I’m totally new to opera. I’ve never attended one, never seen one on TV or in the movies. So, when I got the chance to find out, I had to ask: What is the best way to get people into opera?
“Good storytelling,” says John Scott, general manager of New Opera Lyra and a classically trained cellist who got involved with opera through choral and orchestral conducting.
New Opera Lyra (no relation to the old Opera Lyra) is an Ottawa-based opera company that opened its second season on Oct. 14 with a co-production of the National Capital Opera Competition.
But, according to Andrew Ager, New Opera Lyra’s co-artistic director and resident composer, “our season truly begins with… the world premiere of my opera, The Mummy, the third of the gothic trilogy.” That trilogy began with Frankenstein in 2019 and was followed by Dracula last season, after a long break for COVID.
Carmen Harris and Iain Macpherson in New Opera Lyra’s Dracula. Photo: Hannah Spierman.
I ask Scott what people are saying about New Opera Lyra.
“People are excited to see the name “Opera Lyra” with “New” in front of it,” Scott says. “They’re excited that it’s existing and that staged opera has returned [to Ottawa]… it’s modest… but it’s fully staged with set, with props, with scene changes, and that’s something that most companies aren’t able to do.”
What does New Opera Lyra bring to Ottawa, I ask?
“Opera used to be ’of the people,’ just like theatre was, and if people didn’t like the character in the opera, then they screamed and yelled and threw vegetables at them. They were engaged and it was a representation of their life on stage… New Opera Lyra presents grand opera in an approachable, accessible way. You do not need to be going to the Met. You don’t need to wear furs or your tuxedo (but if you want to you can). You can come with your kids… It’s grand opera for everyone,” Scott says.
“Because it’s not a large opera house with 3,000 seats, you are quite close to the stage. Our experience is much more immersive and much more immediate,” Ager adds.
“Because of the way [Andrew is] able to write for a small number of instruments, a very intimate chamber orchestra, it sounds like the very large romantic orchestras you would expect with [grand] opera… The way that Dracula was directed and the way The Mummy will be directed is grand opera on a stage that is small enough that you can afford to put [it] up, which means ticket prices are approachable for people… and they can absolutely be themselves and take part in an art form that still matters,” Scott adds.
View this post on Instagram
Great! But what is opera?
“It’s communication, and it’s catharsis, and it’s healing, and it’s storytelling, and it’s what people require to help process everything that’s broken in the world,” Scott explains.
“It’s the ultimate culmination of all the art forms,” adds Ryan Hofman, New Opera Lyra’s artistic consultant. “So you have theatre, you have acting, dancing, music. For opera singers, it’s the equivalent of running a marathon because you don’t get miked — you just have to sing over an orchestra.”
Hofman, also a baritone who will be on stage later in the season, kindly answers my silliest question: What’s the difference between an opera and a musical?
“Musicals are going to be more dialogue-based, whereas operas are completely sung,” Hofman says.
Now I think I’m getting it. But why singing as a form of storytelling?
“There’s something very connecting about the human voice,” Scott says. “The bareness and the rawness and the emotion of somebody singing, somebody sharing what is so intrinsically personal which is your voice. When you add that to these wonderful stories, but also to Andrew’s music… The emotion is so visceral, and the story is so present for people in the music and the singing that you’re removed from where you are… and carried along with the singers… It’s absolute magic.”
“These people have to become characters, but that character has to come from inside themselves and then you open your mouth and share what is absolutely the most tender about yourself,” Scott adds.
And what about the audience, I ask? What’s their role in all this?
“To either be transported genuinely by somebody’s artistry or to have felt a degree of catharsis and hope through [it] is the pinnacle of art,” Scott says. “Opera combines these things, and you are invited into somebody on a very personal level — you can’t run. You can only be present with the art. It’s totally transformative.”
“Opera for me is the ultimate art form to move someone, to escape. Opera needs to be seen to be believed,” says Hofman.
You heard them. So go see it, and believe.
New Opera Lyra’s 2023-24 season
Oct. 27 and 28: The Mummy world premiere. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 82 Kent St.
Dec. 9: Scrooge’s Christmas. A 45-minute family opera that Andrew calls a “scary comedy.” Rideau Park United Church, 2203 Alta Vista Dr.
Apr. 19 and 20: The Great Gatsby world premiere. Southminster United Church, 15 Aylmer Ave.
Jun. 1: Opera Gala. A program of choruses from famous operas in collaboration with the Ewashko Singers. Southminster United Church, 15 Aylmer Ave.
Oct. to May: Sundays @ 4. Monthly recitals featuring emerging Canadian and local artists. Rideau Park United Church, 2203 Alta Vista Dr.
For information and tickets, visit New Opera Lyra’s website.
.gif)
