Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Summer Opera Lyric Theatre enters its third decade as the only performance haven for Toronto’s opera lovers in mid-summer. Since 1986, Guillermo Silva-Marin has led aspiring young artists through an intensive eight-week course of study concentrating on character development in opera through text and music. These weeks culminate in a series of performances showcasing the young artists at the Robert Gill Theatre, University of Toronto. The only summer course of its kind in the Greater Toronto Area, alumni include Kristina Szabo, David Pomeroy, Vania Chan, Joseph Kaiser, Nora Sourouzian, Michael Barrett, Keith Klassen, Michael Nyby and Joshua Hopkins.
In 2017 the season opens on July 28th at 8 pm with a Canadian double bill, John Beckwith’s NIGHT BLOOMING CEREUS commissioned for a CBC Radio Broadcast in 1959 and the SOLT World Premiere of Michael Rose’s A NORTHERN LIGHTS DREAM, with further performances of this nocturnal duo on July 30 (2 pm) and August 5 (2 pm & 8 pm). Performances of Bizet’s ever popular CARMEN are on July 29 (2 pm), August 1 (8 pm), August 3 (8 pm) and August 6 (2 pm). The first of Mozart’s operas written in collaboration with librettist da Ponte, THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO takes the stage on July 29 (8 pm), August 2 (2 pm & 8 pm) and August 4 (8 pm). “This summer we celebrate Canada 150 with a brand-new opera by Michael Rose paired with a work by the dean of Canadian composers, John Beckwith”, Silva-Marin commented recently from the rehearsal hall at the Edward Jackman Centre. “And who can resist the attractions of Carmen or the brash charm of the conniving Figaro?”
The forty-one SOLT participants are representative of the diversity of talent in Canada including those on the cusp of a professional career and those just emerging. After extensive auditions, our artists come from hometowns, conservatories and universities across Canada. Silva-Marin is stage director for all four works; music directors and pianists are Michael Rose, Narmina Afandiyeva and debuting Suzy Smith. Guest lecturers include Catherine Robbin, Diane Loeb, Kathy Domoney, Kevin Mallon, Derek Bate, and Henry Ingram.
All fully-staged performances take place at the Robert Gill Theatre, University of Toronto, 214 College St. (entrance on St. George). Subscription packages for $60 and single tickets for $28 are the best ticket prices in town, with discounts at $22 for students and seniors. The theatre is air-conditioned, convenient to public parking and transit and completely wheelchair accessible. For subscription packages and single tickets call 416-366-7723 or online at www.stlc.com. For more information please call SOLT Admin Office: 416-922-2912 (Weekdays 10 am to 5 pm).
2017-06-23
Toronto: Summer Opera Lyric Theatre presents "Carmen", "Figaro" and a Canadian double-bill