La Bohème, 2013 by Canadian Opera Company

Performance Canadian Opera COmpany Fall 2013

LA BOHĂ&#x2C6;ME

(l–r) Dimitri Pittas as Rodolfo and Joshua Hopkins as Marcello in the Canadian Opera Company/Houston Grand Opera (HGO)/San Francisco Opera co-production of La Bohème, 2012, HGO. Photo: Felix Sanchez

CONTENTS 4 6

REMEMBERING LOTFI JOHN CAIRD DIRECTS A NEW BOHÈME BY SUZANNE VANSTONE

12 HEPPNER ON PETER GRIMES BY SUZANNE VANSTONE

20 CANADA’S FUTURE OPERA STARS TAKE CENTRE STAGE

A scene from the Opera Australia production of Peter Grimes, 2009. Photo: Branco Gaica

BY JENNIFER PUGSLEY

24 COMING THIS WINTER MOZART’S COSÌ FAN TUTTE BY CLAIRE MORLEY

28 COMING THIS WINTER VERDI’S UN BALLO IN MASCHERA

Performance BY GIANNA WICHELOW

Canadian Opera COmpany

Fall 2013

n CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY EDITORS: Suzanne Vanstone, former Senior Communications Manager, Editorial; Gianna Wichelow, Senior Communications Manager, Creative; Claire Morley, Communications Officer 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 GRAPHIC ARTIST: Glenda Moniz

MIZRAHI D E V E L O P M E N T S

n Cover images: La Bohème : Dimitri Pittas as Rodolfo and Katie Van Kooten as Mimì in the Canadian Opera Company/Houston Grand Opera (HGO)/San Francisco Opera co-production of La Bohème, 2012, HGO. Photo: Felix Sanchez Peter Grimes: (l–r) Taryn Fiebig and Lorina Gore as Auntie’s Nieces and Stuart Skelton as Peter Grimes in the Opera Australia production of Peter Grimes, 2009. Photo: Branco Gaica Canadian Opera Company’s edition of Performance magazine is published quarterly by RJ Performance Media Inc., 2724 Coventry Road, Oakville, Ontario, L6H 6R1. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written consent is prohibited. Contents copyright © Performance Inc. Subscriptions available by contacting publisher. Direct all advertising enquiries to 2724 Coventry Road, Oakville, Ontario, L6H 6R1 or phone 905-829-3900, Ext. 222.

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

“Lotfi was a legend. There is no question that he was one of opera’s most influential general directors. i am personally very grateful for his friendship and the advice he shared with me ever since i joined the COC.” – COC General Director Alexander Neef

(left) Lotfi Mansouri and Alexander Neef at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 2010. Photo: COC; (below) The COC's 1983 production of Elektra, where SURTITLES™ were first used. Photo: Robert C. Ragsdale

REMEMBERING

LOTFI

LOTFI MANSOURI (1929 –2013)

One of Lotfi’s most personal and heartfelt ambitions was achieved when he founded the COC Ensemble Studio in 1980, which is now Canada’s premier training program for young opera professionals. To date, over 180 young opera artists including singers, coaches, stage directors and conductors have received their first major professional operatic experience through the Ensemble Studio, claiming such alumni as Ben Heppner, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Janet Stubbs, John Fanning, and Wendy Nielsen, to name just a few.

“Lotfi possessed an infectious enthusiasm for all that opera is. He inspired us. He knew every word and note in every opera he directed. He loved his ‘kids’, the singers whose careers he nourished and supported. What a privilege it was to have been one of his ‘kids’!” – Janet Stubbs, mezzo-soprano and member of the inaugural Ensemble Studio

his past August, we at the COC were deeply saddened to hear of the loss of our third General Director, Lotfi Mansouri. Lotfi led the company from 1976 to 1988 and played a crucial role in launching the COC’s international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation. He grew the company into the largest opera producer in Canada and one of the 4

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

largest in North America. During his tenure, Mansouri’s focus was on implementing a longer performance season, audience development, more adventurous repertoire and productions, and advance planning both financially and artistically, the accomplishments of which are essential elements of the COC’s operations today.

Among Lotfi’s many contributions to the COC and the opera world was the unveiling of SURTITLES™ at the company’s 1983 production of Elektra. The innovative use of simultaneous projected translations above the stage suddenly allowed the COC to make opera more accessible to audiences. This revolutionized the opera world, and the use of titles is now standard practice in all major opera houses around the world. Mansouri left the COC in 1988 to become General Director of the San Francisco Opera, but he returned to the COC family regularly to direct on the mainstage, and to give masterclasses to the young artists of the Ensemble Studio.

“His larger-than-life personality, broad sense of humor and boundless enthusiasm for his work endeared him to everyone. His knowledge of the repertoire and stagecraft were daunting, and it benefitted every organization he was associated with.” – San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley

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

A scene from the Canadian Opera Company/Houston Grand Opera (HGO)/San Francisco co-production of La Bohème, 2012, HGO. Photo: Felix Sanchez

JOHN CAIRD DIRECTS ANEW BOHÈME BY SUZANNE VANSTONE

hether you are an opera neophyte or a seasoned aficionado, chances are you have experienced La Bohème’s beautiful music and heart-wrenching tale in some fashion – be it with a full production, excerpted highlights, or perhaps that aria on the radio that you can’t quite name, but know intimately. A repertoire staple since the company’s inaugural season in 1950, the COC is thrilled to bring a brand new Bohème to its stage under the direction of Tony-award winning director John Caird. Caird very much enjoyed working at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts when he was last here to direct Don Carlos in 2007. “The building has a light, 6

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

John Caird

airy feeling, both in the public foyer spaces and in the hall itself. The space is not pretentious but rather incorporates a real sense of community. It was a great pleasure to work there and I look forward to my return with La Bohème.” In creating this new co-production with Houston and San Francisco, Caird and set and costume designer David Farley have taken inspiration from La Belle Époque, capturing the romance and artistic brilliance at the heart of this opera. La Bohème is based on Scènes de la vie de bohème, a play by Henri Murger and Théodore Barrière, which was adapted from a novel by Murger. But as Caird says,

John Caird Directs a NEW Bohème

(l–r) Vuyani Mlinde as Colline, Michael Sumuel as Schaunard, Dimitri Pittas as Rodolfo and Joshua Hopkins as Marcello in the Canadian Opera Company/Houston Grand Opera (HGO)/San Francisco Opera co-production of La Bohème, 2012, HGO. Photo: Felix Sanchez

“In reality, the original works were neither a novel nor a play, but rather vignettes, glimpses into the lives of the bohemian lifestyle in Paris’s Latin Quarter.” Murger vividly captured the bohemians’ unconventional attitude towards freedom, pleasure and love, as well as their complete commitment to art, but he also reminded his readers of the harsh realities of their lives. At La Bohème’s core is the heartbreaking tragedy of Mimì, an ailing seamstress and her lover Rodolfo. But Caird ingeniously uses the four young artists: Marcello, a painter; Rodolfo, a poet; Schaunard, a musician; and Colline, a philosopher; to propel the story, each employing their particular talent. “All four young men possess wit and talent but they aren't as good at their relationships as they are at their art. Rodolfo knows he must lose Mimì and Marcello runs hot and cold with Musetta, but by the end of the

story we know that both men will move on and certainly love again.” “Rather than relationships, their art is what is paramount to them – art is their true passion. No matter what is happening around them, Rodolfo pauses to write down a line of verse and Marcello feverishly paints and sketches. Like all good artists, they don’t want a moment to slip by without, in some way, recording it.” Caird has set this production in the 19th century, inspired by what was happening in Paris at the time. “We drew great inspiration from the great painter Toulouse-Lautrec who was capturing all aspects of street life, feeding the desire for the wealthy classes to peer into the seamier side of life.” The set design revolves around a mosaic of canvases, painted by Marcello, that frame the action within the opera’s changing Parisian locales. Some paintings remain fixed, some turn in place to create scene changes, and others fly in to enhance the artistic effect. Puccini’s ability to create compelling characters and express larger-than-life emotions through unforgettable melodies is what makes La Bohème a perpetual favourite of audiences. “A great opera like Bohème is a beautifully crafted construction of melodies and musical dialogue – and Puccini’s craftsmanship is quite astonishing. As always, it will be an unalloyed pleasure to share a rehearsal room with his music. Having said that, my own work is only ever as good as the cast I am working with, and from whom I draw my own inspiration. In this respect I am being doubly rewarded – with two superb casts, both brimming over with youthful energy and enthusiasm.” n Suzanne Vanstone is former Senior Communications Manager, Editorial at the Canadian Opera Company

FOR FURTHER INSIGHT INTO LA BOHÈME, PLEASE READ CANVASES COME ALIVE WITH SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER DAVID FARLEY, BY SUZANNE VANSTONE, AVAILABLE IN THE FALL ISSUE OF PRELUDE ONLINE AT COC.CA/PUBLICATIONS.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

MET OPERA

LA BOHÈME OPERA BACKGROUND

PUCCINI

Tosca NOV 9 ENCORES DEC 7, 16

LIVE ON SCREEN IN MOVIE THEATRES

2013–14 Season VERDI

Falstaff DEC 14 ENCORES JAN 18, 20 FEB 5

DVORˇ ÁK

Rusalka

Puccini’s La Bohème was adapted from Henri Murger’s series of short stories, Scènes de la vie de bohème, depicting the life and times of bohemian artists, social rebels and radicals in Paris’s famed Latin Quarter. La Bohème premiered in 1896 in Turin, Italy. Through its subject matter of penniless artists living for their ideals, the work’s realism and heartfelt drama reverberated with the larger artistic concerns of the verismo tradition. Verismo was a literary movement in southern Italy beginning in the 1870s, characterized by gritty realism, a concern with poverty, the use of everyday rather than poetic language, quotes from popular songs of the day, and a tragic ending. At the time of its premiere, Italian audiences were unsure of how to react to the novelty of the story. Perhaps one reason for this sense of disorientation was that Puccini’s opera was staged at Turin’s Teatro Regio, a theatre that earlier in the season had featured the Italian premiere of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, a work characterized by its comparative enormity and stratospherically different content. In contrast, La Bohème’s subject and style called out to a segment of the urban population and depicted a lower class far different from the privileged group that ordinarily attended the opera house. Mixed reactions notwithstanding, the opera quickly became a popular piece.

FEB 8 ENCORES MAR 29, 31

BORODIN

Prince Igor MAR 1 ENCORES APR 12, 14

MASSENET

Werther MAR 15 ENCORES MAY 24, 26

PUCCINI

The Industrial Revolution radically altered the day-to-day lives of Europeans. The growth of industry brought with it a rapidly expanding workforce and created a divide between the wealthy and the poor which led to the artistic reaction against self-indulgence. The premiere of La Bohème coincided with Labour movements in Italy in the mid-1890s, a period of social unrest. La Bohème’s democratic appeal and its acknowledgment of poverty and poor living conditions signalled changing times in both life and art.

La Bohème APR 5 ENCORES JUN 7, 9, 18

MOZART

Puccini’s music, along with Giuseppe Giacosa’s and Luigi Illica’s libretto, combined to create one of the most popular operas of all time, with enduring themes of young love set to incredibly powerful, beautiful music. A scene from the Canadian Opera Company/Houston Grand Opera (HGO)/San Francisco co-production of La Bohème, 2012, HGO. Photo: Felix Sanchez

Così Fan Tutte APR 26 ENCORES JUN 21, 23

Starring Paulo Szot

Visit Cineplex.com/Opera for tickets and participating theatres. ROSSINI MAY 10 ENCORES JUL 5, 7, 16

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

The Nose OCT 26 ENCORE NOV 30

La Cenerentola

SHOSTAKOVICH

Encore performances are only available at select theatres. Performances may not be available at all participating theatres for all advertised dates. TM/®

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.

The COC presents Peter Grimes. A scene from the Houston Grand Opera production, 2010. Photo: Felix Sanchez

Ben Heppner Photo: Kristin Hoebermann

HEPPNER ON PETER GRIMES

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.

BY SUZANNE VANSTONE

ollowing his deserved ovations in Tristan und Isolde last season, celebrated tenor Ben Heppner returns to the COC to portray one of the most iconic roles in 20th-century opera – Peter Grimes. Benjamin Britten’s masterful composition of a tormented fisherman shunned by an unforgiving society is a favourite of Heppner’s, and he has performed the role worldwide in over 40 performances in seven productions. In fact, as soon as the curtain comes down in Toronto in October, he is off to do it again in Vienna.

The role is a complex one to perform, balancing Grimes’s often raging persona with a softer, wounded man who, because of the death of his young apprentice, is forced to defend himself against those who have already decided his guilt. Heppner feels that, “If you try to soften him too much, he can appear whiny. You have to have the confidence to be disliked. Grimes is not a likeable character in many ways. From the beginning he comes across as being self-righteous, railing, ‘No. I want to explain myself in court. Don’t leave me to

T H E S I G N AT U R E R E S TA U R A N T A N D L O B B Y B A R AT S H A N G R I - L A H O T E L , T O R O N T O

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

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Heppner on Peter Grimes

The COC presents Peter Grimes. (l-r) Nicholas Bakopoulos-Cooke as John and Stuart Skelton as Peter Grimes in the Opera Australia production, 2009. Photo: Branco Gaica

be judged by the court of public opinion,’ yet the whole time he is judged by the court of public opinion. “It takes courage at the outset of the opera to be your own man and not care what others think – particularly in the dramatic scenes in the pub and then in the hut.” Heppner continues, “In the pub, Grimes seems to be in some other space. He loves the brewing storm, while others think him mad or drunk. Then in the hut scene, although he is rough and tumble with the boy, you suddenly realize how tender he is. He loves this boy and really wants to care for him. Somehow they have a mutual affection that works. And so, at the end of the opera, when the curtain comes down, there is often silence from the audience. People are stunned. I think they are trying to figure out why they care about this man; perhaps they were wrong about him. I think it’s 14

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

genius – you don’t have to be the most beloved character on stage to have that extraordinary effect on people.” The music creates an extraordinary effect as well, and Heppner describes the score as film-like. When he talks about it with friends who don’t attend opera regularly and may have qualms about 20th-century or “modern” music, he reassures them that the music is extremely accessible. “It’s very descriptive, has some beautiful melodies and the music fits the action. It’s like Wagner contemporized – not such a heavy orchestration, but the colours Britten gets in the orchestra are amazing. This is really visceral writing – it just seems to grab your heart.” One of Heppner’s favourite moments is in the church scene when Grimes confronts Ellen Orford, a schoolmistress who is one of the few villagers sympathetic to his plight.

Heppner on Peter Grimes

“She is there to protect the boy and has some sort of relationship with Grimes, the nature of which, even after 40 performances, I am still unsure. It seems to have romantic elements, but I created a backstory for myself that perhaps she taught him how to read and he is very appreciative of that. The scene is filled with enflamed passions – on both sides. She approaches him very tenderly: ‘Peter, tell me one thing…’ and he snaps, ‘Take away your hand! The argument’s finished, friendship lost, gossip is shouting… To hell with your ambitions. God have mercy upon you!’ It’s a swirling microcosm of his various moods. “I think Ellen sees something in him that she doesn’t see in the other men, something that really attracts her. She sees his interest in the outside world, and there are only three characters who have any vision of that – Captain Balstrode, Ellen and Grimes. If I use my own backstory of Ellen having helped him read, she has perhaps suggested things for him to study, so he has a connection with the outside world. Balstrode is a world-travelled sea captain and Ellen has, if not actually travelled, journeyed through her books. They are the only people who have an outside perspective. Everybody else is locked into their society and their little town.” In portraying that insular town, director Neil Armfield sets the piece in a community hall, similar perhaps to Britten’s own Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh. Armfield says, “The music paints pictures not only of the sea and the land around The Borough, but

also the spaces that separate people, and in those spaces we feel fear and mistrust, anger and love, hope and despair. I saw my job in this production as allowing the world that Britten creates so vividly in the music to play freely in the audience’s imagination, and I was at pains to ensure the experience of watching and listening to Peter Grimes not be blurred by too literal a representation of this world in the actual images created on stage. In a sense all of my productions in theatre have been about trying to share with an audience the experience of play that goes on in the rehearsal room before opening – to render that experience in a not entirely finished form, so that the minds of the audience are all engaged in finishing it together.” Ben concurs. “I think Neil’s staging improves our understanding of the opera. I’ve done Peter Grimes both ways – with boats and nets, etc., and I’ve also performed it with very little on stage. What this kind of approach does for the audience is unbelievable. It gets rid of all that other stuff and focuses in on the relationships between all the characters. That’s what it’s about. It’s an amazingly well written piece of drama. There is a real self-examination that occurs when you watch this opera and that is the best kind of theatre – it makes you think, it involves you, you’re caught up in it. That’s why people need to come to this – it’s such a great experience.” n Suzanne Vanstone is former Senior Communications Manager, Editorial at the Canadian Opera Company.

FOR FURTHER INSIGHT INTO PETER GRIMES, PLEASE READ ANATOMY OF AN OPERA: THE MYSTERY OF EVIL, BY NIKITA GOURSKI AND GIANMARCO SEGATO, AVAILABLE IN THE FALL ISSUE OF PRELUDE ONLINE AT COC.CA/PUBLICATIONS.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

PETER GRIMES OPERA BACKGROUND

GOOSEBUMPS INCLUDED. Born in Suffolk on the sea-swept east coast of England in 1913, Benjamin Britten is acknowledged as one of the foremost English opera composers of the 20th century. A child prodigy, he composed prolifically from the age of four. By the age of 12 he had composed a dozen large-scale works and later studied with Frank Bridge, John Ireland and Ralph Vaughan Williams. In 1936 Britten met tenor Peter Pears who was to become his lifelong partner and muse, and in 1939 they fled Britain together, horrified by the rise of Nazism in Europe. While still travelling in the U.S. and Canada, war was declared and Britten and Pears were unable to return to England. In 1941, while visiting California, Britten was given a copy of George Crabbe’s collection of poems entitled The Borough. In 24 poems, it describes the lives of the people of a small fishing village in Suffolk, one of whom is Peter Grimes.

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

Crabbe, a poet and clergyman, had grown up in Aldeburgh, England, and depicted the village and its inhabitants with a great deal of precision, though he kept his account thinly veiled as The Borough. Britten grew up very near Aldeburgh and knew the area and the people well. A potent combination of homesickness and his identification with the depiction of the loner misfit spoke to him on a personal level. Britten immediately seized on the poem as the subject for his first full-scale opera. In 1942 he and Pears finally returned to England, settling in Aldeburgh. Peter Grimes received its world premiere in June 1945, only weeks after WWII ended, at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, England with Peter Pears in the title role. Embraced by the public and critics, Peter Grimes was generally acknowledged as a watershed moment in operatic history, giving a fresh new feel to the art form. Over the next 15 years Britten established himself as the leading opera composer of the 20th century: Albert Herring, Billy Budd, The Turn of the Screw, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Owen Wingrave, and Death in Venice are the most famous of his operas. Not coincidentally, all of these works share a common theme – an outsider excluded or misunderstood by society. Britten never lost the belief that art could convey fundamental truths by confronting social majorities with evidence of their own intolerance and insensitivity. The COC presents Peter Grimes. A scene from the Opera Australia production, 2009. Photo: Branco Gaica TM

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

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

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

ALEXANDER NEEF, General Director

LA BOHÈME by Giacomo Puccini Opera in Four Acts. Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger and the play La vie de bohème by Murger and Théodore Barrière First performance: Teatro Regio, Turin, February 1, 1896 New COC Co-production with Houston Grand Opera and San Francisco Opera Last performed by the COC in 2009 October 3, 6, 9, 12, 16, 18, 19, 22, 25, 27, 29, 30, 2013 Sung in Italian with English SURTITLESTM

THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance)

Marcello, a painter Rodolfo, a poet

Colline, a philosopher Schaunard, a musician Benoît, their landlord Mimì, a seamstress Parpignol, an itinerant toy vendor Alcindoro, a state councillor and Musetta’s admirer Musetta, a grisette Customs Officer

Customs House Sergeant Conductor Director Set and Costume Designer Lighting Designer Chorus Master Stage Manager SURTITLES™ Producer

Joshua Hopkins (October 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 22, 25, 29) Phillip Addis (October 16, 19, 27, 30) Dimitri Pittas (October 3, 6, 9, 12) Michael Fabiano (October 16, 19, 27, 30) Eric Margiore (October 18, 22, 25, 29) Christian Van Horn (October 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 22, 25, 29) Tom Corbeil (October 16, 19, 27, 30) Phillip Addis (October 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 22, 25, 29) Cameron McPhail†**** (October 16, 19, 27, 30) Thomas Hammons Grazia Doronzio (October 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 22, 25, 29) Joyce El-Khoury (October 16, 19, 27, 30) Owen McCausland†* Thomas Hammons Joyce El-Khoury (October 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 22, 25, 29) Simone Osborne^ (October 16, 19, 27, 30) Gordon Bintner†*** (October 3, 6, 9, 18, 19, 22, 25, 27, 29, 30) Doug MacNaughton^ (October 12, 16) Clarence Frazer†** Carlo Rizzi John Caird David Farley Michael James Clark Sandra Horst^ Stephanie Marrs Gunta Dreifelds

Performance time is approximately two hours and 10 minutes, including one 25-minute intermission.

La Bohème has been generously underwritten by Jerry and Geraldine Heffernan *Owen McCausland’s performance is generously sponsored by Peter and Hélène Hunt **Clarence Frazer’s performance is generously sponsored by Catherine Fauquier ***Gordon Bintner’s performance is generously sponsored by Marcia Lewis Brown ****Cameron McPhail’s performance is generously sponsored by Roger D. Moore † Current member of the COC Ensemble Studio ^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

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

enri Murger was 23 years old when he started writing Scènes de la vie de bohème and Théodore Barrière was 25 when he adapted the work for the stage. Both men knew very well the world they were describing, so there is a raw authenticity about their efforts that requires an interpreter to take these young characters and their plight very seriously. Nothing very much happens in La Bohème – four young artists share a garret apartment, two of them have lovers, one of whom is seriously ill. These relationships founder – from jealousy and infidelity – and then one of the girls dies. It is all very real and intensely sad – but not the stuff of genuine tragedy. In fact, the essential tone of La Bohème is comedic. Although dirt poor and struggling artistically, these witty, mocking, irreverent students take life in their stride. Were it not for the intensity with which they suffer emotionally, Bohème would be an outright comedy with a sad ending. But this is a drama with a distinctly French ingredient – it is the same essential mixture of emotions that Balzac achieved in his Comédie humaine – genuine laughter, sometimes angry, sometimes joyous but always mixed with tears. Herein lies the true genius of Puccini’s achievement. By giving every one of Murger’s characters a real musical specificity, Puccini allows them to move from laughter to tears and back again with effortless ease – and his orchestral background overflows with the most lovingly crafted detail in support of their complex emotional journeys. For this production, designer David Farley and I have chosen to imagine that the characters of the opera may act as our interpreters. If Schaunard, the composer,

SYNOPSIS

is represented in the pit by Puccini himself, the scenic world that the bohemians inhabit is as if painted by Marcello. Every surface of the set is a anvas drawn from the same rich and chaotic pictorial world as that of Toulouse-Lautrec – a contemporary of Puccini and an artist who was himself obsessed by the bohemian underworld of Paris. We only get a brief glimpse of the lives of the artists in Bohème, but we can be allowed to imagine that these young men may turn out to be influential figures in their own right. The lives of so many artists start out in desperation, poverty and disappointment before they realize their full potential – and their intimate friends and muses, if they survive, can bear witness to the reality of these early struggles. The two muses in Bohème represent two very different aspects of this witness. Musetta is an intensely practical young woman who knows that she must sell herself in order to live in any sort of comfort – despite the fact that she clearly adores Marcello. Mimì is a different case altogether – the minute she walks into the garret she brings mystery, beauty and stillness with her. Puccini allows himself to linger over her dreams and those of Rodolfo – and these dreams provide us with the emotional heart of the work. Murger and Puccini are both saying the same thing, one with words and the other with music. Life can be harsh, and unfair and horribly brief – but it can always be mitigated by beauty – the beauty of a face, or a dream, or a mind or a melody. Love and art will always prove more powerful than death. John Caird

ACT I It is Christmas Eve in Paris. Two povertystricken young artists, Marcello, a painter, and Rodolfo, a poet, attempt to work in their freezing garret; in desperation they burn one of Rodolfo’s dramas to keep warm. Their two roommates, Colline, a philosopher, and Schaunard, a musician, return home. Even though Schaunard has brought food, the four bohemians decide to eat their Christmas dinner in the Latin Quarter. Just then, Benoît, their landlord, arrives to demand his overdue rent. The men ply him with drink and, when he boasts of marital indiscretions, they feign moral indignation and throw him out. Marcello, Colline, and Schaunard leave for the Latin Quarter. Rodolfo, always the loner, promises to join them after finishing some work, but a knock on the door interrupts him. Mimì, a young neighbour, enters in search of a light for her candle. Clearly ill, and breathless from the stairs, she faints and drops her room key. Rodolfo is entranced by her and, when she recovers, manages to detain her by concealing the key. Either by accident or design both their candles go out, and as they search in the darkness for the lost key, their hands touch. Both of them solitary, both poetic, they are instantly attracted, and gratefully declare their love before leaving to join Rodolfo’s friends. ACT II A festive crowd celebrates Christmas Eve in the Latin Quarter. At the Café Momus, Rodolfo introduces Mimì to his roommates. Their carefree mood changes when Musetta, Marcello’s former lover, appears with Alcindoro, her aging sugar-daddy. Musetta, still in love with Marcello, attempts to attract his attention. He deliberately ignores her but eventually cannot resist her obvious play for him. Musetta shrewdly gets rid of the besotted Alcindoro and leaves him to

foot the entire bill as she and her bohemian friends escape through the crowd. INTERMISSION ACT III Early one snowy February morning, Mimì seeks out Marcello, who is painting a mural at a tavern near the city gates where Musetta now makes an honest living entertaining the travellers. Mimì tells Marcello she and Rodolfo have separated because of his jealousy. As Marcello tries to comfort her, Rodolfo appears, also seeking Marcello’s advice. Mimì conceals herself and overhears their conversation. Rodolfo tells Marcello he is leaving Mimì because of her flirtations with other men. Marcello is skeptical and forces Rodolfo to admit the truth – Mimì is mortally ill and Rodolfo is consumed by feelings of guilt and remorse, knowing that the harsh conditions of their life together have endangered her health. Mimì’s cough gives her away, and Rodolfo realizes she has overheard everything. Overwhelmed by her plight, Rodolfo promises to stay with Mimì until the spring, but Marcello and Musetta argue viciously and separate. ACT IV Rodolfo and Marcello, both now separated from Mimì and Musetta, are working in their garret. Schaunard and Colline arrive with supper, and the four fantasize about attending a fancy ball. Suddenly, Musetta enters with Mimì, now close to death and desperate to be with Rodolfo. Marcello and Musetta leave to summon a doctor and to buy Mimì a muff to warm her hands. Colline also departs to sell his beloved overcoat. Left alone for a few moments, Mimì and Rodolfo remember their happier times together. The others return, but before the doctor can arrive, Mimì dies.

Synopsis courtesy of Houston Grand Opera 2

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

PHILLIP ADDIS Schaunard/Marcello MUSIC STAFF

Anne Larlee Emanuele Lippi (Head Coach) ITALIAN LANGUAGE COACH

Manuela Scarci ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

Jordan de Souza ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Graham Cozzubbo ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS

Tiffany Fraser Liliane Stilwell ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNERS

Wendy Greenwood Jareth Li Davida Tkach

Canadian baritone Phillip Addis is making his COC debut. His recent credits include Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opera di Roma debut); the title role in Pelléas et Mélisande (London Proms and Opéra-Comique Paris debuts); Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest (Opéra de Nancy); and Sid in Albert Herring (Pacific Opera Victoria). Other roles include Roderick Usher in The Fall of the House of Usher (Opéra national de Paris); Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Opéra de Montréal); Marcello (Calgary Opera); and Jaufré Rudel in L’amour de loin (Vlaamse Opera). Upcoming engagements include the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte (Los Angeles Opera) and Count Almaviva (Pacific Opera Victoria).

UNDERSTUDIES

Schaunard Benoît/Alcindoro

Clarence Frazer Doug MacNaughton

GORDON BINTNER Customs Officer

Regina, Saskatchewan native Gordon Bintner, who won first prize and the Audience Choice Award at the Second Annual COC Ensemble Studio Competition, is making his COC debut. Recent performances include 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, as the OSM Standard Life Competition’s grand prize winner, he made his Montreal Symphony Orchestra debut. This season Mr. Bintner also sings Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte (Ensemble). 4

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

TOM CORBEIL Colline

Canadian bass-baritone Tom Corbeil last appeared with the COC as the English Clerk in Death in Venice. Recent performances include Leporello in Don Giovanni, Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Rodolfo in La sonnambula with Florida Grand Opera (FGO); Basilio (Michigan Opera Theater); Leporello (Fort Worth Opera, Green Mountain Opera Festival); and Faraone in Mosè in Egitto (Chicago Opera Theater). Other credits include the Marquis in La Traviata and the Infernal God in Alceste (Santa Fe Opera); Enrico in L’isola disabitata (Gotham Chamber Opera); Superintendent Budd in Albert Herring (Opera North); and Colline (Eugene Opera, FGO, Opera Omaha, Sacramento Opera). Mr. Corbeil also appears as Swallow in the COC’s Peter Grimes. Upcoming engagements include his Nashville Opera debut as Basilio. GRAZIA DORONZIO Mimì

Italian soprano Grazia Doronzio is making her COC debut. Recent credits include Mimì (Oper Frankfurt, Angers Nantes Opéra, Atlanta Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Deutsche Oper Berlin); Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (Hamburgische Staatsoper and Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia); Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Michigan Opera Theater); Suzel in L’amico Fritz (Oper Frankfurt); Liù in Turandot (Met, Portland Opera, Seattle Opera); Isifile in Giasone (Chicago Opera Theater); Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Rieti Belcanto Festival); and Micaëla in Carmen (Savonlinna 5

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Festival). Future engagements include Zerlina and Nannetta in Falstaff with Oper Frankfurt and Pamina with Hamburgische Staatsoper. JOYCE EL-KHOURY Musetta/Mimì

Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury is making her COC debut. Recent appearances include Desdemona in Otello (Castleton Festival); Violetta in La Traviata (Netherlands Opera, Opéra Théâtre de Sainte-Etienne, Palm Beach Opera, Welsh National Opera); Antonina in Belisario with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Barbican Hall, recorded on the Opera Rara label); and Mimì (Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Royal Opera House Muscat, Münchner Philharmoniker and Castleton Festival). Other credits include Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and the title role in Suor Angelica. Ms El-Khoury also appeared in the Met’s HD broadcast of Simon Boccanegra and the Met in the Parks 2009 recital series. MICHAEL FABIANO Rodolfo

American tenor Michael Fabiano is making his COC debut. Recent performances include Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor (Opéra national de Paris, Vancouver Opera, Bilbao Association of Opera Lovers); Cassio in Otello (Met, Opéra national de Paris); Rodolfo in La Bohème (Deutsche Oper, Seattle Opera, Opera Lyra, Dresden Semperoper); Alfredo in La Traviata (Santa Fe Opera, Teatro San Carlo); Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia (San Francisco Opera and English National Opera/ENO); the Duke in Rigoletto (Dresden Semperoper, ENO, Florida Grand Opera); and Oronte in I Lombardi (Opera 6

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Orchestra of New York). Upcoming appearances include Alfred in a new production of Die Fledermaus (Met), his Glyndebourne debut as Alfredo in La Traviata, and the title role in a new production of Faust (Netherlands Opera). CLARENCE FRAZER Customs House Sergeant

Mississauga native Clarence Frazer, a first year COC Ensemble Studio member, is making his COC debut. 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 (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 La Bohème (Calgary Opera); and Escamillo in Carmen (Highlands Opera Studio). Mr. Frazer won the inaugural Lois Marshall Voice Competition and was a finalist in Palm Beach Opera’s International Voice Competition. This season he performs Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (Ensemble). THOMAS HAMMONS Benoît/Alcindoro

American bass-baritone Thomas Hammons made his COC debut as Kissinger in Nixon in China. His repertoire of over 60 roles ranges from classical buffo to contemporary music and musical theatre. Recent appearances include the Sacristan in Tosca (Portland Opera); Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro (Dayton Opera); Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia (New Orleans Opera, Michigan Opera Theater); and Talpa in Il tabarro (Opera Theatre of St. Louis). Mr. Hammons made his Metropolitan Opera

debut as the Sacristan (1996/1997 season) and has returned most recently for Lulu, Le nozze di Figaro and La Bohème. Upcoming engagements include Benoît/Alcindoro (Arizona Opera); Sacristan (Dayton Opera); and George Benton in Dead Man Walking and Bartolo (Central City Opera). JOSHUA HOPKINS Marcello

Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins last appeared with COC as Moralès in Carmen. Recent credits include Lord Cecil in Maria Stuarda (Met); Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Glyndebourne); and Marcello (Opera Lyra, Houston Grand Opera). Other credits include Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Vancouver Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City); Junior in A Quiet Place (New York City Opera); and, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and Sid in Albert Herring (Santa Fe Opera). Upcoming engagements include debuts as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Oper Frankfurt; Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with Washington National Opera; and a return to the Met as Schaunard in La Bohème. DOUG MACNAUGHTON Customs Officer

Originally from Brandon, Manitoba, Ensemble Studio graduate baritone Doug MacNaughton’s COC credits include Thierry/Monsieur Javelinot (Dialogues des Carmélites), Maestro Spinelloccio (Gianni Schicchi), the Lackey (Ariadne auf Naxos), Elviro (Xerxes) and the Philosopher (The Golden Ass), among others. Other credits include Luther, Crespel and Schlémil in Les contes d’Hoffmann (Edmonton Opera); multiple roles in John Beckwith’s Crazy to Kill (Toronto Masque Theatre); as well Please visit coc.ca for additional information

as oratorio, concert and musical theatre engagements. He will be the soloist for the Elmer Iseler Singers' performance of Handel’s Messiah this December. Mr. MacNaughton commissions Canadian composers to write songs for baritone and guitar which he performs in his 21st Century Troubadour concerts. ERIC MARGIORE Rodolfo

Italian-American tenor Eric Margiore is making his COC debut. Recent appearances include Rodolfo (Austrian debut at St. Margarathen Festival and Central City Opera), Alfredo in La Traviata (Lyric Opera Baltimore) and Verdi’s Requiem (Carnegie Hall and Grand Tetons Festival under Donald Runnicles). Other credits include his European debut as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi (Deutsche Oper am Rhein); Alfredo (Hawaii Opera Theatre, Utah Festival Opera); Edgar Linton in Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights (Minnesota Opera); Fritz in L’amico Fritz (Opera Holland Park, UK debut); Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Opera Hong Kong and Beijing); the Duke in Rigoletto (Opera Naples, Palm Beach); Narraboth in Salome (Opera Theatre of St. Louis); and Gérald in Lakmé (Tulsa Opera). Upcoming engagements include Rodolpho in A View from the Bridge (Michigan Opera Theater). OWEN McCAUSLAND Parpignol

New Brunswick native and COC Ensemble Studio tenor Owen McCausland recently appeared as the Second Nazarene in the COC’s Salome. Other COC credits include stepping into the title role in La clemenza di Tito on the mainstage as well as the Ensemble performance, 7

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

a Young Sailor in Tristan und Isolde and the Messenger in Il Trovatore. Roles 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 Reverend Horace Adams in Peter Grimes, the Servant in Un ballo in maschera, Ferrando in Così fan tutte (Ensemble), Lord Cecil in Roberto Devereux and Juan in Don Quichotte. CAMERON McPHAIL Schaunard

COC Ensemble Studio member Cameron McPhail recently appeared at the COC 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 Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and Ford in Falstaff (Opera NUOVA); Conte Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Opera on the Avalon); and Schaunard (Highlands Opera Studio). This season Mr. McPhail also appears as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (Ensemble). SIMONE OSBORNE Musetta

Ensemble Studio graduate soprano Simone Osborne last appeared with the COC as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. Previous COC roles include Gilda in Rigoletto, Pamina in The Magic Flute, and Naiad in Ariadne auf Naxos. Recent performances include her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel; 8

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Seiji Ozawa’s Saito Kinen Festival; and Carnegie Hall; Juliette in Roméo et Juliette and Pamina (Vancouver Opera); and Mozart’s Requiem (Toronto Symphony Orchestra). Ms Osborne is a grand prize winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and winner of the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition. Roles this season include Oscar in Un ballo in maschera (COC), Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (New York City Opera), Beethoven Symphony No. 9 and Strauss songs (Vancouver Symphony), and recitals across Canada with pianist Anne Larlee. DIMITRI PITTAS Rodolfo

American tenor Dimitri Pittas last appeared with the COC as the Duke in Rigoletto. A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, his recent appearances include Rodolfo in La Bohème (Met, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Oper Frankfurt); Tebaldo in I Capuleti e I Montecchi (Bayerische Staatsoper); Macduff in Macbeth (Met, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper); and the title role in Don Carlo (Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse). Upcoming appearances include Oronte in I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata (Staatsoper Hamburg) and Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore (Deutsche Oper). Mr. Pittas also makes a role debut with the COC this winter as Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera. CHRISTIAN VAN HORN Colline

American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn last appeared with the COC as Angelotti in Tosca. Recent credits include the Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann,

Timur in Turandot and the King in Aida (San Francisco Opera); Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Colline in La Bohème (Santa Fe Opera, Los Angeles Opera); Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro (Stuttgart Opera); Banquo in Macbeth (Grand Théâtre de Genève); Oroveso in Norma and Colline (Bayerische Staatsoper); and Zuniga in Carmen (Salzburg Festival). Performances this season include Pistola in Falstaff and Colline (Met) and Publio in La clemenza di Tito (Lyric Opera of Chicago).

CARLO RIZZI Conductor

Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi is making his COC debut. He is a frequent conductor at La Scala, the Met, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Oper Zürich, l’Opéra national de Paris and Netherlands Opera. Mr. Rizzi is former Music Director of Welsh National Opera. Opera credits include Carmen, Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos, Boris Godunov, Pique Dame, Eugene Onegin, Kát'a Kabanová, Fidelio, Salome, Elektra, Peter Grimes, The Turn of the Screw, Tristan und Isolde and The Flying Dutchman in addition to his native Italian repertoire. He has recorded more than 10 complete operas, many of which are available on DVD. Mr. Rizzi’s Salzburg Festival recording of La Traviata with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón has received international acclaim. JOHN CAIRD Director

Acclaimed Canadian-born British director John Caird returns to the COC after directing Don Carlos in 2007. Recent credits Please visit coc.ca for additional information

include Daddy Long Legs (London, Tokyo, USA and Canada); Tosca (LA Opera and Houston Grand Opera/HGO); libretto and direction for Brief Encounter with music by André Previn (HGO and Deutsche Grammophon); Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Twelfth Night and Dance of Death (Dramaten); Candide, Hamlet, Humbleboy and Peter Pan (National Theatre); and Les Misérables, and Nicholas Nickleby (Royal Shakespeare Company/RSC and worldwide). Mr. Caird is an Honorary Associate Director of the RSC and Principal Guest Director of the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm. His book Theatre Craft about directing for the theatre and opera is published by Faber. Later this season he opens a new production of Parsifal at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. DAVID FARLEY Set and Costume Designer

British designer David Farley is making his COC debut. His credits include The Turn of the Screw (New York City Opera/Brooklyn Academy of Music); La Bohème (Houston Grand Opera); Dialogues des Carmélites (Guildhall School of Music and Drama); award-winning designs for Sunday in the Park with George (Roundabout Theatre, Wyndhams Theatre and Menier Chocolate Factory); Daddy Long Legs (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); La Cage aux Folles and A Little Night Music (Menier Chocolate Factory, London’s West End and Broadway); Kiss Me, Kate (Stratford Festival); Oklahoma! (Chichester Festival Theatre); and A Little Night Music (Garrick Theatre). Mr. Farley is currently working on designs for Snapshots, a new musical by Stephen Schwartz.

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

MICHAEL JAMES CLARK Lighting Designer

Michael James Clark last worked at the COC on 2010’s Rigoletto. He is the lighting supervisor at Houston Grand Opera (HGO) and a member of the lighting department at the Santa Fe Opera. Design credits include La Traviata, The Rape of Lucretia, The Marriage of Figaro, The Queen of Spades, The Elixir of Love and the world premiere of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna/To Cross the Face of the Moon (HGO); Rigoletto and Tosca (Miller Outdoor Theatre); and A Little Night Music (Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music). Mr. Clark holds a bachelor’s degree in lighting design from North Carolina School of the Arts. SANDRA HORST Chorus Master

Sandra Horst’s most recent COC credits include Lucia di Lammermoor and Dialogues des Carmélites. 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 Peter Grimes, Così fan tutte, Un ballo in maschera, Roberto Devereux, Hercules and Don Quichotte.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

JORDAN DE SOUZA Assistant Conductor

Recently at the COC, Canadian Jordan de Souza was the assistant conductor for Dialogues des Carmélites. Based in Montreal, he is the artistic director and principal conductor of the Ottawa Choral Society, conductor at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, and, from 2011 – 2013, was a course lecturer at McGill University. Conducting highlights include Carmen (Saskatoon Opera), Béatrice et Bénédict (Opera NUOVA), Bach’s St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio, and Mass in B Minor, Berg’s Violin Concerto, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. At the age of 19, Mr. de Souza earned his Fellowship degree from the Royal Canadian College of Organists. He is broadcast regularly on the CBC and throughout the European Broadcasting Union.

STEPHANIE MARRS Stage Manager

Stephanie Marrs has been with the COC since 1991. Her numerous COC stage managing credits include Dialogues des Carmélites, Il Trovatore, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Iphigenia in Tauris, Death in Venice, The Magic Flute, Orfeo ed Euridice, Idomeneo, Simon Boccanegra, Rusalka, Don Giovanni, Pelléas et Mélisande, Elektra, Siegfried (complete Ring Cycle), Norma, Rodelinda, Tancredi, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. She has stage managed for Nightwood Theatre, Crow’s Theatre, Opera York, Opera Atelier, Canadian Children’s Opera Company and worked with Opéra national de Lyon, Edmonton Opera, Canadian Stage, Luminato Festival, Just for Laughs Toronto Festival and the C.O.S.I. program in Sulmona, Italy.

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.

GRAHAM COZZUBBO Assistant Director

Originally from Calgary, Graham Cozzubbo was last at the COC as assistant director for Die Fledermaus. He has directed several COC Ensemble Studio school tour productions including Isis and the Seven Scorpions, The Brothers Grimm and Cinderella. In Calgary he co-founded New Century Stage and served as the assistant artistic director of the Banff Centre’s Twentieth Century Opera Program for four years. His work encompasses theatre, opera and contemporary music theatre. As an educator, Mr. Cozzubbo has taught for the Banff Centre, Baltimore’s Peabody University, Wilfrid Laurier University, and the faculty of music at the University of Toronto.

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY ORCHESTRA

CANADIAN CHILDREN’S OPERA COMPANY

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 Diane Tait, Assistant Concertmaster Nancy Kershaw, Acting Assistant Concertmaster Anne Armstrong Sandra Baron Bethany Bergman Andrew Chung* Dominique Laplante Yakov Lerner Jayne Maddison Neria Mayer Aya Miyagawa Ashley Vandiver* Joanna Zabrowarna

CELLO Bryan Epperson, Principal Alastair Eng, Associate Principal Paul Widner, Assistant Principal Maurizio Baccante Peter Cosbey* Olga Laktionova Marianne Pack* Elaine Thompson

Ann Cooper Gay, Executive Artistic and Music Director Ken Hall, General Manager

FLUTE Douglas Stewart, Principal Christine Little*

PERCUSSION Trevor Tureski, Principal Ryan Scott* Steven Wassmansdorf*

VIOLIN II Paul Zevenhuizen, Principal Csaba Koczó, Assistant Principal James Aylesworth Christine Chesebrough* Laura D’Angelo* Corey Gemmell* Elizabeth Johnston Hiroko Kagawa* Renée London* Sonia Shklarov* Louise Tardif Marianne Urke

PICCOLO Shelley Brown

HARP Sarah Davidson, Principal

OBOE Mark Rogers, Principal Jasper Hitchcock*

BANDA

VIOLA Keith Hamm, Principal Joshua Greenlaw, Assistant Principal Carolyn Blackwell* Ivan Ivanovich* Valerie Kuinka* Rory McLeod* Nicholaos Papadakis* Rhyll Peel Angela Rudden* Beverley Spotton Yosef Tamir, on leave of absence

BASS Alan Molitz, Principal Robert Speer, Assistant Principal Nick Davis* Tom Hazlitt, on leave of absence Paul Langley Eric Lee* Robert Wolanski*

TRUMPET Robert Grim, Principal Valerie Cowie* Robert Weymouth TROMBONE Charles Benaroya, Principal Ian Cowie Herbert Poole

TUBA/CIMBASSO Scott Irvine, Principal, on leave of absence

CLARINET James T. Shields, Principal Michele Verheul*

TRUMPET Andrew Dubelsten* Brindley Venables*

HORN Joan Watson, Principal, on leave of absence Scott Wevers, Acting Principal* Janet Anderson Bardhyl Gjevori Gary Pattison

LIBRARIAN Wayne Vogan ASSISTANT MUSIC LIBRARIAN Ondrej Golias STAGE LIBRARIAN Paul Langley PERSONNEL MANAGER Ian Cowie * extra musician

CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY CHORUS SOPRANOS Mary Bella Stacie Carmona Andrea Cerswell Ilona Karan Alexandra LennoxPomeroy Ingrid Martin Eve Rachel McLeod Jennifer Robinson Catherine Tait Teresa van der Hoeven

MEZZO-SOPRANOS Marianne Bindig Wendy Hatala Foley Erica Iris Huang Lilian Kilianski Kathryn Knapp Jessica Lloyd Karen Olinyk Vilma Indra Vitols Paula Wickberg Cindy Won

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Jade Lotter Carter MacLean Ashley Offman Frances Quilty Connor Ross Ezra Unger Brandt Tristan Winfield-Hicks

Members of the Canadian Children’s Opera Company are used in all Canadian Opera Company productions requiring children’s voices. The CCOC is the only permanent children’s opera chorus in Canada and specializes in the development and performance of choral and operatic repertoire for children.

TIMPANI Michael Perry, Principal

PICCOLO Dianne Aitken* Maria Pelletier*

BASSOON Eric Hall, Principal Elizabeth Gowen

Morgan Graves-Ward Perry Guloien Claire Hamilton Huw Dawson Hlinyanszky Talia Kertes Alexa Laengert Hanna LemenevaWollesen

BASS TROMBONE Mark Bonang*

ENGLISH HORN Lesley Young

BASS CLARINET Colleen Cook

CHILDREN’S CHORUS Alexandra Bernstein Chloe Blair Saba Blyden-Taylor Katarina Bojic Vannessa Gadoutsis Kiyoshi Gibson Gabriel Gough

TENORS Craig Ashton Stephen Bell Taras Chmil Sean Clark Stephen Erickson Jason Lamont James Leatch Stephen McClare Derrick Paul Miller Conrad Siebert

BARITONES & BASSES Kenneth Baker Peter Barnes Sung Chung Michael Downie Jason Nedecky Michael Sproule Jan Vaculik Peter Wiens Marcus Wilson Michael York

Visit the OPERA SHOP! Along with our extensive collection of books, CDs, DVDs and giftware, this fall, we’re thrilled to be featuring one-of-a-kind jewellery from Toronto artisans: Rikki Blitt, Alice Chik, Maria Lopez and Sari Teitelbaum (who we’ll be showcasing in two trunk shows Saturday, October 12 and Sunday, October 20)! 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.

Featured recordings from Universal Classics: DVD La Bohème Finally back on DVD, this classic 1982 revival of Franco Zeffirelli’s beloved Metropolitan Opera production stars the great singing actress Teresa Stratas and José Carreras, then at the peak of his considerable vocal powers. James Levine presents an impassioned reading of Puccini’s masterful score. $25.75 including tax CD Peter Grimes This 1978 recording followed a series of acclaimed live performances at London’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden and stars Canadian legend Jon Vickers, one of the best interpreters of this role. The late Sir Colin Davis, one of the great Britten specialists, conducts. $24.75 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.

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

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. George S. Dembroski Mr. William Fearn (ex officio) Mr. David C. Ferguson Mr. Adam Froman Mr. Michael Gibbens Dr. Linda Hutcheon Ms Trinity Jackman Mr. Jeff Lloyd Mr. Stephen O. Marshall Ms Judy Matthews

Ms Trina McQueen Mr. Jonathan Morgan Mrs. Sue Mortimer Mr. Nicholas 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 Leighton Symons Ms Kristine (Kris) Vikmanis Mr. John H. (Jack) Whiteside HONORARY DIRECTORS 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 Mr. William Fearn, Chair Ms. Kathleen McLaughlin, 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. Ken Jesudian Mr. David Spiro, Secretary HONORARY DIRECTORS Mr. George Hamilton Hon. Dennis Lane

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

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

ADMINISTRATION AND STAFF ALEXANDER NEEF, General Director Robert Lamb Managing Director Johannes Debus Music Director EXECUTIVE OFFICE Executive Assistant to the General Director Marguerite Schabas (on leave) ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION Roberto Mauro Artistic Administrator MUSIC Sandra Gavinchuk Music Administrator

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

Wayne Vogan Music Librarian, Coach Elizabeth Upchurch Head of the Ensemble Studio & Coach Derek Bate Resident Conductor Music Staff Rachel Andrist Matthew Aucoin Timothy Cheung Jean Desmarais Jenna Douglas Esther Gonthier Anne Larlee Ben Malensek Kevin Murphy Steven Philcox Eric Weimer Olwyn Lewis Company Manager Kathryn Garnett Scheduling Manager Hannah Gordon Assistant Scheduling Manager

Paint and Dye By Chrome Yellow

David Retzleff Head Scene Shop Carpenter

Nancy Hawkins Head of Wardrobe

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

Peter Lamb Director of Production Lee Milliken Production Manager 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 Paul Watkinson Head Carpenter Mike Gelfand Assistant Carpenter

Karen Olinyk Administrative Assistant, Music

Rupert Baker Head Flyman

Birthe Joergensen Archivist – Joan Baillie Archives

Alison Potter Head of Properties

Ian Cowie Orchestra Personnel Manager

Core Crew Scott Clarke Terry Hurley Paul Otis Chuck Theil

Ondrej Golias Assistant Librarian

Paige Phillips Co-ordinator, Annual Programs and Patron Engagement

Leslie Brown Assistant Head of Wardrobe

Emma Noakes Co-ordinator, Annual Programs and Patron Engagement

Richard Gordon Head Scenic Artist

Sharon Ryman Wig & Make-up Supervisor

Aisha Talarico Senior Development Officer, Friends of the COC

Carolina Valenzuela Assistant Head Scenic Artist

Cori Ferguson Head of Wig & Make-up Crew

Daniela Mazic Scenic Artist

Shawna Green Production Co-ordinator

Andrew Walker Assistant Scene Shop Carpenter

PROGRAMMING

PRODUCTION Sandra Horst Chorus Master

Amy Cummings Scene Shop Co-ordinator

Scott Williamson Rehearsal Head Technician Guy Nokes Properties Supervisor Stephanie Tjelios Resident Properties Builder/Co-ordinator Kathy Frost Resident Properties Buyer/Co-ordinator

Gunta Dreifelds SURTITLES™ Producer Zane Kaneps SURTITLES™ Editor Olwyn Lewis SURTITLES™ Assistant Supernumeraries Co-ordinators Analee Stein Elizabeth Walker DEVELOPMENT

Tracy Taylor Properties Builder/ Co-ordinator

Christie Darville Chief Advancement Officer

Properties Builders Carolyn Choo Wulf

Kaila LeMaitre Development Associate

Sandra Corazza Costume Supervisor

Amy Mushinski Manager, Government Relations

Chloe Anderson Costume Co-ordinator Costume Assistants Natassia Brunato Christina Del Monte Sue Furlong Resident Tailor Assisted by Nancy Allen Gulay Cokgezen Sharon Gashgarian Karen Hancock Krista Nauman Additional Costumes By Arana Enterprises Avril Stevenson Christine Audet H’Evan-Lee Creations Industry Costumes Additional Millinery By Kaz Chopican

Stephen Gilles Director of Development

Kevin Sean Pook Co-ordinator, Friends of the COC Francesco Corsaro Senior Development Officer, Institutional Gifts Adriana Formusa Development Officer, Institutional Gifts Nikita Gourski Development Communications Officer Tracy Briggs Senior Manager, Special Events Christine Tizzard Development Officer, Special Events & Ensemble Circle Victor Widjaja Donation Database Officer Olena Moldovan Donation Database Officer COMMUNICATIONS

Peter Hussell Senior Manager, Advancement Operations

Claudine Domingue Director of Public Relations

Ali Kashani Associate Director, Institutional Gifts

Jeremy Elbourne Director of Marketing

Dawn Marie Schlegel Associate Director, Donor Relations Sarah Heim Donor Relations Officer Natalie Sandassie Senior Development Officer, Annual Programs and Patron Engagement

Phil Stephens Senior Manager, Sales and Customer Service Gianna Wichelow Senior Communications Manager, Creative Jennifer Pugsley Media Relations Manager

CALL CENTRE Richard Paradiso Call Centre Manager

Security Supervisors Videsh Dookhu Dave Samuels

Michelle Hwu Retail Co-ordinator

Call Centre Representatives Catherine Belyea Philip Clarke Wendy Limbertie DeeAnn Sagar Margaret Terry Angela Thompson

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

Kristin McKinnon Assistant Publicist

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH Katherine Semcesen Associate Director, Education and Outreach

Lindy Cowan, CPA, CA Director of Finance and Administration

Building Operators Dan Bisca Dan Popescu Adrian Tudoran

Claire Morley Communications Officer Danielle D’Ornellas Digital Marketing Co-ordinator Eldon Earle Marketing Co-ordinator

Gianmarco Segato Adult Programs Manager Vanessa Smith Manager, School Programs Amber Yared Children and Youth Programs Co-ordinator

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

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

TICKET SERVICES Alan Moffat Patron Relationship Manager

Steven Sherwood Manager, IT Services

Andrea Salin Associate Manager, Ticket Services

Brad Staples Database Reporting Specialist

Nikki Tremblay Assistant Ticket Services Manager

Tony Sandy IT Services Assistant

Jefferson Guzman Associate Director, Patron Services

David Nimmo Group Sales Co-ordinator

Katarina Božovi´´c Receptionist/ Switchboard

Kim Hutchinson-Barber Assistant Manager, Front of House

Lillian Fung Ticket Services Supervisor

Branka Hrsum Mailroom Clerk/ Courier

Brigitte Lang Assistant Manager, Food & Beverage

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

BUILDING SERVICES

Patron Services Supervisors Kelly Bailey Stuart Constable Enrique Covarrubias Cortes Jamieson Eakin Melissa McDonnell Adam Orr

Meighan Szigeti Associate Manager, Digital Marketing

Joe Waldherr Associate Director, Facilities Management Piro Milo Assistant Building Services Manager Maintenance Assistants Ryszard Gad (COC) Branislav Peterman (COC) Julian Peters (COC) James Esposito (FSCPA) Mark Healy (FSCPA) Piotr Wiench (FSCPA)

Elizabeth Jones Associate Director, Business Development

Patron Services Leads Carianne Hill Jennifer Toulmin

FSCPA – Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

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 Peter M. Deeb The Estate of Horst Dantz and Don Quick

Jerry & Geraldine Heffernan Kolter Communities The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation Roger D. Moore E. Louise Morgan Joey & Toby Tanenbaum Anonymous (2)

Major Gifts & Special Projects

Every year, the Canadian Opera Company has unique projects operating beyond regular annual activities, each of which relies on private funding to ensure its success. These include: endowment funding, production underwriting, artist and performance sponsorship as well as training, education and outreach programs. $1,000,000+ The Estate of Horst Dantz & Don Quick‡ Peter M. Deeb Hon. Henry N. R. Jackman‡ Anonymous $500,000 – $999,999 Jerry & Geraldine Heffernan The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation The Slaight Family Foundation $100,000 – $499,999 Peter A. Allen Mark & Gail Appel Anne & Tony Arrell Lisa Balfour Bowen & Walter M. Bowen Philip Deck & Kimberley Bozak George S. Dembroski Judy & Wilmot Matthews Don McQueen & Trina McQueen OC Donald O’Born Tim & Frances Price David Roffey & Karen Walsh Estate of J.M. (Doc) Savage Colleen Sexsmith Jack Whiteside Anonymous‡ $25,000 – $99,999 Cecily & Robert Bradshaw Earlaine Collins Estate of Walter Carsen Ethel Harris & the late Milton E. Harris Estate of Ethel Berney Jackson Patrick & Barbara Keenan

Marjorie & Roy Linden Roger D. Moore Michael W. & Wanda Plachta Endowment Fund Katalin Schäfer Robert Sherrin Françoise Sutton Estate of Vivian Treacy The Stratton Trust Ryerson & Michele Symons Estate of Kathryn Thornton‡ William & Phyllis Waters Anonymous

Estate of Sarka Spinkova Dr. David Stanley-Porter & Dr. Colin McGregor Mailer Ms Kristine Vikmanis & Mr. Denton Creighton Samara Walbohm & Joe Shlesinger Brian Wilks Estate of Jean Yack Wright Anonymous (3)

UP TO $24,999 Laurie & Fareed Ali Estate of Helen Allen (Stacey) ARIAS: Canadian Opera Student Development Fund Paul Bernards Nani & Austin Beutel Marcia Lewis Brown John Chiu in memory of Yvonne Chiu, CM Classical 96 FM Ninalee Craig Estate of Phillipp Eberhardinger‡ Catherine Fauquier Estate of Judith Howard Peter & Hélène Hunt Michael & Linda Hutcheon Dr. Noëlle Grace & The Shohet Family J. Hans Kluge Estate of Borge John Kraglund Jo Lander Tom C. Logan Estate of J. Bruce MacDonald‡ Sue Mortimer Rosemary Speirs

INDIVIDUAL ANNUAL SUPPORT

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

(The commitments listed above were made as of August 19, 2013.)

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**** Rennie & Bill Humphries**** Ronald Kimel & Vanessa LaPerriere**** Susan Loube & William Acton* James Nicol & Christine Milne Jack Whiteside***

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.

BRONZE, $12,500 – $24,999 Dr. & Mrs. Hans G. Abromeit**** Philip & Linda Armstrong** Ms Nora Aufreiter* Melissa & Barry Avrich Mr. Philip J. Boswell†**** Walter M. & Lisa Balfour Bowen**** Susanne Boyce & Brendan Mullen*** Rob & Teresa Brouwer* Marcia Lewis Brown* Stewart & Gina Burton* 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* Ms Alice J. Court Mrs. 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*** Dr. M.L. Myers & the late Dr. W.P. Hayman*** William & Nona Heaslip Foundation**** Peter Hinman & Kristi Stangeland Douglas E. Hodgson**** Michael & Linda Hutcheon**** Intact Financial Corporation Trinity Jackman*

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* Mrs. & Mr. Christl & 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 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** The Hon. William C. Graham & Mrs. Catherine Graham**** Rainer Hackert**** Bernhard & Hannelore Kaeser**** J. Hans Kluge** Mr. Gurney Kranz****

Paul Lee & Jill Maynard**** Anne Lewitt** Jerry & Joan Lozinski**** 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* Kimberley Fobert & Robert Lamb†*** The Fraser Elliott Foundation**** Dr. & Mrs. Wm. O. Geisler** The Honourable Irving Gerstein & Mrs. Gail Gerstein** Ben & Sarah Glatt**** Peter & Shelagh Godsoe** Rose & Roger Goldstein****

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

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

Michael & Anne Gough**** Ronald & Birgitte Granofsky**** Douglas & Ruth Grant* John & Judith Grant** Al & Malka Green** John Groves & Vera Del Vecchio**** Gudrun Hackert*** 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**** Jean V. Kramar** The Hon. Dennis Lane, Q.C. & Mrs. Sandra Lane**** 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**** Wendy J. Thompson and the late Samuel A. Rea**** 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*** 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*** Susan Zorzi** Sharon Zuckerman**** Anonymous (5) 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*** 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**

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

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 Wendy M. Cecil**** 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 Dr. & Mrs. Michael & Ute Davis** 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 Edwards* Wendy & Elliott Eisen**** Mr. John J. Elder & Family**** Jordan Elliott & Lynne Griffin Robert Elliott & Paul Wilson** Christoph Emmrich & Srilata Raman Dr. & Mrs. John Evans*** Fabris Inc.* George A. Farkass* Gail & Bob Farquharson 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* Mr. Michael A. French** Robert Fung** John & Rita Gagliano* Rev. Ivars Gaide & Rev. Dr. Anita Gaide*** Ann Gawman*** Dr. Barry A. Gayle**** Ann J. Gibson**** 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* Jenny Heathcote**** Mr. Thomas G. Heintzman & Ms Mary Jane Heintzman*** 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 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*** Dr. Vance Logan*** A. Benson Lorriman**** Douglas L. Ludwig & Karen J. Rice*** Ms Jane Loughborough* James & Connie MacDougall**** Mr. Jed MacKay**** Dr. & Mrs. Richard Mackenzie**** Macro Properties Ltd.** Ole P. Madsen* Susan & Scott Maidment*** Dr. Colin McGregor Mailer**** R. Manke**** Mr. & Mrs. R. Gordon Marantz**** Jill & Geoff Matus** Roberto Mauro† & Erin Wall Mrs. Ettore Mazzoleni*** Dr. & Mrs. John A. McCallum**** Wendy & Chris McDowall**

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Dr. & Mrs. Donald C. McGillivray**** Darcy & Joyce McKeough* Don McLean & Diane Martello Guy & Joanne McLean**** M. E. McLeod**** Jean M. McNab**** Shawn McReynolds & Elaine Kierans* Dr. Don Melady & Mr. Rowley Mossop*** Eileen Mercier**** 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*** Mr. Donald Mitchell 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* Julia & Liza Overs*** 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**** Dr. Mark Quigley**** C. Edward Rathé**** Stephen Ralls & Bruce Ubukata*** 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 Drs. Orest & Maureen Rudzik**** David A. Ruston*** Ms Sharon Cookie Sandler**** Mallory Morris Sartz & John Sartz**** Go Sato*** 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**** 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* Morden Yolles**** Dr. Howard & Sybil Young**** Helen & Walter Zwig**** Anonymous (27) FRIENDS OF THE COC SUSTAINING FRIENDS $1,600 – $2,249 In memory of M. Baptista*** Iivi Campbell**** Jayne & Ted Dawson**** Bill Heaslip**** Dr. Norbert V. Perera**** A. K. Sigurjonsson*** David Smukler & Patricia Kern** The Sorbara Group**** Vernon & Beryl Turner**** Gordon Waugh*** Ms June Yee** Anonymous (2) ASSOCIATE FRIENDS $1,100 – $1,599 Carol & Ernest Albright**** Ms I. M. Allen**** Michael & Janet Barnard** Michael Benedict & Martha Lowrie**** Don Biderman**** Ellen & Murray Blankstein Dr. & Ms B. M. Braude** Dr. Wendy C. Chan Patricia Clarke** Cogeco Data Services Mr. Stuart Davidson Mr. Darren Day*** Prometheum Institute*** Mr. Steven D. Donohoe**** Mr. Larry Enkin *** Mr. Morris Flicht**** R. Dalton Fowler**** John H. Galloway**** Dr. Gabriela Gohla Mrs. Suzy Greenspan** Mr. James Hamilton* Mr. & Mrs. H. C. Hatch**** Lawrence & Beatrice Herman**** In memory of Pauline Hinch* David Holdsworth & Nicole Senécal* Richard & Susan Horner**** Mr. Josef Hrdina* Donald Hughes*** James Hughes** Ms Suanne Kelman & Dr. Allan J. Fox*

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

Ms K. Margot Khan* Mr. Martin Kirr & Ms Suzanne McCuaig Mr. & Mrs. I. P. & O. M. Komarnicky*** Eleven Television Canada Inc.** P. Anne Mackay**** Mrs. Janet Maggiacomo** Georgina McLennan**** Mr. Carl Morey**** Mr. Sean O'Neill*** Ms Marianne Orr* Eileen & Ralph Overend* Barbara & Peter Pauly** Ms Victoria Pinnington*** Mr. & Mrs. Domenic Porporo* Dr. Peter Ray*** Dorothy & Robert Ross*** M. & G. Sanvido**** Joan Sinclair & John McConnell** Norma & George Steiner**** Dr. & Mrs. Karel Terbrugge* Ms Peg Thoen* Wendy Thorburn** Dr. M. Lynne Thurling & Dr. John Treilhard*** Mr. & Mrs. David G. Trent**** Janet White** Ron Williams* Anonymous (7) CONTRIBUTING FRIENDS $700 – $1,099 Mr. Robert Atkinson Peter & Leslie Barton** Mrs. Lynn Bayer*** Jeniva Berger*** Dr. B. Derek & Dr. Anne W. Birt**** Dr. J nnifer Blake* Ms Marlene Bohn* Bob Bosshard & Nancy Williams* Mary Brock & Brian Iler**** Mr. Thomas N. Bryson** Ms Judith Burrows** Ms E. Burton*** Betty Carlyle**** Mark Cestnik**** Harold Chmara & Danny Hoy**** Joe T. R. Clarke**** Sherri Clarkson Robert D. Cook** Craig & Karen* Mr. Neil Crawford* Professor K. G. Davey, OC** Elaine & Michael Davies**** Mr. Michael Disney* Dr. Eric Domville** Dr. Christine Dunbar** Howard & Kathrine Eckler** Peter & Shashi Eden** Ms Eleanor L. Ellins**** Mr. Arthur English* Joe & Helen Feldmann** Brian A. Ferguson**** Richard & Gail Flack***

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

Join us! Today’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.

Jennifer & Frank Flower*** Hugh Furneaux*** Douglas G. Gardner**** Gordon & Pamela Gibson**** Elinor Gill Ratcliffe C.M., O.N.L., LLD (hc) Alison Girling & Paul Schabas** Aviva & Andrew Goldenberg** Ricardo Gomez-Insausti* Dr. Wilfred S. Goodman**** David Gordon & Wendy Flores Gordon* Mrs. Marion A. Green**** Dr. & Mrs. Voldemars Gulens**** Gisele Hall* Philo Handler** Dr. & Mrs. Brian & Cynthia Hands**** Roy & Gail Harrison**** Sandra Hausman** 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**** Mai Kirch**** Dr. & Mrs. L. A. Kitchell**** Mr. Christopher J. Kowal Mr. & Mrs. Armin Kratel**** 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† Mr. Jason Lewis Dr. Francois Loubert* Dr. Deidre Lynch* Ms Andrea Margles**** Kathy Marton* Mary McClymont**** Mary McGowan**** Jil McIntosh** Mr. Bruce McKeown*** Dr. & Mrs. Martin & Deborah McKneally** Sylvia McPhee**** Dr. Alan C. Middleton** Frank & Anne Moir** Terry & Dom Morris** Mr. Tomi Nishio**** David Northcote & Suzanne Betcke* Jean O'Grady** Ms Cristina Oke**

Karen Olinyk†* Mr. Martti Paloheimo* Mr. James C. Pappas**** Mr. Joseph & Mrs. Letizia Paradiso*** David Peachey & Georgia Henderson** Mrs. Dorothy K. Piepke**** Ed & Beth Price*** Mr. Robert Radke Dr. Shelley Rechner**** In Loving Memory of Rita & Morris Shoichet Marat Ressin Ms Laura Rimas* Mr. Jason Roberts** Ms Virginia Robeson* William & Meredith Saunderson**** Barbara Sawaszkiewicz**** Ms Elisabeth Scarff**** Patti & Richard Schabas** Henry & Mary Seldon**** Marlene Pollock Sheff* Ms Linda Sheppard* Cheryl Shook** C. Anderson Silber** D. Bruce Sinclair** John Spears**** Dr. & Mrs. W. K. Stavraky*** Scott Steele & Jan Korman* Helga & Klaus Stegemann*** Jane & Ted Stephenson**** Hamish Stewart & Susan Taylor**** Paul & Maria Szasz**** Ms Michelle Tan** Dr. R. Paul Thompson* Ria Tietz**** Dr. Allan Peterkin & Mr. Robert Tomas* Dr. Claude Tousignant** Mrs. Maria Tulip**** Mrs. Norene Turvolgyi**** Tobias & Jeanne van Dalen* Dr. Nancy F. Vogan**** Mr. Wayne Vogan†**** George Vona & Lark Popov** Dr. Peter Voore*** Angela & Michael Vuchnich**** Mr. John M. Welch**** James & Margaret Whitby**** Ms Iris Zawadowski* Carole & Bernie Zucker*** Anonymous (8)

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 Mrs. Ann Christie Earl Clark The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson Brian Collins & Amanda Demers Earlaine Collins David H. Cormack Mrs. 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 Marjorie & Roy Linden L. Liivamagi

*Friends of the COC give a charitable membership gift between $150 – $2,249 annually.

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

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 (58)

OPERATOURS DONORS $700 + (From July 2012 – August 2013) Dr. Eric W. Amann** Howard & Ruth Barrett**** Ian & Janet Blue** Ms Victoria Burenko* Ms E. Burton*** Mr. & Mrs. Norman & Louise Coxall*** Edward Cummings & Margaret Kelly**** Eleanor Dover* Ben & Sarah Glatt**** Dr. Irene Gulka* Donald Gutteridge & Anne Millar**** Tim Jokela** Ms Fawzia Khan* Dr. Elizabeth Kocmur**** Ms Claire LaVigna*** Earl Law**** Mrs. J. L. Malcolm* Ms Antonieta Marticorena**** Mr. Alex Moraru* Mrs. Christa Nimmo**** Mr. Michael R Overbury*** David Roffey & Karen Walsh*** Rainer & Sharyn Rothfuss**** Mr. Michael Samborsky** Beverly & Fred Schaeffer**** Stephen & Jane Smith**** Ms June Yee** Anonymous (4)

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 August 20, 2013) * ** *** **** † ‡

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.

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Photo: Sam Javanrouh

Corporate Sponsorship The Canadian Opera Company welcomes financial support from corporations that appreciate the advantages of partnering with one of Canada’s premier performing arts companies. A variety of sponsorship opportunities can be customized to meet branding, marketing and corporate entertainment needs including production, performance, education and outreach, official orchestra and chorus sponsorships, as well as official supplier partnerships at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Corporate sponsorship offers exciting privileges that you and your company can enjoy all year long. For further information, please contact Ali Kashani at alik@coc.ca.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

MAJOR CORPORATE SPONSORS 2013/2014 SEASON

2013/2014 SPONSORS DIAMOND PERFORMANCE SPONSORS

BMO Financial Group Pre-Performance Opera Chats and BMO Financial Group Student Dress Rehearsals. Production Underwriter, Mozart’s Così fan tutte

HOSTING SPONSOR

Presenting Sponsor of SURTITLES™

Official Automotive Sponsor of the COC at the FSCPA

PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Linden & Associates Fionn MacCool’s Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Norton Rose Canada LLP PwC

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

Glencore Ensemble Studio School Tour

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 SUPPORTER, PATRON ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM Quinn’s Steakhouse & Irish Bar

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

Official Canadian Wine of the COC at the FSCPA

Production Sponsor Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera

PREFERRED FLORISTS Bloom The Flower Company Quince Flowers CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION DONORS MAJOR GIFTS

Presenting Sponsor After School Opera Program

Presenting Sponsor Weekday Rush Subscriptions

Preferred Fragrance

$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 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

Preferred Hospitality Sponsor

Official Media Sponsor

Preferred Medical Services Provider

$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 Jarvis & Associates MAC Cosmetics $1,000 to $1,999 AIMIA D’Avignon Freight Services Inc. LoyaltyOne Inc. McKinsey & Company Milgram Group of Companies Ltd. The Powis Family Foundation CENTRE STAGE: ENSEMBLE STUDIO COMPETITION GALA COMPETITION SUPPORTERS RBC Hal Jackman Foundation Peter M. Deeb PLATINUM SPONSOR Mercedes-Benz GOLD SPONSOR Scotiabank OPERANAT10N: A NIGHT OF TEMPTATION PRESENTING SPONSOR TD Bank Group OFFICIAL FRAGRANCE Calvin Klein DOWNTOWN PARTNERING SPONSORS Burgundy Asset Management Globalive Communications Corp. CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS BMO WeirFoulds LLP EVENT SPONSORS Chair-man Mills Knot PR Lilium Media Needs Mill St. Perrier 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.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Please visit coc.ca for additional information

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.

SUPERNUMERARIES John Allemang Terry Dwyer Ward Jardine Rick Lobodinski Andrew McIntosh Aleksi Moriarty Lee Perenack

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

CANADA’S FUTURE OPERA STARS TAKE CENTRE STAGE BY JENNIFER PUGSLEY

he evening of November 26, 2013 has the potential to be the night that launches the careers of Canada’s future opera stars. On that night the Canadian Opera Company holds its fundraising gala Centre Stage, a magical evening dedicated to the discovery and celebration of the young opera talent in this country. An event unlike any other in Canada, Centre Stage features the competitive vocal showcase of the COC’s Ensemble Studio Competition with a twist that intensifies the already awe-inspiring performances this event has come to feature. For the first time, finalists in the Ensemble Studio Competition will perform from the mainstage of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, accompanied by the internationally acclaimed COC Orchestra conducted by COC Music Director Johannes Debus. “I had been thinking of creating a gala fundraiser for the COC for some time,” says COC General Director Alexander Neef. “Seeing how the Ensemble Studio Competition has engaged the community in past years, the timing was right to launch Centre Stage and make it the occasion to expand our audience with this much grander showcase of Canada’s rising opera talent.” All patrons who attend Centre Stage will enjoy a cocktail celebration in the Four Seasons Centre’s sparkling Isadore 20

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

COC General Director Alexander Neef (second from right) with (l–r) Gordon Bintner, Charlotte Burrage and Andrew Haji, winners of the 2012 COC Ensemble Studio Competition. Photo: Chris Hutcheson

and Rosalie Sharp City Room. Gala guests will go on to enjoy an elegant formal dinner from the Four Seasons Centre stage, catered by critically acclaimed Nota Bene Executive Chef David Lee, mingling with competition finalists and winners as well as notable COC artists. The Ensemble Studio Competition features singers from the final round of auditions for the COC Ensemble Studio,

Canada’s premier training program for young opera professionals, competing for cash prizes ranging in value from $1,500 – $5,000. The competition was launched in 2011 by COC General Director Alexander Neef to showcase the opera talent the COC

had scouted from across the country and create a public platform for celebrating the future of opera in Canada. With the creation of Centre Stage, the COC now opens the Ensemble Studio Competition to an audience of over 1,000 opera lovers and interested guests as it moves from the intimate setting of the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre to R. Fraser Elliott Hall. The growth of the event will most certainly ensure that the 2013 competition realizes the prediction of one opera blogger of it “becoming a firm fixture in the calendar for anyone in Toronto who is serious about opera and its future.” This statement is no surprise to past competition patrons who have been treated to performance line-ups that La Scena Musicale has described as “a grand night of singing.” “It’s the excitement of hearing up-andcoming voices vying for prize money and glory that makes competition irresistible – to me, at least!” said Joseph So, an opera journalist, in his review of the 2012 competition for La Scena Musicale. “Ten aspiring singers got to strut their stuff, all well-schooled, with beautiful voices backed by a solid technique, and a desire to tell a story, to communicate their art to an audience. Some of them have that extra, intangible something called star power, musicality, charisma, whatever. It’s that elusive quality that makes a singer an artist, and someone with the promise of a significant career. Competitions such as this one are designed to find that singer.” n Jennifer Pugsley is the Media Relations Manager at the Canadian Opera Company.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON OUR 2013/2014 ENSEMBLE STUDIO MEMBERS, PLEASE READ SPOTLIGHT SHINES ON COC ENSEMBLE STUDIO BY JENNIFER PUGSLEY, AVAILABLE IN THE FALL ISSUE OF PRELUDE ONLINE AT COC.CA/PUBLICATIONS.

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

CANADA’S FUTURE OPERA STARS TAKE CENTRE STAGE

MEET THE MEMBERS OF THE COC'S 2013/2014 ENSEMBLE STUDIO

Centre Stage takes place on November 26, 2013 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts and features the third annual Ensemble Studio Vocal Competition. Tickets to the Ensemble Studio Competition and Centre Stage cocktail celebration are $100. Centre Stage Gala tickets, including the black-tie dinner, are $1,500. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit coc.ca, call COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231 or go to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office (145 Queen St. W.).

C Gordon Bintner bass-baritone

Charlotte Burrage mezzo-soprano

Sasha Djihanian soprano

Aviva Fortunata soprano

SEASON

Compañia Maria Serrano

Clarence Frazer baritone

Andrew Haji tenor

Danielle MacMillan mezzo-soprano

Owen McCausland tenor

Friday, November 29 8pm Massey Hall “Rumour has it that Compañia Maria Serrano will come this way again, and when it does, it is a run don’t walk.” - Paula Citron, Classical 96.3FM

Cameron McPhail baritone

Claire de Sévigné soprano

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Michael Shannon intern coach

CALL 416-872-4255

masseyhall.com

Preliminary costume sketches by set and costume designer Debra Hanson for the COC’s new production of Così fan tutte

COMING THIS WINTER MOZART’S COSÌ FAN TUTTE BY CLAIRE MORLEY

The Plot in a Minute

Fast Facts

Two soldiers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, are challenged to test the fidelity of their fiancées, sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi. Ferrando and Guglielmo disguise themselves and woo the sisters, who, although perfectly aware they are being deceived, still develop romantic feelings for the disguised men. Wedding preparations are made, only to be cancelled when Ferrando and Guglielmo reveal their true identities. The four reconcile, but can their lives be the same after this masquerade?

• When it premiered in 1790, Così was considered trivial, sexist and immoral and had only 10 performances during Mozart’s lifetime • Così was the final collaboration between Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte (the other two being Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro) • Critic Edward Said argued that “of the three Da Ponte operas, Così fan tutte is not only the last and… the most complex and eccentric, but also the most internally well organized, the most full of echoes and references, and the most difficult to unlock, precisely because it goes further towards the limits of acceptable, ordinary experiences of love, life, and ideas than either of its two immediate predecessors… What affects us most about Così is of course the music.” • Così is one of Mozart’s most popular operas, along with The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Mozart’s Così fan tutte

Egoyan Takes On Mozart Celebrated director Atom Egoyan (Salome, 2013) brings his signature style to Così. Although some period costumes are used for various scenes in the opera, Egoyan creates a sense of the surreal and timeless, pointing to many historical periods without being rooted in any single one. Egoyan’s production pays particular attention to the subtitle of the libretto: La scuola degli amanti (“The School for Lovers”) and places the action in a finishing school, with laboratorial elements and allusions mixed in among more academic characteristics.

Photo: Anthony Woods

Shared Themes

Design Costumes and sets were created by Canadian designer Debra Hanson, who drew inspiration directly from the timelessness of the opera, and designed a world that is at once period-specific and historically fluid.

Framing the concept of the production is a painting by Frida Kahlo entitled “Las Dos Fridas.” Egoyan recalls, “I was in Los Angeles and saw the canvas and I was struck by this image of the two Fridas and the parallel in Così of the two sisters. What I was really struck with was Kahlo’s use of the brooch. The brooch is a really important prop in the opera – it’s what the two sisters use to reveal their loved ones. Ultimately it is removed or replaced when the experiment comes to fruition and, when the infidelity is actually consummated, it’s by the switching of the brooch. This painting also had the image of a heart, which is at once contained and then completely vulnerable and open, and both Fridas are connected by these very precarious veins which can be switched and clipped and tied. In one hand, the first Frida is holding scissors which are used to sever feeling or emotional connection; the second Frida is holding a brooch. It just seemed eerily appropriate in terms of what the opera is proposing.” n Claire Morley is Communications Officer at the Canadian Opera Company.

Construction of head pieces for Così fan tutte. Photo: COC

Diverse Art Forms,

FOR MORE INFORMATION, LISTENING GUIDES, INSIDE OPERA VIDEOS, AND HOW TO ORDER TICKETS, VISIT COC.CA.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Reviving 5000 years of civilization

(top and bottom) Scenes from the Berlin Staatsoper production of Un ballo in maschera, 2008. Photos: Ruth Walz

COMING THIS WINTER VERDI’S UN BALLO IN MASCHERA

ALL-NEW 2014 SHOW WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA

BY GIANNA WICHELOW

his winter, the Canadian Opera Company presents Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball), a deeply human tale of forbidden passion and adult love, whose lovers are also embroiled in a politically charged situation beyond their control.

The Plot in a Minute Riccardo is a respected governor, secretly in love with Amelia, the wife of his secretary, Renato. Riccardo is also the object of a planned assassination by a small group of disgruntled conspirators. He and Amelia are plagued by guilt for their feelings and resist consummating their growing love. However, Renato discovers their hidden passion and joins with the conspirators to bring his rival down at the governor’s ball.

Verdi, Assassinations, Censors Verdi had enjoyed huge success with his three previous operas, Rigoletto, La Traviata, and Il Trovatore. He arrived in Naples on January 15, 1858, to start rehearsals for Un ballo in maschera, an opera inspired by the actual assassination of King Gustav of Sweden. However, on the same day, an assassin attempted to kill

Sold-Out Shows Across North America Let Shen Yun take you on a journey where the wisdom of ancient China, the world’s finest classical Chinese dancers, gorgeous handcrafted costumes, and towering animated backdrops come together in one spectacular performance. “It’s so inspiring, I may have found new ideas for the next Avatar movie.” —Robert Stromberg, Academy Award-winning production designer

JAN 23-26

Toll Free: 1-855-416-1800 SONY CENTRE Ticketmaster: 1-855-985-5000

SHENYUN.COM

i Toronto . Hamilton . Mississauga . Kitchener . Ottawa . Quebec City . Montreal . Vancouver 28

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera

Napoleon III on his way to the theatre in Paris (coincidentally to see an opera). A year previously, the King of Naples had narrowly escaped being assassinated. All this violence made the censors nervous and they came down firmly on Verdi, demanding major changes to his storyline which, after all, centred on the assassination of a king. They didn’t want the opera to inspire a copycat tragedy. Verdi was offered an almost unrecognizable version of his libretto with all the censors’ changes made. He wasn’t interested and, instead, offered his opera to Rome. A few changes were required there by the censors, but Verdi was willing to accept them. He changed the setting for the opera from 18th-century Sweden to 17th-century Boston with King Gustav of Sweden becoming Riccardo, Count of Warwick, Governor of Boston.

The Premiere Un ballo in maschera premiered in Rome on February 17, 1859 and it was soon being performed all over Europe and in North America. After all the trouble that Verdi had experienced with the censors, other opera companies took some startling liberties with the setting of the opera. Two years after its premiere, Ballo appeared in Paris with Florence as its setting and, later that same year, at Covent Garden, London, the setting was shifted to Naples. In 1935 the opera finally appeared in its original Swedish

Top: Catherine Naglestad as Amelia and Piotr Beczala as Riccardo in the Berlin Staatsoper production of Un ballo in maschera, 2008. Photo: Ruth Walz Below: A scene from the Berlin Staatsoper production of Un ballo in maschera, 2008. Photo: Ruth Walz

setting. Since then, Ballo has often been produced in its originally intended form, along with its Boston setting and many others that imaginative directors have created.

Join Us This Winter This winter, you’ll see how directorial duo Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito have placed their carefully considered production in an America of their own imaginings, with a strong nod to Kennedy-era tensions and power plays. The striking period sets and costumes (by designers Barbara Ehnes and Anja Rabes, respectively) bring to mind the television series Mad Men, full of the colour, optimism and vitality of the early 1960s, with the occasional more contemporary detail. Sometimes referred to as Verdi’s Tristan und Isolde, Un ballo in maschera requires similarly great artists to scale the heights of the lead roles, and we have them, in Canada’s great diva Adrianne Pieczonka (who starred in Tosca two seasons ago) and the exciting tenor Dimitri Pittas (the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto). Elena Manistina (a riveting Azucena in our Il Trovatore) returns as the mysterious fortune teller Ulrica. COC favourite Simone Osborne is the saucy page, Oscar. n Gianna Wichelow is Senior Communications Manager, Creative at the Canadian Opera Company.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, LISTENING GUIDES, INSIDE OPERA VIDEOS, AND HOW TO ORDER TICKETS, VISIT COC.CA.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

PATRON INFORMATION AND POLICIES Etiquette Patrons are reminded that R. Fraser Elliott Hall is an extremely lively auditorium and that all audience noise will be accentuated and audible to other patrons. Turn off all electronic devices, avoid talking, coughing, humming, moving loose seats, kicking the backs of seats, rustling programs, and unwrapping candies or cough drops. In consideration of patrons with allergies please avoid wearing strongly perfumed beauty products and fragrances. Please remain in your seat until the performance has completely ended and the house lights have been turned on. Electronic Devices The use of mobile and smartphones and all other electronic devices is extremely disruptive and is strictly prohibited during performances. If a patron has an emergency and needs to be contacted during a performance, he or she should contact Patron Services for assistance before the performance. Cameras/Recording Devices The use of cameras, video cameras or sound-recording devices of any kind is prohibited in R. Fraser Elliott Hall during performances. Any person using an unauthorized recording device while the performance is in progress will be required to surrender or erase any recordings, photographic or digital images and may be asked to leave. No refunds will be issued. Latecomers In the interest of safety and for the comfort of all patrons and performers, latecomers may not enter the auditorium or be seated unless there is a suitable break in the performance (usually intermission). Patrons leaving the auditorium during the performance or returning late after intermission may not be readmitted or may be accommodated in an alternate viewing location. Children and Babes-in-Arms All patrons, including children, must have a ticket for the performance. All children must be seated next to an accompanying adult. Young children should be able to sit quietly throughout the performance. If unable to do so, children and their accompanying adult will be asked to leave the auditorium. Babes-in-arms will not be admitted. Patron Services Located in the Lower Lobby, the following services are available: coat and parcel check, booster seats, back supports, infrared hearing-assistive devices and rental of binoculars, on a first-come, first-served basis. Medical Emergencies and First Aid A house doctor is present at all performances. Please contact an usher if medical services are required. Lost and Found During performances please speak with an usher or visit Patron Services at the Coat Check in the Lower Lobby. Following performances, all lost and found items will be stored at the security desk at Stage Door. Please call 416-363-6671 for information.

Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season

Ticket Services Canadian Opera Company subscriptions and individual tickets are available through COC Ticket Services ONLINE: coc.ca BY PHONE: 416-363-8231 or long distance 1-800-250-4653 Monday to Friday – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. IN PERSON: Four Seasons Centre Box Office 145 Queen St. W. Monday to Saturday – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or through first intermission Sunday (performance days only) – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or through first intermission The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office also services ticketing needs for The National Ballet of Canada and all other Four Seasons Centre events. Group Sales Groups of 10 or more enjoy savings on regular individual ticket prices. For more information or to reserve seats call 416-306-2356. Parking There is parking on a first-come, first-served basis for about 200 vehicles underneath the Four Seasons Centre. The entrance is located on the west side of York Street, south of Queen Street. Additional parking is conveniently located just steps away in the Green P lot underneath Nathan Phillips Square. For directions visit greenp.com. Four Seasons Centre Facility Tours Tours of the Four Seasons Centre now include backstage access! For more information, visit fourseasonscentre.ca. BMO Financial Group Pre-Performance Opera Chats The Canadian Opera Company Volunteer Speakers Bureau offers free, insightful chats about the stories, music and background of all COC performances, 45 minutes prior to each performance in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. Food and Beverage Service A pre-order system for intermission refreshments is available at all bars throughout the Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room. Food and beverages are not permitted in R. Fraser Elliott Hall. Special Events and Catering The Four Seasons Centre is available for rental for all of your presentation, meeting or special events needs, with spaces accommodating from 20 to 2,000 people and full catering services. For further details visit fourseasonscentre.ca or call 416-363-6671.

Creating fine bespoke garments since 1908.

145 Wellington st. w. toronto, on

The Opera Shop Located on the orchestra level of the Isadore and Rosalie Sharpe City Room, the COC's Opera Shop offers a fine selection of opera recordings on CD and DVD, as well as opera-related books, giftware and COC souvenirs.

m5j 1h8 416.595.5454 www.walterbeauchamp.com

It’s not your ride. It’s your drive. We built the E-Class for drivers. Everything about it, from its aggressive stance to its muscular powerplants and taut driving dynamics, suggests one thing – and one thing only – this is a car you drive. Mercedes-Benz is proud to be the Official Automotive Sponsor of the Canadian Opera Company at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

A Daimler Brand

Proud sponsor of