>>PREVIEW
CALGARY OPERA 2006-2007 SEASON
Sustaining success, such as Calgary Opera is currently experiencing, is difficult, but based on its recently announced 2006-07 season, the company knows what to do for an encore.
Seasoned and novice fans will clamour for tickets to hear celebrated American soprano Renée Fleming. Her one-night-only concert in May with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra will be directed by internationally acclaimed British conductor Bramwell Tovey. Both of their reputations will draw classical music devotees into the competition for tickets.
Fleming’s sensual interpretations, versatility in traditional repertoire, commanding presence and passion for new music are responsible for her current superstar status. Her innate talent and years of honing her skills make for stunning, risky vocal artistry.
The 2006-07 opera season opens with Rossini’s Cinderella in November, with mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore as the fairy tale heroine, and stage directed by Glynis Leyshon, artistic director of the Vancouver Playhouse. With a resumé that includes all the major American opera companies, Lattimore’s opulent tone is described by one critic as being "in full, fragrant and provocative bloom."
January sees the world premiere of Frobisher, inspired by the explorer Martin Frobisher. This is the second opera by collaborators librettist John Murrell and composer John Estacio, and the second co-commission by The Banff Centre and Calgary Opera. Their first opera, Filumena, debuted in 2003, catapulting the new team and producers into national prominence in the opera world, with the Edmonton Opera production having recently aired on national television.
Soprano Laura Whalen, who set the standard for the role of Filumena, will take the lead in the (as yet) unfinished opera. It bridges 400 years and two continents in pursuit of the separate but connected dreams of a long-dead explorer and a contemporary filmmaker. Stage director Kelly Robinson, the original director of Filumena, will bring his interpretive skills to Frobisher. The production also reunites Kimberley Barber and Elizabeth Turnbull, who recently starred in Calgary Opera’s Dead Man Walking.
Georges Bizet’s fiery Carmen will attract traditional opera lovers, but it also acts as a good introduction for newcomers. The last Calgary Opera production of this tragic love story had a risky, contemporary flair – and that was eight seasons ago.
Allyson McHardy, a dusky, velvety mezzo-soprano, will take the title role. A Canadian who is making her mark on the opera stages of America, she recently debuted in Europe, where critics have found her "a mezzo of the old school, who combines vocal endowments, artistic cunning and theatrical panache in roughly equal measures."
And watch for emerging bass-baritone Taras Kulich, whose large vocal and dramatic range will be on display in both Cinderella and Carmen. |
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