Svadba - WeddingProduced by Sung in Serbian with English surtitles Performed at C103 (formerly Catalyst Theatre), 8529 Gateway Blvd The night before a wedding, girlfriends prepare the bride-to-be in a ravishing and cathartic Balkan rite of passage. An intoxicating a cappella tour de force for six female opera singers, by Ana Sokolovic (The Midnight Court). Cast
Ana SokolovićComposerAna Sokolović’s repertoire consists of works from soloists to large orchestra, and concert music to incidental music. She has been a three-time winner in the Competition for Young Composers of SOCAN (1995, 1998), and represented Canada at UNESCO’s International Rostrum of Composers, in Paris (1996, 2000). In 1999, Géométie sentimentale obtained a first-place prize in chamber music category and Grand Prix of 13th CBC Radio National Competition for Young Composers. She has won the Joseph S. Stauffer Prize from the Canada Council (2005), the Quebec Music Council’s Prix Opus Prize (composer of the year, 2007), and Jan Matejcek SOCAN’S Prize for concert music (2008). In 2005 she wrote her first opera, The Midnight Court, for Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, which was performed at the Royal Opera House in June 2006. Ana was unanimously chosen by the Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec for its 2011/12 season Homage Series. DÁIRINE NÍ MHEADHRAArtistic DirectorDáirine Ní Mheadhra began her professional career at the age of 17 as a cellist with the Irish National Symphony Orchestra. In 1990 she founded the new music ensemble Nua Nós, comprised of the principal chairs of the Irish National Symphony Orchestra. Nua Nós was awarded an AIB Better Ireland Arts Award and in 1994 their CD of chamber works by Irish composer Gerald Barry was nominated as best CD worldwide of music by a living composer. In the same year Dáirine immigrated to Canada to join her new Canadian husband John Hess, where they founded Queen of Puddings Music Theatre. In May 2012, Dáirine was awarded Canada’s 2012 Molson Prize in the Arts, in recognition of her outstanding lifetime achievements and ongoing contributions to Canada’s cultural and intellectual life. JOHN HESSArtistic DirectorJohn Hess has been involved with the creation of many new productions for the Canadian Opera Company and has collaborated with virtually every contemporary opera company in Canada. At the Banff Centre for the Arts, he served as associate artistic director of the 20th Century Opera and Song program. John is equally in demand as a vocal coach and pianist, performing regularly with Ben Heppner in Canada. Other performances of note include recitals with Measha Brueggergosman, Jane Archibald and Joseph Calleja. As a member of the music faculty at the University of Western Ontario, John directs the first master’s program in Collaborative Piano in Canada. He holds a doctorate in musical arts from the University of Michigan where he was a fellowship student with pianist Martin Katz. NATHALIE BONJOURArtistic ProducerNathalie is an independent producer and performing arts consultant. She joined Queen of Puddings as the artistic producer in December 2005 and has since developed, premiered and toured a number of new Canadian operas. Previously, she was the artistic director of the Saidye Bronfman Centre Theatre (1991-98), associate producer for the Just For Laughs Festival and Centaur Theatre’s Wild Side Festival (1998), and artistic associate at the National Arts Centre English Theatre. She has also worked for MAI — Montreal, arts interculturels — as the executive and artistic director (1998-2000). From 2001 to 2005 she was artistic producer at Nightwood Theatre where she produced and toured several new Canadian plays. Michael CavanaghStage DirectorMichael Cavanagh has directed multiple mainstage productions for virtually every opera company in Canada, directs regularly in the United States (Philadelphia, Minnesota, Kentucky, Kansas City and Hawaii) and is the former artistic director of Edmonton Opera. A highlight of the most recent season was his successful debut at the San Francisco Opera with his new production of Nixon in China. He also made return visits to Kentucky Opera to direct The Merry Widow and remounted Nixon in China at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. A very busy season in 2012/13 has him returning to l'Opera de Montreal (La Traviata) as well as his company debut with Boston Lyric Opera (The Flying Dutchman). Other future projects include return engagements with Minnesota Opera (Manon Lescaut), Austin Lyric Opera (Tosca) and Vancouver (Don Carlo) as well as a new production of Susannah for San Francisco Opera in 2014. Andrea LudwigNadaAndrea Ludwig has appeared with the Canadian Opera Company in numerous roles including Nireno in Julius Ceasar, the Second Niece in Peter Grimes, Flora in Turn of the Screw, Moira in The Handmaid's Tale and Liesgen in Coffee Cantata. The mezzo soprano's solo performances have included Mozart's Requiem, Mozart's Mass In C Minor, Handel's Messiah, and Black Sun, a new piece by Peter Togni for the Halifax Jazz Festival this past July. The Halifax Chronicle Herald also dubbed Andrea's most recent performance of R. Murray Schafer's Adieu Robert Schumann with Symphony Nova Scotia as "an intensely moving performance." Upcoming performances include a tribute concert for composer Peter Lieberson in February 2013 with Symphony Nova Scotia and Mahler's Das lied von der Erde with Kindred Spirits Orchestra. Carla HuhtanenZoraFrom early to modern repertoire, Carla Huhtanen has performed with Grand Teatro La Fenice, BBC Concert Orchestra, the Barbican, Garsington Opera, Festival d’Aix and Théatre Royal de Versailles in roles such as Susanna and Blonde (Mozart), Angelica (Handel) and Cunegonde (Bernstein). A 2010 Dora Award nominee and one of Now! magazine’s Top Ten Theatre Artists, she performs regularly with Opera Atelier, Queen of Puddings and Soundstreams Canada. Much in demand as an interpreter of contemporary music, the soprano sings the works of Salonen, Saariaho, Leroux, Adès and Crumb, and premieres many Canadian and American works. Elizabeth TurnbullLjubicaElizabeth Turnbull’s many credits include appearances with major orchestras and opera companies across North America. The mezzo-soprano’s roles range from the Baroque (Juno in Semele), to the Romantic (Carmen), Modern (Augusta Tabor in the Canadian premiere of The Ballad of Baby Doe) and New (Maria Picariello in Filumena). Recent operatic performances have included Olga in Eugene Onegin (Opera Lyra Ottawa), Emilia in Otello (Dallas, Edmonton) and Zita in Gianni Schicchi (Calgary Opera). Concert performances have included Verdi’s Requiem, Das Lied von der Erde, Mozart's Requeim, Messiah and Bach's St. Matthew Passion, as well as other works by Handel, Mendelssohn, Saint Saens, Beethoven, Mahler, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Rachmaninov. Elizabeth is the voice area coordinator at the University of Alberta’s Department of Music, where she has been teaching voice for three years. Jacqueline WoodleyMilicaJacqueline Woodley is a recent alumnus of the Canadian Opera Company Studio Ensemble where she performed and covered several mainstage roles over the last two years. Possessing a strong affinity for concert work, the soprano is quickly becoming known for her stylistic versatility, especially known for her early and contemporary music interpretations. Last summer, she debuted the role of Milica for Queen of Puddings Music Theatre. She is a winner of the Ottawa Choral Society’s New Discovery Auditions 2012, the David and Ann Award at the COC and holds a master’s in opera from McGill University. Laura AlbinoLenaSoprano Laura Albino is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio and the University of Toronto Opera School. Over the past two seasons she appeared as Musetta in La Bohème (Calgary Opera), Micaëla in Carmen (Jeunesses Musicales Canada), Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus (Toronto Operetta Theatre), The Cook in Robert LePage’s production of Stravinsky’s The Nightingale and Other Short Fables (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Mimì in La Bohème (Against the Grain Theatre) and Lena in the world première of Ana Sokolovic’s Svadba (Queen of Puddings Music Theatre). Appearances with the COC Ensemble Studio include Foirdiligi (Così fan tutte), Ilia (Idomeneo) and Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly). Other operatic credits include Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) and Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi). Shannon MercerDanicaHer voice has been described as luminous and her acting as feisty, Shannon Mercer is an artist of uncommon musical artistry. The soprano enthusiastically embraces repertoire ranging from early to contemporary music in performances around the globe. Her discography includes two new recordings of Bach’s St. John Passion, the JUNO-Award winning Gloria: Vivaldi’s Angels, Vivaldi - The Return of the Angels, Salsa Baroque, O Viva Rosa, Bach and the Liturgical Year, Wales ~ The Land of Song, and others. She also appears on DVD in Alexina Louie’s comic opera Burnt Toast and Not The Messiah with Monty Python’s Eric Idle. Michael GianfrancescoSet & Costume DesignerMichael has collaborated on previous Queen of Puddings Music Theatre productions of Beauty Dissolves in a Brief Hour and The Midnight Court. Recent productions include The 39 Steps (Manitoba Theatre Centre), In Good King Charles’ Golden Days and One Touch of Venus (costumes, Shaw Festival), White Christmas (set, MTC), Rock ‘n’ Roll (Canadian Stage), The Drowsy Chaperone (set, Manitoba Theatre Centre/Theatre Calgary), In Colour (National Ballet of Canada), It’s A Wonderful Life, Little Shop of Horrors (sets, Canadian Stage), The Wizard of Oz (Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People) and Kaleidoscope (set, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal). Throughout seven seasons at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, he designed sets and costumes for The Triumph of Love, Edward II, The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead and Much Ado About Nothing, and the sets for An Ideal Husband and The Comedy of Errors. Michael was the 2008 recipient of the Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design from the Ontario Arts Foundation. Kimberly PurtellLighting DesignerKimberly is a Toronto based lighting designer for theatre, opera and dance. Previously for Queen of Puddings she designed Beckett: Feck It!, Beauty Dissolves in a Brief Hour and Ines. Across Canada she has designed for companies including Mirvish Productions, Stratford Festival, Canadian Stage, Citadel Theatre, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Vancouver Playhouse, Theatre Calgary, Soulpepper, National Arts Centre, Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Luminato Festival, Necessary Angel, Tapestry New Opera, Opera Hamilton, Royal Conservatory of Music & the Glenn Gould School, Nightwood Theatre, and The Banff Centre. Her work has also been seen across the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Prague, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Russia, Mongolia and at both the Beijing and Vancouver Cultural Olympiads. Kimberly has been nominated for 17 Dora Awards winning three times and is a recipient of the Pauline McGibbon Award. Gunta DreifeldsSURTITLES™ ProducerGunta Dreifelds is indebted to Lotfi Mansouri and John Leberg for inventing SURTITLES™ at the Canadian Opera Company in 1983 with their production of Richard Strauss’ Elektra. She has translated more than 100 operas for the COC. She first worked for Queen of Puddings in 2009 on Inês and since then has worked on Galgenlieder, Svadba – Wedding and Beauty Dissolves in a Brief Hour. Elle est fière d'être responsable des spectacles surtitrés au Théâtre français de Toronto. She has also worked with Luminato, the Glenn Gould School of Music, University of Toronto, WorldStage at Harbourfront, Tapestry, Tafelmusik and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Joanna BarrottaStage ManagerThis is Joanna’s fifth show with Queen of Puddings, and she is delighted to be on the road with the Queens! A stage manager in both theatre and opera, she has worked with Canadian Stage, Cahoots Theatre Company, Queen of Puddings, Factory Theatre and three seasons at the Blyth Festival. Favourite opera credits include Semele, Ariadne auf Naxos, Idomeneo, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Götterdämmerung (Canadian Opera Company), La Bohème, Turnadot (Opera Lyra), Acis and Galatea (Opera Atelier), Svadba (Toronto premiere), Beauty Dissolves in a Brief Hour, Inês (Queen of Puddings), Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung (Opéra de Québec), Actéon/Dido and Aeneas (Opera Atelier – Korea Tour). Upcoming: carried away on the crest of a wave (Tarragon Theatre). Joanna was the General Manager for the SummerWorks Theatre Festival in 2011. Much love to the Queens, and her family and friends for keeping her feet on the ground. Alistair HepburnProduction ManagerAlistair is a freelance production manager with a strong background in entertaining the masses in Toronto. Most recently, he was the director of production for Canadian Stage. Prior to that, Alistair was teaching technical theatre at York University in the wilds of North York. Before York, he was a project supervisor for the Lord of The Rings musical. Alistair has also been involved with the Canadian Opera Company, Mirvish Productions, the Royal Ontario Museum and YPT, to name a few. He is very happy to be working with a great group at Queen of Puddings. Alistair’s grandest achievements wait for him at home every day — his two boys Mac and Cameron. Gerry EganAssistant Stage ManagerGerry Egan is excited to be working on his first Queen of Puddings Production as well as returning to Edmonton, having previously worked for Opera Nuova on school tours of Amahl and the Night Visitors and Hansel and Gretel. He has stage managed for Opera Lyra Ottawa and Tapestry New Opera Works, in addition to working as an assistant stage manager for Canadian Opera Company, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Opera Hamilton, Tapestry New Opera Works and U of T Opera School. Gerry’s theatre credits include working as a stage manager with The Grand Theatre, Port Stanley Festival Theatre, Resurgence Theatre and Theatre Direct Canada, and he has been the assistant stage manager for productions with The Grand Theatre and Theatre Athena. Upcoming projects include Turn of the Screw (U of T Opera School) and Dialogues des carmélites (Canadian Opera Company). Shanna MillerProduction ManagerShanna is happy to be working on Svadba – Wedding. Currently she is also the touring technical director for Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes. Past projects include touring with Evalyn Perry's Spin, ChartierDance's Stria and Agokwe Collective's Agokwe. She has also been the production manager for the Toronto Fringe Festival. MultimediaPhotos
Click the image to view the full slideshow Reviews & Media LinksEdmonton production of Svadba - Wedding an operatic tour-de-force Opera to have and to hold Svadba – a Serbian chamber opera |
   |
