Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto – The Canadian Opera Company's Glencore Ensemble Studio School Tour returns to elementary and middle schools across Ontario from November 3 – 30, 2014. Two engaging and entertaining operas by Canadian composer Dean Burry headline the tour for 2014: The Bremen Town Musicians and The Scorpions' Sting: An Egyptian Myth. These child-friendly operas expect to reach 16,000 students from Kindergarten to grade eight over the course of the tour.
“We are delighted to once again bring opera directly to its youngest audiences through the Glencore Ensemble Studio School Tour,” says COC General Director Alexander Neef. “For many of the students, the school tour is their first opportunity to experience any kind of live performance. We hope that by making the art form accessible to children, it will help pave the way for a life-long love of opera and the performing arts.”
Each of the Glencore Ensemble Studio School Tour's operas featured this year were composed for young audiences, and draw from classic fairy tales and ancient mythology in their respective stories. Ideal for students in Kindergarten to grade six, The Bremen Town Musicians, based on a tale by the Grimm Brothers, is a new COC production created especially for the tour. This year, the opera also travels to schools in Sudbury for a special week of performances. Meanwhile, The Scorpions' Sting: An Egyptian Myth, a school tour favourite, is suitable for audiences in Kindergarten to grade eight. In addition to the school tour performances, members of the public will have the rare opportunity to see The Scorpions' Sting: An Egyptian Myth in an exclusive performance at the Royal Ontario Museum's Signy & Cléophée Eaton Theatre on Saturday, November 29. Entry is free with museum admission.
Both The Bremen Town Musicians and The Scorpions' Sting: An Egyptian Myth are 45 minutes in length and performed in English, making them easily accessible for younger audiences. Each performance concludes with a 15-minute question-and-answer period with the cast and crew. These annual touring productions feature the rising young stars of the COC's Ensemble Studio, Canada's premier training program for young opera professionals.
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THE BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS BY DEAN BURRY
The Bremen Town Musicians was originally commissioned by Ottawa's Opera Lyra in 2009. Based on a fairy tale by the famous Brothers Grimm, the opera tells the story of a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster who embark on a journey to find freedom and start a new life after being mistreated by their owners. This all-new production, from director Ashlie Corcoran, was commissioned by the COC for this year's Glencore Ensemble Studio School Tour, with sets and costumes created by multi-Dora Award-winning designer Camellia Koo.
Creative Team
Director: Ashlie Corcoran
Music Director: Jenna Douglas
Set & Costume Designer: Camellia Koo
Stage Manager: Michael Barrs
Donkey: Iain MacNeil
Dog: Charlotte Burrage
Cat: Aviva Fortunata
Rooster: Andrew Haji
Robber (and others): Gordon Bintner
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THE SCORPIONS' STING: AN EGYPTIAN MYTH BY DEAN BURRY
The Scorpions' Sting: An Egyptian Myth was commissioned by the COC for the school tour in 2006 (under its original title Isis and the Seven Scorpions). Set in the midst of an Egyptian sandstorm, the opera follows the time-travelling adventures of Professor Hornsby and his students. When Professor Hornsby is stung by a poisonous scorpion, his students must find the cure hidden in ancient hieroglyphics in the Lost Temple of Isis. In an effort to save their professor, the students use Isis' ancient wisdom and learn the power of forgiveness. The Scorpions' Sting: An Egyptian Myth was last performed as part of the Glencore Ensemble Studio School Tour in 2011.
Creative Team
Director: Joel Ivany
Music Director: Jennifer Szeto
Set & Costume Designer: Brent Krysa
Stage Manager: Michael Lewandowski
Professor Hornsby/Set: Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure/Owen McCausland
Sally Smith/Isis: Karine Boucher
David Sands/Osiris/Scorpions: Clarence Frazer
Molly Brown/Nephthys/Tahemet: Erica Iris
Photo: A scene from The Scorpion’s Sting.
2014-10-14
Toronto: COC Glencore Ensemble Studio school tour takes opera to young audience across Ontario this fall