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AidaIt is the grandest of the grand operas, with Verdi at the peak of his creative powers. Radames, the victorious Egyptian warrior, desires the hand of Aida, the enslaved Ethiopian princess. However, the King’s own daughter Amneris has designs on the conquering hero. The result is a bitter love triangle fueled by the strongest emotions — love and jealousy. This inspired tale of ancient Egypt, conflicting loyalties and forbidden passion is fueled by soaring arias, surging choruses and exhilarating orchestral music. From the seductive slave dances and the triumphal march to the power of ‘Celeste Aida’ and the hauntingly heart-rending finale, this music is some of the most memorable in all of opera. Artists
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Les Contes d'HoffmannIn this richly melodic work, the poet Hoffmann dreams of three women: the wind-up doll Olympia, the siren Giulietta, and the beguiling Venetian courtesan Antonia – a frail and consumptive opera singer. Hoffmann’s grand but misguided attempts at love are foiled by the supernatural villain Dapertutto, who robs Hoffman of his better self and any chance of happiness in love. Offenbach’s final masterpiece is full of gorgeous melodies, seductive love scenes, and fantastic characters – a dark fairy tale and feast for the eyes and ears. Director’s Message: This opera contains some of the most moving music, but also some of the most disturbing characters that any opera or theatrical show has ever known. The world of a turn-of-the-century circus is full of a cast of characters that are dark and mysterious and exist in a world where we cheer for the mysterious dark magician and laugh at the downtrodden sad clown. They appear and disappear though turnof- the-century machinery, magic and trickery, smoke, and funhouse mirrors. — Joel Ivany, Director Artists
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Eugene OneginDrama, beauty, and romantic obsession – Tchaikovsky’s haunting opera has it all. A world-weary aristocrat grudgingly visits the provincial home of his friend's fiancée where he toys with the affections of the inexperienced, ardent Tatiana. Her love letter to the brooding Onegin results in a heartless rejection, setting off an inexorable chain of events culminating in a chilling duel. Years later, the tables are turned when the honourable Tatiana rejects him. Onegin is left crushed and filled with regret over the love he so casually spurned. Director’s Message: Tchaikovsky subtitled the opera Lyric Scenes, and this is central for the interpretation of the work by myself and designer Luis Carvalho. From a storytelling point of view, Eugene Onegin has an enormous variety of locations and colours, which range from the lightest touches of daily life in a peasant field, to the bedroom of a teenage girl, and finally to the grandest ballroom in the nation’s capital. Always there remains a delicate emotional intimacy within the grand gestures of the lives of the central characters. Our conception of the work is a flowing world that represents a sort of fate that moves inexorably toward the destinies of the characters. It is a world that moves around the characters searching for answers. Life flows by them and they struggle to make choices within its intractability, being forced upon their impending future or fate, but resisting against it. — Maria Lamont, Director Artists
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CO-PRODUCED WITH
Tapestry New Opera
CO-PRESENTED BY
U of A’s Festival of Ideas
Shelter: a nuclear family adrift in the atomic age. Since Prometheus stole fire from the Gods, we have flirted with the dangerous beauty of science. In the invisible shadow of Fukushima, how will we survive when knowledge so outstrips understanding?
In this fable a father protects his family at any cost, a mother chases storms, and a nuclear physicist is midwife to a child who glows in the dark… When the dashing Pilot enters, our world is forever altered.
PRODUCED BY
Queen of Puddings Music Theatre
The night before a wedding, girlfriends prepare the bride-to-be in a ravishing and cathartic Balkan rite of passage. An intoxicating a cappella tour de force for six female opera singers, sung in Serbian with English surtitles, by Ana Sokolovic (The Midnight Court).