Stage Door News
Stage Door News
THE BEAUTIFUL HELEN (La Belle Helene), one of Jacques Offenbach’s most popular musicals, closes the Toronto Operetta Theatre season at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts with performances on April 27, 28 at 8 pm, and 29 at 3 pm, 2018. “I’m so pleased that we are ending the season on a superlative note,” said TOT’s General Director Guillermo Silva-Marin. “We have increased the number of productions in our 17/18 season and instituted a Cabaret Series at the Edward Jackman Centre. Let’s keep operetta on the move!”
THE BEAUTIFUL HELEN--Offenbach’s irreverent look at events that provoked the Trojan War--took Paris by storm and was a ‘must-see’ at Théâtre des Variétés in 1864, running for more than 700 performances. TOT’s production stars Beste Kalender, winner of the Stuart Hamilton Memorial Award, as Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world and the ever-popular Adam Fisher returns to the TOT stage as Paris, golden apple in hand. Helen’s befuddled husband, King Menelaus, will be played by Gregory Finney. Joining the fun will be Stuart Graham, Lynn Isnar, Cian Horrobin, David Boan, Anthony Rodrigues and Matthew Zadow. The cast, choral ensemble and orchestra will be conducted by Peter Tiefenbach and Silva-Marin is stage director.
Offenbach made - and lost! - a great deal of money entertaining theatre-mad Parisians but with THE BEAUTIFUL HELEN, he hit the jackpot. His star was the famed Hortense Schneider and with her on stage, packed houses were assured. As with ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD, he used the ancient world where gods, goddesses and mere mortals mixed freely, often with hanky-panky on their minds. Wit and seductive melodies tumble over each other but the icing on the cake is, of course, another of Offenbach’s matchless Can Can’s. Find out what really happened in Sparta before the Greeks set sail for Troy.
Toronto Operetta Theatre remains the only company in Canada devoted to the unique world of operetta and its many-faceted charms. For more than three decades, TOT has championed the works of Johann Strauss, Gilbert & Sullivan, Lehar, Ralph Bentazky, Imre Kalman, Victor Herbert, Federico Torroba, Bernstein and Romberg. The company has revived Canadian works by Telgmann and Lavallée and premiered EARNEST, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING by Canadians Victor Davies and Eugene Benson, all with a goal of giving variety and breadth to the entertainment scene in the Greater Toronto Area.
Toronto Operetta Theatre is thankful for the support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, the Jackman Foundation, the Dalglish Family Foundation, Bedolfe Foundation, Nancy’s Very Own Foundation and Classical 96.3 FM. Partners also include Huziak Graphic Design, EPOCH TIMES and MZ Media. All performances take place at the wheelchair accessible St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, situated in the downtown theatre district, close to public transit and municipal parking. For information, call the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts Box Office at 416-366-7723, 1-800-708-6754 or online at www.stlc.com
Photo: Beste Kalender. ©Codrut Tolea.
2018-03-27
Toronto: Toronto Operetta Theatre presents Offenbach's "La Belle Hélène" April 27-29