A Cinderella Christmas

You're invited to VO's production of Cinderella!

Sunday, November 28, 2:00PM
Vancouver Academy of Music
1270 Chestnut Street, Vancouver

Tickets $10

To book your tickets, contact:

Lore Hoffman 604.738.2034 or loreh@shaw.ca
Pat Hancock 604.874.4042 or pehancock@shaw.ca

Following the performance, there'll be carol sing-a-longs, a silent auction, Christmas crafts, refreshments and cookies.

Special thanks to Vancouver Opera Guild for all they do! The VOG sponsors the Education programs such as VOIS (Vancouver Opera in Schools) and MWO (Music! Words! Opera), awards scholarships to young singers and organizes the Met auditions on an entirely volunteer basis! Plus, they make the best goodies for our VOIS receptions!

Goin' On The Road!

School shows – Who decides what’s going on the road and how it gets there?

Vancouver Opera in Schools is now in its 39th year of operation, bringing the world of professional opera to school students and general communities throughout the province.

A few years ago, former VOIS Manager Patrick LeBlanc and I thought that we'd like to come up with a 7-year cycle of operas that would be:

a) suitable for elementary school students (i.e., not too violent, not too sexy and not too abstract – as you can imagine, the standard operatic repertoire list was reduced quite quickly!)

b) a mixture of adaptations and original works, (here "budget‟ quickly presented its head)

c) able to be tied into either current curricula or issues/topics being discussed/examined in schools, and

d) able to be done with 4 singers, a stage manager and a pianist, all travelling in vans filled with sets, costumes, wigs and, oh yes, their day-to-day luggage.

After an in-depth analysis of the history of VOIS repertoire, we came up with a list that, if we could pull it off financially, would ensure that students would not see the same production twice during their elementary school careers. (This, of course, is dependent on the education system retaining its policy of not holding back students for a full year, but don't get me started on that!)

So, our list met the a), b) c) and d) criteria listed above and we've been moving forward with that model for the past few years.

This year's school opera is Cinderella, based on Rossini's masterpiece La Cenerentola; our version is a re-mount of the 45 minute adaptation done by Ann Hodges and Les Dala, (then, VO's Repetiteur) and originally produced in the 2003-04 school year. For this year's tour, we retained the services of Drew Facey (whose talent was witnessed in last year's Jack Pine) as our Set & Costume Designer, Rachel Peake as Stage Director and Kinza Tyrrell, (VO's current Principal Repetiteur), as Music Director.

It's a terrific show, and already proving to be a winner in the schools! That the run sold-out before our first performance is an indicator of the show‟s popularity, as well as of the trust that school teachers administrators place in the VO's history of outstanding productions.

Once the show is decided upon, Melissa Tsang, (current VOIS Manager), begins discussions with the Stage Director and Set/Costume Designer to come up with a new, interesting and affordable design concept for the show. Next, we enter the audition phase, where the audition panel, including myself and Melissa, listens and interacts with potential cast members to find the best possible combination of singer, actor, 'team member' and all-round good 'roomie' for those long days and weeks on the road driving through our spectacular province!

After checking availability of rehearsal space, performers, music staff and favourable budgets, rehearsals – and the fun – begin. And presto, in a matter of two weeks, we have a brand, spanking new show, ready to hit the road! Of course, there are public relations, advertising, contracts, scheduling, and miscellaneous other paperwork, but they are eventually achieved and the vans leave town with high expectations and ready-and-willing audiences.

To say that the process is complicated is a significant understatement. Given that the VOIS is VO‟s ambassador to every part of the province, it's paramount that the production reflects the outstanding professionalism of our Mainstage productions; we firmly believe we have met that standard, especially given the fact that, as previously mentioned, the entire production, including cast and crew, has to fit into just two regular-sized panel vans!

The other shows in „the cycle‟ in alphabetical order, include:

Barber of Barkerville (adaptation)
Hansel & Gretel (adaptation)
Jack Pine (original)
Magic Flute - Box of Shadows (adaptation)
Naomi’s Road (original)

We also hope to add another original production to the cycle.

If you have any questions about anything to do with VOIS, please contact either myself (604.331.4834) or Melissa (604.331.4835). Thanks for your continued support and interest.

~ Michael Grice, Director of Education

Show-To-Go: Cinderella

When a creative team tells you their show is pop-and-punk-inspired, an opera by Rossini is not something that normally comes into one's mind. But that is exactly what the stage director Rachel Peake and set and costume designer Drew Facey wanted, and successfully achieved, with this season's Vancouver Opera In Schols (VOIS) tour Cinderella, while the delightful music of Rossini has fully blossomed under the flawless music direction of Kinza Tyrrell.



The tour van is shared by the stage manager Rebecca Craster, pianist Tina Chang, and singers (in the SATB order) Cat Affleck (the wickedly hilarious stepsister Clorinda and lending an arm to Tisbe), Erin Lawson (Cenerentola), Brian Lee (Prince Ramiro), and Joshua McFaul (Alidoro). Since there are only four singers in the ensemble, the role of Tisbe went to a puppet – with a full presence equal to its human counterparts. It even cat-fights with Clorinda! Sometimes magic does not require a wand. The ensemble simply enthralled the audience of the final dress rehearsal on September 11. The show is now on the road until the end of November.

~ Melissa Tsang, VOIS Manager

Vancouver Opera’s Work Experience Program

In order to graduate from Grade 12, every student in British Columbia must complete a minimum 30-hour Work Experience / Community Involvement program related to a field that they might be entering following completion of secondary school.

Each September, Vancouver Opera accepts applications from students who are considering a career in the Performing Arts, whether it be as a performer, a technician/production vocation or as a possible administrator. Students are selected based on their previous experiences and their ‘fit’ with our upcoming mainstage productions.

Once selected, students are interviewed at their schools by either Michael Grice, VO’s Director of Education, or Gwen Murray, retired Fine Arts Coordinator (Surrey School District) and long-time volunteer with the program. The students are provided with a 40-page booklet outlining their schedule, information about the composer and this specific production, and general information about opera, (including terminology, voice-types and pictures/bios of artists appearing in the production.) In addition, there is a section of the booklet the students use as a ‘journal’, wherein they take notes about each event they witness, commenting on how the production changes from one rehearsal to the next, the set/costumes, etc. and how things change once the move is made from rehearsal hall to the QE Theatre.

During their ten days with us, the students witness staging rehearsals, the Sitzprobe, piano and orchestra ‘techs’ in the QET. In addition, they do one-on-one interviews with personnel in Stage Management, Production, (they love chatting with Carmen and Elke in the Make-up & Wigs room, especially the one student who gets to go home with a grotesque ‘black eye’!), Administration and, of course, the Artistic Dept., by meeting and interviewing all of the Principal Singers in the production.

Their time with us culminates in attending, along with a guest, the final Dress Rehearsal. They are making observations, and writing commentary in their journal at each event. The students then write up a formal copy of their journal notes and submit it to VO staff for evaluation. The evaluated documents are returned to the students at the end of the process, along with an autographed poster of the production, so that they will have a lifetime remembrance of their time at the opera!

We are very proud of this program and are pleased that each year we have more applicants than we can accommodate. This past season, for instance, we were able to accept 32 students (8 for each of our four Mainstage shows) from more than 60 applications received. The program continues to grow as students from more and more school districts hear about it from older students in their schools and become anxious to join us.

~ Michael Grice, Director of Education

Jack Pine Sonnet Contest

You may recall our Vancouver Opera in Schools production of Jack Pine this season. Well, it seems we've started a Jack Pine renaissance of sorts.

Now there is a Jack Pine Sonnet Contest sponsored by Geist, a quarterly magazine in Vancouver.

There's a $500 top prize and every entry gets a subscription to the magazine!

So try and make like our composer for Jack Pine, Veda Hille, and test your lyrical skills on Geist! (Deadline is July 1st.)