The Dora Mavor Moore Awards, an annual ceremony honouring the best in Toronto Theatre, handed out three awards to the COC's artists on Monday evening:
Orfeo ed Euridice, directed by the Toronto-born Robert Carsen, won the award for Outstanding Production (Opera Division).
Alan Oke, who played Gustav von Aschenbach in October 2010's Death in Venice, won the award for Outstanding Performance (Opera Division).
Harry Bicket, who conducted Orfeo ed Euridice, won the award for Outstanding Musical Direction (General Theatre Division).
Praise for Orfeo ed Euridice
"The whole show was like that, each element reinforcing the others, prodding you to hear something in a new way or to understand what words and music were getting at all along. This is why we go to music theatre; this is why it exists." - The Globe and Mail
"I left the opera house that afternoon, with a renewed sense of wonder and appreciation for the power of music, and for the men and women of genius who bring the work to life, in this case Robert Carsen. The Canadian director and set and costume designer Tobias Hoheisel have created a production that is timeless, sparse, and devoid of the trappings of grand opera, focusing instead on the emotional core of the music and the action that best serve this ancient myth." - La Scena Musicale
Photos
Photo: Michael Cooper
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Posted by Cecily Carver / in Awards / comments (0) / permalink
The Canadian Opera Company's production of Gluck's masterpiece, Orfeo ed Euridice, directed by famed Canadian director Robert Carsen, has met with overwhelming critical acclaim, with the production called "exquisite," "haunting," "fascinating," "unforgettable," and "unmissable," and the performances described as "nothing short of sensational." Carsen is joined by renowned opera and concert conductor Harry Bicket and opera stars American countertenor Lawrence Zazzo and Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian. Orfeo ed Euridice is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES™, and runs for eight performances on May 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 24, 26 and 28, 2011.
The Critics Say...
"Director Robert Carsen and designer Tobias Hoheisel wring every possible drop of meaning from a strict minimum of visual expression, heightening the sense of drama from beginning to end. The lighting design by Carsen and Peter Van Praet was especially effective. The singers were nothing short of sensational vocally and dramatically. American countertenor Lawrence Zazzo (last seen here in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2009) and Toronto soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian as Eurydice made a dream couple. COC Ensemble Studio soprano Ambur Braid was strong as Amore . . . This is one of those rare, charmed opera productions where every element comes together for a magically memorable emotional and esthetic whole. In this case, one wishes it would not end quite so soon." - Toronto Star
"The whole show was like that, each element reinforcing the others, prodding you to hear something in a new way or to understand what words and music were getting at all along. This is why we go to music theatre; this is why it exists . . . countertenor Lawrence Zazzo made the hero’s journey to the underworld feel like a real-time adventure in the psychology of desperate measures. Orfeo’s most famous aria, delivered after he loses Euridice a second time, is often criticized for being too light and pretty for the situation, but for once it felt mysteriously deep, as if beyond mere sorrow – an impression prepared by all that came before, and by Zazzo’s shapely, intelligent singing . . . the little that is missing hardly counts against the imaginative riches of this fascinating, unmissable show." - The Globe and Mail
"The production . . . is beautiful in its stark simplicity and the singing by the cast and playing of the COC Orchestra under Harry Bicket is exquisite." - The WholeNote
"Without exaggeration, it was a truly unforgettable experience. The power of Gluck's magnificent score, presented in a visually stunning production starring great singing actors led by the terrific American countertenor Lawrence Zazzo, under the inspired direction of Canadian Robert Carsen, left an indelible impression." - La Scena Musicale (blog)
"Less is definitely more in Robert Carsen’s haunting production of Gluck’s Orfeo Ed Euridice . . . Carsen and his team respect the work with a simple but by no means stark design . . . The performances are superb . . . it’s countertenor Zazzo who wrenches your heart with his powerful, plangent voice, especially in the aria following Euridice’s second death, proof that Gluck was a consummate man of the theatre. Under Harry Bicket’s baton, the COC orchestra makes the 250-year-old music sound full and alive, while the superb chorus fills the hall with such pure emotion they could literally move heaven and hell." - NOW Magazine
Director's Notes
More critical acclaim for Robert Carsen's production
Interviews and Profiles
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Posted by Cecily Carver / in Orfeo ed Euridice / comments (0) / permalink
The Canadian Opera Company’s spring 2010/2011 season continues with one of Richard Strauss’s most brilliant operas, Ariadne auf Naxos. The legendary Sir Andrew Davis conducts the COC Orchestra in this masterful madcap melodrama, performed by a sublime cast led by Canadian stars, soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, coloratura Jane Archibald, and tenor Richard Margison and staged by award-winning Australian director Neil Armfield. Ariadne auf Naxos runs for eight performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on April 30, May 3, 12, 15, 18, 21, 27 and 29, 2011, and is sung in German with English SURTITLES™.
Links and Press
Synopsis
Adrianne Pieczonka discusses her return to the Toronto stage in the Toronto Star
Adrianne Pieczonka talks about Ariadne auf Naxos in IN Toronto
Which aria from Ariadne auf Naxos is her favourite? Adrianne Pieczonka answers in The Music Scene
National Post feature on Adrianne Pieczonka's Annex home
Jane Archibald talks about her "money notes" in the Globe and Mail
Review of Jane Archibald's debut solo CD in the Toronto Star
Posts about Ariadne auf Naxos on Parlando, the COC Blog
There is also an interview with Richard Margison in the May issue of Zoomer magazine.
Posted by Cecily Carver / in Ariadne auf Naxos / comments (0) / permalink