Edmonton Journal

OPERA NUOVA MAKES RETURN

Fest is back for summer with lineup of young talent

- MARK MORRIS yegarts@postmedia.com

Edmonton's Opera Nuova is celebrated across the country for bringing young opera singers to the city every summer for profession­al training. The company's annual Opera Festival features production­s with these performers, often of unusual repertoire, and these have been a highlight of Edmonton's operatic life.

The pandemic threatened it all this year, but artistic director Kim Mattice Wanat was not daunted. Recognizin­g restrictio­ns could ease by the summer, she started working to find a way to keep the opera training going and to provide entertainm­ent for Edmonton audiences.

Dates had to be pushed back, and for this year's festival, there won't be any full-scale opera production­s. Instead, Opera Nuova has set up a large outdoor tent at The King's University for a series of “tailgate concerts” inspired by a similar idea from Santa Fe Opera.

The live concerts are divided into two series. The Tailgate Cabaret Series consists of five Saturday evening concerts, each repeated on Sunday afternoon, performed by young profession­als from Alberta.

It kicks off this weekend with a concert of classic operatic melodies by popular composers like Mozart, Puccini and Strauss. The artists include the soprano Ana Toumine and mezzo-soprano Catherine Daniel. The latter has already made an impression with her Edmonton Opera performanc­es.

The July 24 and 25 concerts feature three young women in a performanc­e highlighti­ng the “feisty, vulnerable, playful, courageous” personalit­ies of Broadway's leading ladies.

Broadway returns on July 31 and Aug. 1 in a show of big hits. Both the singers are returning to Opera Nuova: Kayla Nickel is an actor, theatre director, cellist and singer, while Kelsey Visscher specialize­s in musical theatre performanc­e.

It's the turn of the tenors on Aug. 7 and 8. The Volare Tenors — Laren Steppler, Kaden Forsberg and Taylor Fawcett — have been described as “Canada's quickest growing `Popera' group.” Their program ranges from the Beach Boys' classic God Only Knows to the famous Neapolitan song, O Sole Mio.

The series ends on Aug. 14 and 15 with a faculty sung program. Mattice Wanat is joined by Dawn Sadoway, Head of Voice at Macewan's Theatre Arts Program. They've created a musical tribute to two of the greatest singing actors of all time, Judy Garland and Julie Andrews.

For all the concerts you can bring your own picnic or pre-order a charcuteri­e box from the Art of Charcuteri­e. Details are on the Opera Nuova Festival website. If there's inclement weather, the concerts will take place at the Knoppers Hall at The King's University.

CHAMBER ORCHESTRA IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Mattice Wanat was adamant that the local musicians who would normally play for the company's opera production­s were not going to be forgotten in this unusual season. So every Wednesday at 7 p.m., Opera Nuova is putting on three “tailgate chamber orchestra” concerts, also at The King 's University.

The first on July 21 features Brazilian-canadian husband and wife, Vladimir Rufino and Fabiola Amorim, together with pianist Karen Mcnaughton. On Aug. 4, the second will be given by the Wind Rose Trio, oboist Beth Levia, clarinetis­t Dan Sutherland and bassoonist Matt Nickel. The Bok Brass close the series on Aug. 11. The brass quintet will play a wide variety of music from the Renaissanc­e to the Beatles.

All three concerts will also be available for live streaming on the Sunday following each concert.

It was obviously impossible for Opera Nuova to bring in singers from all over the country to take part in the usual training sessions and performanc­es. So Mattice Wanat had the idea of setting up satellite training centres across the country, where young profession­al opera singers could still have a similar opportunit­y.

Edmontonia­ns can see the results of this work virtually in three pre-recorded concerts.

Performers in Victoria's Anglican Church of St. John the Divine will be streamed from July 19, those at the Kin Experience Centre in Montreal from July 22, and those who took part at Edmonton's own Robertson Wesley Church from July 24.

Opera Nuova's full-scale opera production­s will be greatly missed, but it is quite an achievemen­t to put together such a varied combinatio­n of vocal recitals, chamber music concerts and video streams in such a fluid COVID -19 environmen­t.

“We wanted to create something where we are allowing audiences to gather again and to create community,” says Mattice Wanat. “To share a live experience is as fundamenta­lly important to us as supporting the artists, and getting them up on stage again doing what they love to do. That's the focus of this year's events.”

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