Volume 29 Issue 4 | February & March 2024

ON OPERA
OPERA: THE
DEFINITE ARTICLE
MJ BUELL
TIM LAYES
Jacob MacInnis is Dion, half human, half god, in DION:
A Rock Opera at Coal Mine Theatre, Toronto
Joining forces for the first time on a major work since their
co-creation of the multi-media ballet Frame by Frame for the
National Ballet of Canada, Côté and Lepage are both excited about
revisiting Hamlet. Lepage knows the play well, having directed
various versions of the story and having created and toured his
audacious one man version Elsinore in 1995. Côté previously danced
the role of Hamlet in Kevin O’Day’s version with the National Ballet.
Both collaborators are steering the project with Lepage providing the
physical design and direction and Côté choreographing for the nine
dancers as well as starring as Hamlet. Underpinning the whole is an
original score by John Gzowski that is essentially contemporary in
style but that includes the wonderfully Shakespearean instrumental
sound of the hurdy-gurdy. I am curious to see how provocative this
production will be.
All in all this is an exciting season for works that engage with
some of the darkest trends in society but that also provide hope – by
showcasing the heart and valour of those who fight to make society
better, and by affirming the power of art, through discourse, to make
us open our minds to new possibilities.
Jennifer Parr is a Toronto-based director, dramaturge, fight
director and acting coach, brought up from a young age on a rich
mix of musicals, Shakespeare and new Canadian plays.
Somehow "We're going to the opera!" doesn't even
just mean the building or the performance. It’s
about both, and the alchemy of the immersive and
transformative experience we anticipate. We go to the
opera for the music and for the story, familiar or not. We
go for the visual stimulation of the sets and costumes.
But we also go for the shared experience and the shared
excitement and because one way or another the experience
is always larger than our own lives.
If you live in a big city with an internationally renowned resident
company residing in its own purpose-made opera house, people
will understandably assume that’s what you mean by “the opera.”
But equally, you might live in a university town with a shared multiuse
performance space, a community that is served by a regional
performing arts centre, or a small town that has a church or legion
hall where live performances happen. And if you say “We’re going to
the opera!” chances are the response will still be something like “Oh
- that’s exciting!” And then perhaps “Which one?” Or “What are you
going to wear?” But there will be an immediate understanding that
it’s kind of a big deal, no matter where you are going.
From where I live, in Toronto, I can go to a performance by the
Canadian Opera Company and walk home from the Four Seasons for
the Performing Arts, which I often need to do as a way of taking time
to process and absorb the show. But I also remember how Toronto City
Opera performed in the auditorium at Central Technical School on
Harbord Street. That was “the opera” we went to in those days, and it
felt like a big deal.Their ongoing commitment to “opera for everyone”
never gets old. Southern Ontario’s current opera scene has much to
FROM THE
PRAIRIES
TO PARIS A Memoir
A glimpse into the fascinating world
of showbiz: laughter, tears, and
unforgettable moments.
Join Arlene Meadows on a journey through
time and discover the stories behind the
glitz and glamour or lack thereof!
Now available from arlenemeadows.ca
A scene from Toronto City Opera’s June 2023
production of Die Fledermaus.
DAHLIA KATZ
26 | February & March 2024 thewholenote.com