The Flying Dutchman Programme

RICHARD WAGNER

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

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Cover Artwork by Hanna Barczyk.

The Flying Dutchman costumes were built by The Glimmerglass Festival Costume Shop for the 2013 Festival Season

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

CONTENTS

Great opera lives here.

We are pleased to support Vancouver Opera and the artists that are captivating audiences with exciting, innovative, and entertaining productions.

BMO is proud to be the 2022-2023

Season Sponsor.

Vancouver Opera’s 2022 production of The Pearl Fishers

Photo by Emily Cooper

A MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL DIRECTOR AND THE BOARD CHAIR

Bidding farewell to a season of programming is always bittersweet. So many artists, designers, technicians, and support staff have put huge amounts of work into bringing great works to the stage, and the long tail of planning and prepping can stretch back for years. It’s a credit to all involved that the tail is a happily wagging one! Our hearts and minds have been devoted to the productions we brought to Vancouver, and the ones we built here from the ground up. But in every ending is the intriguing backstory of a new beginning, and so it is with The Flying Dutchman. A tale of epic proportions, the work is a hugely impressive feast for the senses, and the kind of grandscale, immersive experience that we’re excited to bring to you next season. Productions of Dutchman’s size have been rare over the last few years, as the impacts of the pandemic put serious constraints on what could be mounted. Being able to share an immense Wagner opera feels like a hard-won reward for the resilience of the cultural sector, as well as a celebration of the heights that can be reached as a community of artists and supporters.

It’s a testament to our fantastic audiences and supporters that the 2022-2023 season has been an uproarious, soldout success that’s attracted a broad-ranging group of new opera appreciators, despite not featuring a well-known “blockbuster” production. You trusted us to bring you opera of the highest quality, and it’s been our privilege to create extraordinary experiences for you. So, sit back and let yourself be swept up in Wagner’s waves of drama. We look forward to seeing you at the theatre for our exciting 2023-2024 season, and hope you’ll bring a friend along to share the love of opera!

Tom Wright General Director

Susan Van der Flier Board Chair

CANADA’S ONLY 5-TIME WINNER OF WINERY OF THE YEAR

Since 1981, Mission Hill Family Estate has pioneered British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley as a premium wine making region. Founded by Proprietor Anthony von Mandl, the iconic family-owned winery is known as Canada’s only 5-time winner of the Winery of the Year Award by WineAlign Canada. Guests can experience international award-wining wines and indulge in an epicurean adventure all while enjoying the panoramic views of mountains, lakes, and vineyards.

NOTES FROM THE CONDUCTOR Leslie Dala

Premiered in Dresden, 1843, with the 29-year-old Wagner himself conducting, the work was by no means an immediate success, but is now universally acknowledged as the first work in which Wagner’s concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (“total” or “ideal” work of art) began to take shape. The leitmotif (a repeating melodic phrase used to represent a character, setting, emotion, or theme) was also first used by Wagner in The Flying Dutchman. The two most obvious themes are the Dutchman’s—the horn motif heard at the beginning of the dramatic Overture—and Senta’s slower lyrical theme, also first heard in the Overture and later in the Ballad in Act 2.

The Overture has to be one of the most powerful, arresting, and dramatic in the operatic canon. The fiery opening string tremolos, the instantly recognizable Dutchman motif in the horns, and the stormy waves of unrelenting arpeggios vividly convey nature’s power. The composer Franz Lachner, a contemporary of Wagner, accurately declared that “the wind blows at you whenever you open the score.”

Wagner found opera’s “number” convention—in which arias, duets and other ensemble and chorus sections are distinct pieces—to be a hindrance to his vision of an uninterrupted drama; Dutchman was his first work to have no definite cadences to end each section.

After the buoyant opening scene with the Norwegian sailors, the Ghost ship comes crashing ashore in an explosive orchestral outburst. That music dissolves with chromatic scales that descend to the brooding, mysterious tones that introduce the Dutchman. This passage perfectly captures the tormented soul, doomed to roam the seas for eternity unless he can be saved by the love and devotion of an “ideal woman” (a concept Wagner would return to time and time again in future works, most notably Tristan und Isolde).

Highlights of Act 2 include the joyful “Spinning Song” sung by the women of the village, and Senta’s dramatic, folklike “Ballad of the Flying Dutchman”. When the Dutchman and Senta finally meet, the music emerges from nothing. The Dutchman begins with a low melodic utterance accompanied by hushed strings and timpani, and the music rises a slow burn as the pair’s ecstatic cries morph into a triumphant trio as Daland, Senta’s father, joins to celebrate their upcoming union.

Act 3 begins with one of the greatest chorus scenes in all of opera, the Norwegian sailors and the townsfolk singing a joyous celebration song which very slowly gets drowned out by the harrowing cries from the unseen “Ghost chorus” of the Dutchman’s ship. This scene in particular demonstrates Wagner’s orchestration genius and his bold, inventive handling of seemingly incompatible musical motifs.

Perhaps Ernest Newman, author of a four-volume biography of the composer, put it best: “Wagner’s work was the creation of the simultaneous functioning of a composer’s imagination, a dramatist’s, a conductors’, a scenic designer’s, a singer’s, a mime’s. Such a combination had never existed in a single individual before; it has never happened since, and in all probability it will never happen again.”

VANCOUVER OPERA GUILD IS PROUD TO BE THE SPONSOR OF THIS VO PRODUCTION

Our purpose is to stimulate interest and participation in opera and we give scholarships, bursaries and awards to young people pursuing a career in opera, including sponsoring the Western Regional Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition

For more information, please visit www.vancouveroperaguild.com

NOTES FROM THE DIRECTOR

Brian Deedrick

Summer in Berlin, 2022, writing these notes from a park bench alongside the Anhalter Bahnhof, on a day off from my other job as a Berlin city tour guide. During these summer months in Germany, not a day goes by in the Tagesspiegel, Die Zeit, the Frankfurter Allgemeine, or any of the German national newspapers, that an article does not appear on the subject of Richard Wagner. True, the Bayreuth Festival is currently in full swing, but the German fascination with Wagner and his times goes much deeper than an interest in the annual, and shockingly expensive, presentation of the Ring cycle.

And it is here in Berlin, months and months before the Vancouver Opera production of Der Fliegende Holländer goes into rehearsal, that I find myself trying to organize my thoughts, trying to discover the story to be told, trying to find the best possible way to invite you into the world of Wagner and his "Flying Dutchman.”

It is curiously gratifying to know that Wagner's high-blown autobiographical account of being inspired to write the opera by the cries of sailors echoing from the high walls of the Norwegian fjords is as much myth as the story upon which the opera is based: a portion of the piece had been written long before the composer traveled through Scandinavia. To be honest, I don't think I would have liked the man very much, but Wagner's "creative license" in no way diminishes his genius as an artist (and terrific PR man!), and it does help one to get past the Wagner mystique and concentrate instead on the work itself.

The legend of the great ghost ship, the "Flying Dutchman," and its accursed sea captain, forced to roam the seas until Judgment Day unless saved by a woman's devotion, appears frequently in early 19th century literature. But the theme of the sailor as a lonely wanderer goes all the way back to Homer's Odyssey: the quest of the anguished and exhausted individual to return to home and wife (for Wagner, to "Heimat" and the selfless love of a woman), is clearly reflected in Der Fliegende Holländer. Wagner draws from the deep mythic resonance of the isolated man and explores on his own epic scale the need for the outsider, the wanderer, to at last bring his journey to an end.

There is in this piece perhaps a greater emphasis on the supernatural, but there can be no question that the Dutchman is a wanderer, just as Wotan, Lohengrin, Siegfried, Parsifal, Tannhäuser, and Wagner as he saw himself, all in their different ways, are wanderers, too. All are at odds with society, and challenge all norms as they strive for acceptance. Peace, ideals, summits achieved, or, in the case of the Dutchman, "Heimat" and release through the love of Senta, are the noble goals which drive Wagner's heroes. Just as his tragic heroism is a powerful parallel to other great searchers of myth and legend, so is the quest of the Captain of Der Fliegende Holländer an epic story of the ultimate outsider's struggle for redemption.

At the same time, the Dutchman is not the only character in the piece, and perhaps it is worth a brief return to the tale of Ulysses and Penelope in the Odyssey to consider the role of Senta in the opera. The debate has gone on for centuries as to whether Penelope actually recognizes her husband upon his return from the Trojan War, and so too is there the question of exactly when Senta knows that it is her fantasy come to life before her. It may be argued that the entirety of the story is played out fully in her mind, begging the question as to whether Senta or the Dutchman is the central character in the opera, and which of the two is the true outsider.

So much to contemplate, explore and discover when we gather in Vancouver to rehearse the opera. Which brings me back here to Berlin in the summer of 2022. It's exhilarating to be pondering our Vancouver production from a city where people still argue ferociously about the merits and failings of Wagner and his 180-year-old work. Perhaps even more powerful today, reverberating with the associations of the German composer and his music to tragic events of the past century, Der Fliegende Holländer is a masterpiece which knows neither time nor borders. The monumental quest of the Wanderer, the ultimate Outsider, and his need for redemption, is for all times. Enjoy.

SYN OP SIS

ACT I

A storm surges off the coast of 19th century Norway, and Daland’s ship seeks refuge in a quiet bay. Sending the crew to rest, he leaves the watch in the charge of a young helmsman, who falls asleep as he sings about his girl. A ghostly schooner appears. Its captain, who introduces himself as “a Dutchman,” laments his fate: cursed to roam the seas eternally, the waves cast him ashore every seven years, offering him the chance to redeem his soul by finding a faithful wife. If he fails, he’s condemned to continue sailing until Judgment Day. The Dutchman offers Daland gold and jewels for a night’s lodging, and when he learns that Daland has a daughter, asks for her hand in marriage. Happy to have found a wealthy potential son-in-law, Daland agrees and sets sail for home.

ACT II

Daland’s daughter, Senta, is captivated by the portrait of a pale man in black— the Flying Dutchman. Her friends tease her about her suitor, Erik, and when her superstitious nurse Mary refuses to sing a ballad about the legendary Dutchman’s curse, Senta sings it herself. To everyone’s horror, Senta declares that she will be the woman to save him. Erik enters and reminds Senta of her father’s wish to find her a husband and asks her to plead his case, but she remains distant. Realizing how taken with the Dutchman’s picture she is, he recounts a frightening dream in which he saw her sail away with the Dutchman. This delights Senta, and Erik rushes off in despair. The Dutchman enters and Senta stands transfixed. Daland asks his daughter to welcome the stranger, whom he has brought to be her husband. The Dutchman, equally taken with Senta, asks if she will accept him. Unaware that she knows who he is, he warns her of making a rash decision, but she swears to be faithful to him unto death. Daland is overjoyed that his daughter has accepted the newfound suitor.

ACT II

At the harbor, local women and Daland’s sailors make merry. Confused by the eerie quiet of the Dutchman’s ship, they call out to invite the crew to join the festivities. Suddenly the ghostly sailors appear, mocking their captain’s quest in hollow chanting, and the revellers flee in terror. Quiet returns and Senta appears, followed by the distressed Erik. He pleads with her not to marry the Dutchman, since she had previously pledged her love to him. The Dutchman overhears. Believing he has been betrayed and that his hope for salvation is lost, he boards his ship. When Senta tries to stop him, he reveals his identity and the nature of his curse, but Senta emphatically replies that she already knew. As his ship pulls away, she throws herself into the sea, faithful unto death, thereby releasing him from his curse. The pair’s spirits ascend to the hereafter, together.

Photo:

Wagner: Longing and Delaying Gratification!

by J. Patrick Raftery

All opera singers are predisposed to demanding the spotlight! Bel Canto (beautiful singing) is where many singers thrive and feel they are the center of attention. Opera singers prefer to get right to the point and bask in the gratifying adulation of their public. The singer’s job is usually to focus on beauty of tone. Singing accurately, fast, and with agility ascending to climatic top notes, while guiding their audience through a journey of a clearly defined arietta after which they expect thunderous adoring applause. More often than not singers even ignore the music composed for them and embellish in order to show off with added scales, high tones, and trills despite the composer’s admonishments to stick to the notes on the manuscript.

The entrance aria, the vengeance aria, and the lamenting aria in Handel’s operas can often stop the show. This music begs the audience to interrupt the performance with boisterous cheering. The audience needs this release to share their emotion and admiration. The public is even encouraged to show preference for one singer over another! The sports metaphors abound! It is just like the Olympic Games of old.

This does not happen in Wagner!

Wagner demands the audience wait on the edge of their seats for extended periods of time before they get to share their adulation. The cheers are equally for the singers, conductor, and members of the orchestra. In just over an hour Act 1 of Die Walküre comes to its climactic end of passionate longing and the delaying of gratification with a resounding climax. With the final chords we are ejected from our seats to cheer in unison relief and elation.

Wagner utilizes the singer as an instrumental member of the orchestra. Singers presuming to assail the rough waters of Wagner’s magnificent Flying Dutchman must have stamina, acting ability, declamatory language skills, musical authority, and the research patience of a dramaturg.

Above all else to be a Wagnerian actor-musician-vocalist requires patience when opening the score. Richard Wagner will, when he is good and ready, allow you “joyful elation” only after he has kept you waiting a good long time. In other words? Singers and producers must accept that Mr. Wagner is the star of the performance.

J. Patrick Raftery’s debut was with the San Diego Opera singing Schaunard in La Bohème with Luciano Pavarotti and he was The Richard Tucker Music Foundation Award Winner 1981.

After an international career as a baritone J. Patrick’s operatic tenor repertoire includes the works of Wagner: Tristan, Erik, Parsifal, Siegmund, and he has performed in four different Ring Cycles (Frankfurt, Liege, Wiesbaden, and Seattle).

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

By Richard Wagner

Libretto by Richard Wagner

Opera in 3 Acts

The performance will last approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, plus one 25 minute intermission.

In German with English SurTitlesTM

First performed at Königliches Hoftheater Dresden in 1843.

Costumes designed by Erik Teague

The Flying Dutchman Costumes were built by The Glimmerglass Festival Costume Shop for the 2013 Festival Season.

Conductor Leslie Dala Director Brian Deedrick

CAST IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE

Daland

Richard Wiegold

Steuermann

Scott Rumble

Dutchman

Gregory Dahl

Mary Megan Latham

Senta

Marjorie Owens

Erik Wookyung Kim

With the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and the Vancouver Opera Chorus

Chorus Director/Principal Répétiteur

Tina Chang

Assistant Director

Sawyer Craig

Répétiteur

Richard Epp

Young Artist Répétiteur

Amy Seulky Lee

Costume Designer

Erik Teague

Tattoo Designer

Roberta Doylend

Wigs Designer

Christine Hackman

Scenic Designer

Craig Alfredson

Projection Designer

Wladimiro A. Woyno Rodriguez

Assistant Projection Designer

June Hsu

Associate Animator

Irfan Brkovic

Assistant Content Specialists

Jack Chipman

Anastasiia Vorobiova

Associate Illustrator

Isabelle Romas

Lighting Designer

Gerald King

Assistant Lighting Designer

Jamie Sweeney

Ghost Chorus Sound Engineer

Jack Goodison

English SurTitles™

Sarah Jane Pelzer

Stage Manager

Theresa Tsang

Assistant Stage Managers

Michelle Harrison

Marijka Asbeek Brusse

Apprentice Stage Manager

Rachel Brew

Women in Musical Leadership

Participant Assistant

Jennifer Tung

Helping

ORCHESTRA & CHORUS

ORCHESTRA

Piccolo

Elizabeth McBurney

Flute

Brenda Fedoruk Principal

Anne-Elise Keefer

Oboe

Emma Ringrose Principal

Erin Marks

Clarinet

Mary Backun Principal

Christopher Lee

Bassoon

Ingrid Chiang Principal

Allan Thorpe

Horn

Laurel Spencer Principal

Dawn Haylett Assistant Principal

Nick Anderson

Heather Walker

Steve Denroche

Trumpet

Tom Shorthouse Principal

Jim Littleford (OM)

Trombone

Jeremy Berkman Principal

Jim Tranquilla (SM)

Sharman King

Tuba

David Sabourin Principal

Timpani

Phillip Crewe Principal

Percussion

Lauri Lyster Principal

Harp

Janelle Nadeau Principal

Violin 1

Mark Ferris Concertmaster

Angela Cavadas Associate Concertmaster

Domagoj Ivanovic

Yun Jung

Evelyn Creaser-Rumley

Shang Ko Chan

Heilwig von Koenigsloew

Julia Lim

Peter Krysa

Sarah Westwick

Violin 2

Rebecca Ruthven Principal

Andrea Siradze Assistant Principal

Ken Lin

Ellen Farrugia

Richard Dorfer

Toni Stanick

Anne Stride

Sandra Fiddes

Viola

Tawnya Popoff Principal

Roxi Dykstra Acting Assistant Principal

Reginald Quiring

Marie-Claude Brunet

Mila Tymoshenko

Barbara Irschick

Cello

Rebecca Wenham Principal

Harold Birston

Sue Round

Jake Klinkenborg

Ashton Lim

Bass

Maggie Hasspacher Principal

Michael Vaughan Assistant Principal

Meaghan Williams

Remy Xia

Orchestra Manager

Jim Littleford

CHORUS

Soprano

D’Arcy Blunston

Bette Cosar

Rebecca Collett

Allyson Hop

Aviva Lacterman

Heather Pawsey

Julia Rooney

Szu-Wen Wang

Karen Ydenberg

Mezzo-Soprano

Francesca Corrado

Katie Fraser

Brenda Glass

Katherine Landry Yacht

Lisa-Dawn Markle

Heather Molloy

Megan Morrison

Elena Razlog

Dionne Sellinger

Tenor

Turgut Akmete

Callum Alden

Sergio Augusto

Charles Crossin

William Grossman

Adam Kozak

Brian Kwangmin Lee

Brent MacKenzie

Ian McCloy

Wade Nott

Mark Pepe

Don Wright

Bass/Baritone

Kevin G. Armstrong

Angus Bell

Henry Chen

Jason Cook

Frantz De Rycke

Glenn de Verteuil

Jonathon Dick

Dean Giustini

Kyusik Kim

Willy Miles-Grenzberg

Ed Moran

Zainen Suzuki

Philip Wing

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director of Production

Nicole Lamb

Stage Manager

Theresa Tsang

Assistant Stage Managers

Marijka Asbeek Brusse

Michelle Harrison

Apprentice Stage Manager

Rachel Brew

Head of Properties/ Head Scenic Carpenter

Stephen Elgar

Head Scenic Carpenter/Welder

Philip Piper

Props Assistants

Jesse Orr

Head Paint

Tegan Klancnik

Production Assistants

Elsa Orme

Jack Goodison

COVID Safety Officer

Elsa Orme

Head of Wardrobe

Roberta Doylend

Stitchers/Cutters

Darryl Milot

Lily Yuen

Jennifer Reid

Production Make-Up

Michael Croteau

Production Stage Carpenter

Dale Baratelli

Production Electrician

Dave Marx

Production Video

Franklin Leung

Show Crew

John Allan

Martin Argus

Carlos Avila

Bob Bancroft

Renee Bullock

Scott Ellis

Lillooet Fox

Richard Gould

Kelly Grange

Therese Hartwig

Brenda Hodge

Joel Johnson

Lukas McCormick

Darin McVay

David Page

Vaughn Pease

Mike Phelan

David Raun

Carolyn Reemeyer

Kate Rittenhouse

Phil Schulze

Lily Yuen

THANK YOUS

SFU School for Contemporary Arts

SFU's Precursor Lab

Douglas College

Colleen Bayati

Paige Lindberg

Sean Nieuwenhuis

Yebin Seo

Scene Ideas, Inc.

IATSE 118

Douglas College Students

Rafael Zavala Gonzalez

Erin Grywacheski

Dieu Linh Tran

Vicki Santos

BIOS

LESLIE DALA Conductor

Conductor and pianist Leslie Dala is the Associate Conductor and Chorus Director of Vancouver Opera, the Music Director of the Vancouver Bach Choir and the Music Director Emeritus of the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted in France, Italy, Ireland, the Czech Republic, China, Taiwan, and recently made his debut at Carnegie Hall. In 2021, he reocrded the Complete Piano Etudes of Philip Glass for the Redshift label.

BRIAN DEEDRICK Director

Former Artistic Director of Edmonton Opera, now freelancing in theatre and opera, Brian's work takes him all over Canada and the US, with occasional forays as far afield as Germany, Italy and Israel. For Vancouver Opera, he has directed Turandot and Aida, and now tackles the equally tiny Dutchman. Having hit the magic number of 100+ opera productions, upcoming projects include Mansfield Park, Carmen, and a return to a summer of tour guiding in Berlin.

GREGORY DAHL Dutchman

Gregory Dahl is one of Canada’s most in-demand performers for the works of Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, and Strauss. Dahl has appeared with virtually every Canadian opera company. Internationally, he has sung in Spain, England and in the United States. Equally at home on the concert stage, he has performed from Symphony Nova Scotia to Vancouver Symphony, in some of the most renowned works of the canon. Most recently: Brahms’ German Requiem.

MARJORIE OWENS Senta

American Soprano Marjorie Owens specializes in the spinto and dramatic repertoires, having sung Aida (Metropolitan Opera, Hong Kong), Flying Dutchman (COC, Florence, Dresden), Ariadne (Boston, St Louis), Turandot (COC), Norma (ENO, Athens) and as a member of the Semperoper in Dresden the female leads in: Daphne, Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Trovatore, Don Carlo, Un ballo in maschera, and many others.

WOOKYUNG KIM

Erik

Wookyung Kim studied voice in Seoul and Munich, and won first prize at several competitions including Operalia, Placido Domingo, Francisco Viñas, Belvedere, and Mirjam Helin. He joined the Semperoper Dresden and subsequently launched an international career as a guest artist at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Covent Garden, Munich, Hamburg, and Berlin, performing roles in La traviata, La bohème, Faust, and Rigoletto, among others.

The Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program provides artists—singers, pianists and stage directors—with the opportunity to train with industry leaders through master classes, one-on-one coaching, and performance opportunities as part of a residency program.

vancouveropera.ca/learn/yulanda-m-faris-young-artists-program/

SUPPORTED BY

McGrane-Pearson Endowment Fund, held at Vancouver Foundation; Dr. George Luciuk | Patricia Charles

BIOS

RICHARD WIEGOLD

Daland

This season, Welsh bass Richard Wiegold returns to the role of Daland in Der Fliegende Holländer in his debut with Vancouver Opera. Recent credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Montpellier); Edgar (Scottish Opera); Semiramide (Bilbao); Pelléas et Mélisande (Cincinnati); Madame Butterfly, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Le nozze di Figaro (Welsh National Opera); Tannhäuser (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Das Rheingold (North Carolina Opera); and Tristan und Isolde (Prague State Opera).

MEGAN LATHAM Mary

With a voice that has been described as “clear and honey coloured” (Opera Canada), mezzo-soprano Megan Latham is thrilled to return to Vancouver Opera. The 2022/2023 season saw Megan star as Mother Abbess in Vancouver Arts Club Theatre’s The Sound of Music, and as Marcellina in the Canadian Opera Company’s Le nozze di Figaro. Other recent VO credits include Buttercup (H.M.S. Pinafore) and Filippyevna (Eugene Onegin).

SCOTT RUMBLE

Steuermann

Tenor Scott Rumble is an emerging dramatic talent making his mark on Canadian stages. This season saw multiple reengagements, including with Vancouver Bach Choir (Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis) and VoiceBox: Opera in Concert (Cherubini’s Médée). He also performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Kingston Symphony. Scott is an alumnus of the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program, with company credits including Merry Widow, Faust, and La bohème.

CRAIG ALFREDSON Scenic Designer

Craig is excited to be designing for Vancouver Opera, after having previously worked as interim Technical Director for the company. Craig has worked as a set, lighting, sound and projection designer for many different theatre and dance companies, including Chemainus Theatre, the Firehall Arts Centre, Green Thumb Theatre, and The Arts Club. His designs have been seen on stages across Canada as well as internationally.

ERIK TEAGUE

Costume Design

Originally from Cartersville, Georgia, he is a multi-disciplinary artist with work in opera, theatre, illustration and custom costuming. He has worked with The Atlanta Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Southwest, New Orleans Opera, The Kennedy Center, Washington National Opera, Constellation Theatre, and Synetic Theater. He has received a Helen Hayes Award, two Suzy Bass Awards, and is a two-time KCACTF National winner.

BIOS BIOS

GERALD KING Lighting Design

Vancouver-based lighting designer Gerald King has designed extensively for a variety of theatres across North America. He works regularly with Vancouver Opera and was most recently lighting designer on The Merry Widow, Othello, Dead Man Walking, Faust and Evita. He has worked with Bard on the Beach, The Grand Theatre, National Arts Centre, Theatre Calgary, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Citadel, Arts Club and Kokoro Dance.

WLADIMIRO A. WOYNO RODRIGUEZ Projection Design

Wladimiro is a live performance designer and technologist with experience spanning contemporary theatre, opera, dance, concerts, and time-based installations. His work explores performance designs that engage the sensory imagination. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, he holds an MFA in Design from Yale School of Drama and a BFA in Theatre Design from The University of British Columbia. He teaches at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts.

Director/Principal Répétiteur

Described as a “scintillating player,” pianist and coach Tina Chang is on the music staff at Vancouver Opera. Based in Vancouver, she has been involved with various musical organizations in town: Chor Leoni, Sound the Alarm Music Theatre, re:Naissance Opera, and Health Arts Society. She is currently adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia, and on faculty at the Vancouver Academy of Music.

RICHARD EPP

Répétiteur

Richard Epp is a Vancouver-based vocal coach, pianist and conductor. He was senior opera coach for the Opera Workshop at UBC and a sessional instructor in the School of Music. At UBC he has conducted Serse, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Hänsel und Gretel, Der Fledermaus, Weisse Rose and two world premieres, among others. He was a pianist for VO's Resident Artist Program and was on the faculty at the Vancouver Academy of Music.

Répétiteur

Amy Seulky Lee holds a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of British Columbia. Amy made her debut with the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra in 2010 and has since performed in concerts across Canada, the United States, South Korea, and Italy. She served as music director for Summer Opera Lyric Theatre and Malfi Productions.

TINA CHANG

Chorus

AMY SEULKY LEE

Inspiring youth through the arts.

By supporting arts programs like Vancouver Opera in Schools, together, we’re nurturing the hearts and minds of youth and improving arts education across the Lower Mainland.

Since 2004, the David Spencer Endowment Encouragement Fund has been investing in emerging artists at Vancouver Opera, providing a boost for many artists training to become professional performers.

We sincerely thank the DSEEF Trustees for their role in helping VO become a focal point for young artists training in Canada.

In this production of The Flying Dutchman, we recognize Scott Rumble as a David Spencer Artist.

BIOS

BIOS

THERESA TSANG Stage Manager

In addition to her over 25 seasons with Vancouver Opera, Theresa is a member of the stage management teams for Wexford Festival Opera in Ireland and Garsington Opera in the UK. She has also been a long-time Faculty Stage Manager for the opera programmes at the Banff Centre, a guest lecturer for UBC’s Theatre Department, and guest stage manager for UBC’s opera department.

SAWYER CRAIG Assistant Director

Sawyer Craig is a colourful, versatile artist hailing from Edmonton, Alberta. She's been praised as a “standout” performer (Edmonton Journal), “particularly radiant in coloratura passages” (Opera Canada). At home on stage or at the director’s table, Sawyer is committed to telling stories in vibrant, collaborative, and inclusive ways. Sawyer holds performance degrees from UBC, the University of Manitoba, and McGill. When not at the theatre, she can often be found playing tabletop RPGs and talking to her cat.

Assistant Lighting Design

Jamie Sweeney is a Vancouverbased lighting designer and theatre collaborator. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Production and Design from Simon Fraser University. She is thrilled to be assisting on her first season with Vancouver Opera.

JUNE HSU

Assistant Projection Design

June is an interdisciplinary theatre artist passionate in all aspects of sound, set, and video. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada –the unceded and stolen territories of the xwməθkwəy əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl ílwətaɬ Nations, some of her works include, sound designing for Selfie with rice & beans theatre and FOLDA, projection and sound designing for Big Queer Filipino Karaoke Night!, and collaborating on Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Romeo and Juliet shadow projection performance.

JENNIFER TUNG Assistant Conductor WML Participant*

Conductor Jennifer Tung leads a uniquely versatile career as a music director, collaborative pianist, and soprano. She is Artistic Director of Toronto City Opera, Assistant Conductor of Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, and was named a conducting fellow with Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership Program*. Jennifer serves on the faculty at Toronto’s prestigious Glenn Gould School of Music, and is a sought-after faculty member for summer programs internationally.

JAMIE SWEENEY

CREATIVITY UNLEASHED

JULY 4–7

This year Vancouver Opera is extending the way that children and youth can engage with the arts with three exciting possibilities:

FINDING YOUR VOICE AGES 5–7

RAISE YOUR VOICE – JUNIOR CAMP AGES 8–16

SHARE YOUR VOICE – YOUTH ASSEMBLY AGES 15–18

LEARN MORE: vancouveropera.ca/learn/summer-camp

BIOS BIOS

MICHELLE HARRISON

Assistant Stage Manager

Michelle has worked in stage management with Pacific Opera Victoria and Vancouver Opera on such productions as For a Look or a Touch, Orfeo ed Euridice, The Barber of Seville, and The Music Shop (Canadian premiere). Theatre credits include The Sound of Music and Kinky Boots (Arts Club) and the Jessie award-winning production of Whose Life Is It Anyway? (Realwheels). She is a graduate of UBC.

MARIJKA ASBEEK BRUSSE

Assistant Stage Manager

Marijka has enjoyed working on dozens of Vancouver Opera productions over the past decade, as well as at Pacific Opera Victoria, Touchstone Theatre, The Arts Club, Canadian Stage, The Belfry Theatre, and as a Faculty stage manager at the Banff Centre’s Opera program in 2019. Marijka has a BFA from UBC Theatre Production & Design, where she also taught stage management for seven seasons.

RACHEL BREW

Apprentice Stage Manager

Rachel (She/Her) is a Stage Manager and Technician currently working and living in Vancouver. Selected theatre credits include 90 Days (Western Gold Theatre), Yaga (Touchstone Theatre Company), New Societies (Rumble Theatre), Catalina La O: Now With Me (Queer Arts Festival). Rachel also has experience from the UK at Sheffield Theatres, Only Lucky Dogs, Edinburgh Fringe Festival and others.

Great Opera lives here.

We are pleased to support Vancouver Opera and the artists that are captivating audiences with exciting, innovative, and entertaining productions.

Deloitte is proud to be the Community Dress Rehearsal Sponsor.

Partnerships and Engagement at Vancouver Opera connects with our community.

Partnerships and Engagement at VO encompasses a wide variety of community and school-based programming intended to deepen and enrich our audience’s engagement and understanding of our art form.

Seminars for teachers and students on the history and topics raised in our operas.

Project Opera allows students to create their own opera from scratch, guided by Vancouver Opera’s teaching artists.

Opera 101 an online course designed to deepen adult understanding of opera.

Opera Speaks a series of scintillating panel discussions that push the boundaries of what opera can be.

Inside Vancouver Opera a unique podcast that digs deep into our productions and the lives of the composers.

Vancouver Opera in Schools brings fully staged productions right to students in school.

Community events and partnerships with Vancouver Public Library, Vancouver International Film Festival and other organizations to expand the reach of opera.

Find out more at vancouveropera.ca/learn/

PHOTO: TEACHING ARTIST NICHOLAS BURNS SHARES HIS LOVE OF OPERA AND OFFERS TIPS FOR SURREY SCHOOL DISTRICT’S MUSIC TEACHERS IN A RECENT SESSION.

“Sensational

"arguably

"without

EVERY DONATION MATTERS—AND SO DOES EVERY DONOR.

From the smallest contributions right up to enduring major gifts, our community’s support is what allows us to continue presenting world-class opera right here in Vancouver.

Visit our website to donate online quickly and easily. No matter the amount, it makes a difference. Thank you!

VO IS PROUD TO BRING OPERA TO SCHOOLS WITH PROJECT OPERA

The magic of opera comes to the classroom! In this fun and highly interactive program, elementary school children work with VO artists and teachers to design and deliver an opera of their very own. Wherever the inspiration comes from—a book they love, a bit of local history, the wonders of nature—Project Opera helps kids create unforgettable experiences in song and story.

STUDENTS FROM GRANDVIEW ELEMENTARY PARTICIPATE PROUDLY IN PROJECT OPERA.

Find out more at vancouveropera.ca/learn

VANCOUVER OPERA GUILD 2023 ESCORTED OPERA TOURS

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN OPERA TOUR | March 24—31, 2023 —SOLD OUT—

BERLIN, DRESDEN, PRAGUE AND VIENNA | May 3—14, 2023 —SOLD OUT—

OPERA IN SANTA FE | August 6—13, 2023 —LIMITED AVAILABILITY—

Tour includes airfare, accommodation at the Inn of the Governors, five operas and sightseeing tours.

• Tosca (Pucvcini) with Angel Blue and Freddie De Tommaso

• Rusalka (Dvořák) with Ailyn Pérez, Robert Watson and James Creswell

• Pelléas et Mélisande (Debussy) with Huw Montague Rendall, Samantha Hankey and Susan Graham

• The Flying Dutchman (Wagner) with Nicholas Brownlee and Elza van den Heever

• Orfeo (Monteverdi) with Rolando Villazón and Paula Murrihy

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL

Lis Dawson at 604-922-8008

Genny MacLean (Great Expeditions) at 604-738-5535

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

SEASON SPONSORS

SEASON PATRONS

COMMUNITY

WITH CONTINUING SUPPORT FROM

CORPORATE GIVING

We are proud to partner with organizations who want to lend their support for arts and culture in our community. Our corporate sponsors help us create exceptional opera experiences while also building their own brand visibility. Interested in sharing your organization’s story?

PRODUCTION SPONSOR

OPENING NIGHT SPONSOR

Reach out to our team at development@vancouveropera.ca

Yoshiko Karasawa | Martha Lou Henley, c.m.

ALAN AND GWENDOLINE PYATT FOUNDATION

DRESS REHEARSAL SPONSOR Deloitte

Chris Gailus

Sophie Lui

VANCOUVER OPERA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair

Susan Van der Flier

Vice Chair

Richard Rees

Treasurer

Roger Flowerdew

Secretary

Krista Johanson

Mass Abedi

Human Alghabi

Catherine Dangerfield

Shaun Dolman

Joshua Hutchinson

Kirk LaPointe

Pierre Lebel

Maria Leone

Jessica Macintosh

Jennifer Muench

Jan Sampson

Stanis Smith

Carol Tsuyuki

Alexi White

Andrea Wood

President, Vancouver

Opera Guild

Nancy Wu

VANCOUVER OPERA FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Chair

Paul McEwen

Treasurer and Secretary

Jim MacCallum

Jill Bodkin

Jake Boxer

Neil Carnell

Roger Flowerdew

Yuri Fulmer

Emily Mackinnon

Jennifer Muench

Terry Pask

Richard Rees

Susan Van der Flier

VANCOUVER OPERA STAFF

General Director

Tom Wright

Music Director Emeritus

Jonathan Darlington

Director of Marketing

Jonathan Harrison

Director of Development

Kayleigh Harrison

Director of Production

Nicole Lamb

Chief Financial Officer

Jacqui Evans-Atkinson

ARTISTIC PLANNING

Company Manager

Georgina Morales

Associate Conductor and Chorus Director

Leslie Dala

Assistant Chorus Director and Principal Répétiteur

Tina Chang

Orchestra/Stage Manager

Jim Tranquilla

Music Librarian

Tom Shorthouse

PRODUCTION

Production Assistant/Building Manager

Elsa Orme

Head of Properties

Stephen Elgar

Head of Wardrobe

Roberta Doylend

Stage Manager

Theresa Tsang

Assistant Stage Managers

Marijka Asbeek Brusse

Michelle Harrison

Apprentice Stage Manager

Rachel Brew

DEVELOPMENT

Manager, Major Gifts

Lauren Watson Manager, Grants and Proposals

Kseniia Gorlevaia Coordinator, Development Operations

Hazel Yeung

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Accounting and Payroll Manager

William Murgatroyd

Office Services Administrator

Jennifer Pipe

MARKETING

Creative Director

Annie Mack

Marketing Manager

Keltie Laidlaw

Database and Ticket

Centre Manager

Tracey Flattes

Ticket Centre Associate

Charlene Hibbard

Social Media Specialist

Lucas Bertoli

Senior Communications Advisor

Stephen Lyons

Publicist

Cynnamon Schreinert

Program Ad Sales

Jennifer Lee

PARTNERSHIPS AND ENGAGEMENT

Senior Manager, Partnerships, Engagement, and EDI

Ashley Daniel Foot Coordinator

Vincent Huynh

Senior Teaching Artist

Eve-Lyn de la Haye

Teaching Artists

Nicholas Burns

Holly Collis Handford

Kris Epps

Peter Abando

Jane Potter

Roger Carr Intern

Mack McGillivray

YULANDA M. FARIS

YOUNG ARTISTS PROGRAM

Program Director

Leslie Dala Coach

Tina Chang

McKenzie Warriner, Soprano

Hillary Tufford, Mezzo-Soprano

Jeremy Scinocca, Tenor

Luka Kawabata, Baritone

Amy Seulky Lee, Pianist

Sawyer Craig, Director

“Recognized internationally for its prize winning students and sought after graduates.”

Vancouver Sun

Featuring Marcin Kupinski of the Royal Danish Ballet

DONOR SPOTLIGHT

Richard and Elise Rees Production Sponsors, The Pearl Fishers

Richard Rees is a long-time member of both Opera Round Table and Vancouver Opera’s board of directors. An avid music enthusiast, Richard has visited many opera performances around the world, notably the Opéra national de Paris, the Arena di Verona Opera Festival, Puccini Festival in Tuscany… and right here at Vancouver Opera, ever since watching his first production of Carmen in 1986.

Despite having visited the opera for many years, Richard admittedly fell in love with opera only recently. As he puts it, “few shows truly captured my imagination, but the staging, music, and performances in Vancouver Opera’s production of Nixon in China in 2010 were spectacular… the music was mesmerizing.” He recalls sitting in the first row of the theatre, dazzled by the airplane and soldiers on stage, and was transformed that night by opera’s unique ability to combine the worlds of music, singing, and theatre. Richard was also astonished by Vancouver Opera’s Orfeo ed Euridice — he enjoyed it so much that he even flew all the way to San Francisco to watch their production of the opera shortly after.

Richard is optimistic about Vancouver Opera’s future. With sold-out performances at A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he describes that, “it was very heartening to see audiences return since the pandemic.” Richard is also grateful to see Vancouver Opera’s resilience, and is looking forward to watching the organization evolve. He is most excited about the idea of someday seeing Vancouver Opera head up construction of its own opera house and centre — something that would support an even more vibrant Vancouver arts scene. Although it could be a challenge, Richard believes that Vancouver Opera is headed in an exciting direction, and that this type of bold undertaking is well within the realm of possibility.

PATRON INFORMATION

PREVIEW TALKS

Learn more about the Vancouver Opera production you’re about to see at our complimentary Preview Talks. A great added value to your VO ticket, and an opportunity to gain insight into the performance, Preview Talks are offered an hour before every performance. Led by an expert, topics range from the composer’s life and repertoire, to historical context about the work, to more details about the artists involved with the production. Each talk lasts approximately 25 minutes.

ACCESSIBILITY

Elevators in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre parkade provide patron access to street level and the main entrances of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the Vancouver Playhouse. There also is a driveway for taxis and pick-up/drop-off for patrons with physical needs.

Seating for patrons using wheelchairs is available on the orchestra and mezzanine levels of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, and on the orchestra level of the Vancouver Playhouse. Elevator access is available from each of the theatre’s main lobby to the upper levels. For more information, please call the VO Ticket Centre.

Patrons who are hard-of-hearing may borrow Sennheiser Infrared Hearing System headsets for any performance, free of charge. Headsets are available at the theatre coat check. This system was made possible through the generous donation of Wolverton Securities Limited and the Vancouver Foundation.

ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Please silence all electronic devices when entering the theatre, so as not to disrupt the performance.

LATECOMERS

To avoid disrupting the performance, latecomers may not be seated once the show has started. If possible, they will be ushered to their seats at the first appropriate break.

PERFORMANCE ETIQUETTE

In consideration of other patrons and the performers, please refrain from rustling programs, unwrapping candy or whispering during the performance. Given some people’s allergies, we also ask patrons to avoid wearing perfume or other scented products.

Patrons are requested to speak to a Vancouver Opera or Civic Theatres representative at intermission in the case of any disturbance or discomfort during a performance.

RECORDINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS

Any recording (video, audio) or photographs of VO performances are strictly prohibited without the permission of Vancouver Opera. We welcome you to take photos of the curtain call and share using the hashtag #theflyingdutchman

PARKING

Parking is available at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre parkade, located off Cambie Street between West Georgia and Dunsmuir Streets. Accessible parking is available with an accessible parking decal. Parking is limited, so plan to arrive early.

TICKET SERVICES

Purchases

A variety of subscription packages as well as single tickets can be purchased online through the VO’s website or by calling the VO Ticket Centre.

Visit, write or call: VO Ticket Centre, 1945 McLean Drive, Vancouver T: 604 683 0222 | E: tickets@vancouveropera.ca vancouveropera.ca/tickets

Hours of operation: Monday—Friday, 9AM—5PM

Exchanges and Lost Tickets

Please contact the Ticket Centre directly with any questions about exchanging and/or replacing tickets.

Print your tickets at home!

Vancouver Opera now offers an easy, convenient way to get your tickets immediately after purchasing a VO ticket or subscription package.

With a valid email address, you can receive your e-tickets directly to your inbox, whether you purchase tickets online or through the VO Ticket Centre. You can get your tickets sooner and avoid waiting in line at the theatre before the performance.

PRIVACY

Vancouver Opera is committed to protecting your privacy. For information on VO’s patron privacy policy, please visit our website: vancouveropera.ca.

Book by Douglas McGrath

Words and Music by Gerry Goffin & Carole King   Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil Music by Arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing Orchestrations, Vocal and Incidental Music Arrangements by Steve Sidwell canadian premiere production

Starts Jun 8

stanley industrial alliance stage

presenting sponsor

39!

Book by Colin Escott & Floyd Mutrux

Original concept and direction by Floyd Mutrux

Inspired by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis & Carl Perkins

Starts Jun 22

granville island stage

presenting sponsor

stanley industrial alliance stage

granville island stage

newmont stage at the bmo theatre centre

kaylee harwood; photo by dahlia katz