Our first post-pandemic season – devoted to Mozart and his Peers - opens on Sunday, 20 November 2022 with Lucio Silla, an early work by the Salzburg prodigy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. “We are delighted to begin this journey of musical discovery,” says Silva-Marin. “Operas by Mozart, Joseph de Bologne and Cherubini, three great composers who lived at exactly the same time, only one of whom became a household name. Hearing their rarely heard operas all in one season is certain to be a thrill!”

Rarities in performance is OIC’s mandate and Lucio Silla more than fits the bill. Astonishingly, Mozart was only 16 years old when the work premiered in Milan on 26 December 1772. Still he was a seasoned opera composer with 6 other stage works under his belt, including Mitridate, composed just six months earlier. The libretto by Giovani de Gamerra is based on the life of Roman dictator Lucius Sulla whose tyrannical rule ended with his sudden abdication in 79 BC. The work is a true opera seria and after many crises, the ruler forgives his enemies and allows the lovers to marry. Suzy Smith – Music Director and Pianist – leads a cast including debuting tenor Owen McCausland in the title role, costarring with Vania Chan (Celia), Amy Moodie (Giunia) and Holly Chaplin (Cecilio), a past winner of the Stuart Hamilton Emerging Artist Award. Chorus Director Robert Cooper will lead the renowned VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert Chorus.

Opera in Concert is supported by the Jackman Foundation, The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council, and Classical 96.3 FM is the media sponsor. Subscription and single tickets are available from the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts Box Office, 27 Front St. East, by phone – at 416-366-7723 or 1-800-708-6754 or online at TOLIVE.com. The theatre is wheelchair accessible and close to public transit and municipal parking. All performances are on Sunday afternoons at the St. Lawrence Centre at 2:30 pm.