tale of a heroic warrior goddess,Brünnhilde, who defies divinelaw to do what she knows is right; it’s also a moving character study of a father,Wotan the leader of the gods,who comes to realize he hasfailed his wife and children;finally it is a masterful depictionof romantic love. Plus it featuresthe famous “Ride of the Valkyries”theme, ubiquitously deployedin pop culture, from ApocalypseNow to Bugs Bunny. Hear it,and other highlights, atcoc.ca/LookAndListen.

Clifton Forbis as Siegmund in Die Walküre, COC, 2004. Photo: Michael Cooper

TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW About Wagner’s Die Walküre


FOR FURTHER INSIGHT INTO DIE WALKÜRE, READ AN INTERVIEW WITHCHRISTINE GOERKE IN THE WINTER ISSUE OF PRELUDE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT COC.CA/PUBLICATIONS.

TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW About Wagner’s Die Walküre

7. WAGNER’S LEITMOTIFS

Wagner is known for his veryrich orchestrations and harmonies, and especially forhis system of leitmotifs. Theseare the short melodic and/orharmonic “symbols” associatedwith a particular person,object, emotion, or idea. Theorchestra usually presentsand develops most of the leitmotifs—only occasionallydo they originate in the vocalline. As these musical “symbols” recur, they mightreturn in altered forms andcombinations, to signal evolving dramatic situationsand character relationships.For more, visitcoc.ca/LookAndListen.

8. LOVE VERSUS POWEROur production is directed by Canadian film and stagedirector Atom Egoyan. It wasoriginally created as part of the COC’s complete RingCycle, a huge collaborativeundertaking which broughttogether four directors (oneper opera) and one designer,Canadian Michael Levine.Egoyan focuses on the emotional life of the characters, and interprets the series of intimate familydialogues as part of a largerconflict between “love ofpower and power of love.”

9. DOWNFALL OF THE GODS

Die Walküre, takes place inthe once-pristine Valhalla,which is now in ruins as aresult of Wotan’s powerstruggle for a magical ring.Egoyan and Levine renderthis atmosphere of crisis with set design that featurestiles torn violently from thefloor, as if by an earthquake; a massive structure of collapsedscaffolding; floodlights suspended precariously; and miles of hanging cablesand, wire, apparently wrenchedloose in a cataclysmic event.“Even the costumes are fallingapart and disintegrating,”Egoyan says. “The whole production is about chaos.”

CHRISTINE GOERKE (Brünnhilde)Highly anticipated role debut for this Musical America’s Vocalist of the Year: “thesoprano we have been waiting for, a multi-hued miracle of gale-force power, andpinpoint control, effortlessly riding over the most clamoring orchestras.”

JOHAN REUTER (Wotan)Starred together with Christine Goerke in the Met’s Die Frau ohne Schatten inwhich their duet was “inarguably one of the evening's highlights.” Opera News

HEIDI MELTON (Sieglinde)Melton “brought a lovely, plush soprano and great heart to the role of [Sieglinde].”Wall Street Journal

CLIFTON FORBIS (Siegmund)Forbis “flashes electrifying muscular power but still floats captivating sotto voceeffects” Financial Times

JANINA BAECHLE (Fricka)German mezzo-soprano is “intense and captivating” The Opera Critic

10.TODAY’S BEST WAGNERIANS

Nikita Gourski is DevelopmentCommunications Officer at theCanadian Opera Company.

S E A F O O D S T E A K C O C K T A I L S

155 Wellington St. W, Toronto416-351-3311

www.theshoreclub.ca


EtiquettePatrons are reminded that R. Fraser Elliott Hall isan extremely lively auditorium and that all audience noise will be accentuated and audible to other patrons.Turn off all electronic devices, avoid talking, coughing,humming, moving loose seats, kicking the backs of seats,rustling programs, and unwrapping candies or coughdrops. In consideration of patrons with allergies pleaseavoid wearing strongly perfumed beauty products and fragrances. Please remain in your seat until theperformance has completely ended and the house lights have been turned on.

Electronic DevicesThe use of mobile and smartphones and all otherelectronic devices is extremely disruptive and is strictlyprohibited during performances. If a patron has an emergency and needs to be contacted during a performance, he or she should contact Patron Services for assistance before the performance.

Cameras/Recording DevicesThe use of cameras, video cameras or sound-recordingdevices of any kind is prohibited in R. Fraser Elliott Hallduring performances. Any person using an unauthorizedrecording device while the performance is in progresswill be required to surrender or erase any recordings,photographic or digital images and may be asked toleave. No refunds will be issued.

LatecomersIn the interest of safety and for the comfort of all patrons and performers, latecomers may not enter theauditorium or be seated unless there is a suitable breakin the performance (usually intermission). Patronsleaving the auditorium during the performance orreturning late after intermission may not be readmittedor may be accommodated in an alternate viewing location.

Children and Babes-in-ArmsAll patrons, including children, must have a ticket for the performance. All children must be seated next to an accompanying adult. Young children should be ableto sit quietly throughout the performance. If unable to do so, children and their accompanying adult will be asked to leave the auditorium. Babes-in-arms will not be admitted.

Patron ServicesLocated in the Lower Lobby, the following services areavailable: coat and parcel check, booster seats, backsupports, infrared hearing-assistive devices and rental of binoculars, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Medical Emergencies and First AidA house doctor is present at all performances. Please contact an usher if medical services are required.

Lost and FoundDuring performances please speak with an usher or visitPatron Services at the Coat Check in the Lower Lobby.Following performances, all lost and found items will be stored at the security desk at Stage Door. Please call416-363-6671 for information.

Ticket ServicesCanadian Opera Company subscriptions and individualtickets are available through COC Ticket ServicesONLINE: coc.caBY PHONE: 416-363-8231

or long distance 1-800-250-4653 Monday to Friday – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.IN PERSON: Four Seasons Centre Box Office

145 Queen St. W.Monday to Saturday – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or through first intermissionSunday (performance days only) –11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or through firstintermission

The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office also services ticketing needs for The NationalBallet of Canada and all other Four Seasons Centre events.

Group SalesGroups of 10 or more enjoy savings on regular individualticket prices. For more information or to reserve seats call 416-306-2356.

ParkingThere is parking on a first-come, first-served basis forabout 200 vehicles underneath the Four Seasons Centre.The entrance is located on the west side of York Street,south of Queen Street. Additional parking is convenientlylocated just steps away in the Green P lot underneathNathan Phillips Square. For directions visit greenp.com.

Four Seasons Centre Facility ToursTours of the Four Seasons Centre now include backstageaccess! For more information, visit fourseasonscentre.ca.

BMO Financial Group Pre-Performance Opera ChatsThe Canadian Opera Company Volunteer SpeakersBureau offers free, insightful chats about the stories,music and background of all COC performances, 45 minutes prior to each performance in the RichardBradshaw Amphitheatre.

Food and Beverage ServiceA pre-order system for intermission refreshments isavailable at all bars throughout the Isadore and RosalieSharp City Room. Food and beverages are not permittedin R. Fraser Elliott Hall.

Special Events and CateringThe Four Seasons Centre is available for rental for all of your presentation, meeting or special events needs,with spaces accommodating from 20 to 2,000 peopleand full catering services. For further details visitfourseasonscentre.ca or call 416-363-6671.

PATRONINFORMATIONAND POLICIES

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DonGiovanni_Program_Final.pdf - Canadian Opera Company

Documents

Transcript of DonGiovanni_Program_Final.pdf - Canadian Opera Company