Pacific Opera Victoria Announces Its 2019/20 Season

By: Feb. 14, 2019
Get Access To Every Broadway Story

Unlock access to every one of the hundreds of articles published daily on BroadwayWorld by logging in with one click.




Existing user? Just click login.

Pacific Opera Victoria announces its 2019/20 season, comprising six operas, including a Canadian première and a world première production.

The season opens October 17, 2019, with Puccini's last completed stage work. Il trittico is a trio of one-act operas that, when staged together as the composer intended, provides an emotional rollercoaster of an evening. Il tabarro (The Cloak) is a dark thriller; Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica) a poignant tragedy; and Gianni Schicchi a farcical comedy. Pacific Opera Artistic Director Timothy Vernon describes Il trittico as "a virtuoso display, composed at the height of his career and confirming Puccini's mastery of both drama and comedy." Directed by Glynis Leyshon, with set and costume design by Patrick Clark, Il trittico will feature Italian-Canadian soprano Aviva Fortunata, Canadian tenor Adam Luther, and American baritone Todd Thomas.

Requiring three sets and a large cast, Il trittico is complicated and costly to produce and rarely presented in its entirety. This production is the first in a series of donor-supported special events scheduled this season and next in recognition of Pacific Opera's 40th Anniversary.

Beginning February 20, 2020, Pacific Opera presents the Canadian première of Flight, the 1998 opera that launched British composer Jonathan Dove's career. Inspired by the true story of a refugee who lived in an airport for 18 years, Flight features a scintillating score and an ensemble cast of travelers and airport workers, all stuck in a terminal for the night, all with their own stories. "We are keenly aware of the plight of refugees today," says Timothy Vernon, "and recent events in our own airports make the story of the opera as relevant as when it was written two decades ago. Flight, with an ominous undertow, yet satirically human, is a modern masterpiece." Morris Panych returns to Pacific Opera to direct this dark comedy, with set design by Ken MacDonald.

To conclude the mainstage season, Pacific Opera re-visits an eternally popular work. Musically brilliant and a perfect opera for newcomers, Bizet's Carmen will be presented in April of 2020. "Directed by Serge Denoncourt who staged our marvelous production of Les Feluettes, Carmen will be vital, dramatic and wholly original", says Vernon. The opera will feature Canadian mezzo-soprano Carolyn Sproule in the title role and tenor Jean-Michel Richer as Don José.

All the season's mainstage productions are conducted by Timothy Vernon and presented at the Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton Street, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Pacific Opera Victoria's Baumann Centre is the venue for The Flight of the Hummingbird, an important new opera for young audiences and families. Based on the best-selling book by Haida artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, The Flight of the Hummingbird is a touching exploration of environmental activism, moral courage, and personal responsibility.

With libretto and creative design by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas and Barry Gilson and music by French-Canadian composer Maxime Goulet, Hummingbird has been co-commissioned by Pacific Opera and Vancouver Opera and will tour schools throughout British Columbia in Spring 2020. Public performances will be presented at the Baumann Centre in March 2020.

For more information and for season tickets, visit www.pov.bc.ca or call 1-250-385-0222.



Videos