Bumblebees are aeronautically impossible. But they fly anyway. And Bach can be played on the double bass, as the great Joel Quarrington illustrates in a new video made just weeks ago. Joel plays a 1630 Giovanni Paolo Maggini double bass, an instrument normally tuned in fourths. He follows the unusual practice of tuning in fifths, […]
He is one of our wittiest, slyest, most honest and influential of writers and musicians. A one-man tour de force, Tomson Highway is famed as a novelist and playwright, pianist and composer, librettist and speaker. Himself Cree, and holder of degrees in music and English, he has written two operas to date: Pimooteewin (2008), and […]
A sly and witty comic opera, Burnt Toast is a masterpiece of Canadian humour. This episode stars Barbara Hannigan and Mark McKinney, with music by Alexina Louie to a libretto by Dan Redican, and sly nods to Tristan. Fully assembled, Burnt Toast is a set of eight comic operas, each depicting a different stage of […]
Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside incorporates remarkable and unexpected talent. Many years ago, it also incorporated a Black district, Hogan’s Alley. It was razed in the name of ‘urban renewal’ and obliterated by a viaduct. Even so, in 2011 a renaissance began in poetry and song, identity and memory — here led by two of its residents, […]
The new chamber opera Missing premiered in 2017, and has received 22 performances since, including a first tour. Directed by Peter Hinton, conducted by Timothy Long, with music by Brian Current and libretto by Marie Clements, it is a tale based on terrible fact: the murders of more than 1,200 Indigenous women and girls in […]
One of the most exciting achievements in Canadian theatre was that of Kidd Pivot and the Electric Company Theatre, five years ago. They collaborated on Betroffenheit, and gave the world a shattering and vivid examination of tragedy, grief, and inexplicable loss. Since its Canadian premiere, it has been staged in Seattle, Portland, Dallas, Dublin, London, Perth, […]
There are more than 300 recorded covers of this great anthem. Here in 2006, at the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, may be the best of them. kd is in pure and perfect form, her phrasing and intonation [4:58!], her utter immersion, are perhaps unmatched in this work. It could not have hurt that she […]
Yannick is, of course, one of the most gifted and famous conductors in the world, leading the Metropolitan Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and l’orchestra Métropolitain de Montréal, as well as guest-conducting around the world. Here he is, in a recent at-home-during-COVID with his partner, the violist Pierre Tourville.
This was planned to run in our 3rd week. But with the tragedy of Erin’s passing, two days ago, at 44, this seems especially powerful now. Re “lost a battle with cancer”, on August 29, this is what she said: “I HATE that phrase and I’m coming back and haunting anyone who uses it to […]
He was one of our greatest actors, gifted with glossolalia, able to speak in tongues and characters but always distinctively himself. From Prospero to Lady Bracknell, Hutt had a vast range and clear focus. Why so admired? See for yourself, as in one of his most famous roles he plays James Tyrone opposite Tom McCamus […]
In 2014, as City Opera was preparing the world premiere of Margaret Atwood’s first opera, PAULINE, we were in public workshop at the DTES Carnegie Centre. Neighbour Steve Lytton observed, “You’ve given us reasons to pity Pauline Johnson. You haven’t given us a reason to love her.” Within 48 hours, Margaret and composer Tobin Stokes […]
One of the most fascinating composers and performers working today, Eliot Britton personifies crossover and fusion, integrating electronic and instrumental music in new sounds and the construction of new arenas. Proudly Métis, holder of a PhD from McGill, he also brings deep insight into cultures and traditions that now co-exist in his music. PS: if […]
City Opera Vancouver is grateful and honoured to work, create and perform on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Xwməθkwəyə̓ m (Musqueam), Sḵwxw̱ ú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl ̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
City Opera Vancouver
PO Box 46922 Stn D
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6J 5M4