STEAMPUNK OPERA
After an absence of seven long years, fully staged opera is returning to FirstOntario Concert Hall.
Next week, for one night only on Thursday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m., BrottOpera will mount a cornerstone of the standard repertoire, Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” trucking in a “steampunk” production staged five years ago in Pollack Hall by Opera McGill in collaboration with Boris Brott’s McGill Chamber Orchestra.
“It was hugely successful,” tooted Brott of that 2013 “Flute.” “So, we brought the whole production from Montreal, and the director Patrick Hansen is coming with it, and the whole costume team, etcetera. So, in a sense, we’ve been able to economize a bit on setting up a full production by ourselves.”
Photos of that production show Hansen’s steampunk setting to be a time traveller’s fantasy in which dark goggles mingle with top hats and Victorian or Edwardian-era dress, a mash-up where the past and the retro-future collide in the present.
“This whole steampunk thing gives it a really interesting kind of fun twist,” said Brott. “The sets are largely projections. What
the producers have attempted to do is capture some of that magic. It will really take the audience on a trip.”
A trip all the way to the Queen of the Night’s frozen surroundings (hmm, Hoth, anyone?) where Prince Tamino, magic flute in hand, and the birdcatcher Papageno, silver bells in hand, musical instruments courtesy of three ladies in her majesty’s service, search for her kidnapped daughter, Princess Pamina.
Approximately 300 singers auditioned for Brott and BrottOpera co-artistic director Taras Kulish last December in Montréal, Toronto and New York for 13 available spots.
“It’s an arduous process. It’s not easy for anyone,” said Brott
of the auditions. “Each singer is allotted about 10 minutes which means about eight minutes roughly by the time they get in, say hello, and hand in their CV. It’s amazing what you can tell in eight minutes.”
Yet, when all of those auditions were done, Brott and Kulish were left casting about for a suitable Queen of the Night. The name of an established Canadian coloratura soprano with the role in her back pocket was bandied about before Hansen recommended American coloratura Holly Flack. A further 13 singers were accepted as members of the BrottOpera Chorus under Norman Reintamm. A batch of them will also be understudies.
“We were looking for the best singers available, the best singers who wanted to do this project,” said Brott, who estimated that 85 per cent of the cast is Canadian.
In addition to Flack, the cast includes, among others, Langley, British Columbia-born soprano Anne-Marie MacIntosh as Pamina and Toronto-based tenor Zachary Rioux as Tamino.
“The Magic Flute” will be given entirely in English. Brott and his National Academy Orchestra will be in the pit. Tickets are $55, senior $50, Brott35 $25, and student $20.
This past Saturday morning in The Church of St. John the Evangelist on Locke Street, the BrottOpera cast attended a masterclass with soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, who’ll be the star attraction in the Brott Music Festival’s “Viva Verdi!” concert in FirstOntario Concert Hall on Sept. 27.
That served as a good, mini tune-up for the BMF’s PopOpera gala tonight, Thursday, July 12 at 7:30 p.m. in FirstOntario Concert Hall. Brott and his NAO accompanying the cast of 13 in selections by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Bernstein, and others. Tickets: $44, senior $39, Brott35 $25, student $15. Call 905-525-7664.
Sunday, July 15 at 7 p.m. in Fieldcote Memorial Park, 64 Sulphur Springs Rd., Ancaster, Music at Fieldcote and the BMF present pianist Valerie Tryon in Richard Addinsell’s “Warsaw Concerto” with the NAO under guest conductor Martin MacDonald. The “All the Old Familiar Places” bill also includes such nostalgic faves as “I’ll Be Seeing You,” “The White Cliffs of Dover,” and others. Flyovers of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s vintage Chipmunk, Tiger Moth, and Stearman aircraft subject to crew, plane and weather conditions. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. In case of inclement weather, the concert will shift to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian. Donation: $5.
Leonard Turnevicius writes about classical music for The Hamilton Spectator. leonardturnevicius@gmail.com Special to The Hamilton Spectator