Three dazzling new opera productions are at the core of the inaugural Vancouver Opera Festival, April 28 to May 13, 2017.
Full-scale productions of Giuseppe Verdi’s late-career masterpiece Otello, featuring powerful tenor Antonello Palombi in the title in his Canadian debut, and Jake Heggie’s modern classic Dead Man Walking, with charismatic bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch as Joseph De Rocher, will be presented at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Award-winning set designer Erhard Rom, who created VO’s internationally renowned 2010 production of Nixon in China, is the scenic designer for both productions.
Mozart’s magnificent The Marriage of Figaro, at the intimate Vancouver Playhouse, will feature a terrific cast of emerging stars, sets designed by Vancouver’s multi-Jessie-Award-winning Drew Facey (Stickboy, 2014) and contemporary costumes by Canadian fashion designer Sid Neigum, who is receiving international attention for his bold geometric creations.
In addition to the core opera productions, the 16-day Vancouver Opera Festival will offer a new VO commissioned visual art installation, performances by superb vocal artists, new collaborations with other Vancouver arts organizations, a massive choral extravaganza, and engaging, immersive experiences for people of all ages. Vancouver Opera Festival will be a wide ranging celebration of the vocal arts, designed to appeal to diverse audiences, all set conveniently in the heart of downtown Vancouver. Programming also includes a new commissioned video art installation by award-winning artist Paul Wong, performances by vocal stylist Ute Lemper and Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq.
Kim Gaynor, VO’s new general director, says, “I am thrilled to be joining VO at this exciting moment in its history. At the core of our sixteen-day festival are three fantastic new productions, two of which are of operas rarely or never before seen in Vancouver. The festival format is an exciting extension of what VO has traditionally done, and it creates a platform to explore repertoire, collaborations and many new opportunities to engage, educate and entertain audiences, new and old.”
Venues: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, Orpheum Theatre, Vogue Theatre,
and on the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza
Tickets: VO Ticket Centre 604-683-0222 or online at vancouveropera.ca
Tanya Tagaq Tickets: Ticketly 1-888-732-1682 or online at https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1412206
Photos: Trudie Lee/ Calgary Opera
