November - Opera Nova Scotia

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NOVEMBER 2014
ISSUE NO. 62
Bring the Delights of Dining and Divas to Loved Ones and Good Friends through the purchase of
Cupid’s Christmas Special
“On Comet, on Cupid…”
Santa’s team needn’t go further, because Cupid will deliver your gift from its
namesake directly down the chimney at Christmas !
Sustain the warmth of the Holidays right through to
February 14 by giving reservations for the ONS Annual
Gala Fundraiser Opera Valentine, taking advantage of
Cupid’s discount of $5.00 per ticket. This offer is a
privilege to Members of Opera Nova Scotia and to ICCA
only. The cost for a Cupid’s Christmas Special
Reservation is $80.00, including a $25 tax receipt. The
more you buy, the more you save!!!
Opera Valentine 2015, Saturday, Feb. 14, 6:00 for
6:30 p.m., Italian-Canadian Cultural Association,
2629 Agricola Street, Halifax.
The theme: “Lasciatemi cantare”– “Let me sing”: five
vocalists eagerly waiting to entertain you with their songs
of love.
Your Music Director and Host: Paula Rockwell, with
pianist Tara Scott.
Her vocally outstanding Quartet, offering operatic
arias and ensembles:
Soprano Maureen Batt, taking time from her busy
career in Ontario to whet our guests’ appetite for her
starring roles in the upcoming ONS Spring Production.
Mezzo Soprano Paula Rockwell, one of Nova Scotia’s
most popular personalities in vocal performance and
pedagogy, gracing each successive Gala with her
congenial hosting and good spirits.
Tenor Leander Mendoza, having charmed us at our St.
Margaret’s Bay Musicale eagerly looking forward to
weaving his lyrical spell around each dining table.
Bass-baritone Jon-Paul Décosse, returning by popular
request for his second Opera Valentine in a row after
delighting last season’s Don Giovanni audiences by his
portrayal of Leporello.
Prize Winner Opera Valentine Debut: Soprano
Jayani Abeysekera, 2014 Kiwanis Festival Opera Solo
Class ONS Prize.
The Menu. Chef Lanfranco Nardi creates five courses in
delicious harmony:
Antipasto: Mare e Monti
Sea and Land: garlic potato with scallop and shrimp
Pasta: Tortellini al formaggio in salsa bianca
Cheese Tortellini in a velvet cream sauce
Main Course:
Petto di pollo con formaggio di capra e asparagi
Chicken breast with goat cheese and asparagus
Patate al forno, fagiolini e carote
Roasted potatoes, string beans and carrots
Insalata mista
Spring Mix salad with Italian vinaigrette
Dessert : “from the pastry chef with love”
Cannoli alla crema
Cannoli with cream
Coffee and Tea
(Continued on page 2)
Cupid’s Christmas Special
(continued)
Italian wines will be available for purchase at the bar.
Reservations: Call Sheila at 445-5768. Tell her if you
prefer a vegetarian menu or if for dietary reasons you
require any other food adjustments from the kitchen.
NB Deadline for ‘Cupid’s Christmas Special’ discount
price, December 31, 2014.
After January 1, 2015, the full price of $85.00
will apply.
An ONS Musical Backbone:
Lynette Wahlstrom
The musical backbone of
any organization offering
vocal performance is its
keyboard staff, and already
this season we have had
occasion to thank the day
that brought Lynette
Wahlstrom to Halifax. Her
training and experience
gained in Western Canada
and Montreal have been
effective in imparting her
high standard of
collaborative musicianship
to the community’s choral,
Lynette Wahlstrom
church, studio, and opera
(Photo by D. Abriel)
life.
Lynette holds the B. Mus. (Brandon), Lic. Dip. and
Master’s in Accompaniment (McGill), and Master in Piano
Performance (Univ. de Montréal). She is Collaborative
Pianist and Vocal coach, Dalhousie Fountain School of
Performing Arts, Music Director of First Baptist Church,
and Accompanist for Halifax Camerata Singers. She is
active on the Boards of ONS (where she is Director of
Volunteers), Halifax Summer Opera Festival, Early Music
Society of Nova Scotia, and RCCO Halifax. The ONS
2014-2015 Season is a particularly busy one for her, having
partnered Leander Mendoza in our St. Margaret’s Bay
Musicale, and Meghan Lindsay – both in her
Distinguished Artist Recital and in the NSRMTA Master
Class. In March she is the ten-fingered orchestra in the
Informoperal concert presentation of Louise, and in the
2015 Spring Production is pianist for Aunt Helen by
Monica Pearce.
We are fortunate to be able to draw on the talents of
quite a few keyboard collaborators, noting especially the
invaluable presence of Tara Scott at Opera Valentine. In
addition to fine musicianship it takes a quick eye and a
strong dose of courage to meet the unexpected moments
in an accompanist’s assignment. For example, for
Meghan’s aria from I Puritani Lynette had to play from an
orchestral score with only a few day’s acquaintance with it.
Customary appreciation of the pianist is immortalized in
the greeting offered to one such artist standing next to the
star soloist in a post-recital reception line: “And you were
good too”. All our piano collaborators are far more than
“good”. In this issue of “Opera For All” we thank Lynette
for her talents employed on our behalf so far this Season,
and look forward to the second half of the Season.
Meghan Lindsay in
Stunning Recital
In her September 7th
ONS Distinguished Artist
Recital, Ontario soprano
Meghan Lindsay
reaffirmed why critics
and audiences are hailing
her as one of the most
outstanding rising artists
on the Canadian opera
scene. Her program and
its delivery were
absolutely stunning:
thirteen arias in eighty
minutes, each sounding
fresh and newly minted.
Her opening group of
Meghan Lindsay
excerpts from Alcina
(Photo by Stan Salsman)
heard her directly
following a well
acclaimed run in the title role of this Handel masterpiece.
This entailed readjusting the voice back up to A440,
having sung with period instruments in the Toronto
Opera Atelier production. After conquering brilliantly this
vocal challenge, she proceeded through a chronological
portrait gallery of heroines from Mozart, Weber, Smetana,
Dvořák and Puccini, ending with a Bellini showstopper
from I Puritani. Then, casting off her shoes, she responded
to her audience’s enthusiastic appreciation by waltzing her
way through a farewell Musetta. Meghan has been blest
generously with her vocal technique and interpretive
talent, and she in turn generously offered her gifts to her
small but thoroughly appreciative audience.
NSRMTA Master Class
Opens New Collaboration
with ONS
The morning after her recital, Meghan Lindsay selflessly
assumed her role as pedagogical mentor, offering guidance
to six young students, ages 10 to 16, studio pupils of three
voice teachers from the Nova Scotia Music Teachers’
Association. She dealt her advice for each singer with
insight and encouragement in, carefully calibrating her
comments to the different age levels within the class, and
always respectful of their own teacher’s approach. This was
a ground breaking event for ONS, for which Meghan gave
her services as a recognition of the importance of musical
education to the cultural growth of the community. Our
thanks to her, and to the NSRMTA who sponsored the
morning in support of ONS, especially to the Master Class
coordinator Lucy Hayes Davis and to Dr Lorna Wanzel of
our Board who instigated the concept.
Cecilia Presents
Don Pasquale
A last minute reminder to Members. Cecilia Concerts
hosts the 2014 Les Jeunesses Musicales touring
production, Saturday Nov. 29, 7:30 p.m., Lilian Piercey
Concert Hall. Donizetti’s delightful comedy Don Pasquale
features as usual a cast of bright young artists embarking
on their professional careers, among them this weekend
Dalhousie graduate Jonathan MacArthur as Ernesto.
Tickets are $25 regular, $20 senior, and $12.50 students.
Although purchasable at the door, if you order
them through the ONS Office our organization
receives $5.00 for each ticket sold. Don’t miss
this opportunity to warm a late Autumn evening
with the warmth of sunny Italian operatic
lyricism!
Love and Lyricism,
Violence and
Vocalise
Introductory talks to
the Metropolitan Opera HD transmissions
Season 2014-2015
Lecturer: Dr. Walter H. Kemp, Artistic
Director Opera Nova Scotia
Tuesdays 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
The Keshen Goodman Library,
Lacewood Drive, Halifax
December 9. Wagner, Die Meistersinger
January 13. Lehar, The Merry Widow
27. Offenbach, The Tales of Hoffman
February 10. Tchaikovsky, Iolanta /
Bartok, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
March 10.
Rossini, La Donna di Lago
April 21. Mascagni, Cavalleria Rusticana /
Leoncavallo, I Pagliacci
Experience and appreciate opera on a whole new level
No admission charge for these talks
Opera Quiz
Sunday Night at the Opera
B y Dappertutto
Dalhousie University’s Fountain School of Performing Arts
continues the Sunday Night at the Opera series this season,
presented by Dr. Michael Parker. The DVD screenings
begin at 6:00 pm in Ondaatje Hall in the Marion McCain
Building on University Ave. Admission is free but please
register your intention to attend at [email protected].
In this way, you will receive detailed information on each
presentation from Dr. Parker and will be notified of any
change in scheduling.
The Les Jeunesses Musicales visit with Don
Pasquale prompts us to honor the importance of
Donizetti to the evolution of Italian Romantic
Opera.
1. Donizetti’s output for the Italian and Parisian opera
houses numbered approximately how many titles: 35,
50, or 70?
2. Donizetti’s international fame was established by his
English historical opera, Anna Bolena. It was written
especially for the leading Italian soprano for whom
Bellini composed La Sonnambula and Norma: Giuditta
Pesche, Piatti or Pasta.
3. Queen Elizabeth I appears in which three Donizetti
operas?
4. Name the titles of the Donizetti operas in which
these characters appear;
a) a royal cousin accused of sedition against Queen
Elizabeth I
b) a quack medicine man
c) a bride-to-be who goes insane on her wedding
day
d) a Renaissance lady of poisons.
5. Which of these is not a lead soprano in a Donizetti
comic opera? Anina; Serpina; Norina
Answers
l. 70 2. Pasta 3. Elisabetta al castello di Kenilworth ;
Maria Stuarda; Roberto Devereux 4. a) Maria Stuarda;
b)L’elisir d’amore; c) Lucia di Lammermoor; d) Lucrezia
Borgia 5. Serpina (the scheming maid in La Serva
Padrona).
Opera Nova Scotia
appreciates the support of
Upcoming presentations are:
Sweeny Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sondheim,
Nov. 30.
Jenüfa, Janáček, Jan. 18.
La Sylphide (ballet), Schneitzhöffer, Feb. 8.
Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky, March 1.
L’elisir d’amore, Donizetti, April 12.
Opera Nova Scotia
Artistic Director – Dr. Walter H. Kemp
Administrative Officer – Vanessa Buhr-Rountree
Chair – Ifan Williams
Vice Chair – Dr. Eve Roberts
Treasurer – Carol Grimmitt
Secretary – Ann Conrad
Archivist – Jeanette Ireland
Education Director – Pamela Sweet Smith
Fundraising Director – Dr. Lorna Wanzel
Hospitality Director & Ticket Convener –
Sheila Andrecyk
Membership Director – TBA
Properties & Space – Stan Salsman
Director of Volunteers – Lynette Wahlstrom
Members at Large
Ruth A. Boorman
Paul Coolen
Dr. Peter Fillmore
Dr. Neil Robertson
Franco Tarulli
June Trenbirth
Dr. Andrew Wainwright
Opera For All!
Faculty of Arts and
Social Sciences
Municipal Government
Layout by David Keenan
Newsletter of Opera Nova Scotia
6199 Chebucto Road, Halifax NS B3L 1K7
Tel. (902) 425-8586
www.nsopera.org e-mail: [email protected]

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