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Live Opera: The Ultimate Unplugged Experience

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This article was published 21/10/2016 (3368 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Opera is a live experience that fully immerses the audience in the moment. And in a world steeped in technology – it is the ultimate “unplugged” experience. Why? The singers do not use microphones.

“The artists use their gifts to touch you in a hall of 2,000 people where everyone – to the person in the last row of the second balcony – experiences that very visceral, authentic performance – without any kind of technical enhancement,” says Darlene Ronald, director of marketing for the company.

“It’s an opportunity to hear and experience the extraordinary things that humans are capable of.”

Romantic love is the theme that resonates through the two very different productions being presented by Manitoba Opera this season for the very first time: Falstaff and Werther.

The stories will take audiences away, and to ensure that everyone can come along, surtitles which carry the English translations for Falstaff’s Italian and Werther’s French libretti, are projected above the stage.

“Surtitles make opera very user friendly,” says Ronald.

The season kick-starts in November with the exploits of Falstaff, William Shakespeare’s famously foolish knight-of-a-certain-age, set to the music of the great composer Giuseppe Verdi. Strapped for cash, Falstaff tries his luck with the merry – and very married – wives of Windsor, with comic results.

“Falstaff is such fun and the music is light and clever. It really illustrates its famous quote: All the world’s a jest…he who laughs last, laughs best!” explains Ronald.

The cast will feature acclaimed baritone Todd Thomas in the lead role and will be directed by former Winnipegger Michael Cavanagh. Manitoba Opera’s Music Advisor and Principal Conductor, Tyrone Paterson will conduct both season offerings.

The second half of the season (April/May) provides a deeply emotional contrast with Jules Massenet’s Werther (Ver-tare), a story of heartbreak and anguish for the young poet who cannot live without the love of the unattainable Charlotte. One of Canada’s leading tenors, John Tessier, will sing the signature role with soprano Lauren Segal as the object of his desire. Werther will be directed by Winnipeg’s Ann Hodges.

“Werther is a masterpiece. It has some of the most moving and exquisite music you will hear in all of French opera,” says Ronald.

To make opera fully accessible and enrich the already deep experience, Manitoba Opera offers a free series of Opera Plus events led by experts who can guide you through the story. For Falstaff, audiences can learn about the character’s place in history; where Verdi fits in musical culture; and explore the synopsis.

“In Werther, the protagonist dies by suicide, so we’ll be engaging in initiatives around mental health and depression in March and April,” says Ronald.

Newcomers to the art form can be reassured that opera is really just stories that are told through music and song. However, the spectacle of the grand opera tradition can be breathtaking with the big sets, costumes, and a full orchestra in the pit.

“Opera has a role to play in contemporary society and whether the stories are set two years ago or 200 hundred years ago, they are still stories that help us to understand the human condition, even in 2016,” says Ronald. “And with tickets as low as $49 for a two-show package, opera is very affordable.”

For tickets and more information, go to www.manitobaopera.mb.ca or call the Manitoba Opera Box Office, 204-957-7842.