Così fan tutte House Program by Canadian Opera Company

Performance CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY Winter 2014

COSÌ FAN TUTTE OR, THE SCHOOL FOR LOVERS

CONTENTS 4

SIR THOMAS ALLEN: A MUSICAL LIFETIME WITH COSÌ BY GIANMARCO SEGATO

18 TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERDI'S A MASKED BALL BY NIKITA GOURSKI

22 THE COC IS THRILLED TO PRESENT OUR 2014/2015 SEASON Discover our six operas on the following pages: Falstaff, pg. 22 Madama Butterfly, pg. 24 Don Giovanni, pg. 26 Die Walküre, pg. 27 The Barber of Seville, pg. 28 Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung, pg. 29

Top: A Masked Ball (Berlin Staatsoper, 2008). Photo: Ruth Walz Bottom: Preliminary costume sketch for the COC's new production of Così fan tutte by set and costume designer Debra Hanson

Performance CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY

Winter 2014

n CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY EDITORS: Gianna Wichelow, Senior Manager, Creative and Publications; Claire Morley, Associate Manager, Editorial n RJ PERFORMANCE MEDIA INC.: PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER: Joe Marino n CEO: Frank Barbosa n SECRETARY TREASURER: Rajee Muthuraman n FINANCE: Gina Zicari n NATIONAL ACCOUNT DIRECTORS: Danny Antunes, Gary Bell, Tom Marino, Paul Radford n ART DIRECTOR /DESIGN: Jan Haringa n Cover images: Così fan tutte: Preliminary costume sketch by set and costume designer Debra Hanson for the COC's new production of Così fan tutte. A Masked Ball: Catherine Naglestad as Amelia in the Berlin Staatsoper production of A Masked Ball, 2008. Photo: Ruth Walz

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A MUSICAL LIFETIME WITH COSÌ

SIR THOMAS ALLEN BY GIANMARCO SEGATO

n an age in which superlatives such as “unforgettable,” “legendary” and “greatest” are thrown about indiscriminately, few would argue Sir Thomas Allen’s status as the pre-eminent lyric baritone of his generation. He has earned this title most especially for his iconic interpretations of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva, Figaro, Papageno, Guglielmo and Don Alfonso, both onstage and in the recording studio. Following his appearances at the Glyndebourne Festival in Sir Peter Hall’s 4

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

legendary production, EMI recorded his Don Giovanni in 1984 – now considered the definitive account of Mozart’s notorious womanizer. For close to four decades he has been the baritone of choice for star conductors such as James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Georg Solti, John Eliot Gardiner, Colin Davis and Simon Rattle. Allen has not only mastered the fine balance between singing and acting needed to be a great opera singer, but stands as a master interpreter of the art song, especially in the English

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Celebrating 14 years of service

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Sir Thomas Allen: A Musical Lifetime with Così

Preliminary costume sketches for the character of Don Alfonso for the COC's new production of Così fan tutte, by set and costume designer Debra Hanson

and French repertoire. He now passes on his expertise to the next generation of artists, giving masterclasses worldwide including, since 1996, at his own Samling Academy, located in Allen’s beloved native country in North East England. Sir Thomas Allen’s association with Mozart’s Così fan tutte goes as far back as his student days in the 1960s when he came to the attention of the great British vocal pedagogue, James Lockhart. “One of the things I worked on with him was how to go through a score. He taught me how 6

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

to do that and read it as a singer, prepare and pencil it up and do the things that all singers do. And the score chosen was Così, though I didn’t learn the role [Guglielmo] at the time, maybe just one of the arias perhaps. After that he [Lockhart] became music director at Welsh National Opera and one of the first things I did with them was a touring version of Così. That goes back to 1970 or something like that.” Allen’s first Così role, Guglielmo, is often regarded as a rite of passage for the budding lyric baritone. “I think the reason why we as

Sir Thomas Allen: A Musical Lifetime with Così

Preliminary set maquette for the COC's new production of Così fan tutte, designed by Debra Hanson

a breed feel that way is that it doesn’t seem to have the emotional maturity of a role like that of Ferrando [with whom Guglielmo schemes to prove the infidelity of their respective fiancées]. The relationship Guglielmo enjoys with Dorabella is one of pure pleasure rather than the [more emotionally deep] way Ferrando latches onto Fiordiligi. Musically as well, of all the Così roles, Guglielmo is the one that tends most towards the buffo [comic].” The other three young leads sing some of the most sublime, grand and emotional music Mozart ever wrote but Guglielmo’s “vocal opportunities are just not on the same level.” On the other hand, Allen relishes the entirely different demands made of Don Alfonso, Così’s philosopher and cynic, and the role which brings him to the COC this winter. He draws some fascinating parallels between Alfonso and Don Giovanni, the Mozart role with which he has the closest association. “It’s a strange thing about Mozart. If one looks at Don Giovanni musically, he isn’t all that demanding – it’s an endurance test and you have to sing very loudly at the end of the piece. But you’ve not been asked great musical 8

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

questions during the course of it in the way Donna Anna has, or had to sing the long-breath lines that Don Ottavio has. And similarly, Don Alfonso doesn’t have those great [vocal] demands made of him. The thing is to use those moments when you’ve seemingly not been asked to do much… when in fact you are actually doing a lot. Then it’s a question of listening to what others are doing, and causing action and reaction in them by just being there; by setting a plan in motion, sowing a seed of doubt or whatever it might be. A lot of it is just sitting down, crossing your legs comfortably, having a cup of coffee whilst you’re watching everything going on. That’s the way it often pans out. I have no qualms about that – I don’t crave great lengthy stentorian arias – I’m very happy to just pull the strings and watch the others dance to my tune!” Having mastered Così’s two low-voiced male roles, Allen has taken the next logical step and can now be found directing Mozart’s effervescent comedy in addition to Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute for companies such as Scottish Opera, Arizona Opera and

Sir Thomas Allen: A Musical Lifetime with Così

Boston Lyric Opera. For the latter he not only directed Così but simultaneously played Don Alfonso, an undertaking which required “eyes in the back of your head. It’s not easy, but not impossible either.” In Boston he opted to perform the opera in English, wanting the text to have an immediate impact on the audience. For Allen, communication through music – its actual sounds, pitches and dynamics – are definitely the singer’s responsibility, but even more important is the performer’s ability to personally connect to the text and enliven it for the audience. By using an English translation for his Boston Così, he wished the singers to experience the words first, rather than second-hand. “Using one’s own language is a distinct advantage. I don’t care how seriously and intensely you work with a second or third language – there’s nothing like getting back to one’s own – it’s in your DNA. Also, the colours that become available to a singer for expression are that much more telling. It’s a much more advanced process when you’re learning a role that’s not your native language.” That, says Allen, is “a lifetime study. I’m still doing it.” Just as director Atom Egoyan will re-envision Mozart’s “school for lovers” for our audiences, Allen will also be looking at it afresh. “The main thing is not to come with anything assumed. Listen to what [the director] gives you and then respond to that rather than relying on the process you’ve used for years and years. I keep on saying this to singers – listen to what you’re hearing and respond to that, not to the thing you’ve learned like a parrot from several recordings.”

Having lived with Così for over 40 years, Allen has witnessed a huge sea change in attitude with respect to the piece. There might have been a time when critical opinion denigrated the opera for its perceived immorality and frivolity, but in a post-Freudian world fascinating avenues have opened up to explore the “lessons of love” which lie beneath its undeniably frothy exterior. As Allen reasons, “It’s no longer possible to regard these characters simplistically, as no more than decorative 18th-century porcelain figurines.” This is especially true of the opera’s ambiguous ending – do the original couples “kiss and make up,” returning to their original partners, or are their relationships damaged forever? Allen feels the answer is found in Mozart’s score itself: “You start thinking surely [the two couples] can’t just return to everyday life as a result of the lessons that have been learned. In a way, Mozart indicates this in the finale which is in the very basic key of C major. It’s music that’s so simplistic, almost as though he’s deliberately trying to show us that [the wedding between the two “original” couples] is a façade – they’re clearly going through the motions here – it’s very superficial when you think of all the glorious music that went before.” How will things end up for the lovers in Toronto this winter? Allen and his fellow cast members will no doubt have fun playing with the possibilities when they meet on stage for the COC’s new production of Così. n Gianmarco Segato is Adult Programs Manager, Education and Outreach at the Canadian Opera Company.

FOR FURTHER INSIGHT INTO THE CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY’S NEW PRODUCTION OF MOZART’S COSÌ FAN TUTTE, PLEASE READ AN EXPLORATION OF ENCHANTMENT, IN THE WINTER ISSUE OF PRELUDE, AVAILABLE ONLINE AT COC.CA/PUBLICATIONS.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

MET OPERA VERDI

Falstaff DEC 14 ENCORES JAN 18, 20 FEB 5

LIVE ON SCREEN IN MOVIE THEATRES 2013–14 Season

DVORˇ ÁK

Rusalka FEB 8 ENCORES MAR 29, 31

BORODIN

Prince Igor MAR 1 ENCORES APR 12, 14

MASSENET

Werther MAR 15 ENCORES MAY 24, 26

PUCCINI

La Bohème APR 5 ENCORES JUN 7, 9, 18

MOZART

Così Fan Tutte APR 26 ENCORES JUN 21, 23

DVORˇ ÁK

Rusalka FEB 8 ENCORES MAR 29, 31 Starring Renée Fleming

Visit Cineplex.com/Opera for tickets and participating theatres. ROSSINI

La Cenerentola MAY 10 ENCORES JUL 5, 7, 16

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Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr.

Cineplex Entertainment LP or used under license.

Preliminary set maquette for the COC's new production of Così fan tutte, designed by Debra Hanson

COSÌ FAN TUTTE OPERA BACKGROUND Unlike The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, Mozart’s previous collaborations with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, Così fan tutte was not adapted from an existing literary source (Beamarchais’ play of the same title and the infamous Don Juan legend, respectively), but was newly written. Così also differs from those works, and from the normal pattern we expect in a play or opera, in that it lacks a hero or any one character to grab the audience’s immediate attention as does, for example, the scandalous Don Giovanni. The other stumbling block which plagued Così for the first 100 years of its existence was its negative reception history – audiences were scandalized by its subject matter, unable to handle the notion of two sisters falling in love with each other’s fiancés. Even once Così had finally re-entered the standard repertoire in the 1930s it was treated with little respect, suffering brutal cuts, including Dorabella’s short Act I aria “Smanie implacabili” (“Implacable restlessness”), one of only two arias she gets to sing in the entire opera! Like Don Giovanni which came before it, Così is identified in its libretto as a dramma giocoso, an Italian term for operas that contain both comic and tragic elements. Conventionally thought of as light, frothy and joyful, Così is also shot through with a decidedly poignant, sad and cynical edge. Our responses are always being played with: the two sisters are clearly devastated when their fiancés must go off to war, and the men join in on their sorrow… yet, we know the men are just play-acting. Atom Egoyan’s production takes the deception one step further, allowing the women to not only be aware of the scheme, but having them devise a counter-scheme of their own. Egoyan pays particular attention to the subtitle of the libretto: La scuola degli amanti “The School For Lovers,” a phrase which suggests that the premise of the opera can be understood as an educational experiment. This reading resonates with Così’s historical position in relation to the ideals of Mozart’s time. The Age of Enlightenment was at its peak throughout the latter half of the 1700s, but towards the end of the century, concerns grew about an excessive elevation of reason above religion; both Mozart and da Ponte (following French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s views) believed that reason, coupled with moral and spiritual guidance, was a superior way to understand human nature. It is this constant switching between reason and emotion that presents the biggest directing challenge, says Egoyan. The score often vacillates jarringly between light-hearted fun and piercingly sincere quasi-tragedy and, in doing so, illuminates how we are all capable of “straying” when we feel an attraction, and that the human heart can shift unexpectedly.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Special Event

THE OPERA EXCHANGE Coming Home: Handel’s Hercules

The ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles was also a war general who knew first-hand the devastating psychological traumas that imperilled returning veterans. Celebrated director Peter Sellars’ new COC production of Hercules – Handel’s take on Sophocles’ play – confronts the untold horrors of war and the unspoken complications of reunion. Join us as we explore Hercules and examine music’s role, both historical and contemporary, in the rehabilitation and re-integration of those touched by war. Peter Sellars will be joined by former CBC war correspondent Brian Stewart, musicologists Kip Pegley and Susan McClary, 18th-century literary/drama scholar Brian Corman as well as veterans from World War II and the wars in Korea, Bosnia, and Afghanistan.

Friday, April 4, 2014 I 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Campbell Conference Room Munk School of Global Affairs 1 Devonshire Place Tickets: $20/person; $10 for students with ID

416-363-8231 coc.ca/Explore The Opera Exchange is presented in partnership with:

Part of the Munk School of Global Affairs’ year-long series, 1914-1918: The Making of the Modern World, which explores the effects of World War I through the century. Eric Owens as Hercules (Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2011). Photo: Dan Rest

A S I A N I N S P I R E D. D I S T I N C T LY C A N A D I A N.

E N J OY P R E - P E R F O R M A N C E D I N I N G .

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T: (647) 788 8888, 188 University Avenue, Toronto, OntarŠ, Canada w w w. sh a n g r i - l a .c o m / to ro nto ©2013 Shangri-La InternatŠnal Hotel Management Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Brands mentŠned are trademarks of their respective companies.

AleXAnder neef, General director

COSÌ FAN TUTTE by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Opera in Two Acts. libretto by lorenzo da Ponte edited for the neue Mozart Ausgabe by faye ferguson and Wolfgang rehm Used by arrangement with european American Music distributors llC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Baerenreiter Music Corp. – Alkor editions, publisher and copyright owner.

first performance: Burgtheater, Vienna, January 26, 1790 New COC Production last performed by the COC in 2006 January 18, 24, 29, february 1, 6, 9, 15, 18, 21, 2014 Sung in Italian with english SUrTITleSTM

THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance)

Ferrando, Dorabella’s fiancé Guglielmo, engaged to Fiordiligi Don Alfonso, an old Philosopher Fiordiligi Dorabella, her sister Despina, maid to Fiordiligi and Dorabella

Paul Appleby Robert Gleadow^ Sir Thomas Allen* Layla Claire Wallis Giunta^** Tracy Dahl

Conductor Director Associate Director Set and Costume Designer Lighting Designer Chorus Master Stage Manager SURTITLES™ Producer

Johannes Debus Atom Egoyan Marilyn Gronsdal^ Debra Hanson Michael Walton Sandra Horst^ Jenifer Kowal Gunta Dreifelds

Performance time is approximately three hours and 30 minutes, including one 25-minute intermission.

Generously underwritten in part by *Sir Thomas Allen’s performance is generously sponsored by The Stratton Trust **Wallis Giunta’s performance is generously sponsored by Patrick and Barbara Keenan

^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

AleXAnder neef, General director

first performance: Burgtheater, Vienna, January 26, 1790 New COC Production Ensemble Studio Performance February 7, 2014 Sung in Italian with english SUrTITleSTM

THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance)

Ferrando, Dorabella’s fiancé Guglielmo, engaged to Fiordiligi Don Alfonso, an old Philosopher Fiordiligi Dorabella, her sister Despina, maid to Fiordiligi and Dorabella Conductor Director Associate Director Set and Costume Designer Lighting Designer Chorus Master Stage Manager SURTITLES™ Producer

Andrew Haji (Act I) Owen McCausland (Act II) Cameron McPhail (Act I) Clarence Frazer (Act II) Gordon Bintner Aviva Fortunata (Act I) Sasha Djihanian (Act II) Charlotte Burrage (Act I) Danielle MacMillan (Act II) Claire de Sévigné Johannes Debus Atom Egoyan Marilyn Gronsdal^ Debra Hanson Michael Walton Sandra Horst^ Jenifer Kowal Gunta Dreifelds

Performance time is approximately three hours and 30 minutes, including one 25-minute intermission.

Generously underwritten in part by This performance is dedicated to the memory of former COC General Director Lotfi Mansouri Aviva Fortunata’s performance is generously sponsored by the COVC Jean A. Chalmers Fund Sasha Djihanian’s performance is generously sponsored by James Nicol and Christine Milne Charlotte Burrage’s performance is generously sponsored by Margaret Harriett Cameron and the late Gary Smith Danielle MacMillan’s performance is generously sponsored by Brian Wilks, Roy and Marjorie Linden Clarence Frazer’s performance is generously sponsored by Catherine Fauquier Cameron McPhail’s performance is generously sponsored by Roger D. Moore Andrew Haji’s performance is generously sponsored by Anne and Tony Arrell Owen McCausland’s performance is generously sponsored by Peter and Hélène Hunt Claire de Sévigné’s performance is generously sponsored by Anne and Tony Arrell Gordon Bintner’s performance is generously sponsored by Marcia Lewis Brown Michael Shannon is generously sponsored by Brian Wilks, Marjorie and Roy Linden

^Graduate of the COC ensemble Studio Program information is correct at time of printing. All casting is subject to change.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

or those familiar with Così fan tutte, this production will be immediately surprising in two ways. First of all, we are taking the alternative title of the work and using it literally. It takes place in “A School for Lovers,” with Don Alfonso the teacher of this school in which he demonstrates to his students the laws of attraction. The second surprise is that the sisters seem to be in on Don Alfonso’s experiment from the beginning. I was curious to explore what might happen to the dynamics of the opera if there were a parallel wager with the two women. While we can’t know the specific nature of this wager, we gather it concerns marriage. Perhaps the two women already understand that “everyone does it” (a literal translation of Così fan tutte), but that “doing it” won’t alter the existing bonds of their marital engagements. What excites me about this concurrent wager is that it makes the two women fully cognizant of the convolutions of the plot which follow, and allows them to set their own agenda. By having the women in on the plot from the very beginning, it simultaneously empowers them while making the emotional confusions of the second act even more pronounced. They challenge their own rational structure. This idea is at the core of the work. One of the central tenets of Enlightenment philosophy is that reason can be the only guide in an uncertain moral climate.

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In Cosi, librettist Lorenzo da Ponte shows us that while reason and clear thinking is to be held above all else, it is often made unreliable because of shifting emotion. Mozart’s brilliant music underlines this tension in an exquisite and at times unbearably beautiful way. For the true libertine such as Don Alfonso, the total lack of rationale behind the laws of attraction is a cause for alarm and certainly a subject worth illuminating to his students. While butterflies – the very symbol of freedom – can be caught and pinned down, such is not the case with the human heart. As Frida Kahlo’s painting “Two Fridas” makes clear, the heart can be brutally exposed, with surgical scissors in one hand, and the romantic talisman of a beloved brooch in the other. With Così fan tutte, the extraordinary collaboration of Mozart and da Ponte challenges the inherent optimism of the Enlightenment itself, with its battle against the mysteries of religion and superstition. While the libretto lays out one set of ideas, the music often tells us something completely different. This complex alchemy between objective thought and intense piercing emotion creates its own mysterious force, as we experience the human capacity to feel, to hurt, and to love.

Atom Egoyan

SYNOPSIS ACT I Naples

Don Alfonso goads two young men into a wager regarding their fiancées’ fidelity. Ferrando and Guglielmo are convinced their lovers – Dorabella and Fiordiligi, respectively – are true, and agree to test the women’s faithfulness through trickery. The men agree to do everything Don Alfonso says to pull off their ruse. Sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi are met by Don Alfonso. He tells them that their fiancés have been recalled to military duty. The two soldiers arrive to bid their unhappy fiancées farewell. The sisters are inconsolable. Once the men have departed, their maid Despina suggests that Dorabella and Fiordiligi amuse themselves in the meantime by meeting other men. The women refuse to be unfaithful to their lovers. Don Alfonso speaks privately with Despina, enlisting her aid in introducing two prospective lotharios to the sisters. He then presents to Despina two “Albanians,” who are none other than Guglielmo and Ferrando in disguise. When Fiordiligi and Dorabella arrive, the men proclaim their affection. The women demand that the strangers leave their house. Later that day, the Albanians burst into the garden where the two sisters lament the absence of their sweethearts. The men drink what they claim is poison, expressing their wish to die for love. A doctor arrives (Despina in disguise) and “revives” the two men. INTERMISSION

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

ACT II Despina attempts to persuade Dorabella and Fiordiligi that they should be more receptive to the Albanians’ advances. The sisters reluctantly agree that a flirtation might prove a welcome distraction in the absence of their fiancés. The men return once more to serenade the sisters, and this time Dorabella exchanges words of love with Guglielmo – to his astonishment. Ferrando has less luck with Fiordiligi. Ferrando is told of his lover’s betrayal and vows revenge. Don Alfonso reminds the soldiers that the test is not over yet. Dorabella confesses her new fondness for her Albanian to Despina. Fiordiligi admits that she also has feelings for her Albanian (the disguised Ferrando), but scolds her sister’s lack of control and vows to remain true to her fiancé. But when Ferrando returns, secretly accompanied by Guglielmo and Don Alfonso, Fiordiligi yields to his advances. Ferrando and Guglielmo lament their lovers’ betrayal and express a desire for revenge. Don Alfonso urges the now bitterly disillusioned soldiers to marry the women. Wedding preparations are quickly made. Don Alfonso produces a notary – Despina in disguise – who in turn produces a marriage contract. A drum is heard, signaling the return of the soldiers. Having hastily removed their disguises, Ferrando and Guglielmo appear and feign outrage at the incriminating scene. But when they put on their Albanian disguises, the whole truth comes out. In the final chorus all four lovers, in the spirit of reconciliation, sing hopefully of accepting life as it presents itself and maintaining a sense of humour. But will they be able to when faced with an uncertain future?

MUSIC STAFF

Anne Larlee Kevin Murphy (Head Coach) Michael Shannon (Ensemble Studio Intern Coach) ITALIAN LANGUAGE COACH

Manuela Scarci ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

Derek Bate ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS

Lesley Abarquez Stephanie Marrs ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNERS

Wendy Greenwood Jareth Li Andrea Nelson (Wally Russell Lighting Intern) UNDERSTUDIES

Ferrando Andrew Haji Owen McCausland Guglielmo Clarence Frazer Cameron McPhail Don Alfonso Gordon Bintner Doug MacNaughton Fiordiligi Sasha Djihanian Aviva Fortunata Dorabella Charlotte Burrage Danielle MacMillan Despina Claire de Sévigné

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ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES SIR THOMAS ALLEN Don Alfonso (M)

Sir Thomas Allen is making his COC debut. An established star of the great opera houses of the world, he has sung over 50 roles at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and in 2006 he celebrated the 25th anniversary of his debut at the Metropolitan Opera. An acclaimed recitalist, he is equally renowned on the concert platform and has appeared with the world's great orchestras and conductors. He is Chancellor of Durham University, and his many honours include the title of Bayerischer Kammersänger awarded by the Bayerische Staatsoper. In 1989 he was created a Commander of the British Empire and in the 1999 he was made a Knight Bachelor. Among his proudest achievements is having a Channel Tunnel locomotive named after him. Recently, Buckingham Palace announced that Sir Thomas Allen will be awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music 2013 later this year. PAUL APPLEBY Ferrando (M)

American tenor Paul Appleby is making his COC debut. A dynamic and versatile artist, he is an admired and exciting presence on the world’s leading concert, recital, and opera stages. A recent graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, he was the recipient of a 2012 Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Performing and Visual Arts, among other distinguished awards. Mr. Appleby has appeared in productions with the Metropolitan Opera, Oper Frankfurt, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Wolf Trap Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and in concerts with 6

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, to name a few. GORDON BINTNER Don Alfonso (E)

Regina, Saskatchewan native and first-year Ensemble Studio member bass-baritone Gordon Bintner, who won first prize and the Audience Choice Award at the Second Annual COC Ensemble Studio Competition, recently appeared at the COC as the Customs Officer in La Bohème. Recent performances include Bill in Leonard Bernstein’s A Quiet Place (Ensemble Modern); Escamillo in Carmen (Saskatoon Opera), Nardo in La finta giardiniera (San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program) and Lescaut in Manon (Opéra de Montréal). Other credits include the title roles in Le nozze di Figaro (Opera NUOVA) and Don Giovanni (Opera McGill); Colline in La Bohème (Angers Nantes Opéra); and he made his Montreal Symphony Orchestra debut in 2011 as the OSM Standard Life Competition’s grand prize winner. CHARLOTTE BURRAGE Dorabella (E)

Originally from Woodstock, Ontario, mezzo-soprano Charlotte Burrage is a first-year Ensemble Studio member. She holds a master of music in voice performance from the University of Toronto and graduated from the opera diploma program at University of British Columbia (UBC). Credits include Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with both Kevin Mallon in Italy and

ArTISTS’ BIOGrAPhIeS

Christopher Verrette in Toronto; Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Vancouver Opera in Schools; Dorabella in Così fan tutte with Banff Centre’s Opera as Theatre and Jeunesses Musicales; and the title role in Massenet’s Cendrillon with UBC. Ms Burrage performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under conductor Bramwell Tovey. This season she performed Handel’s Messiah with Orchestra London. LAYLA CLAIRE Fiordiligi (M)

Canadian soprano Layla Claire is making her COC debut. A 2012 graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program (LYADP), this season she sings Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (Pittsburgh Opera and Minnesota Opera). Other roles include Sandrina in La finta giardiniera (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence); Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Glyndebourne Touring Opera); Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Tanglewood and Glyndebourne festivals); Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte (Tanglewood); Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (Curtis Opera Theater); Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Palm Beach Opera); Tebaldo in Don Carlo (Metropolitan Opera); and Marenka in The Bartered Bride (LYADP). Concert appearances include Handel’s Messiah with the New York Philharmonic and an all-Mozart program with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under conductor Johannes Debus.

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TRACY DAHL Despina (M)

Canadian soprano Tracy Dahl last appeared at the COC as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos. This season she sings Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance (Calgary Opera) and Carmina Burana (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra). Recent appearances include Gilda in Rigoletto (Edmonton Opera and Manitoba Opera); the title role in Maria Stuarda (Pacific Opera Victoria); and world premieres of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland and Peter Ash’s The Golden Ticket (Opera Theatre of St. Louis). Other roles include Adele in Die Fledermaus, Zerbinetta, Florestine in The Ghosts of Versailles and Valencienne in The Merry Widow (Metropolitan Opera); and Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Oscar in Un ballo in maschera, and Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor (San Francisco Opera). SASHA DJIHANIAN Fiordiligi (E)

Ensemble Studio soprano and Montreal native Sasha Djihanian was the winner of the First Annual COC Ensemble Studio Competition. Recently with the COC she appeared as Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, and stepped in as Annio in a mainstage performance of La clemenza di Tito as well as the Ensemble performance. A graduate of the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, she was a national finalist in the 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; a semi-finalist in the 2011 Queen Elisabeth Competition and 2012 Montreal International Musical Competition; and represented Canada at the 2011 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Recent 7

ArTISTS’ BIOGrAPhIeS

credits include Nannetta in Falstaff with Opera Hamilton and Micaëla in Carmen at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Italy and at the Castleton Festival, with Lorin Maazel conducting. AVIVA FORTUNATA Fiordiligi (E)

Calgary native soprano Aviva Fortunata is a firstyear Ensemble Studio member. Notable credits include Desdemona in Otello and the Lady with a Cake Box in Postcard from Morocco with San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Concert Opera Group, Centre for Opera Studies in Italy and the University of Toronto; and Poulenc’s Gloria with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Ms Fortunata was the 2012 Norcop Prize in Song Recital winner and was awarded a judges’ commendation in the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition (Opera Theater of Pittsburgh). CLARENCE FRAZER Guglielmo (E)

Mississauga native and first-year Ensemble studio member baritone Clarence Frazer recently appeared at the COC as the Customs House Sergeant in La Bohème. Upcoming credits include Prince Yamadori/Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly (Edmonton Opera). With Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artist Program, he appeared as Re di Scozia in Ariodante, Count Gil in Il segreto di Susanna and Ramiro in L’heure espagnole. Credits include Publio in La clemenza di Tito, both the title role and Masetto in Don Giovanni (Centre for Opera Studies in Italy); Dottore Grenvil in La Traviata, Ford in Falstaff, Pinellino in Gianni Schicchi, Daggoo in Moby-Dick and Alcindoro in 8

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

La Bohème (Calgary Opera); Escamillo in Carmen (Highlands Opera Studio); and Dandini in La Cenerentola (Opera NUOVA). Mr. Frazer won the inaugural Lois Marshall Voice Competition. WALLIS GIUNTA Dorabella (M)

Canadian mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta is a graduate of the COC Ensemble Studio and Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. She recently appeared at the COC as Annio and Sesto in La clemenza di Tito. Other COC roles include Second Lady in The Magic Flute, English Lady in Death in Venice, Woman of Crete 2 in Idomeneo and the Alto Solo in The Nightingale and Other Short Fables at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Other roles include Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto (Metropolitan Opera); Phénice in Armide, Wu in Kommilitonen! (The Juilliard School), Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (Fort Worth Opera) and Lola in Cavalleria rusticana (Opera Lyra Ottawa). She holds an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School and The Glenn Gould School. ROBERT GLEADOW Guglielmo (M)

Canadian bass and Ensemble Studio graduate Robert Gleadow recently appeared with the COC as Publio in La clemenza di Tito and A Steersman in Tristan und Isolde. Other COC credits include the Old Gypsy in Il Trovatore, the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte, Colline in La Bohème, Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro. Roles include Sam in Un ballo in maschera and Colline (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden); Figaro

ArTISTS’ BIOGrAPhIeS

(Opéra de Montréal); Guglielmo and Leporello in Don Giovanni (Glyndebourne Opera and Peralada Festival); Speaker and Leporello (Théâtre des Champs-Élysées); Colline (Dallas Opera); and the King in Aida and Talbot in Maria Stuarda (Houston Grand Opera). ANDREW HAJI Ferrando (E)

Originally from London, Ontario, tenor Andrew Haji is a first-year member of the COC Ensemble Studio. He holds a master of music in opera from the University of Toronto. Mr. Haji’s UofT credits include Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Cecco in Haydn’s Il mondo della luna, Vanderdendur/ Ragotski in Candide, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Lacouf/Reporter from Paris in Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias, the title role in Rob Ford: The Opera and Ferrando in Così fan tutte. Other roles include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Music Academy of the West and Accademia Europea dell’Opera); and Nemorino and Don Ottavio (Centre for Opera Studies in Italy). This season with the COC, he sings Rodriguez in Don Quichotte. DANIELLE MacMILLAN Dorabella (E)

Toronto native mezzosoprano Danielle MacMillan, a first-year COC Ensemble Studio member, recently appeared at the COC as the Second Niece in Peter Grimes. She holds a bachelor of fine arts, with honours, in classical vocal performance from York University, with additional training at the International Vocal Arts Institute in Montreal, Istituzione Teatro Lirico Sperimentale di Spoleto in Italy and The Glenn Gould School (GGS). Her credits include Rose in Lakmé (Opera Please visit coc.ca for additional information

by Request); Diana in Cavalli’s La Calisto, Véronique in Bizet’s Le docteur Miracle, Second Lady in The Magic Flute and the Cabaret Singer in Weill’s MahagonnySongspiel (GGS); and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (York University). OWEN McCAUSLAND Ferrando (E)

New Brunswick native and COC Ensemble Studio tenor Owen McCausland recently appeared at the COC as Parpignol in La Bohème and Reverend Horace Adams in Peter Grimes. Other COC credits include the Second Nazarene in Salome, the Messenger in Il Trovatore as well as stepping into the title role in La clemenza di Tito on the mainstage as well as the Ensemble performance. Credits include Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi (Opera on the Avalon) and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (Centre for Opera Studies in Italy). This season with the COC Mr. McCausland also appears as the Servant in A Masked Ball, Cecil in Roberto Devereux and Juan in Don Quichotte. CAMERON McPHAIL Guglielmo (E)

COC Ensemble Studio member baritone Cameron McPhail recently appeared at the COC as Schaunard in La Bohème as well as the Officer in Dialogues des Carmélites. Other credits include Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress (Music Academy of the West); Ford in Falstaff and the title roles in Don Giovanni and Gianni Schicchi (UBC Opera); Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Marcello in La Bohème, Riccardo in I Puritani and George in Of Mice and Men (Yale Opera Studio); Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette 9

ArTISTS’ BIOGrAPhIeS

and Ford in Falstaff (Opera NUOVA); Conte Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Opera on the Avalon); and Schaunard (Highlands Opera Studio). CLAIRE DE SÉVIGNÉ Despina (E)

Soprano Claire de Sévigné, a native of Montreal and a COC Ensemble Studio member, recently appeared as the First Niece in Peter Grimes. Other COC roles include Une Voix in Dialogues des Carmélites, the Slave in Salome, Servilia in La clemenza di Tito (Ensemble performance) and Ida in Die Fledermaus. Other credits include Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte (Music Academy of the West); the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Flaminia in Il mondo della luna, Cunegonde in Candide (University of Toronto); and Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare (Thirteen Strings Orchestra).

JOHANNES DEBUS Conductor

COC Music Director Johannes Debus recently conducted the company’s Peter Grimes. Other COC credits include Dialogues des Carmélites, Salome, Tristan und Isolde, Die Fledermaus, The Tales of Hoffmann, Love from Afar, Rigoletto and, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Nightingale and Other Short Fables. This past summer Mr. Debus conducted a concert with Rufus Wainwright and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid. Other highlights include appearances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra; Elektra and The Rake’s Progress (Staatsoper unter den Linden); Hänsel und Gretel and Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Bayerische 10

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Staatsoper); and appearances at Opéra Festival de Québec, the Spoleto Festival and Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera. This season at the COC Mr. Debus also conducts Don Quichotte, and appears with the Orchestra della Toscana, Philharmonia Orchestra and Oper Frankfurt. ATOM EGOYAN Director

Academy Award®nominated writer and film director Atom Egoyan recently directed Salome at the COC. Other credits include the North American premiere of Martin Crimp’s Cruel and Tender (Canadian Stage); the world premiere of Gavin Bryars’ Dr. Ox’s Experiment (English National Opera); Feng Yi Ting (Spoleto, Lincoln Center and Luminato festivals) and Elsewhereless, his own original opera with composer Rodney Sharman (Tapestry Music). Mr. Egoyan won the Irish Times/ESB Award for Best Direction for his production of Samuel Beckett’s Eh Joe which transferred to London’s West End before being remounted at the Lincoln Center Festival. He has been knighted by the French Government, received State Honors from The Republic of Armenia, and is an Officer of the Order of Canada. His production of the COC’s Die Walküre will be mounted for the third time in January 2015. DEBRA HANSON Set and Costume Designer

Gemini award-winning Canadian designer Debra Hanson is making her COC debut. She moves fluidly between production design and set and costume design for film, television and theatre. Current projects

ArTISTS’ BIOGrAPhIeS

include the sci-fi series Orphan Black, and in television she has also worked on Combat Hospital (ABC/Shaw), Crash and Burn (Canwest/Global), Bomb Girls (Global) and The Firm (NBC). She also recently designed and consulted for the film version of the one-man play, Barrymore, starring Christopher Plummer. Other recent credits include Queen of the Night (with director Atom Egoyan); Casino Jack, starring Kevin Spacey; Chloe and Adoration (both with Atom Egoyan); Away From Her (with director Sarah Polley); and Snow Cake, starring Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver. Ms Hanson served as Stratford Festival’s head of design from 1989 to 1994. MICHAEL WALTON Lighting Designer

Michael Walton is making his COC debut. Recent credits include Maria Stuarda (Pacific Opera); Albert Herring (Vancouver Opera and Pacific Opera); Fiddler on the Roof, Othello, Henry V, The Matchmaker, Twelfth Night, The Misanthrope, The Tempest, King of Thieves, Macbeth, and Hamlet (Stratford Festival); Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and Sideways (La Jolla Playhouse, California); Venus in Fur and Cruel and Tender (Canadian Stage); ’Night Mother (Soulpepper); The Rocky Horror Show, The Three Musketeers, Little Women (Citadel Theatre); and And Slowly Beauty and The Year of Magical Thinking (Belfry, National Arts Centre and Tarragon). Upcoming projects include Enron (National Arts Centre); Mary Poppins (Citadel and Theatre Calgary); and King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Antony and Cleopatra (Stratford Festival).

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SANDRA HORST Chorus Master

Sandra Horst’s most recent COC credits include La Bohème and Peter Grimes. Also at the COC she conducted Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims. As director of musical studies at the University of Toronto’s Opera Division, she recently conducted Donizetti’s L’elisir d'amore. Ms Horst has served as chorus master for Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Edmonton Opera; a judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions; and music staff of the Juilliard Opera Center, Chautauqua Institution, Boston Lyric Opera, and Banff Centre for the Arts. She was one of the 100 Alumni of Achievement honoured by Wilfrid Laurier University. This season Ms Horst is also chorus master for A Masked Ball, Roberto Devereux, Hercules and Don Quichotte. MARILYN GRONSDAL Associate Director

Marilyn Gronsdal was recently the assistant director for Peter Grimes, Tristan und Isolde and Il Trovatore. Other COC credits include director of La Bohème, associate director of Eugene Onegin, production assistant director for the COC’s Ring Cycle and assistant director on several productions that have been presented elsewhere – Oedipus Rex with Symphony of Psalms (Edinburgh), La Traviata (New Zealand), Siegfried (Lyon) and The Nightingale and Other Short Fables (Brooklyn Academy of Music). Other credits include directing Carmen and Don Pasquale for Saskatoon Opera and remounting the COC’s Der fliegende Holländer in Montreal. In 2013, she was a jury member in the Helikon-Opera’s International Competition for Young Opera Directors in Moscow. 11

ArTISTS’ BIOGrAPhIeS

DEREK BATE Assistant Conductor

Resident conductor Derek Bate recently served as assistant conductor for Peter Grimes. Also with the COC, he has led performances of Salome, La clemenza di Tito, Rigoletto, Aida, Madama Butterfly, The Flying Dutchman, Luisa Miller, Eugene Onegin, La Bohème, Carmen, Turandot, La Traviata, Die Fledermaus and served as assistant conductor for Love From Afar, A Florentine Tragedy/ Gianni Schicchi, Maria Stuarda, Nixon in China, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, War and Peace and the complete Ring Cycle, among others. Mr. Bate frequently conducts with Toronto Operetta Theatre, and was musical director for Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera and Show Boat. JENIFER KOWAL Stage Manager

This is Jenifer Kowal’s 22nd season with the COC. Her numerous COC stage managing credits include Peter Grimes, Salome, La clemenza di Tito, Die Fledermaus, Semele, Tosca, Rigoletto, Aida, Carmen, The Flying Dutchman, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Fidelio, War and Peace, Eugene Onegin, Don Carlos, La Traviata, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, the Ring Cycle and, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Nightingale and Other Short Fables. She was the production stage manager for Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera’s Miss Saigon, which also toured to Toronto and Schenectady. Ms Kowal studied theatre at Indiana University. M – Mainstage Performances E – Ensemble Studio Performance

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE

We 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 time at 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.

CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY ORCHESTRA VIOLIN I Marie Bérard, Concertmaster The Concertmaster’s chair has been endowed in perpetuity by Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Benjamin Bowman, Associate Concertmaster, on leave of absence Stephen Sitarski, Acting Associate Concertmaster* diane Tait, Assistant Concertmaster, on leave of absence Jayne Maddison, Acting Assistant Concertmaster Anne Armstrong Sandra Baron Bethany Bergman nancy Kershaw dominique laplante Yakov lerner neria Mayer VIOLIN II Paul Zevenhuizen, Principal Csaba Koczó, Assistant Principal James Aylesworth elizabeth Johnston Aya Miyagawa louise Tardif Marianne Urke Joanna Zabrowarna

VIOLA Keith hamm, Principal Joshua Greenlaw, Assistant Principal, on leave of absence Carolyn Blackwell, Acting Assistant Principal* Shannon Knights* rhyll Peel Beverley Spotton Yosef Tamir CELLO Bryan epperson, Principal Alastair eng, Associate Principal Paul Widner, Assistant Principal Maurizio Baccante Olga laktionova elaine Thompson BASS Alan Molitz, Principal robert Speer, Assistant Principal Tom hazlitt Paul langley FLUTE douglas Stewart, Principal Shelley Brown OBOE Mark rogers, Principal lesley Young CLARINET James T. Shields, Principal Colleen Cook

BASSOON eric hall, Principal elizabeth Gowen HORN Joan Watson, Principal, on leave of absence Scott Wevers, Acting Principal* Gary Pattison TRUMPET robert Grim, Principal robert Weymouth TIMPANI Michael Perry, Principal PERCUSSION Trevor Tureski, Principal CONTINUO PIANO Johannes debus LIBRARIAN Wayne Vogan ASSISTANT MUSIC LIBRARIAN Ondrej Golias STAGE LIBRARIAN Paul langley PERSONNEL MANAGER Ian Cowie * extra musician

COC ORCHESTRA ACADEMY The COC welcomes students selected by audition from The Glenn Gould School at The royal Conservatory of Music and the faculty of Music at the University of Toronto who will participate in a mentorship program with musicians of the COC Orchestra. COC Orchestra Academy Musicians Ashton lim, cello rebecca Mcleod, violin Alessandro rauli, oboe

CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY CHORUS SOPRANOS Andrea Cerswell eliza Johnson Alexandra lennoxPomeroy eve rachel Mcleod Katie Murphy

MEZZO-SOPRANOS Kristina Alexander Susan Black erica Iris huang Jennifer Kee laura McAlpine

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TENORS Stephen Bell Taras Chmil Sam Chung Conrad Siebert Taylor White

BARITONES & BASSES Jeremy Bowes Matthew Cassils Jeremy ludwig Michael nyby Keith O'Brien

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS Mr. Tony Arrell, President Mr. Philip C. deck, Chair Mr. Paul A. Bernards, Treasurer Mr. John h. Macfarlane, Secretary Mr. Alexander neef, General Director (ex officio) Mr. robert lamb, Managing Director (ex officio)

MEMBERS Mr. Mark Appel Ms nora Aufreiter Mr. robert Brouwer Ms Marcia lewis Brown Mr. Stewart Burton Mr. Peter M. deeb Mr. George S. dembroski Mr. William fearn (ex officio) Mr. Adam froman Mr. Michael Gibbens Mr. Peter hinman dr. linda hutcheon Ms Trinity Jackman Mr. Justin linden Mr. Jeff lloyd

Ms Anne Maggisano Mr. Stephen O. Marshall Ms Judy Matthews Ms Trina McQueen Mr. Jonathan Morgan Mr. nick Mutton Ms frances Price Mr. Arthur r.A. Scace, C.M. Ms Colleen Sexsmith Mr. Philip S.W. Smith Mr. Paul B. Spafford Ms Michele Symons Ms Kristine (Kris) Vikmanis Mr. John h. (Jack) Whiteside HONORARY DIRECTOR Mr. Joey Tanenbaum, C.M.

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS COC OPERA GUILDS Brantford Opera Guild, David M. Cullen, President Kingston Opera Guild Grace Orzech, President london Opera Guild Ernest H. Redekop, President Muskoka Opera Guild Dr. Hans Heeneman, President northumberland Opera Guild Thais Donald, President Oakville Opera Guild Maureen Rudzik, President Sudbury Opera Guild Mike Humphris, President Western new York Opera Guild Dorothy K. Piepke, President

CANADIAN OPERA FOUNDATION DIRECTORS Mr. William fearn, Chair Mr. Ken Jesudian, Vice Chair Mr. Tony Arrell Mr. Jonathan Bloomberg Mr. J. rob Collins Mr. david forster, Treasurer Mr. Gary Gard Mr. Michael Gough Mr. Christopher hoffman Mr. david Spiro, Secretary HONORARY DIRECTORS Mr. George hamilton hon. dennis lane

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

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ADMINISTRATION AND STAFF AleXAnder neef, General director Robert Lamb Managing Director Johannes Debus Music Director EXECUTIVE OFFICE Executive Assistant to the General Director Sky Fairchild-Waller Marguerite Schabas (on leave) ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION

COC Ensemble Studio Gordon Bintner Charlotte Burrage Sasha Djihanian Aviva Fortunata Clarence Frazer Andrew Haji Danielle MacMillan Owen McCausland Cameron McPhail Claire de Sévigné Michael Shannon Production Assistants Adriana Dimitri Hannah Gordon

Amy Cummings Scene Shop Co-ordinator

Nancy Hawkins Head of Wardrobe

David Retzleff Head Scene Shop Carpenter

Leslie Brown Wardrobe Assistant

Andrew Walker Assistant Scene Shop Carpenter Richard Gordon Head Scenic Artist

Cori Ferguson Head of Wig & Make-up Crew

Carolina Valenzuela Assistant Head Scenic Artist

Shawna Green Production Co-ordinator

Roberto Mauro Artistic Administrator Olwyn Lewis Company Manager Karen Olinyk Assistant, Artistic Administration & Music

PROGRAMMING

PRODUCTION

Scott Williamson Rehearsal Head Technician

MUSIC

Peter W. Lamb Director of Production

Guy Nokes Properties Supervisor

Lee Milliken Production Manager

Stephanie Tjelios Resident Properties Builder/Co-ordinator

Sandra Gavinchuk Music Administrator Sandra Horst Chorus Master Wayne Vogan Music Librarian, Coach Elizabeth Upchurch Head of the Ensemble Studio & Coach Derek Bate Resident Conductor Music Staff Rachel Andrist Timothy Cheung Jean Desmarais Jenna Douglas Esther Gonthier Stephen Hargreaves Anne Larlee Ben Malensek Kevin Murphy Steven Philcox Eric Weimer Gerry Egan Interim Scheduling Manager

Nina Dragani´ ´c Director of Programming – Free Concert Series

Chuck Giles Technical Director Barney Bayliss Associate Technical Director Wendy Greenwood Lighting Co-ordinator Assistant Technical Directors Melynda Jurgenson Wendy Ryder Janice Fraser Head Electrician Joel Thoman Assistant Electrician Bob Shindle Head of Sound Craig Kadoke Assistant Sound

Daniela Mazic Scenic Artist

Sandra Corazza Costume Supervisor

Stephen Gilles Director of Development

Cassandra Spence Costume Co-ordinator

Peter Hussell Senior Manager, Advancement Operations

Costume Assistants Natassia Brunato Christina Del Monte Sue Furlong Resident Tailor

Birthe Joergensen Archivist – Joan Baillie Archives

Rupert Baker Head Flyman

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Christie Darville Chief Advancement Officer

Amy Mushinski Manager, Government Relations

Additional Costumes By Industry Costumes Martino Nyugen

Supernumeraries Co-ordinators Analee Stein Elizabeth Walker

Properties Builders Carolyn Choo Wulf

Mike Gelfand Assistant Carpenter

Ondrej Golias Assistant Librarian

Olwyn Lewis SURTITLES™ Assistant

Kaila LeMaitre Development Associate

Hannah Gordon Assistant Scheduling Manager

Core Crew Scott Clarke Terry Hurley Paul Otis Chuck Theil

Zane Kaneps SURTITLES™ Editor

Tracy Taylor Properties Builder/ Co-ordinator

Assisted by Sharon Gashgarian Karen Hancock

Ian Cowie Orchestra Personnel Manager

Gunta Dreifelds SURTITLES™ Producer

DEVELOPMENT Kathy Frost Resident Properties Buyer/Co-ordinator

Paul Watkinson Head Carpenter

Alison Potter Head of Properties

Sharon Ryman Wig & Make-up Supervisor

Additional Millinery By Kaz Chopican Leslie Norgate Fencing Masks painted by Karen Rodd Paint and Dye By Chrome Yellow

Ali Kashani Associate Director, Institutional Gifts Dawn Marie Schlegel Associate Director, Donor Relations Sarah Heim Donor Relations Officer Natalie Sandassie Senior Development Officer, Annual Programs and Patron Engagement Paige Phillips Co-ordinator, Annual Programs and Patron Engagement

Emma Noakes Co-ordinator, Annual Programs and Patron Engagement Aisha Talarico Senior Development Officer, Friends of the COC

Danielle D’Ornellas Digital Marketing Co-ordinator Eldon Earle Marketing Co-ordinator Michelle Hwu Retail Co-ordinator

Kevin Sean Pook Co-ordinator, Friends of the COC

Kristin McKinnon Assistant Publicist

Francesco Corsaro Senior Development Officer, Institutional Gifts

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH Katherine Semcesen Associate Director, Education and Outreach

Adriana Formusa Development Officer, Institutional Gifts

Gianmarco Segato Adult Programs Manager

Nikita Gourski Development Communications Officer

Vanessa Smith Manager, School Programs

Tracy Briggs Senior Manager, Special Events Laura Aylan-Parker Senior Development Officer, Special Events and Ensemble Circle Victor Widjaja Donation Database Officer Olena Moldovan Donation Database Officer

Amber Yared Children and Youth Programs Co-ordinator TICKET SERVICES Alan Moffat Patron Relationship Manager Andrea Salin Associate Manager, Ticket Services Nikki Tremblay Assistant Ticket Services Manager

COMMUNICATIONS

David Nimmo Group Sales Co-ordinator

Claudine Domingue Director of Public Relations

Lillian Fung Ticket Services Supervisor

Jeremy Elbourne Director of Marketing

Ticket Services Representatives James Baldwin Ellen Casey Ernest Cayemen Holly Coish Anna Kay Eldridge Peter Genoway Maureen Gualtieri Keith Lam Kevin Morris Darcy Stoop Mitch Yolevsky

Phil Stephens Senior Manager, Sales and Customer Service Gianna Wichelow Senior Manager, Creative and Publications Jennifer Pugsley Media Relations Manager Claire Morley Associate Manager, Editorial

CALL CENTRE Richard Paradiso Call Centre Manager

Call Centre Representatives Catherine Belyea Wendy Limbertie DeeAnn Sagar Margaret Terry Angela Thompson Alexandra Varela

Security Officers George Balyasin Joel Grannum Tammy Hill Natalia Juzyc Usman Khalid Kathleen Minor Heather Reid

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Building Operators Dan Bisca Dan Popescu Adrian Tudoran

Lindy Cowan, CPA, CA Director of Finance and Administration Lorraine O’Connor, CHRP Human Resources Manager Amalie Davis, CPA, CA Finance Manager General Accountants Florence Huang Zoran Orli´ ´c (FSCPA) Payroll Accountants Jovana Bojovic Jeanny Won Steven Sherwood Manager, IT Services Brad Staples Database Reporting Specialist

Paula Da Costa Eurest Services Supervisor Eurest Services Team Jennifer Barros Malaku Godana Nash Lim Jimmy Pacheco Sugey Torres FOUR SEASONS CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Alfred Caron Director, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Elizabeth Jones Associate Director, Business Development

Tony Sandy IT Services Assistant

Shannon Churm Business & Events Co-ordinator

Katarina Božovi´´c Receptionist/ Switchboard

Jefferson Guzman Associate Director, Patron Services

Branka Hrsum Mailroom Clerk/ Courier

Kim Hutchinson-Barber Assistant Manager, Front of House

BUILDING SERVICES

Julia Somerville Assistant Manager, Front of House

Joe Waldherr Associate Director, Facilities Management Maintenance Assistants Ryszard Gad (COC) Branislav Peterman (COC) Julian Peters (COC) James Esposito (FSCPA) Mark Healy (FSCPA) Piotr Wiench (FSCPA) Security Supervisors Videsh Dookhu Dave Samuels

Meighan Szigeti Associate Manager, Digital Marketing

Brigitte Lang Assistant Manager, Food & Beverage Patron Services Supervisors Kelly Bailey Stuart Constable Enrique Covarrubias Cortes Jamieson Eakin Melissa McDonnell Adam Orr Patron Services Leads Carianne Hill Jennifer Toulmin

FSCPA – Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

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S U P P O RT I N G T O R O N T O â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S G R O W I N G A RT S C O M M U N I T Y T O D AY, A N D F O R E V E R

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.

ENJOY THE PERFORMANCE

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E. LOUISE MORGAN SOCIETY The 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 dollars over the past 15 years. Their support is critical to the company’s success and we are forever indebted to their commitment and generosity. The estate of dr. larry M. Agranove ArIAS: Canadian Opera Student development fund The Gerard & earlaine Collins foundation The late John A. Cook The estate of horst dantz and don Quick Kolter Communities

The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen foundation roger d. Moore e. louise Morgan Joey & Toby Tanenbaum Anonymous (2)

MAJOR GIFTS & SPECIAL PROJECTS The COC offers its sincere thanks to the individuals listed below for their extraordinary support. PRODUCTION UNDERWRITERS Demonstrating their leadership and generosity, these donors have underwritten the COC’s mainstage productions. $500,000 + Jerry & Geraldine heffernan The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen foundation $100,000 – $499,999 Mark & Gail Appel Anne & Tony Arrell Philip deck & Kimberley Bozak Tim & frances Price david roffey & Karen Walsh Colleen Sexsmith

PERFORMANCE AND ARTIST SPONSORS The following donors extend their generous support to individual artists and performances. $100,000 + Jack Whiteside

Up to $25,000 Paul Bernards robert Sherrin The Stratton Trust Carol Swallow dr. david Stanley-Porter & dr. Colin McGregor Mailer Ms Kristine Vikmanis & Mr. denton Creighton

ENSEMBLE STUDIO SUPPORTERS Encouraging the next generation of artists, these donors support the COC’s Ensemble Studio. $1,000,000 Peter M. deeb

Up to $25,000 ArIAS: Canadian Opera Student development fund Marcia lewis Brown Margaret harriett Cameron and the late Gary Smith Classical 96.3 fM ninalee Craig Catherine fauquier Patrick hodgson family foundation Peter & hélène hunt Marjorie & roy linden Jo lander Tom C. logan James nicol and Christine Milne OCC lasik Brian Wilks

$500,000 – $999,999 The Slaight family foundation

GENERAL PROGRAM SUPPORTERS

$25,000 – $499,999 Anne & Tony Arrell ethel harris & the late Milton e. harris roger d. Moore The Stratton Trust

$100,000+ George S. dembroski Judy & Wilmot Matthews

$25,000 – $49,999 earlaine Collins Patrick & Barbara Keenan françoise Sutton Anonymous (1)

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Providing General Program support is critical to the COC’s artistic mission.

$25,000 – $99,999 William & Phyllis Waters Up to $24,999 Anonymous (3)

A scene from the COC's The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, 2009. Photo: Michael Cooper

Make the most of your opera experience! The President’s Council and Golden Circle programs help make possible many of the company’s activities. New productions, the COC Ensemble Studio program, our education and outreach initiatives – these are just a few of the reasons why President’s Council and Golden Circle gifts are so crucial to our future. President’s Council and Golden Circle members share in the excitement of opera in new ways through events and activities, receive personalized service for ticket purchases and exchanges, and enjoy exclusive use of the Henry N. R. Jackman Lounge at all opera performances. For further information, contact us at presidentscouncil@coc.ca or call 416-363-5801.

*The COC recognizes donations from all individual giving programs with a charitable tax receipt for the maximum amount allowable under the Canada Revenue Agency guidelines.

MAJOR GIFTS & SPECIAL PROJECTS ENDOWMENT SUPPORT Making a gift to the Endowment ensures long-term stability for the COC and its artists. $100,000 + hon. henry n. r. Jackman Anonymous (1) $25,000 - $99,999 Michael W. & Wanda Plachta endowment fund Up to $25,000 Anonymous (1)

LEGACY AND BEQUEST GIFTS

MEMORIAL AND HONORARY DONATIONS

The COC honours the memory of the following patrons, whose vision and generosity has provided lasting support.

The COC expresses its sincere appreciation to all donors who have made memorial and honorary donations.

estate of helen Allen (Stacey) estate of Walter Carsen‡ estate of horst dantz & don Quick‡ estate of Phillipp eberhardinger estate of Mary B. Godfrey estate of Judith howard estate of ethel Berney Jackson‡ estate of Borge John Kraglund estate of J. Bruce Macdonald‡ estate of J.M. (doc) Savage‡ estate of Sarka Spinkova estate of Kathryn Thornton‡ estate of Vivian Treacy ‡ estate of hugh Victor Wallace estate of Jean Yack Wright

In Memory of Sam Ajzenstap Yvonne Chiu, CM Jack Culiner Mary roxalyn finch freddy Kremer lotfi Mansouri Aleksandar Petričic Magda riets norma louise rogers

‡ designates funds directed to the COC’s endowment

In Honour of After School Opera Program earlaine Collins ninalee Craig natalia lobach ruth Manke Kevin Sean Pook Tim and frances Price Mike Scott Colleen Sexsmith letty Snethen diane Visentin As of January 9, 2014

INDIVIDUAL GIVING ANNUAL SUPPORT GOLDEN CIRCLE GOLDEN CIRCLE COMMITTEE Mark Appel Stewart Burton Stephen Marshall Judy Matthews frances Price (Chair) Colleen Sexsmith Michele Symons GOLD, $50,000 + Anne & Tony Arrell**** Cecily & robert Bradshaw* david G. Broadhurst* In memory of Gerard h. Collins**** Jerry & Geraldine heffernan**** The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen foundation**** roger d. Moore**** Arthur & Susan Scace**** Colleen Sexsmith***

SILVER, $25,000 – $49,999 Andrew Peller limited* Mark & Gail Appel*** Paul Bernards*** Barbara Black* The Black family foundation Philip deck & Kimberley Bozak*** George & Kathy dembroski**** Michael Gibbens* ethel harris & the late Milton harris**** douglas e. hodgson**** rennie & Bill humphries**** ronald Kimel & Vanessa laPerriere**** Susan loube & William Acton* James nicol & Christine Milne Jack Whiteside***

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BRONZE, $12,500 – $24,999 dr. & Mrs. hans G. Abromeit**** Philip & linda Armstrong** Ms nora Aufreiter* Mr. Philip J. Boswell†**** Walter M. & lisa Balfour Bowen**** Susanne Boyce & Brendan Mullen*** rob & Teresa Brouwer* Marcia lewis Brown* Stewart & Gina Burton* Wendy M, Cecil**** dr. John Chiu in memory of Yvonne Chiu, C.M.**** Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Christ**** Stephen Clarke & elizabeth Black** The Max Clarkson family foundation**** J. rob Collins & Janet Cottrelle**** Sydney & florence Cooper*

Ensemble Studio The Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio is the country’s premier opera training program. Since 1980, more than 150 young Canadian singers, stage directors, apprentice opera coaches and conductors have acquired their first professional operatic experience through this program, including such well known singers as Ben Heppner, Isabel Bayrakdarian, John Fanning, Wendy Nielsen, David Pomeroy, Joseph Kaiser, Lauren Segal and Krisztina Szabó. For more information about supporting the COC Ensemble Studio, please call 416-847-4949 or visit coc.ca.

Ambur Braid as Vitellia and Rihab Chaieb (kneeling) as Sesto in the COC Ensemble Studio performance of La clemenza di Tito, 2013. Photo: Michael 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** Adam & Sharin froman* roger & Kevin Garland** Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin*** The hon. William C. Graham & Mrs. Catherine Graham**** William & nona heaslip foundation**** Peter hinman & Kristi Stangeland Michael & linda hutcheon**** Intact financial Corporation Trinity Jackman* Bernhard & hannelore Kaeser**** Jeff lloyd & Barbara henders* Mr. & Mrs. J. S. A. Macdonald**** Bobby & Gordon Macneill** Judy & Wilmot Matthews* 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* dr. M. l. Myers & the late dr. W.P. hayman*** Mrs. Christl & Mr. Karl niemuller** donald O’Born*** Peter M. Partridge**** Mr. Ian & Mrs. Michelle Pearce Mr. Tim & Mrs. frances Price**** Ms r. raso**** david roffey & Karen Walsh*** Barrie d. rose & family*** John A. rothschild** Philip & Maria Smith** Stephen & Jane Smith**** Marion & Gerald Soloway** david e. Spiro*** david Stanley-Porter**** ryerson & Michele Symons riki Turofsky & Charles Petersen** Ms Kristine Vikmanis & Mr. denton Creighton**** PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL COMMITTEE Mary-Catherine Acheson Catherine Bergeron diane Adamson-Brdar Thomas J. Burton ninalee Craig Gladys fogler Marcia lewis Brown Sue Mortimer Katalin Schäfer Colleen Sexsmith (Chair) Kristine Vikmanis Karen Walsh

TRUSTEE, $7,500 – $12,499 à la Carte Kitchen Inc. laurie & fareed Ali* Margaret Atwood & Graeme Gibson*** Mr. & Mrs. Avie Bennett**** dr. david & Constance Briant**** Marilyn Cook* Andrew fleming** rainer hackert**** J. hans Kluge** Jean V. Kramar** Mr. Gurney Kranz**** Paul lee & Jill Maynard**** Anne lewitt** Jerry & Joan lozinski**** Amy & John Macfarlane* The hon. Barbara Mcdougall*** Kathleen Mclaughlin & Tim Costigan* Mark & Andrea McQueen*** rogan foundation Annie & Ian Sale* dr. david Shaw** françoise Sutton*** Carol Swallow*** PATRON, $3,750 – $7,499 Mr. Peter A. Allen* Sue Armstrong**** ron Atkinson & Bruce Blandford**** Mona h. Bandeen, C. M.** Karen & Bill Barnett* l. h. Bartelink in memory of Oskar & Irmgard Gaube** dr. frank Bartoszek & Mr. daniel O’Brien**** dr. Thomas h. Beechy**** doug & Alison Bell Mr. & Mrs. eric Belli-Bivar*** dr. Catherine Bergeron*** Tom Bogart & Kathy Tamaki** dr. Jane Brissenden & dr. Janet roscoe**** Mrs. donna Brock*** Margaret & derek Brown**** Alice Burton*** Joe & laurissa Canavan Cesaroni Management limited*** Paul G. Cherry & dean C. noack**** frank Ciccolini**** The rt. hon. Adrienne Clarkson Mr. & Mrs. William J. Corcoran*** lindy Cowan† & Chris hatley*** norman Curtis**** Ms lindsay dale-harris & Mr. rupert field-Marsham**** Brian J. dawson*** dr. Jeanne deinum**** Carol derk & david Giles** Mrs. A. ephraim diamond & family**** Jeffrey douglas Peter & Anne dotsikas** Vreni & Marc ducommun*** ron dyck & Walter Stewart*** Bud & leigh eisenberg*** Joseph fantl & Moira Bartram** fleur-de-lis Interior design*

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Kimberley fobert & robert lamb†*** The fraser elliott foundation**** dr. & Mrs. Wm. O. Geisler** The honourable Irving Gerstein & Mrs. Gail Gerstein** 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**** hampton Securities ltd.* Scott & ellen hand*** Maggie hayes** hon. & Mrs. Paul hellyer**** Michiel horn & Cornelia Schuh**** Scott Irvine† & Joan Watson†*** The Jackman foundation*** Victoria Jackman*** Mr. robert C. Jefferies**** dr. Joshua Josephson & Ms elaine lewis**** lorraine Kaake**** Patrick & Barbara Keenan**** dr. Joel Keenleyside**** Jim & diane King** Joseph Kerzner & lisa Koeper**** dr. elizabeth Kocmur**** Mr. Philip lanouette** John B. lawson, Q.C.**** Mr. J. levitt & Ms e. Mah* daniel & Janet li* Vincent & helene lobraico* Tom C. logan* Jonathan & dorothea lovat dickson** Mrs. J. l. Malcolm* dr. & Mrs. M. A. Manuel* hon. Margaret McCain*** Paul & Jean McGrath**** ronan McGrath & Sarah Perry* June Mclean**** Mr. Ian McWalter* Mr. Ulrich Menzefricke**** dr. Judith A. Miller*** Mr. noel Mowat** eileen Patricia newell*** Sally-Ann noznesky**** e. Oliana & A. Iu*** Janice Oliver** Keith & Brenda Ottaway*** The Ouellette family foundation dr. & Mrs. William M. Park**** douglas l. Parker**** John & Gwen Pattison* 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* Maxwell l. rotstein & nancy-Gay rotstein****

Cameron rusaw & Anne-Marie Sorrenti Judy & hy Sarick**** Sam & esther Sarick**** helen & John Scott** June Shaw & the late dr. ralph Shaw**** Allan & helaine Shiff**** david & hilary Short*** Judy & hume Smith**** dr. harley Smyth & Carolyn McIntire Smyth* dr. John Stanley & dr. helmut reichenbächer** drs. Wayne Stanley & Marina Pretorius* doreen l. Stanton**** Mr. & Mrs. Gordon Taylor*** Wendy J. Thompson Anthea Thorp**** Vincent Tovell, O.C.*** Ian Turner** dita Vadron & James Catty* rosalind & dory Vanderhoof** donald & Margaret Walter**** hugh & Colleen Washington* William r. Waters**** ruth Watts-Gransden**** dr. Virginia Wesson*** dr. Jack Williams & dr. dorothy Pringle*** Ms lilly Wong* Tom and ruth Woods**** Mr. & Mrs. richard Wookey*** linda Young* Tricia Younger* The Youssef-Warren foundation**** helen Ziegler*** Sharon Zuckerman**** Anonymous (6) MEMBER, $2,250 – $3,749 The Acheson family foundation** d. 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*** John Bailey** James C. Baillie* Marilyn & Charles Baillie**** Andrew & Cornelia Baines**** Janice A. Baker**** richard J. Balfour*** Schuyler Bankes & family*** lindy Barrow** Julia Bass & david hamilton*** Alice & Tom Bastedo** dr. Gail Beck, O. Ont. & Mr. Andrew fenus* Mr. & Mrs. Peter & Sondra Beck*

Ms Marie Bérard†*** nani & Austin Beutel**** dody Bienenstock** John & Mandy Birch* Anneliese and Walter Blackwell**** lynn Blaser & John van Ogtrop**** darlene & Peter Blenich* Ian & Janet Blue** John & Ila Bossons** Mr. W. Bowen & Ms S. Gavinchuk†**** Mrs. Carolyn Bradley-hall & Mr. William Bradley*** Mrs. richard Bradshaw*** Peter Brieger & Beverley hamblin* Murray & Judy Bryant*** Brian Bucknall & Mary Jane Mossman**** Christopher & elizabeth Buller Thomas J. Burton** Maureen Callahan & douglas Gray** Margaret harriett Cameron**** Sharon & howard Campbell** Brian & ellen Carr**** Gail Carson**** Ms Carol Cass dr. & Mrs. Albert Cheskes** Birte von Chlumecky-Bauer** John d. Church dr. howard M. Clarke*** edward Cole & Adrienne hood** Brian Collins & Amanda demers* Tony & elizabeth Comper* Murray & Katherine Corlett**** harold & Anita Corrigan*** dr. lesley S. Corrin**** Bram & Beth Costin Gay & derek Cowbourne** Mr. John A. Crocker & Mrs. Mary Crocker ruth & John Crow*** Mary Beth Currie & Jeff rintoul Carrol Anne Curry*** doris J. daughney david denison & Maureen flanagan** Michael & honor de Pencier**** Mrs. rosario de Wit-farro*** Mrs. leonard G. (Anne) delicaet & Mrs. Kendra Anne delicaetAlmasi**** Mary-Kathleen delicaet & John Young Angelo & Carol delZotto*** 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**** Mr. Albert d. dunn* Mr. Vlad dzavik William & Gwenda echard**** Jean Patterson edwards* Wendy & elliott eisen**** Mr. John J. elder & family**** Jordan elliott & lynne Griffin robert elliott & Paul Wilson**

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Christoph emmrich & Srilata raman dr. & Mrs. John evans*** fabris Inc.* Mr. eddy fan George A. farkass* Gail & Bob farquharson darren farwell Catherine fauquier*** Bill fearn & Claudia rogers**** Mr. & Mrs. fraser M. fell**** lee & Shannon ferrier*** William & rosemary fillmore** Mrs. lois fleming**** J. e. fordyce**** david & elizabeth forster*** Margaret & david fountain**** linda & Ken foxcroft* Mrs. Ingrid fratzl Mr. Michael A. french** robert fung** John & rita Gagliano* rev. Ivars Gaide & rev. dr. Anita Gaide*** Ann Gawman*** dr. Barry A. Gayle**** Mary & lionel Goffart* dr. eudice Goldberg* dr. fay Goldstep & dr. George freedman** deanna A. Gontard**** Tina & 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. & Mrs. henry hackenspiel**** dan hagler & family*** Mr. Adrian J. hamel George & Irene hamilton**** John & ruth hannigan* Beverly hargraft** Paul & Margaret harricks* Michael harris & Carol rak* Mr. & Mrs. William B. harris*** Paul & natalie hartman* Mr. harquail & dr. Sigfridsson* Caroline helbronner** Jacques & elizabeth helbronner*** Thea herman & Gregory King*** William e. hewitt*** Mr. Tom higgins*** Chris hoffmann & Joan eakin** Pamela hoiles Sally holton & Stephen Ireland*** emmy & Walter homburger*** drs. Walter & Virginia hryshko* Anthony C. J. humphreys**** Gillian humphreys* Peter & hélène hunt**** eva Innes & david Medhurst dr. Melvyn l. Iscove*** elliott Jacobson & Judy Malkin** Paul Jaggard & ruth Caswell lynne Jeffrey***

laurence Jewell** The norman & Margaret Jewison Charitable foundation**** Mrs. e. Patricia Johnson** Ms elizabeth Johnson** dr. Albert & Bette Johnston* Joyce Johnston*** Alexandra Jonsson Ms Miriam Kagan Inta Kierans**** ellen & hermann Kircher**** Martin Kirr Mr. douglas Klaassen** Michael & Sonja Koerner** Murray & Marvelle Koffler**** robin Korthals & Janet Charlton** dr. robert Kosnik**** Valarie Koziol* William & eva Krangle**** richard T. la Prairie* elizabeth & Goulding lambert*** leslie & Jo lander**** 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** l. liivamagi & dr. d. n. Cash Justin S. linden Marjorie & roy linden**** dr. & Mrs. W. G. lindley**** Janet & Sid lindsay*** Anthony J. lisanti*** dr. Vance logan*** A. Benson lorriman**** douglas l. ludwig & Karen J. rice*** James & Connie Macdougall**** Mr. Jed MacKay**** dr. & Mrs. richard Mackenzie**** Macro Properties ltd.** Ole P. Madsen* Mr. A. Mafrici**** Susan & Scott Maidment*** dr. Colin McGregor Mailer**** r. Manke**** Mr. & Mrs. r. Gordon Marantz**** fernando & Marietta Martinez-Caro Jill & Geoff Matus** roberto Mauro† & erin Wall Mrs. ettore Mazzoleni*** dr. & Mrs. John A. McCallum**** Wendy & Chris Mcdowall** dr. & Mrs. donald C. McGillivray**** darcy & Joyce McKeough* Mr. Brent Mclaughlin don Mclean & diane Martello Guy & Joanne Mclean**** M. e. Mcleod**** Shawn Mcreynolds & elaine Kierans* 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 Audrey & david Mirvish*** Bruce & Vladka Mitchell* dr. david n. Mitchell & dr. Susan M. Till*** robert & Janet Mitchell* eva Mocarski* dr. & Mrs. S. 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** ethel Myers**** Matt & debbie Mysak*** david & Mary neelands*** dr. Shirley C. neuman** dr. John & Pamela newall**** dr. emilie newell* dr. Steven nitzkin*** Simon & Marlene nyilassy* dr. James & Mrs. Valda Oestreicher*** Benson Orenstein*** Martin & Myrna Ossip* Clarence & Mary Pace** dr. & Mrs. n. Pairaudeau**** dr. roger d. Pearce*** dr. A. Angus Peller* John & Penelope Pepperell* dr. r. G. Perrin** John & Carol Peterson** M. J. Phillips**** June C. Pinkney**** robin B. Pitcher*** Wanda Plachta*** Georgia Prassas**** Ms Jill Presser & Mr. John duffy* dr. Mark Quigley**** Stephen ralls & Bruce Ubukata*** Professor C. edward rathé**** The Carol & Morton rapp foundation**** Kenneth f. read**** Mrs. richard Gavin reid* Grant l. reuber*** Mrs. Gabrielle richards** Carolyn ricketts**** Ms nada ristich emily & fred rizner** Clara robert* dr. Michael & Mary romeo**** John & hannah rosen* Ken & helen rotenberg** rainer & Sharyn rothfuss**** The roux family Peter A. roy & leah Taylor roy drs. Orest & Maureen rudzik**** david A. ruston*** Ms Sharon Cookie Sandler**** Mallory Morris Sartz & John Sartz**** Go Sato***

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dr. & Mrs. Bruce Schaef**** Katalin Schäfer*** fred & Mary Schulz** dr. Marianne Seger**** Carol Seifert & Bruno Tesan*** Victor & rhoda Shields**** Milton & Joyce Shier**** dr. Kevin Shiffman** William Siegel & Margaret Swaine** dr. Bernie & Mrs. Bobbie Silverman** In memory of dr. Bernard Slatt* dr. & Mrs. Jeremy Sloan** Brit & Sally Smith** Jay Smith & laura rapp* Ms Muriel Smith & Mr. eric Ojala**** dr. Joseph So*** Philip Somerville* John & ellen Spears*** Martha e. Spears*** Phil Spencer**** Alex & Kim Squires**** Oksana r. Stein*** Mr. & Mrs. Gary & Sula Stern* dr. & Mrs. Stephen Stern*** John d. Stevenson**** Jim Stewart & deborah Swail* James h. Stonehouse* Janet Stubbs** eric Tang & dr. James Miller** Judith Teller foundation**** Tesari Charitable foundation** elizabeth Tory**** Mr. Alex Tosheff* diana Tremain**** Sandra & Guy Upjohn*** dr. r. B. Van Winckle* edmond & Sylvia Vanhaverbeke**** Stefan Varga & dr. Marica Varga Mr. & Mrs. henry & Ann louise Vehovec*** dr. Yvonne Verbeeten** dr. helen Vosu & donald Milner**** richard & nathalie Wachsberg* dr. O. r. Waler* elizabeth & Michael Walker*** Ann & Marshall Webb** Peter Webb & Joan York**** Philip & diana Weinstein* dr. Bogomila Welsh* Ms eleanor Westney** Melanie Whitehead** Mr. Brian Wilks* elizabeth Wilson & Ian Montagnes**** Jeffrey Stewart Wilson* Mr. dale Woolridge dr. Jackson Wu & dr. Viviana Chang* Ms June Yee** Morden Yolles**** dr. howard & Sybil Young**** helen & Walter Zwig**** Anonymous (31)

A scene from the COC's Gianni Schicchi, 2012. Photo: Michael Cooper

Join us! Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance has been made possible, in part, by the generosity and loyal support of the Friends of the COC*. Our Friends also support our education and outreach programs and Ensemble Studio training program. Become a Friend of the COC and you can join us in the Friends Lounge at all COC performances, enjoy special behind-the-scenes working rehearsals and events, receive our newsletter Prelude, as well as gain access to single tickets one week prior to the public. All gifts will be gratefully acknowledged with a charitable tax receipt. For more information, please stop by the Friends Lounge located on Ring 3, visit coc.ca, or call 416-847-4949.

*Friends of the COC give a charitable membership gift between $150 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; $2,249 annually.

FRIENDS OF THE COC SUSTAINING FRIENDS $1,600 – $2,249 Yvonne Blaszczyk Iivi Campbell**** elaine & Michael davies**** Jayne & Ted dawson**** Bill heaslip**** I. Mcdorman**** dr. norbert V. Perera**** david Smukler & Patricia Kern** The Sorbara Group**** Vernon & Beryl Turner**** Ms eda Varalli Gordon Waugh***

dorothy & robert ross*** M. & G. Sanvido**** Ms elisabeth Scarff**** Joan Sinclair & John McConnell** dr. & Mrs. W. K. Stavraky*** norma & George Steiner**** dr. & Mrs. Karel Terbrugge* Ms Peg Thoen* Angela Thompson dr. M. lynne Thurling & dr. John Treilhard*** Mr. & Mrs. david G. Trent**** Valery lloyd-Watts Janet White** ron Williams* Anonymous (8)

ASSOCIATE FRIENDS $1,100 – $1,599 Carol & ernest Albright**** Ms I. M. Allen**** Gail Asper O.C., O.M., lld Michael & Janet Barnard** Michael Benedict & Martha lowrie**** don Biderman**** dr. & Ms B. M. Braude** dr. Wendy C. Chan Patricia Clarke** Cogeco data Services Inc. Mr. Stuart davidson Mr. darren day*** Mr. Steven d. donohoe**** Mr. larry enkin*** dr. James M. ferguson Mr. Morris flicht**** r. dalton fowler**** John h. Galloway**** ricardo Gomez-Insausti* Mrs. Suzy Greenspan** Mr. James hamilton* Mr. & Mrs. h. C. hatch**** lawrence & Beatrice herman**** In memory of Pauline hinch* haim & Mardi hirshberg* david holdsworth & nicole Senécal* richard & Susan horner**** Mr. Josef hrdina* donald hughes*** James hughes** Karen & Craig* Ms Suanne Kelman & dr. Allan J. fox* Mrs. Mary liitoja**** deidre lynch* P. Anne Mackay**** Mrs. Janet Maggiacomo** Georgina Mclennan**** dr. davender Mehra & Mrs. ellis Galea Kirkland Mr. Carl Morey**** Mr. Sean O'neill*** Ms Marianne Orr* eileen & ralph Overend* Mr. Martti Paloheimo** Barbara & Peter Pauly** Ms Victoria Pinnington*** Alice Pitt & deborah Britzman Mr. & Mrs. domenic Porporo* Prometheum Institute*** dr. Peter ray***

CONTRIBUTING FRIENDS $700 – $1,099 dr. I. l. Babb fund at the Toronto Community foundation**** Peter & leslie Barton** Mrs. lynn Bayer*** dr. robert Bell Catherine Belyea† Jeniva Berger*** Anthony Bird**** dr. B. derek & dr. Anne W. Birt**** dr. Jennifer Blake* ellen & Murray Blankstein Mary Brock & Brian Iler**** Mr. Thomas n. Bryson** Ms Judith Burrows** Ms e. Burton*** Betty Carlyle**** Mark Cestnik & natercia Sousa**** Geoffrey & Bilgi Chapman**** harold Chmara & danny hoy**** Jillian Clarke Joe T. r. Clarke**** Sherri Clarkson d. M. Cook*** robert d. Cook** Mr. neil Crawford* Professor K. G. davey** Anita day don deBoer & Brent Vickar*** Mr. Michael disney* dr. eric domville** Wendy drahovzal dr. Christine dunbar** howard & Kathrine eckler** Peter & Shashi eden** Ms eleanor l. ellins**** roger & Janet emery*** Mr. Arthur english* Joe & helen feldmann** Brian A. ferguson**** Tom flemming**** Jennifer & frank flower*** Marie-lison fougere* Angelo furgiuele & family* douglas G. Gardner**** elinor Gill ratcliffe C.M., O.n.l., lld (hc) Alison Girling & Paul Schabas** Aviva & Andrew Goldenberg** dr. Wilfred S. Goodman**** david Gordon & Wendy flores Gordon* In memory of n. Bruce Grandfield Mrs. Marion A. Green****

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dr. & Mrs. Voldemars Gulens**** dr. & Mrs. Brian & Cynthia hands**** roy & Gail harrison**** Sandra hausman** In memory of Glenda henniger* Mr. Matthew hilgerdenaar In memory of Pauline hinch** Mr. Sylvain houle* dr. Ivan & Mrs. diana hronsky**** In loving memory of Joyce Whitney hughes Mr. Pierre hurtubise**** Mr. david hutton** Mr. Sumant Inamdar** Mr. Kazik Jedrzejczak**** douglas & dorothy Joyce**** Ms elisa Kearney Ms Meredith Keeve heidi & Khalid Khokhar**** lilian Kilianski† & Brian Pritchard* Mai Kirch**** dr. & Mrs. l. A. Kitchell**** Mr. Christopher J. Kowal Mr. Jonathan Krehm* Gediminas P. Kurpis**** Mr. James r. lake**** harry lane** M. J. horsfall large** Miss donna lasecki**** Giles le riche & rosemary Polczer*** Claus & heather lenk* Mr. Yakov lerner Jason & Stephanie lewis dr. francois loubert* Mr. Andrew & Mrs. harriet lyons Kathy Marton* Mary McClymont**** Mary McGowan**** Jil McIntosh** Mr. Bruce McKeown*** Janis Medland* Sylvia McPhee**** Suzanne Mess*** dr. Alan C. Middleton** Kamini & lynne Milnes frank & Anne Moir** Anne Murdock** Mr. Tomi nishio**** david northcote & Suzanne Betcke* Ms Cristina Oke** Karen Olinyk†* Mr. James C. Pappas**** Mr. Joseph & Mrs. letizia Paradiso*** Pauline & donald david Peachey & Georgia henderson** Mrs. dorothy K. Piepke**** ed & Beth Price*** Mr. robert radke dr. Shelley rechner**** Marat ressin Ms laura rimas* Mr. Jason roberts** Ms Virginia robeson* Amye & deeAnn hagler Sagar† William & Meredith Saunderson****

Patti & richard Schabas** nancy A. Schiefer in memory of Walter Schiefer*** Schuyler Bankes & family*** henry & Mary Seldon**** Cheryl Shook** d. Bruce Sinclair** John Spears**** helga & Klaus Stegemann*** Jane & Ted Stephenson**** hamish Stewart & Susan Taylor**** Stoesser law Office Ms Michelle Tan** dr. r. Paul Thompson* ria Tietz**** dr. Claude Tousignant** Mrs. Maria Tulip**** Mrs. norene Turvolgyi**** dr. nancy f. Vogan**** Mr. Wayne Vogan†**** George Vona & lark Popov** dr. Peter Voore*** Angela & Michael Vuchnich**** Mr. John M. Welch**** James & Margaret Whitby**** nina Wright** Ms Iris Zawadowski* Anonymous (5) THE ENCORE LEGACY The encore legacy is the planned giving program of the Canadian Opera Company. Planned giving is making the decision today to provide a gift for the Canadian Opera Company that may not be realized until after your lifetime. Gifts planned today, that will ultimately affect your estate, allow you to make a statement of support that will become a lasting legacy to the COC. The Canadian Opera Company gratefully acknowledges and thanks the following individuals who have included the COC in their estate planning: Susan Agranove & estate of dr. larry M. Agranove Isobel Allen renata Arens & elizabeth frey Mrs. rosalen Armstrong ron Atkinson & Bruce Blandford lindy Barrow Mr. l. h. Bartelink J. linden Best & James G. Kerr david Bowen Marnie M. Bracht Gregory Brandt Ann Christie earl Clark The rt. hon. Adrienne Clarkson Brian Collins & Amanda demers earlaine Collins david h. Cormack

ninalee Craig Anita day & robert Mcdonald Ann de Brouwer helen drake rowland d. Galbraith douglas G. Gardner Ann J. Gibson Michael & Anne Gough l. A. Grover George & Irene hamilton Joan l. harris James hewson John r. higgins Mr. Kim Yim ho & Walter frederic Thommen douglas e. hodgson Matt hughes Michael & linda hutcheon lynne Jeffrey Ann Kadrnka Ben Kizemchuk Kathryn Kossow Mr. Gurney Kranz Jo lander Peggy lau Tom C. logan, A.r.C.T. Marjorie & roy linden Ms lenore Macdonald dr. Colin M. Mailer r. Manke Tim & Jane Marlatt Mr. Shawn Martin Margaret McKee Sylvia M. McPhee dr. Alan C. Middleton eleanor Miller Sigmund & elaine Mintz donald Morse Sue Mortimer Mr. & Mrs. James d. Patterson Mervyn Pickering Gunther & dorothy Piepke Wanda Plachta Ms Georgia Prassas K. f. read dr. John reeve-newson Mrs. Margaret russell Cookie & Stephen Sandler Claire Shaw r. Bonnie Shettler david e. Spiro dr. d. P. Stanley-Porter doreen l. Stanton lilly Offenbach-Strauss drs. W. & K. Stavraky Janet Stubbs Ann Sutton ronald Taber Mrs. l. Treutler riki Turofsky & Charles Petersen n. Suzanne Vanstone Marie-laure Wagner hugh & Colleen Washington Marion C. Wilson Marion York Tricia Younger Anonymous (59)

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

OPERATOURS DONORS $700 + (From October 2012 – December 2013) dr. eric W. Amann** howard & ruth Barrett**** Ian & Janet Blue** Ms Victoria Burenko* Ms e. Burton*** louise Coxall*** edward Cummings & Margaret Kelly**** Ben & Sarah Glatt**** dr. Irene Gulka* donald Gutteridge & Anne Millar**** Ms fawzia Khan* dr. elizabeth Kocmur**** earl law**** Mrs. J. l. Malcolm* Ms Antonieta Marticorena**** Mary McClymont**** Mr. Alex Moraru* Mrs. Christa nimmo**** Mr. Michael r. Overbury*** rainer & Sharyn rothfuss**** Mr. Michael Samborsky** Beverly & fred Schaeffer**** Stephen & Jane Smith**** Paul & Maria Szasz**** Ms Grace Szczerbowski ria Tietz**** david roffey & Karen Walsh*** Ms June Yee** Anonymous (5) CORPORATE MATCHING PARTNERS The Canadian Opera Company gratefully acknowledges the following organizations that have matched gifts by their employees: Canadian Tire Corporation limited IBM Canada ltd. Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc Goodman & Company, Investment Counsel ltd. fM Global foundation The above Individual Support Gifts were made as of January 7, 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 efforts to avoid errors and omissions, mistakes can occur. If your name was omitted, listed incorrectly or misspelled, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We would appreciate being notified of any errors at 416-847-4949.

WARM UP THIS WINTER AT

THE OPERA SHOP This winter we’re introducing more I HEART COC custommade merchandise including mugs, pens, cufflinks and tie clips! And of course the beloved COC teddy bear is back! We’re thrilled to showcase once more the stunning jewellery of TwoA (right) and PJ Bundy and welcome for the first time Danielle O’Connor and her exquisite, handmade jewellery, featuring beautifully faceted stones. Also new to the Opera Shop is the vintage lace jewellery line of THISILK. The Opera Shop is located on the main floor of the Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room, open before, during, and (sometimes) after all performances.

MEET THE JEWELLERS! WINTER TRUNK SHOW DATES Saturday, February 1, 4:30 p.m. TwoA Jewellery Sunday, February 16, 2 p.m. PJ Bundy

Featured recordings from Universal Classics: CD Così fan tutte, Decca. The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Georg Solti, conductor. Renée Fleming, Anne Sofie von Otter, Adelina Scarabelli and Frank Lopardo. Sir Georg Solti’s digital Così, recorded live at London’s Royal Festival Hall in 1994, has been hailed as one of the finest versions of Mozart’s miraculous score on disc. Renée Fleming is a commanding Fiordiligi, conveying all that character’s tragic vulnerability with enough pathos to melt even the hardest of hearts. $38 including tax DVD Un ballo in maschera Deutsche Grammophon. The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus and Ballet, James Levine, conductor. Luciano Pavarotti, Leo Nucci, Aprile Millo and Florence Quivar. Luciano Pavarotti’s sunny personality and quintessentially Italianate tone found their perfect match in Ballo’s blindly cheerful Riccardo, often cited as his greatest role. Piero Faggioni’s sumptuous production opts for the opera’s 18thcentury Swedish court setting. $25.75 including tax

The Opera Shop is a project of the Canadian Opera Company, in partnership with L’Atelier Grigorian and Decca – The Opera Label. All proceeds support the Canadian Opera Company.

MAJOR CORPORATE SPONSORS 2013/2014 SEASON BMO financial Group Pre-Performance Opera Chats and BMO financial Group Student dress rehearsals. Mozart’s Così fan tutte underwritten in part by

Official Automotive Sponsor of the COC at the fSCPA

Presenting Sponsor of SUrTITleS™

Major Supporter, ensemble Studio Competition Supporter, Centre Stage: ensemble Studio Competition Gala

Glencore ensemble Studio School Tour

Presenting Sponsor Opera Under 30 and Operanat10n: A Night of Temptation

Presenting Sponsor After School Opera Program

Preferred hospitality Sponsor

Official Canadian Wine of the COC at the fSCPA

Presenting Sponsor Weekday rush Subscriptions

Official Media Sponsor

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Production Sponsor Verdi’s A Masked Ball

Preferred fragrance

Preferred Medical Services Provider

2013/2014 SPONSORS DIAMOND PERFORMANCE SPONSORS

HOSTING SPONSOR

PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Barrick Gold Burgundy Asset Management linden & Associates fionn MacCool’s four Seasons hotels and resorts McCarthy Tetrault llP norton rose Canada llP PWC PROGRAM SPONSOR Great West life, london life and Canada life, Living Opera Program Sponsor OPENING NIGHT SPONSOR fionn MacCool’s LA BOHÉME OPENING NIGHT SPONSOR San Pellegrino PREFERRED FLORISTS Bloom The flower Company Quince flowers CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION DONORS MAJOR GIFTS $10,000+ Audrey S. hellyer Charitable foundation The hal Jackman fund at the Ontario Arts foundation J.P. Bickell foundation The lloyd Carr harris foundation OCC lasik The Mclean foundation Anonymous (1) $5,000 to $9,999 225490 Investments limited local 58 Charitable Benefit fund Unit Park holdings Inc. The hope Charitable foundation Shinex Window Cleaning Inc State Street $3,000 to $4,999 Classical 96.3 fM hicks Memorial fund at The Calgary foundation Vida Peene fund at the Canada Council for the Arts $2,000 to $2,999 d’Avignon freight Services Inc. Jarvis & Associates MAC Cosmetics Milgram Group of Companies ltd. Please visit coc.ca for additional information

$1,000 to $1,999 Aimia loyaltyOne Inc. McKinsey & Company The Powis family foundation CENTRE STAGE: 2013 ENSEMBLE STUDIO COMPETITION GALA COMPETITION SUPPORTERS rBC and rBC foundation Peter M. deeb hal Jackman foundation PLATINUM SPONSOR Mercedes-Benz GOLD SPONSOR Brookfield Asset Management extuple Scotiabank OPERANAT10N: A NIGHT OF TEMPTATION PRESENTING SPONSOR Td Bank Group VIP SPONSOR J.P. Morgan OFFICIAL FRAGRANCE Calvin Klein dOWnTOWn PARTNERING SPONSORS Burgundy Asset Management Globalive Communications Corp. CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS BMO financial Group Weirfoulds llP EVENT SPONSORS 10tation Alan Candy Chair-man Mills KAelen Knot Pr lilium Media needs Mill St. Perrier Sheridan nurseries Toronto life Trius Wines FINE WINE AUCTION 2013 PRESENTING SPONSORS Td Securities Bloomberg SUPPORTING SPONSOR Blake, Cassels & Graydon llP CHEESE SPONSOR Scheffler’s delicatessen & Cheese CHOCOLATE SPONSOR rheo Thompson Candies 2013/2014 MEDIA SPONSORS & IN-KIND SUPPORTERS remenyi house of Music ltd. 31

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

OPERATING SUPPORT

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.

ENSEMBLE STUDIO

SPECIAL PROJECT FUNDING for the many programs and special initiatives undertaken each year by the Canadian Opera Company, we gratefully acknowledge project funding from: department of Canadian heritage employment and Social development Canada

CREDITS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The 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 and Opera.ca. 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.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

GOOSEBUMPS INCLUDED.

The power of emotions on stage can be experienced in many ways. We are proud to be the Presenting Sponsor of SURTITLESâ&#x201E;˘ at the Canadian Opera Company, to help patrons experience every emotion under the sun - along with, of course, the goosebumps.

SURTITLES is a registered trade-mark of the Canadian Opera Company.

ÂŽ Making the Arts More Accessible is a registered trade-mark of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERDI’S

A MASKED BALL BY NIKITA GOURSKI AND GIANMARCO SEGATO

MAKING THE OLD NEW 1. It was the first and only time in Verdi’s

STOCKHOLM TO BOSTON 3. As Verdi worked on the opera with his

career that he adapted an already existing libretto, Gustave III, ou Le bal masque by Eugène Scribe. Scribe’s libretto had been set to music by French composer Daniel Auber in 1833 and enjoyed great success at its premiere in Paris.

translator and librettist, Antonio Somma, the royal censors in Naples demanded a number of changes. The opera went through three different titles, and just as many historical periods and locations (18th-century Stockholm, 17th-century Pomerania, 14th-century Florence), before ending up at the centre of a legal dispute between Verdi and the management of the Teatro San Carlo. The courts released Verdi from his contract in Naples, and the composer took his opera to another theatre in Rome. There, the original Swedish

A HISTORICAL OPERA 2. The libretto was based on the 1792 assassination of the progressive and widely adored King Gustav III of Sweden. Gustav was shot at a masked ball in Stockholm and died several days later. 18

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Above: The COC presents A Masked Ball. Catherine Naglestad as Amelia and Piotr Beczala as Riccardo in the Berlin Staatsoper production, 2008. Photo: Ruth Walz Below: Portrait of Verdi, 1886, by Giovanni Boldini (Galería Nacional de Arte Moderno de Roma)

setting was also rejected, but Verdi proposed 17th-century Boston as an alternative, with a governor instead of a king, which satisfied all parties involved. It was in this version that A Masked Ball finally premiered in Rome in 1859. The Boston setting was the standard version throughout Europe in Verdi’s lifetime, though within two years of the opera’s premiere, a production in Paris had set the action in Italy.

EXTERNAL DETAILS WEREN’T OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE 4. The opera’s genesis shows that what was critical for Verdi in Masked Ball was Catch up with blogs and enjoy COC Radio at coc.ca.

not so much the outer detail – a particular city or a nobleman’s rank – but the universal structures that govern our most private and public relationships. 19

10 Things to Know About Verdi's A Masked Ball

The COC presents A Masked Ball. A scene from the Berlin Staatsoper production, 2008. Photo: Ruth Walz

A COMPLEX LOVE TRIANGLE 5. A Masked Ball marked Verdi’s move away from melodrama toward subjects of greater emotional complexity. The characters here are multi-faceted, experiencing intense conflicts of the heart and mind. The Governor Riccardo is in love with his best friend’s wife, Amelia, but realizes that unchecked ardour would only compromise her marriage and lead to misery. Similarly, Amelia feels real passion for Riccardo but can’t bring himself to betray her husband Renato. Meanwhile Renato – probably the most complex baritone part Verdi ever wrote – is devastated when he discovers what appears to be an affair between Amelia and Riccardo, the man he has sworn to protect with his life against a brewing conspiracy. Remarkably, Renato never turns into a one-dimensional villain and Verdi gives him a broad spectrum of conflicting emotions, from vengeful bloodlust that wants revenge, to grief at the breakdown of his marriage, and from pain at being betrayed to sorrow at the loss of a friend he loved and admired. 20

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

BLENDING COMEDY AND TRAGEDY 6. This opera is Verdi’s most successful fusion of light and dark styles. The commingling of tragedy and comedy is most striking during the opera’s final scene when the stage band at the masked ball, apparently unaware that the Governor has been shot, continues to play upbeat dance music while Riccardo succumbs to his wounds.

VERDI LOOKS TO FRENCH MODELS 7. In composing to a French libretto, Verdi opted to use musical forms associated with 19th-century French opera. This is especially true of the music he wrote for the page Oscar, who often sings in straight-forward French couplets (two-versed songs) that lighten the mood with fun and mischief. The part of Oscar is traditionally performed as a pants role (a male character played by a female singer), but in this production Oscar’s character is presented as a young woman.

10 Things to Know About Verdi's A Masked Ball

A MODERN AMERICAN SETTING 8. This production takes place in an America of the 50s and 60s, but makes references to symbols and iconography outside that epoch – for example the extravagant outfit Oscar wears to the masked ball is a theatrical wink citing Björk’s “swan dress” at the 2001 Oscars. In drawing from a broad spectrum of real and mythic American tropes, this production presents a completely invented “modern America,” reinforcing Verdi’s artistic recommendation that “to copy reality can be a good thing, but to invent reality is much, much better.”

A VERSATILE HOTEL 9. The set is a hotel ballroom that can transform seamlessly into different locales of the opera. During Act II, for example, when Amelia is in a cemetery by the gallows, the lighting dims, the columns of the ballroom suddenly became transparent to reveal vine-like plants crawling upward, and chandeliers lower to create the illusion of treetops that rustle and sway in the wind. The single set complements the action of A Masked Ball, one of Verdi’s most compact and propulsive operas.

A RENOWNED DIRECTORIAL TEAM 10. Two-time winners of the “Directorial Team of the Year” recognition (2002 and 2012), selected by an international panel of 50 critics contributing to the magazine Opernwelt, Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito have also been the recipients of “Der Faust” – a major German theatre award – for best opera staging (2006 and 2012). They are renowned for immersing themselves deeply in the score and following the nexus of text and music to arrive at their production’s aesthetic and thematic focus. When Jossi Wieler was recently appointed head of the Stuttgart Opera, the Financial Times noted that it meant a welcome return to “productions based firmly on score and text” and praised him and Morabito for their “unshakeable faith in the score.” When it premiered in 2008, this production of A Masked Ball was hailed by Bloomberg for being “unashamedly entertaining” and having the “cinematic dynamism and the velocity of a good thriller.” n

A STELLAR CAST The production stars Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka (Dialogues des Carmélites, Tosca), who makes her role debut as Amelia. Tenor Dimitri Pittas returns (La Bohème, Rigoletto) as the Governor Riccardo, while English baritone Roland Wood makes his COC debut as Renato. Russian mezzo-soprano Elena Manistina makes a welcome return as Ulrica after her Dora-award winning performance in the COC’s Il Trovatore (2012).

Adrianne Pieczonka (Amelia)

Dimitri Pittas (Riccardo)

Roland Wood (Renato)

Elena Manistina (Ulrica)

Nikita Gourski is Development Communications Officer and Gianmarco is Adult Education Manager at the Canadian Opera Company.

FOR FURTHER INSIGHT INTO THE CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY’S PRODUCTION OF A MASKED BALL, PLEASE READ VERDI GOES TO ELSEWHERE, U.S.A., IN THE WINTER ISSUE OF PRELUDE, AVAILABLE ONLINE AT COC.CA/PUBLICATIONS.

Catch up with blogs and enjoy COC Radio at coc.ca.

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FALSTAFF VERDI

A Feast of Laughs Falstaff’s life of sport and pleasure comes crashing down when his appetites lead to an ill-advised seduction scheme in this adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. Verdi had more fun writing Falstaff than probably anything else in his career, and it shows in the quicksilver melodies and upbeat tempos of this joyous, life-affirming comedy. This new COC production, directed by Robert Carsen, has already delighted audiences in New York, Milan and London, and transports us to England, circa 1950. It is a time when the aristocracy – represented by the lecherous yet lovable Sir John Falstaff – is fading into obscurity, while a powerful middle class is emerging. The battle between the noblesse and the nouveau riche takes us from the wood-panelled rooms of a posh country inn to the pastel-coloured kitchens of the bourgeoisie, from an enchanting scene in the forest to a lavish banquet, with Falstaff’s beloved food and drink a unifying theme throughout. World-famous Canadian baritone Gerald Finley makes his role debut as Falstaff, and serves up the always-welcome lesson of being able to laugh at ourselves. October 3 – November 1, 2014 NEW COC CO-PRODUCTION with Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Teatro alla Scala, Milan; Metropolitan Opera and De Nederlandse Opera

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Main image: Gerald Finley. Photo: Gary Mulcahey, 2013. Inset: Falstaff (Teatro alla Scala, 2013). Photo: Rudy Amisano

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

EARLY DIAGNOSIS. PROMPT TREATMENT. BETTER OUTCOMES.

Complete a Comprehensive Health Assessment (CHA) at the Medcan Clinic and Medcan will give $250 to the Canadian OperaÂ Company.* Beyond a traditional medical, Medcanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s detailed CHA includes: t 0OF IPVS DPOTVMUBUJPO XJUI B QIZTJDJBO t EJTUJODU IFBMUI TDSFFOJOH UFTUT t 0OTJUF UFTUJOH JO B TJOHMF WJTJU t "TTJTUBODF XJUI BOZ OFDFTTBSZ GPMMPX VQ DBSF

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;The head-to-toe medical provided important information. And Medcan was our advocate in navigating the system to ensure we received the follow-up care weÂ needed.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Alexander Neef General Director Canadian Opera Company Medcan is the Preferred Medical Services Provider for the CanadianÂ Opera Company.

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Puccini’s heartbreaking masterpiece of love, longing and loss Following its 1990 premiere, the COC’s exquisitely beautiful Madama Butterfly immediately achieved classic status as “one of the treasures of the COC’s collection” (Globe and Mail). It tellingly situates Butterfly’s little house as an island on the stage, revealing her isolation from family and community, as well as her ultimate abandonment by the American husband in whose empty vows she blindly places her future. Butterfly is simply the most vocally challenging, emotionally complex heroine in all Italian opera. She must embody strength and fragility in equal measure – qualities which abound in the great American singing actress Patricia Racette, whose Butterfly touched millions in the recent Metropolitan Opera HD transmission, and “can rightly stand among the great Butterflies of her era” (Opera News). Racette’s golden voice will carry Puccini’s best-loved melodies into the sonorous warmth of the Four Seasons Centre, and will be matched in beauty by the breathtaking simplicity of Brian MacDonald and Susan Benson’s impeccable production. Racette shares the role with her fellow American soprano, Kelly Kaduce.

MADAMA BUTTERFLY

October 10 – 31, 2014

PUCCINI

COC PRODUCTION

JOIN US IN 2014/2015

Production originally made possible by John A. Cook Main image: Patricia Racette. Photo: Gary Mulcahey, 2013. Inset: Allyson McHardy and Adina Nitescu in Madama Butterfly (COC, 2009). Photo: Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

MASTERS MAS STERS OF F MUSIC MUSIC C L LOS OS ANGELES ANGELES PHI PHILHARMONIC LHARMONIC GUSTAVO DUDAMEL, CONDUCTOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014 8PM ROY THOMSON HALL Corigliano: Symphony No.1 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5