Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Lessons of love that are beautiful and tender, comic and tragic. Toronto Masque Theatre presents two masques drawn from two traditions: a Baroque classic from the West, John Blow’s Venus and Adonis (1683) and a reimagining of an ancient tale from the East, The Lesson of Da Ji (2013), by Alice Ping Yee Ho and librettist Marjorie Chan.
Masque is a fusion of music, dance and theatre and Toronto Masque Theatre is one of the few companies in the world devoted to this form which flourished in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Lessons of Love will be a wonderful introduction to the masque and also show the two sides of our company, the re-creation of works from the canon and the commissioning of new work that redefine and reinvigorate the form.
Under the Artistic Direction of Larry Beckwith, who will also lead an ensemble of Baroque and Chinese instruments, the evening will feature soprano Vania Chan, tenor Derek Kwan, mezzo-Soprano Marion Newman and baritone Alexander Dobson. Dance drawn from both the Baroque and the Peking Opera traditions will be performed. Direction will be by Derek Boyes (The Lesson of Da Ji) and Marie-Nathalie Lacourisère (Venus and Adonis). Visual splendour is key feature of masque and the evening will feature projections designed by Caroline Guibault, lighting by Gabe Cropley and costumes by Angela Thomas.
Venus and Adonis
Commissioned by Charles II and written by John Blow, this gorgeous, sensual masterpiece of the courtly masque features some of the most sublime music ever written. It tells how Venus fell in love with the mortal youth Adonis. While the goddess struggles with her amorous entanglements her son, Cupid, receives his own comic, romantic education. Told with a surprisingly feminist slant it tells us how we should “seize the day” in our pursuit of true love. Featuring Baroque dance choreographed by the acclaimed Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière.
The Lesson of Da Ji
Toronto Masque Theatre commissioned Alice Ping Yee Ho and Marjorie Chan to create a new masque Inspired by the true story of the Shang dynasty concubine Da Ji, and the King who enacted a tasty revenge on her secret lover; a revenge as grisly as anything Shakespeare conceived of in Titus Andronicus. In Ho and Chan’s version, Da Ji takes guquin music lessons from a young nobleman named Bo Yi. Chan has provided a rich and inventive script which drives to a surprising and powerful climax while Ho’s gorgeous music will blend eastern and western instruments, including the guquin that Da Ji learns to play. It will feature a performance by traditional Peking Opera dancer William Lau
Singers
Vania Chan; Charotte Corwin; Benjamin Covey; Alex Dobson; Derek Kwan; Marion Newman; Xin Wang; Timothy Wong.
Dancers
Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, Baroque choreographer/dancer; William Lau, traditional Peking Opera dancer.
Instrumentalists
Larry Beckwith will lead an ensemble of Baroque and Chinese instruments including Patty Chan, erhu; Kathleen Kajioka, violin; Lucas Harris, lute; Alison Melville, recorder; Ed Reifel, percussion; Wen Zhao, pipa; Ziewin Cynthia Qin, guzheng and others.
Toronto Masque Theatre was founded by Artistic Director Larry Beckwith in 2003 and immediately became a significant player in the City of Toronto’s arts scene. In its nine seasons, Toronto Masque Theatre has produced close to 25 critically-acclaimed multi-media productions, ranging in repertoire from the late Renaissance to the modern day. They have commissioned six new works, two from James Rolfe and one each from Omar Daniel, Abigail Richardson, Dean Burry and Alice Ping Yee Ho, as well as presenting music theatre works by Monteverdi, Purcell, Handel, Stravinsky and John Beckwith, plays by Edna St. Vincent Millay, James Reaney, Patrick Garland, and Moliere and "variety" evenings including Commedia, Tears of a Clown, and Masque of the Muses.
Toronto Masque Theatre takes as its inspiration the rich courtly masque tradition of the late Renaissance and offers clever, intimate, and highly entertaining productions which fuse different aspects of the performing arts. Both historically informed and daringly modern, with each program Toronto Masque Theatre manages to surprise, move, and delight in new and brilliant ways.
Toronto Masque Theatre has appeared at the Guelph Spring Festival, Festival of the Sound, Music at Sharon and the Elora Festival, and has been heard on CBC Radio.
Toronto Masque Theatre is supported by Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, and Ontario Trillium Foundation.
What The Lessons of Love: 1683: Venus & Adonis / 2013: The Lesson of Da Ji
When Friday, May 10th, 2013 at 8:00 pm; Saturday, May 11th, 2013 at 8:00 pm; special Mother’s Day matinee, Sunday, May 12th, 2013 at 3:00 pm. A pre-show chat with Artistic Director Larry Beckwith and guests is held 45 minutes before all performances.
Where The Al Green Theatre; 750 Spadina Avenue (at Bloor).
How Tickets: $40; $35 (for seniors) and $20 (for under 30) available from the Al Green Box Office, 416-924-6211 ext. 0 or order tickets online from Toronto Masque Theatre.
Who For more information on Toronto Masque Theatre please go to our website.
2013-03-13
Toronto: Toronto Masque Theatre presents “Venus and Adonis” from 1683 and “The Lesson of Da Ji” from 2013