October 1-7, 2023

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WHEN: October 1-20, 2023

WHAT: The Canadian Opera Company presents Beethoven’s Fidelio. 

Beethoven’s only opera follows the story of Leonore, a woman who disguises herself as a man to go undercover into the very prison where she suspects her husband is being held as a political prisoner. As she descends deeper into the prison’s cells, she uncovers a sinister plot of abuse and oppression.

 

Acclaimed director Matthew Ozawa transports the action to a modern-day prison facility, reminding viewers that Beethoven’s warnings in Fidelio—about power, corruption, and tyranny—remain as relevant today as they were 200 years ago, while crystallizing the composer’s vision for justice and freedom.

 

Featuring Miina-Liisa Värelä as Leonore; Clay Hilley as Florestan; Dimitry Ivashchenko as Rocco;  Anna-Sophie Neher as Marzelline; Josh Lovell as Jaquino; Johannes Martin Kränzle as Don Pizarro; Sava Vemić as Don Fernando; Wesley Harrison as First Prisoner; Alex Halliday as Second Prisoner. 

Conductor: Johannes Debus. Director: Matthew Ozawa

 

WHERE: Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St W, Toronto, ON

HOW: Order online via the COC website. https://www.coc.ca/season-calendar 

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WHEN: October 6-28, 2023

WHAT: The Canadian Opera Company presents Puccini’s La Bohème. 

From a cold but charming apartment in the Latin Quarter to the bustling street scenes at the Café Momus, we follow the poet Rodolfo and his seamstress neighbor Mimì, struggling artists searching for love and life in Bohemian Paris.

 

These spirited scenes unfold against a set designed out of perpetually shifting painted canvases, all under the direction of Tony Award-winner John Caird. The real-life married couple of tenor Pene Pati and soprano Amina Edris star as the show’s tragic young lovers.

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Featuring Amina Edris, Jonelle Sills (October 22) as Mimì; Pene Pati, Kang Wang (October 22 and 28) as Rodolfo; Joo Won Kang as Marcello; Charlotte Siegel as Musetta; Blaise Malaba as Colline; Justin Welsh as Schaunard; Wesley Harrison as Parpignol; Korin Thomas-Smith as Customs Officer. 

Conductor: Jordan de Souza

Original Director: John Caird; Revival Director: Katherine M. Carter

 

WHERE: Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St W, Toronto, ON

HOW: Order online via the COC website. https://www.coc.ca/season-calendar 

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WHEN: Friday, October 20, 2023, 7:30 PM

WHAT: Opera-Lytes presents a fully staged production of Sullivan's farcical operetta Cox and Box, featuring John Clayton, Ken Schlimgen, and Ciaran Krueger, accompanied by Ivan Docenko at the piano. On the second half of the program are favorite Gilbert and Sullivan solos, duets and trios. Among the featured singers are Mariami Bekauri, Michael Warner, Emily Barger, Liz Klimek, Andy Gonlag, Paul Berglund, Lesta Ammons, and others. Nicholas Mark Czaplicki conducts. 

Dessert Reception to follow performance.

WHERE: 77 Washington Hwy, Buffalo, NY 14226

HOW: Tickets available at the door. For more information, visit the Opera-Lytes Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OperaLytes 

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