Halifax Herald article

The Halifax Summer Opera Festival will stage Jules Massenet’s fairy tale opera Cendrillon (Cinderella) and Susannah by American composer Carlisle Floyd at the Sir James Dunn Theatre and Kurt Weill’s Street Scene at Neptune’s Studio Theatre.

Cendrillon, performed in French with English translations, is slated for Friday and Aug. 12 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday and Aug. 15 at 2 p.m.

Susannah will be performed on Saturday, Tuesday and Aug. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Aug. 16 at 2 p.m.

Street Scene, referred to by Weill as American opera, is slated for Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 13 and Aug. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

The four-act Cendrillon is “based on Perrault’s 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale” and premiered in Paris in 1899, said a news release.

Gregory Myra conducts, with Stephanie Kincade as stage director and singers from Nova Scotia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Mexico and the United States. Collaborative pianist Polina Gubnitskaia is featured.

Adapted from the Apocrypha tale of Susannah and the Elders, Susannah “focuses on 18-year-old Susannah Polk, an innocent girl who is targeted as a sinner in the small mountain town of New Hope Valley, in the southern American state of Tennessee,” says the release.

“The opera won the New York Music Critics Circle Award for best new opera in 1956, and is one of the most performed American operas.

“Inspired by McCarthyism, a period of intense fear of communism in America during the early 1950s, the opera contains many feminist themes, with the music including some Protestant hymns and Appalachian folk melodies. The opera is performed in English.”

The performance is conducted by Nicholas Gilmore, with David Mosey and Nina Scott-Stoddart as stage directors, and features collaborative pianist Asher Farber. Performers hail from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and the U.S.

Street Scene received a Tony Award for best original score after its Broadway premiere in 1947. It tells the “simple story of everyday life in a big city, portraying an ethnic melting pot of characters as described in a play by Elmer Rice,” said the release. Langston Hughes created the lyrics.

The performance is conducted by Eric Charbonneau, with Andrew Pelrine as stage director, and features collaborative pianist Chloe Weston and cast members from Nova Scotia, Ontario, England and the U.S.

Tickets are available for all three shows at halifaxsummeroperafestival.com, by phone at 902-422-6278 (ext. 500) and at the door.

The 2015 Halifax Summer Opera Festival Featured Performer: soprano Irina Medvedeva!

Artist Name: Irina Medvedeva
Voice type: coloratura soprano
Role you’re singing this year:  La Fée in Cendrillon

Where are you from? How did you first get interested in opera or musical theatre? 

I was born in Russia, but now call Thunder Bay home. I first received exposure to classical music through my mom who was a concertmaster of an orchestra, and I would be dragged along to rehearsals and performances. I later discovered how fun musical theater was, and after that fell in love with opera.

When did you start studying voice? Where are you studying now?

I have always loved singing but my formal training began the year before I attended Western University. I have recently completed my Bachelor of Music degree, and will be starting an Artist Diploma at the Glenn Gould School in September.

What came first for you, theatre or music?

Music came first, but being an only child I had to find ways of entertaining myself so theater came shortly after!

What are your dream roles?

I am really looking forward to playing the role of La Fée in Massenet’s Cendrillon with HSOF! Some other roles I would love to sing are Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto— the opera has beautiful music, and a tragically beautiful love story, what’s not to love! Some other roles are Marie in La fille du régiment, Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor.

What arias or roles belonging to another voice type would you love to perform?

I would love to sing “Refiner’s Fire” from Handel’s Messiah, or be one of the bass-baritone bad guys!

Who are your favourite performing artists?

There are so many! But, Beverly Sills takes the cake!

How can we keep opera a relevant art form for young people? What is the future of opera?

We can keep opera relevant by continuing to find the layers that make the stories relevant to us as people, no matter what decade we are in. I think there are a lot of great newly established opera companies that are bringing opera to different venues making it more accessible.

What are you most looking forward to about this summer?

I am looking forward to meeting my colleagues and mentors. I am also looking forward to seeing Halifax for the first time. I’ve heard it’s beautiful and there is a lot of fresh lobster…mmm!

Thanks, Irina! Are you a participant or staff member this year? Why not submit your own answers to our questionnaire

Halifax Summer Opera Festival is thrilled to announce Nova Scotian director Richie Wilcox as acting warmup facilitator!

What a treat! Nova Scotian director Richie Wilcox will join us to facilitate our acting warmups and classes for the Festival participants.

Richie Wilcox, originally from Cape Breton, is a multi-talented actor/director/singer. Wilcox has worked for numerous theatre companies over the past 20 years including Neptune, 2B Theatre, Irondale, Canadian Stage, Opera Nova Scotia, Festival Antigonish, and Angels & Heroes. Most recently, Wilcox directed Theatre Outre’s Castrati: An Electro Drag Opera for the International Gay Theatre Festival in Dublin. He also directed the world premiere of Liam Monaghan’s How To Leave and UNSEX’d for Theatre Outre. Wilcox directed Kazan Co- Op’s world premiere of Daniel MacIvor’s I, Animal and is the volume editor of the newly published New Essays on Canadian Theatre: Daniel MacIvor. Upcoming projects include directing Girls! Girls! Girls! in Halifax in July! Wilcox divides his time between Halifax, Toronto and Lethbridge, Alberta.

The 2015 Halifax Summer Opera Festival Featured Performer: Nova Scotian Jakob Creighton!

Artist Name: Jakob Creighton
Voice type: bari-tenor
Role you’re singing this year:  Daniel Buchanan and Henry Davis in  Susannah

Where are you from? How did you first get interested in opera or musical theatre? 

I’m originally from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. I was first introduced to musical theatre at a young age. I did my first musical camp at the Neptune Theatre School in Halifax, and fell in love! I have been in many musicals since then. I actually got interested in opera by chance… I am currently studying classical music and every year the university puts on a professional opera. This was my first year participating, and I adored it!! What’s funny is my family never really listened to much musical theatre until I got involved, that I’m aware of at least (except the cassette for Newsies in the 90s). No one listened to opera, or even classical music.

When did you start studying voice? Where are you studying now?

I started studying voice when I was 13 and had two separate teachers over three years, one teacher for two years and the other for one. Neither, I felt, was a good fit, however they were wonderful people! I had some coaching when I was working on musical theatre, but not much other than that until university. I am currently studying voice at Université de Moncton as a tenor (though I prefer bari-tenor operatic roles), and my voice professor is Monette Gould.

What came first for you, theatre or music?

Theatre actually came first. I did my first theatre camp at Neptune Theatre School in Halifax at age 7. It’s kind of funny, because I remember not wanting to go on the first day, but by the end of day one, my parents could barely get me to leave! But don’t worry music came soon after!

What are your dream roles?

My dream roles are:
-Marius Pontmercier in Les Misérables (musical)
-Shrek in Shrek the Musical (musical)
-Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde (musical)
-The Baker in Into the Woods (musical)
-Papageno in Die Zauberflote (opera)

All of the musical roles, I would love to play them because of their emotional journeys throughout their respective shows. As for Papageno, it’s the only vocal role that I can play in Die Zauberflote and I would love to get to be in that opera!

What arias or roles belonging to another voice type would you love to perform?

I would love to perform “Der Holle Rache” from Die Zauberflote sung by the coloratura soprano role Queen of the Night.
As for male roles, Jean Valjean in Les Misérables. The character can move an entire audience within moments of the show beginning.

Who are your favourite performing artists?

There are so many… here are just a few:
-Christian Borle
-Brian d’Arcy James
-Kelli O’Hara
-Diana Demrau
-Audra MacDonald
-Sutton Foster
-Joel Grey
-Idina Menzel
-Kristin Chenoweth
-Matthew Morrison
-Kelsey Grammar
-Laura Michelle Kelly

How can we keep opera a relevant art form for young people? What is the future of opera?

That’s tough… I think that it’s simply about exposure. If we teach high school students that this is music that is found literally EVERYWHERE (even songs they enjoy, like Ride of the Valkyries), they probably would like it. Some people don’t like classical music and opera simply because they associate it with school.
The future of opera is in the hands of the music educators who need to explain that this music is found everywhere and shouldn’t be associated simply with school.

What are you most looking forward to about this summer?

I was actually made aware of HSOF by a friend, Andrea Johnston, who is playing Mrs. McLean in Susannah. If she hadn’t made me aware of this event, I wouldn’t have signed up for what I’m sure will be an amazing experience!! On a completely different note, I am also an acclaimed screenwriter!!

I am very excited to get to work with such talented singers who have so much more experience that I do in opera performance. I look forward to learning a lot from them as well as the creative team. I’m also hoping that this experience will open doors to other learning opportunities such as this elsewhere.

Thanks, Jakob! Are you a participant or staff member this year? Why not submit your own answers to our questionnaire

The 2015 Halifax Summer Opera Festival Featured Performer: bass baritone Ian Fundytus!

Artist Name: Ian Fundytus
Voice type: bass baritone
Role you’re singing this year:  Reverend Olin Blitch in  Susannah

Where are you from? How did you first get interested in opera or musical theatre? 

I was originally born in Edmonton, but spent most of my life growing up in southern Alberta. My parents both listened to musical theatre and had a few CDs stashed away around the house that I managed to get my hands on. To this day I still know every word off of the ‘Aspects of Love’ CD that I listened to a million times. As for opera, it really wasn’t until I went to university that I was really exposed to it, and fell in love with the genre.

When did you start studying voice? Where are you studying now?

It wasn’t until my second year of University that I began taking voice lessons, as I had actually originally applied as a trumpet player. After a failed audition for a production of Into The Woods, I was asked to join the chorus for a production of Amahl and the Night Visitors. It was then that I decided to start taking voice lessons so I could get into opera workshop in the following year. I currently reside in Calgary where I perform and take lessons.


What came first for you, theatre or music?

Music came first. I was a band geek all through high school, playing trumpet in the concert and jazz bands. It wasn’t until the summer before my last year of high school that I performed in any theatre. In University, I studied music first and foremost, but made sure to try to keep my acting skill up by participating in theatre productions as well.

What are your dream roles?

Actually, this year marks me marking off Olin Blitch from my dream role list. Ever since I heard Samuel Ramey sing the role with Cheryl Studer and Jerry Hadley, I knew it was a dramatic and vocal challenge that I wanted to be a part of. The role is so vivid and intriguing just as it is dark. Blitch is a conflicted man, and I hope that I can bring some depth to the character.

Leporello from Don Giovanni has always been a dream role, not only for the fact that he has one of the most delightful arias in the bass repertoire, but also that he is such an entertaining character for the audience to relate to. Colline from La Boheme comes to mind, bringing comedy again, but especially in the fourth act, also a strong dramatic presence not often called for with bass characters. One particularly big dream of mine would be to one day be able to sing Wotan, especially for Die Walkure. On the musical side, Sweeney Todd is on the top of my list.

What arias or roles belonging to another voice type would you love to perform?

Nemorino – A Great character, lots of fun, beautiful arias and duets. 
Sam Polk – The underappreciated character from Susannah, also has one of the most beautiful arias of the show (‘It’s about the way people is made, I reckon’)
Robert – From Sondheim’s Company. The role is a bit high for me, but the story and emotion from the songs can’t be beat. 
Susannah Polk – Let’s face it, one of the most beautiful roles in the American operatic repertoire. ‘Ain’t it a pretty night?’ and ‘The Trees on the Mountain’. Enough said, I think.
Candide – Some of the most beautiful music Bernstein wrote, and inevitably, it’s for a tenor. 
Peter Grimes – British opera at it’s highest. One of the ultimate tenor roles musically and dramatically.

Who are your favourite performing artists?

I’ve always enjoyed listening to Bryn Terfel, Samuel Ramey, James Morris and Dietrich Fiescher-Dieskau, but more recently, I’ve come to really appreciate the voices of Gerald Finley and Philippe Sly. Also, they happen to be Canadian, so that gives me hope as a Canadian singer, myself.

Outside of the Classical world, I enjoy listening to a wide variety of music, including Rush, James Taylor, The Police, Journey, and many others.

How can we keep opera a relevant art form for young people? What is the future of opera?

I believe the best way to keep opera relevant for young people is to attract them to the stories and dramas that have endured in the music of these operas. With the success of television dramas such as Game of Thrones or Downton Abbey, we know that people (including young people) are willing and able to handle large productions with many characters, as long as the story is engaging. We need to find a way to reach people with these stories, and hopefully by drawing them in, challenge them to want to learn more. 

The future of Opera is about making it more accessible to the public again. With the availability of performances through live broadcasts in movie theatres, as well as the success of the small and concert opera companies appearing throughout the country, opera looks to have many avenues in which it can reach people more readily.

What are you most looking forward to about this summer?

I am excited for my first trip to the maritimes! I’ve heard nothing but good things about Halifax, and am excited to see more of the beautiful coastline. Susannah has always been an opera I’ve wanted to perform, so this will be a wonderful experience to have while in the area. I’m also looking forward to meeting more singers and musicians from across the country and seeing old friends that I haven’t seen in a while.

Thanks, Ian! Are you a participant or staff member this year? Why not submit your own answers to our questionnaire