Stage Door News
Stage Door News
TORONTO – The Canadian Children’s Opera Company leads audiences of all ages through the wonders of Middle Earth this June with the return to a new staging of their highly acclaimed 2004 production of The Hobbit. Join Bilbo Baggins and a host of dwarves as they face goblins, wolves and cunning elves in a quest to reclaim their lost gold from the clutches of the dragon, Smaug the Magnificent.
The Hobbit was commissioned by the CCOC in 2000 as one of the first acts of then- Artistic Director Ann Cooper Gay, and premiered by the CCOC in 2004. The work has since received international attention, having been produced twice at Sarasota Opera and with a new production opening at Tulsa Opera in mid-June 2016.
Of the opera, composer-librettist Dean Burry states “Tolkien’s novel is truly a perfect work for a children’s opera company: epic story, numerous and integral song lyrics, adventure, betrayal, battles and death. It’s like he was imagining an opera when he wrote it. The depth of the story really allowed me to write a work not just for young people but for all ages. Tolkien fans have a lot to look forward to as well - I believe it is one of the few operas sung partly in Sindarin Elvish!”
The production features over one hundred members of the CCOC choruses joined by a professional chamber ensemble and popular Canadian baritone Giles Tomkins in the roles of Gandalf and Smaug. Music Director Teri Dunn makes her main-stage conducting debut with the CCOC, while international stage director Allison Grant makes a long-awaited return to the company. Costumes and sets are by Julia Tribe.
The opera will be presented as the culmination of the newly created Toronto Festival of Children's Opera, which will run June 3 - 12, 2016.
Canadian Children's Opera Company
presents
The Hobbit
Harbourfront Centre Theatre
231 Queens Quay W
School Previews: June 9 & 10 at 10am, June 9 at 1pm
Performances: June 10 & 11 at 7pm; June 11 & 12 at 2pm
~60 minutes with no intermission
Tickets to public performance on sale in April through the Harbourfront Centre Box Office.
$35 adult; $20 senior; $15 student
School groups call 416-366-0467 to pre-book.
$10/student
Recommended for Grade 1 and up
Photo: Bilbo finds the ring. ©2004 Michael Cooper.
2016-01-22
Toronto: Canadian Children's Opera Company presents "The Hobbit" June 10-12