There is no art form that can deliver bigger, bolder and more over-the-top experiences than opera.
And thanks to Burnaby Lyric Opera, those experiences will be available on our doorstep next month.
Burnaby Lyric Opera returns to Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in February to give emerging professional and semi-professional singers in British Columbia a chance to sing leading roles in fully staged operas.
Led by director Brian Parkinson and artistic director Angus Kellett, the shows will include a double bill featuring Gianni Schicchi and Pagliacci.
Gianni Schicchi, a comic one-act opera by Puccini, tells the story of greedy relatives fighting over the will of their recently deceased wealthy patriarch, Buoso Donatti, only to be tricked out of their inheritance by the scheming of Gianni Schicchi. It will feature baritone Jason Cook as Schicchi, soprano Hayley Crittenden as Lauretta and tenor Sergio Augusto as Rinuccio.
The two-act opera Pagliacci, by Leoncavallo, tells the tragedy of Canio, the clown who makes people laugh while he himself is suffering, and will feature tenor Turgut Akmete as Canio, soprano Chloe Hurst as Nedda and baritones Jason Cook and Aaron Durand as Tonio and Silvio.
Five full-length opera performances have been planned from Feb. 25 to Mar. 4 at the Shadbolt Centre.
The performances on Feb. 25, Mar. 2, and Mar. 4 will begin at 8 p.m. and the shows on Feb. 27, and Mar. 1 will begin at 2 p.m..
The non-profit Burnaby Lyric Operqa was founded in the early 1980s. By 1997 it had evolved into a professional intermediate company with a permanent home at Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.
The Lyric Opera has a reputation for innovative and high-standard performances, and gives the younger artists — singers, stage and musical directors, stage managers and designers — an opportunity to shine. It provides artists with a “jumping off” place as they move their careers forward after training at universities and music institutions, and seek to perform at larger opera houses.
In an effort to make opera accessible to everyone, the company produces one fully staged, costumed, affordable opera each year — with performances priced at $35 for the general audience and $30 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased here.
For more information about Burnaby Lyric Opera or the show, visit their website.
