THE TALES OF HOFFMANN, SEMELE, et.al. Set for Canadian Opera Company

THE TALES OF HOFFMANN, SEMELE, and more are set for upcoming performances with the Canadian Opera Company.

The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach
9 performances: April 10, 14, 18, 21, 27, May 3, 6, 8, 14, 2012
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

The opening of the Canadian Opera Company’s spring season sparkles as Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann returns to the COC for the first time since 1988. The opera follows the poet Hoffmann, a writer of fantastical fables, as he spins dark reminiscences of his failed attempts to find love. One of the most exciting talents on the international opera scene today, American tenor Russell Thomas makes his COC debut in the title role. Also appearing as Hoffmann, for two performances, is COC Ensemble Studio graduate tenor David Pomeroy who recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut in this role. Hoffmann’s three would-be loves are portrayed by a group of outstanding sopranos: Canadian Andriana Chuchman (COC debut); Canadian Erin Wall, recently seen at the COC in Love from Afar; and American Keri Alkema (COC debut). Acclaimed Canadian bass-baritone John Relyea makes his company debut as Hoffmann’s four nemeses, and COC Ensemble graduate mezzo-soprano Lauren Segal returns as Hoffmann’s companion Nicklausse and The Muse. Leading the COC Orchestra and Chorus through Offenbach’s rich, melodic masterpiece is COC Music Director Johannes Debus. He is joined by British director Lee Blakeley, who comes to the COC on the heels of acclaimed productions for Minnesota Opera, Santa Fe Opera and Théâtre du Châtelet.

Single tickets for The Tales of Hoffmann are $12 – $318 (specially priced $22 tickets are available for people under the age of 30). Tickets are available online at coc.ca, by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A Florentine Tragedy by Alexander Zemlinsky & Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini
8 performances: April 26, May 2, 5, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 2012
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

The COC’s spring season continues with a double bill of darkly witty, one-act operas: Alexander Zemlinsky’s A Florentine Tragedy (Canadian premiere) and Giacomo Puccini’s comic Gianni Schicchi. Zemlinsky’s satiric work is based on an unfinished Oscar Wilde play that tells the tale of a merchant who discovers his wife’s affair with the Prince of Florence. Part two of the double bill is Puccini’s tour-de-force comedy in which family members frantically scheme to benefit their own greed when excluded from a wealthy relative’s will. Bass-baritone Alan Held makes his COC debut in the lead roles of Simone (A Florentine Tragedy) and Gianni Schicchi, the street-smart peasant hired to find a way around the will. German soprano Gun-Brit Barkmin makes her COC debut as Simone’s wife Bianca in A Florentine Tragedy and as Nella in Gianni Schicchi. German-Canadian tenor Michael König makes his first appearance with the company to portray the prince at the heart of A Florentine Tragedy. Rounding out the cast of Gianni Schicchi is COC Ensemble soprano Simone Osborne as Gianni’s daughter Lauretta; tenor René Barbera making his company debut as Rinuccio, Lauretta’s love; mezzo-soprano Barbara Dever returning as the scheming Zita; Ensemble graduate tenor Adam Luther is Gherardo; and bass Donato DiStefano is Simone, the patriarch of the family. The double bill is presented in a new production by Catherine Malfitano, one of the world’s most celebrated sopranos who has an acclaimed directing career. Returning to conduct this pair of operas is maestro Sir Andrew Davis, whose company debut last year with Ariadne auf Naxos was met with nightly standing ovations.

Single tickets for A Florentine Tragedy/Gianni Schicchi are $12 – $318 (specially priced $22 tickets are available for people under the age of 30). Tickets are available online at coc.ca, by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Semele by George Frideric Handel
8 performances: May 9, 11, 13, 16, 19, 22, 24, 26, 2012
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

The COC’s 2011/2012 season closes with a production of George Frideric Handel’s Semele. A COC premiere and the first Handel opera to be performed at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Semele is directed and designed by famed visual artist Zhang Huan, who incorporates a 450-year-old Ming Dynasty temple, transplanted directly from China, as the centrepiece of this production. The New York Times has called this production “scenically stunning, theatrically absorbing, musically rewarding” and “a feast for the eyes.” Melding Handel’s retelling of the myth about the ill-fated love affair between the god Jupiter and the mortal princess Semele with ancient Chinese myths and legends, director Zhang Huan has blended a Baroque aesthetic with the splendour of China. As Semele, Canadian coloratura soprano Jane Archibald returns to the company after her COC debut in last year’s Ariadne auf Naxos. She leads a cast that includes American tenor William Burden as Jupiter and COC Ensemble Studio graduate mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy as both Jupiter’s jealous wife, Juno, and Semele’s sister, Ino. Italian Baroque opera specialist Rinaldo Alessandrini makes his COC debut conducting the COC Orchestra and Chorus.

Single tickets for Semele are $12 – $318 (specially priced $22 tickets are available for people under the age of 30). Tickets are available online at coc.ca, by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Ensemble Studio Performance of
Semele by George Frideric Handel
One performance only
May 23, 2012
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

Experience the exciting young singers of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio as they perform Handel’s Semele on May 23, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. on the mainstage. This special performance stars Ensemble members Mireille Asselin and Ambur Braid, two sopranos sharing the role of Semele, along with tenor Christopher Enns as Jupiter and mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb as both Jupiter’s jealous wife, Juno, and Semele’s sister, Ino. The young artists perform with the full COC Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Semele’s conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini and director Zhang Huan.

Since 1980, the Ensemble Studio has been fostering the development of opera in Canada as the country’s premier training program for young opera professionals. Among its many graduates are some of today’s most esteemed performers, including Isabel Bayrakdarian, Ben Heppner and Joseph Kaiser.

Tickets for the Ensemble Studio performance of Semele are accessibly priced at $22 and $55 per person and are available online at coc.ca, by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.