Let’s go to the opera.
But, you say, we don’t have any opera in Ottawa.
Yes, in fact, we do—it’s just been a while.
After a season’s hiatus made necessary by a series of financial upsets, Opera Lyra Ottawa has their sights set on a dramatic comeback. To this end, they’ve hired a new General Director, John Peter “Jeep” Jefferies, whose specialty is turning around opera companies with failing fortunes, and Artistic Director Tyrone Paterson has chosen an opera that will appeal to seasoned opera fans as well as provide an entry point for those who have never experienced opera before.
Puccini’s La Bohème is a story of young love set amidst the poverty of the artists’ garrets of 1830s Paris. In four acts, it tells of the tragic relationship between the poet Rodolfo (whose three roommates are also poor artists of various stripes) and a seamstress named Mimì. The story (and the name Mimi) may sound familiar; indeed, La Bohème was the inspiration for the musical RENT.
It’s not enough to merely program a well-known, crowd-pleasing opera; Opera Lyra is bringing in some top-notch talent to make the production artistically worthwhile. The National Arts Centre Orchestra will be conducted by Alexander Shelley, a celebrated English conductor who is, among other things, currently the Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra. The cast includes Ottawa native Joyce El-Khoury, a graduate of Opera Lyra’s Studio Artist program who has gone on to perform at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, her long-time friend Michael Fabiano, Fort McMurray’s Laura Whalen, Joshua Hopkins from Pembroke, and Opera Lyra alumnus Peter Strummer.
For those interested in learning more about opera, there will be a series of pre-performance chats in the lobby of the NAC before the performances; with Tyrone Paterson in English on September 8, 12, and 15th, and with musician Fabien Tousignant in French on September 10th.
Opera Lyra Ottawa’s production of La Bohème will be performed in Italian with English and French surtitles at the NAC’s Southam Hall September 8, 10, 12, and 15th. Details and tickets available through the Opera Lyra Ottawa website.
