Stage Door News
Stage Door News
TORONTO - Against the Grain Theatre, recently described by NOW Magazine as "one of the city's most inventive young companies," presents its second fully staged opera with a new production of Benjamin Britten's eerie 20th century opera, The Turn of the Screw. The opera runs for four performances at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse on May 24, 25, 26 and 27, 2012.
The eerie and compelling opera, based on the 1898 novella by Henry James, will be brought to life by the creative team behind the young company's smash hit La Bohème: director Joel Ivany, music director/pianist Christopher Mokrzewski, lighting designerJason Hand, set designer Camellia Koo, and costume designer Erika Connor.
Premiered in 1954, The Turn of the Screw tells the chilling story of a governess hired by a mysterious man to care for his niece and nephew, Flora and Miles, at their country home. The governess is given strict orders to never contact the man, never inquire about the history of the secluded estate, and never abandon the children. Undeterred, the governess travels to look after the children, whom she finds charming and well mannered. Gradually, the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, reveals that the previous governess, Miss Jessell, had an affair with the valet of the house, Peter Quint, and that both died mysteriously. The governess is plunged deeper into the plot when she begins seeing the ghosts of Jessell and Quint, and discovers that they have been haunting the children.
Soprano Miriam Khalil, fresh from her heart-breaking portrayal of Mimi in AtG's La Bohème, sings the role of the Governess; mezzo-soprano Megan Latham is Mrs. Grose; tenor Michael Barrett and soprano Betty Allison assume the roles of the ghostly Quint and Miss Jessel, mezzo-soprano Johane Ansell is the young Flora, and Canadian Children's Opera Company member Sebastian Gayowsky sings the role of Miles.
AtG music director Christopher Mokrzewski, recently hailed by Mooney on Theatre for his "highly animated performance style" and "deep connection and passion for the music", is at the piano. The intimate and atmospheric surroundings of the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse on the campus of the University of Toronto make for an ideal ghost story setting as the action unfolds around the audience members in true AtG style.
The Turn of the Screw is approximately 115 minutes in duration, including one intermission. All tickets are $40 for general admission and $60 for guaranteed front row placement, and are available online at againstthegraintheatre.com. Doors of the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (at 79 St. George St.) open at 7:00 p.m. and all performances begin at7:30 p.m.
ABOUT AGAINST THE GRAIN THEATRE
Against the Grain Theatre is a band of young arts professionals who seek to perform traditional works in unconventional spaces and ways. Founded in 2010 by Artistic Director Joel Ivany, Against the Grain Theatre's second season has included a fully-staged production of Puccini's La Bohème, a concert performance of Kurt Weill's Seven Deadly Sins, and a concert entitled Super Villians that payed homage to the best of opera's bad guys. For more information and artist biographies, please visitagainstthegraintheatre.com.
Photo: Olivier Laquerre and Artists of Atelier Ballet. ©2012 Bruce Zinger.
2012-04-25
Toronto: Against the Grain Theatre presents Benjamin Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw” May 24-27