Get ready for an afternoon of incredible talent and community. OperOttawa is celebrating its 12th season and presenting its Classical Cabaret Gala on Sept. 22, which features over 20 of the best singers and musicians in Ottawa and excerpts from 25 different operas.
Norman Brown, the founding artistic director for OperOttawa says that for the past year and a half, OperOttawa has expanded to include an orchestra—and this gala is just another milestone OperOttawa is excited to reach.
“We’re kicking off our season with a fundraising classical cabaret gala,” says Brown. “It’s like a smorgasbord of great classical music. It’s not just going to be singing—there’s going to be great music, and a fundraiser for future shows.”
OperOttawa Classical Cabaret Gala poster. Photo provided.
Brown says he’s excited to bring new talent to the stage and takes this gala as an opportunity to perform classic pieces with a twist. Brown tries to always include local talent as much as possible and says that the gala will have some of Ottawa’s most outstanding soloists.
OperOttawa’s season last year was all-female, and Brown says that one of the reasons for this change was that most opera pieces don’t feature many female roles.
“There are so many great and talented female singers in Ottawa, I felt badly that I could never use more than two or three at a time,” says Brown. “Last season, and this gala will prove to be the same case—I get to use them [performers] all.”
One of the goals of this concert, besides fundraising, is to share and introduce opera to the wider community. Brown says that some of the OperOttawa singers and musicians have been with the organization from the very beginning, but that several are new to OperOttawa as well.
Photo of Norman Brown. Photo provided.
“It’s a time to share what they’ve been doing this past year, and what they’ve done over the summer,” says Brown. “We’re going to hear singers in this gala and in our upcoming season who really and truly are the stars of the future.”
While OperOttawa has been performing for over a decade, Brown says that the pandemic affected not only the opera community, but also the arts community more broadly. He says that arts communities have struggled to balance their annual budgets even before COVID and that fundraising is one of the ways that these types of organizations can fill those financial gaps.
“The nice thing about fundraising events is the fact that it gives our performers a chance to show off their talent, but it also gives people something to enjoy,” says Brown.
There will also be a silent auction at this event which features items such as tickets to different companies and even singing lessons from some performers.
Photo of OperOttawa’s performance of The Magic Flute in 2023. Photo provided.
“We’re also offering, during the intermission, special treats for our audience to just sit back and enjoy a cup of coffee and maybe some sweet treats,” says Brown. “So, it’ll be a nice afternoon of enjoyment and pleasure.”
Ultimately, Brown says that OperOttawa was created with a sense of community—and this feeling is something he hopes gets passed on to the audience members who watch their performances.
“That’s what I wanted to create with OperOttawa, a sense of family,” he says. “We all want to leave the performance feeling that way, and I think we’ve really achieved it with OperOttawa.”
OperOttawa’s Classical Cabaret Gala Fundraiser will take place on Sept. 22 at 2:30pm at First Baptist Church on 140 Laurier Ave W. For tickets, you can email OperOttawa directly at OperOttawa222@gmail.com, Norman Brown at norman_e_brown@gmail.com, or their Eventbrite link.
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