VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert presents the Canadian Premiere of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable, a wildly successful work that drove Rossini into retirement. With its premiere at the Paris Opera in 1831, it launched the reign of grand opera on the world stage and set Meyerbeer up as the foremost operatic composer of his day.

NOTE: Single Performance takes place on Friday, April 25 (8 pm) at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre.

“Meyerbeer thrilled the opera world with his revolutionary view of what opera could be and we are delighted to present his first great success in its Canadian premiere,” says OIC’s Guillermo Silva-Marin. “Our first season at Jeanne Lamon Hall – our new home - has been a great success…an ideal venue for rarely heard opera featuring Canada’s new generation artists.”

With Helen Becqué as Music Director and Pianist, the performance features the return of Stuart Hamilton Emerging Artist Award Winners Holly Chaplin (Isabelle) and Evan Korbut (Bertram), the debuts of Nicole Katerberg (Alice) and tenor Yanik Gosselin (Raimbaut). Starring in the title role is Matt Chittick who has previously been heard for OIC as Richard Monckton Milnes in FLORENCE: The Lady with The Lamp and in Massenet’s Werther as the title role. Robert Cooper will direct the VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert Chorus, and Guillermo Silva-Marin will guide the cast as Dramatic Advisor.

Robert le Diable premiered to wild acclaim at the Paris Opera, cementing Meyerbeer’s reputation. The great Chopin, himself, enthused that with this one work, “Meyerbeer has made himself immortal”. Set to a libretto by the great French dramatist Eugene Scribe, the work incorporates themes of love, the powers of darkness, betrayal, and redemption. The work is filled with remarkable arias and ensembles as well as fantastic scenes the most famous of which is the ballet of nuns that the devil Bertram has summoned from their graves to lure Robert to eternal damnation. The template for ‘grand opera’ was set by Meyerbeer and even composers such as Verdi and Wagner were influenced by his view that opera should be an equal combination of words, music, movement and visual elements.

VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert is supported by the Jackman Foundation, Classical 96.3 FM Radio, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council. Single tickets and subscription packages are available through RCM Tickets at www.rcmusic.com or by calling 416-408-0208 or visiting in person at 273 Bloor Street West. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, located at 427 Bloor Street West near the intersection of Bloor West and Spadina Avenue, is wheelchair-accessible and conveniently close to public transit and municipal parking. For more details, please visit operainconcert.com.