We’ve covered Opera Lyra Ottawa’s productions at the National Arts Centre for a while now, but there is a second and equally compelling opera company in Ottawa: Capital City Opera.
It was founded in 2011 by Bart Tecter and Rory McGlynn to offer the nation’s capital an informal, “Jeans Friendly” opera experience, allowing patrons to focus on the art, not the atmosphere.
“To most, opera still conjures images of gem encrusted opera glasses, furs and top hats,” says artistic director Rory McGlynn. “We’d like to encourage change in that area.”
Their upcoming production is Don Giovanni, a two-act opera with music by Mozart. It’s the story of the legendary Don Juan, the infamous lover and rake. It’s a dramatic piece full of seduction, intrigue and general, unrepentant bad behavior. It was first performed in Prague on October 29, 1787. Today, it is the tenth most performed opera worldwide.
The Mayfair was CCO’s home for the first two seasons. For this their third season, they will perform out of the Commons Theatre at Algonquin College. The higher capacity seating, better parking and a common area for mingling lends itself well to this growing operatic company.
CCO is passionate about hiring young artists (and paying them fairly, can I get an Amen?) so Algonquin is a nice fit. It enables them to hire Theatre Arts and Administration students from the College, providing them with a young and eager workforce and giving the students with some much needed experience.
CCO also creates concert productions; they focus on the voices and the stories rather than the sets and costumes. They partially stage the operas and use a few props but the attention and energy is directed at the music. They do provide subtitles to allow the audience to follow the story with a little more ease.
I spend a lot of time trying to identify and define the importance and relevance of opera in this day and age, so why should the under 50 set show any interest? It’s the first question asked in almost every interview, and Rory McGlynn has offered one of the best answers to date.
“Opera is relevant because of its humanity. I think opera is the exaggerated expression of emotion through voice and music,” he says. “I remember the first time I heard opera, it was the first time I actually FELT a singer. The operatic voice is generally so well trained and powerful that the frequencies literally touch the physical body.”
We’ve all heard a song that sends shivers down our spines. Opera is designed to do that, to touch the listener emotionally as well as physically.
There’s a note in Luciano Pavarotti’s rendition of Pietà Signore that sends shivers down my spine – combine that song, specifically that note, with a Chai Latte from Brigdehead and a warm ray of sunlight breaking through the buildings downtown and you’re in heaven for a moment. That is the power of music and opera does the job better than most other forms.
So, if you’d like to give your nervous system a treat, come out to Capital City Opera’s production of Don Giovanni at Algonquin’s Commons Theatre this Saturday, September 28. Showtime is 7:30pm. Tickets are available online, or if you’d rather buy them the old fashioned way you can get them at The Leading Note (370 Elgin), at Kulu Trading (1299 Wellington St. W.) or at the door. Advance tickets are $30, $25 for students and seniors.
Dress code is casual, as always, but the experience is anything but.
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