2023–2024 VANCOUVER OPERA SEASON



Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute

When & Where October 21 at 7:30pm, October 26 at 7:30pm, October 28 at 7:30pm | October 29 at 2pm | Queen Elizabeth Theatre

This opera is a fairytale within a fairytale, immersing the audience in a magical, wild journey of high drama and whimsical delight. Owen McCausland is Tamino and making her Vancouver Opera debut is Vancouver native Kirsten MacKinnon as Pamina.


Gaetano Donizetti ‘s Don Pasquale

When & Where February 10 at 7:30pm, February 15 at 7:30pm & February 18 at 2pm | Queen Elizabeth Theatre

This all-Canadian production features Maestro Jacques Lacombe returning to Vancouver Opera (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) to conduct Donizetti’s finely-calibrated music in this comic masterpiece. A twentieth century makeover of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale by creative duo of costume/set designer André Barbe and director/choreographer Renaud Doucet.

 


George Bizet’s Carmen

When & Where April 27 at 7:30pm, April 28, 2pm, May 2 at 7:30pm, May 4 at 7:30pm & May 5 at 2pm | Queen Elizabeth Theatre

This passionate story is told through seductive arias and enduring, richly coloured melodies. Rachel Peake returns to Vancouver Opera (The Pearl Fishers) to direct Carmen alongside conductor Leslie Dala (The Flying Dutchman) for a five-show engagement. Carmen will be portrayed by Sandra Piques Eddy and Carolyn Sproule with Jonelle Sills as Micaëla. Alok Kumar and Matthew White will both perform the role of Don José.


 

 

 

Vancouver Opera
The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner

When & Where April 29 and May 4 at 7:30pm. and May 7 at 2pm | Queen
Elizabeth Theatre, 630 Hamilton St., Vancouver

The Dutchman Gregory Dahl Senta Marjorie Owens Erik Wookyung Kim Daland Richard Wiegold Steuermann Scott Rumble Mary Megan Latham

Conductor Leslie Dala Director Brian Deedrick Chorus DirectorTina Chang Costume Design Erik Teague Tattoo Design Roberta Doylend Set Design Craig Alfredson Projection Design Wlad Woyno Rodriguez Lighting Design Gerald King Stage Manager Theresa Tsang

Reviewer Elizabeth Paterson

Hold on to your hats.Vancouver Opera's production of The Flying Dutchman heaves with sweeping winds, deep-rolling seas and tempestuous emotions. Full on Wagner, in other words. Despite The Flying Dutchman being an early work, short enough to be conceived of as a one-act piece, and despite having a smaller orchestra than later operas, it has Wagner's all-enveloping power and inescapable trajectory.. Full review

 


Heroic Opera

Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi

When & Where March 30, 31 at 7:30pm. and April 2 at 2pm | The Annex Theatre, 823 Seymour St. Vancouver

Music Director John Arsenault Stage Director Jeanine Fynn Costume Design Tracy Bijl Set Design Cameron Killick Stage Manager Andy Sandberg Producer Melissa Ratcliff Pianist Maria Jung

Reviewer Christian Steckler

It’s a treat to see Heroic Opera at work again in the city. Their talent and production values far outstrip their meagre resources in the performances they give. This latest and all-too-brief run of Verdi’s four-act opera, Don Carlo, showcases truly fine operatic and staging talent in a venue that is small for such huge voices and talents. Full review

 

Vancouver Opera
Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night's Dream

When & Where February 11 & 16, 2023 at 7.30pm and February 19 at 2pm | Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Oberon Daniel Moody, countertenor Tytania Magali Simard-Galdes, soprano Lysander Spencer Britten, tenor Hermia Hillary Tufford, mezzo soprano Demetrius Clarence Frazer, baritone Helena Jonelle Sills, soprano Bottom Peter McGillivray, baritone Puck Kunji Ikeda, non-singing role

Conductor Jacques Lacombe Director Aria Umezawa Set Design Craig Alfredson Projection Design Sammy Chien Costume Design Roberta Doylend Lighting Design Sophie Tang Choreography Anna Kuman Stage Manager Theresa Tsang

Sung in English with English surtitles

Reviewer John Jane

It’s difficult to imagine that Vancouver Opera’s full scale production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was originally conceived as a chamber opera. Written by Benjamin Britten a good three and a half centuries after William Shakespeare’s complex comedy, it’s a little surprising therefore that Britten decided to stick with Elizabethan language for his libretto. Full review

 

 

Vancouver Opera
Georges Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers

When & Where October 22 & 27, 2022 at 7.30pm and October 30 at 2pm | Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Director Rachel Peake Choreography Krystal Kiran Conductor Kamna Gupta Chorus Director Leslie Dala Fight Director MikeKovac Stage Manager Marija Asbeek- Brusse

CAST Nadir Aaron Blake, Tenor Zurga Phillip Addis, baritone Nourabad Vartan Gabrielian, bass-baritone Leïla Miriam Khalil, soprano

Dancers Nasiv Sall, Hasini Basnayake, Simran Sachar, Ashvini Sundaram

Sung in French with English SURTITLESTM

Reviewer John Jane

The Pearl Fishers, was written a full decade before Carmen when he was only twenty-five. It’s fair to say that Bizet never visited Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where the opera is set, and the culture and folklore depicted in this full scale opera comes about entirely from his imagination. It’s a particularity that Vancouver Opera is eager to make a point of in its early disclaimer. Full review