Leslie Dala |
The falls at Johnston Canyon |
Although this is the same piece that Vancouver Opera commissioned and premiered in the fall, the Banff production has a whole new cast of young artists and an orchestra that is assembled for two concert programs and two operas each summer. Quite the undertaking in a very concentrated period of time.
Kelly Robinson, John Estacio and John Murrell |
Judith Forst |
L - R: Leslie Dala, Melanie Krueger, Theresa Tsang, Kinza Tyrrell |
Melanie Krueger, last seen on the VO stage as Annina in La Traviata, sings the title role of Lillian Alling and is doing a wonderful job on an incredibly challenging and complex role. Melanie was, in fact, a member of the chorus for the VOA world premiere so this is really a promotion!
Theresa Tsang, VO's assistant stage manager is THE stage manager for this show and it is great to have her in charge of the million things that go on in this show. She is always in control!
Kinza Tyrrell, VO's principal repetiteur and VOIS music director, is the assistant conductor and chorus director of this production and has done a wonderful job with the young singers in the program. Although the size of the chorus here is much smaller than we had for the VOA premiere, they bring a lot of energy to this production.
Encounter with a black bear on the highway to Lake Louise |
It was here that I met my wife, Rosalind and where I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in opera. It was also the place where I met conductor, David Agler, who was then Music Director of Vancouver Opera and who later invited me to join the music staff of the company. As they say "the rest is history". David is now the Artistic Director of the Wexford Festival and the Banff Opera as Theatre program and he is conducting Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte which will open on Friday night.
Canoeing on Lake Louise with my boys, Andreas and Christopher |
Christopher was in the VOA premiere in a number of scenes, including Ellis Island, scene 3 where the kids sing the famous line: "mamma, she smells like the river", the North Dakota scene and in Stanley Park. With the addition of Andreas in the show, Sergei's line in scene 3 has changed to: "I present my wife Nora and FOUR children". Amazing what can happen in a few months!
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