COC's October Listings

OPERA

Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

10 performances: October 8, 11, 15, 20, 23, 28 and 31, 2008 at 7:30 p.m., October 5 and 26

at 2 p.m., and October 18 at 4:30 p.m.

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

The COC’Äôs 2008/09 season opens with a revival of Mozart’Äôs timeless masterpiece Don Giovanni, a comic drama in its most perfect form. It’Äôs a wry and insightful portrait of literature’Äôs most famous womanizer, his victims and nemeses. Every page of Mozart’Äôs score seethes with music of passion, wit and elegance.

The production features a largely Canadian cast led by baritone Brett Polegato as the notorious lover and COC favourite Robert Pomakov as Leporello, Don Giovanni’Äôs faithful servant. COC Ensemble Studio graduate Jessica Muirhead returns to sing Donna Anna, a victim of Don Giovanni’Äôs forced advances and tenor Gordon Gietz sings the role of Donna Anna’Äôs fiancˆ©, Don Ottavio. American soprano Julie Makerov is Donna Elvira, one of Don Giovanni’Äôs conquests, while former Ensemble soprano Virginia Hatfield is Zerlina, a peasant girl who becomes Don Giovanni’Äôs latest exploit.

Tickets for Don Giovanni go on sale August 25, 2008. Single tickets are $60 ’Äì $290 (specially priced $20 tickets for young people under the age of 30 go on sale September 27, 2008) and are available online at www.coc.ca, by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or in person at the

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Don Giovanni Production Sponsor: RBC Financial Group

War and Peace by Sergei Prokofiev

8 performances: October 10, 14, 16, 22, and 29, 2008 at 7 p.m., October 19 at 2 p.m. and

October 25 at 4:30 p.m.

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

145 Queen St. W. (at University Ave.)

The fall season continues with the COC premiere and the first fully-staged Canadian production of Prokofiev’Äôs powerful drama, War and Peace. A co-production with English National Opera, this masterpiece follows the Russian people and their hard-won victory over Napoleon’Äôs devastating military force. From the ballroom to the battlefield, stirring choruses and a huge ensemble cast bring Tolstoy’Äôs novel to epic, heart-breaking life.

With over 60 named roles, this production features a cast that is truly international. One of the most sought-after lyric baritones on the international stage today, Canada’Äôs Russell Braun makes his role debut as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. Russian soprano Elena Semenova makes her COC debut singing the role of Andrei’Äôs fiancˆ©e, Countess Natasha Rostov. Prince Anatole Kuragin is sung by Moscow-born tenor Oleg Balashov, while Russian bass Mikhail Kit makes his company debut as Field Marshal Kutuzov. Mezzo-soprano Larisa Kostyuk sings the role of Prince Anatole’Äôs sister, Countess Hˆ©lˆ®ne Bezukhova, and COC favourite Mikhail Agafonov returns as Hˆ©lˆ®ne’Äôs husband Count Pierre Bezukhov. COC Ensemble Studio graduate Lauren Segal is Sonya, Natasha’Äôs loyal cousin. Canadian Judith Forst returns to the COC as Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova, while baritone Vassily Gerello sings Napoleon. Gregory Dahl sings the roles of Balaga and General Yermolov, and Canadian mezzo-soprano Jean Stilwell is Madame Peronskaya.

Tickets for War and Peace go on sale August 25, 2008. Single tickets are $60 ’Äì $290 (specially priced $20 tickets for young people under the age of 30 go on sale September 27, 2008) and are available online at www.coc.ca, by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or in person at the

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

FREE CONCERT SERIES IN THE

RICHARD BRADSHAW AMPHITHEATRE

October 1 ’Äì October 30, 2008

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

145 Queen St. W. (at University Ave.)

The Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre includes concerts, performances and presentations by young artists, Canadian and international opera stars and COC staff. This is an exciting opportunity for Torontonians to experience the artistic excellence and cultural diversity of the city. All performances are free to the public.

Date	Series	Artist
October 1, 2008 12 ’Äì 1 p.m.	World Music Series	Tabla player Vineet Vyas and dancer/choreographer Bageshree Vaze present A Tapestry of Indian Rhythm. The dynamic duo, along with guest artists (harmonium and sitar), bring alive the grandeur of the ancient Indian arts of Kathak dance and the tabla, the ’Äútalking’Äù drums of North India.
October 2, 2008 12 ’Äì 1 p.m.	Dance Series	ProArteDanza presents Up Close and Intimate, a sneak preview of the ProArteDanza 2008 season. The program features works influenced by the best of both classical ballet and contemporary dance.
October 7, 2008 12 ’Äì 1 p.m.	Vocal Series	The COC Ensemble Studio and pianist Liz Upchurch present The Rake Punished: Highlights from Don Giovanni.
October 8, 2008 12 ’Äì 1 p.m.	Vocal Series	Queen of Puddings Music Theatre presents The All-Canadian Classical Cabaret Show. Two singers and a pianist delve into the weird and wonderful world of Cabaret from a distinctly Canadian perspective.
October 9, 2008 12 ’Äì 1 p.m.	Piano Virtuoso Series	Pianist Lucas Porter performs Prokofiev’Äôs Piano Sonatas No. 3 and 4. Both sonatas create a contrast between the lyrical and ’Äúscherzando-motoric’Äù style. The symphonic third sonata is a work of great passion and drama, while the fourth is extremely lyrical and introverted.
October 14, 2008 12 ’Äì 1 p.m.	Piano Virtuoso Series	Canadian Pianist Joel Hastings presents Expressions of Melody and Virtuosity, a scintillating program of pieces not usually heard on the piano. The recital includes three delightful sonatas by Scarlatti, Resphigi’Äôs Ancient Airs and Dances, a Schubert love song, and Franz Liszt’Äôs transcription of Wagner’Äôs Tannhˆ§user overture.
October 16, 2008 12 ’Äì 1 p.m.	Dance Series	Opera Atelier presents Mozart’Äôs The Abduction from the Seraglio. Tenors Frˆ©dˆ©ric Antoun and COC Ensemble Studio graduate Lawrence Wiliford are joined by sopranos Amanda Pabyan and Carla Huhtanen, bass Bustav Andreassen and baritone Curtis Sullivan with artists from Atelier Ballet.
October 21, 2008 12 ’Äì 1 p.m.	Chamber Music Series	Three distinguished musicians, Kathleen Rudolph, Theresa Rudolph-Koczˆ„ and Rita Constanzi, join forces to present music for the delightful trio of flute, viola and harp, featuring Debussy’Äôs seminal Sonate pour flˆªte, alto, et harpe.
October 23, 2008 12 ’Äì 1 p.m.	Piano Virtuoso Series	Acclaimed contemporary specialist Rˆ©a Rebecca Beaumont presents In Search Of..., an eclectic program of works for solo piano that exemplifies global connectedness and explores a universal theme: mankind’Äôs innate desire to search.
October 28, 2008 12 ’Äì 1 p.m.	Dance Series	¬°ARTE FLAMENCO! Spanish Dance Company presents Flamenco Dance Theatre, the merging of drama, dance, cante and guitar in order to tell a captivating story.
October 30, 2008 12 ’Äì 1 p.m.	Vocal Series	Riveting Russian mezzo-soprano Larisa Kostyuk presents Russian Romances, a rich and romantic program of songs from her native Russia, featuring the mesmerizing ballad-lament from Rimsky-Korsakov’Äôs rarely-heard opera, The Tsar’Äôs Bride.

EDUCATION & OUTREACH

The Opera Exchange

In collaboration with the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company presents The Opera Exchange: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Opera. Monster Opera: Prokofiev’Äôs War and Peace is the first instalment of three symposia that provide an in-depth and entertaining look at opera. Participants have the opportunity to listen to a series of lectures on War and Peace from an astonishing array of academic specialists, followed by panel discussions with members of the COC’Äôs creative teams.

The Opera Exchange

Monster Opera: Prokofiev’Äôs War and Peace

Saturday, October 18, 2008

9:30 a.m. ’Äì 4 p.m.

$25 per participant

($15 for U of T Faculty and $5 for students)

Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, The Faculty of Music

80 Queen’Äôs Park (at Museum subway station)

Order online at www.coc.ca or call COC Ticket Services at 416-306-2377

Tour the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

The COC invites the public to experience behind-the-scenes views into the workings of an opera company by touring the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Public tours provide the opportunity for attendees to learn more about the opera house, its history, architecture and innovative acoustic design. Each hour-long tour is led by trained docents and includes background information and access to the Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre and

R. Fraser Elliott Hall. Public tours are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and free for children 12 and under. Public tours take place Saturday mornings at 11:45 a.m. and 12 p.m. (with some exceptions). Please call for availability and book your tour at 416-306-2377, or visit the COC website at www.coc.ca.

EVENTS

Operanation V ’Äì La Vie Bohˆ®me
October 24, 2008 ’Äì 9 p.m.

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

The Canadian Opera Company’Äôs fifth annual fundraiser Operanation, takes place on Friday, October 24, 2008. This elegant affair is the premier event for young urban professionals, melding the inspirational venue of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts with the must-attend arts fundraiser of the fall social season. This year’Äôs French theme, La Vie Bohˆ®me welcomes guests to incredible sights and sounds as life and art come together in the style of Bohemian Paris. La Vie Bohˆ®me embraces the free-spirit and artistry of Parisian culture, ensuring an unforgettable evening of pleasure for all. Students from the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts bring dramatic flair to the occasion as they mill through the crowd playing the parts of 19th-century French performers, while painters and sketch artists are also on hand to capture artistic renderings of guests. Attendees can enjoy live operatic performances, cocktails, hors d’Äôoeuvres, a silent auction and a raffle for a lavish vacation.

Operanation V ’Äì La Vie Bohˆ®me

Friday, October 24, 2008 ’Äì 9 p.m.
$125 per person

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

Tickets can be purchased online at www.operanation.ca

or by calling 416-363-8231

Operanation Event Sponsor: TD Canada Trust Music