Opera Atelier Presents 'Together/Apart: A Virtual Showcase From Around The Globe'

Opera Atelier has announced Together/Apart - a one-hour virtual showcase of music and dance to connect, uplift, and inspire - featuring an all-star line-up of Opera Atelier's longstanding and audience-favourite artists from around the globe, Wednesday, May 20 at 8pm EST, streaming at OperaAtelier.com. All 14 artists on the program have personally curated their performance selections with an eye to sharing the joy and power of the creative experience during this extraordinary time.

"The arts provide a powerful source of emotional and spiritual support in times of crisis," says Marshall Pynkoski C.M., Co-Artistic Director, Opera Atelier. "Opera Atelier realizes just how vulnerable people are when separated from the artists they love, just when they need them the most. And while nothing can replicate the vigour of a live performance, our hope is to provide a virtual concert experience that connects and moves our beloved community situated around the world."

Programmed to appeal to the broadest audience possible, Together/Apart's luminary line-up will include Soprano Measha Brueggergosman singing Mozart, Broadway star Laird Mackintosh performing "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera, Mezzo-Soprano Wallis Giunta singing "Non so più" from The Marriage of Figaro, and Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt performing Rameau dances. Artist of Atelier Ballet Juri Hiraoka will perform baroque choreography created specifically for this unifying event, choreographed by Opera Atelier's Co-Artistic Director Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, and Artist of Atelier Ballet Xi Yi will showcase the spectacular Crane Dance, created for his graduate performance from the world famous Beijing Academy.

"Just like the best baroque theatre, we hope Together/Apart will move our audience with repertoire that is heartwarming, with themes that make them laugh, and with themes that reduce them (or as Cocteau would say; "enlarge them") to tears," explains Lajeunesse Zingg C.M.

Co-Artistic Directors Pynkoski and Lajeunesse Zingg will host Opera Atelier's virtual celebration from their own living room in Toronto - introducing and connecting audiences to the artists they love and admire. Audiences can also expect a special guest appearance by Toronto's own Mayor John Tory.

The complete line-up for Together/Apart will include:

1. Bass-Baritone Douglas Williams - Berlin
2. Mezzo-Soprano Mireille Lebel - Vancouver
3. Artist of Atelier Ballet Xi Yi - Toronto
4. Mezzo-Soprano Wallis Giunta - Leeds
5. Soprano Meghan Lindsay - Quebec
6. Mezzo-Soprano Allyson McHardy - Toronto
7. Artist of Atelier Ballet Juri Hiraoka - Toronto
8. Soprano Melody Louledjian - Marseilles
9. Baritone Laird Mackintosh - New York
10. Soprano Measha Brueggergosman - Nova Scotia
11. Violinist/Composer Edwin Huizinga - California
12. Pianist Angela Hewitt - London
13. Tenor Colin Ainsworth - Toronto
14. Soprano Karine White - Toronto

Artistic Directors - Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg
Art Director - Gerard Gauci
Video Editor - Marcel Canzona
Together/Apart Music Director - Christopher Bagan

'Together/Apart: Opera Atelier's Virtual Showcase from Around the Globe' will premiere Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at 8pm EST. It will be streamed for free at OperaAtelier.com