Mozart’s kid-friendly opera, The Magic Flute will be one of several productions in the Canadian Opera Company’s (COC) upcoming season. The opera, a fairy tale, is a love story featuring magic (the flute and a set of bells), rescuing a princess (as well as kidnapping a prince) as well as evil (the Queen of the Night, which sort of reminds me of Ursula in The Little Mermaid). And unlike most operas from the late 18th century, The Magic Flute is performed in German, rather than Italian and features some spoken dialogue.
Full 12+ minute trailer of the COC’s 2016-2017 season
Another opera to highlight is Louis Riel, an opera about a Canadian historical figure of Métis descent (First Nations and European) and rebel who was executed in 1885. This is particularly important not only because of the recent attention media have made regarding injustices towards Canada’s First Nations groups but also because 2017 marks 150 years of Confederation for our country. In fact, this opera was first performed in 1967, for our centennial. I think we, as a culture, are a little bit too modest and tend not to highlight or celebrate our own works and historical figures. Sometimes, we see this as being a little bit too nationalistic (though we don’t seem to care when we win medals in hockey…or celebrate Canada Day). This, I believe, needs to change. It doesn’t make us “tacky” or “rude.”
Other operas slated for the COC include: Norma, Tosca and the finale to Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Götterdämmerung.
Are you going to see any of the productions? Which ones? And if you can’t make it to Toronto next year, are there any productions you wish to see? Or have seen either in your hometown or elsewhere (including television/streaming)?
