Canadian Opera Company Announces 2012/2013 Season

Daveda Karanas will debut in the role of Brangäne in their upcoming production of Tristan und Isolde, directed by Peter Sellars. 

This is a unique opportunity to experience the immersive sensuality of Bill Viola’s stunning video-imagery, set to Wagner’s core-shaking music.

In this famous legend, a love-potion binds Tristan to Isolde. Their yearning for unattainable unity reaches its rapturous resolution in a love which can only be fulfilled by death.

Following is the complete TRISTAN portion of the Canadian Opera Company announcement:

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The COC opens its winter season with one of music history’s most influential works, Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.  This production by legendary director Peter Sellars stars celebrated Canadian tenor Ben Heppner in his signature role, one that critics have hailed as a “translucent and exalted performance.”  Making his company debut leading the COC Orchestra and Chorus is one of the most sought after and respected conductors in the world today, Chief Conductor of the BBC SymphonyOrchestra Jiří Bělohlávek.  This is the first time that Sellars’ awe-inspiring production of Tristan und Isolde will be seen in Canada, with the COC recreating the Opéra national de Paris production that premiered in 2005.  Sellars’ staging for Tristan und Isolde comes to life with video imagery by internationally renowned video artist Bill Viola, who, says Sellars, “has come up with an image of the scale and scope, grandeur and immensity, and genuine transcendence that Wagner was imagining.”  Singing opposite Heppner is a German soprano known for her mastery of the Mozart, Strauss and Wagner repertoire, Melanie Diener, in her COC debut as Isolde.  German bassFranz-Josef Selig makes his COC debut as King Marke of Cornwall, the man betrayed by Tristan and Isolde’s love affair.  The role of Isolde’s maid, Brangäne, is sung by Greek-American mezzo-soprano Daveda Karanas, and American bass-baritone Alan Held (Simone and Gianni Schicchi in the COC’s upcoming double bill of A Florentine Tragedy/Gianni Schicchi) is Tristan’s servant, Kurwenal.  American bass-baritone Ryan McKinney is the courtier Melot, and Ensemble Studio graduates bass Robert Gleadowand tenor Adam Luther return as the Steersman and the Sailor/Shepherd, respectively.  German tenor Burkhard Fritz and American soprano Margaret Jane Wray will sing the roles of Tristan and Isolde for two performances.  Last seen at the COC in 1987, Tristan und Isolde returns for seven performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on Jan. 29, Feb. 2, 8, 14, 17, 20 and 23, 2013, and is sung in German with English SURTITLES™.

Glimmerglass Amneris in 2012

The Glimmerglass Festival 2012 Season Announced: Daveda Karanas will sing the role of Amneris in festival's first ever production of Aida, directed by Francesca Zambello.

Following is the complete AIDA portion of the Glimmerglass announcement:

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AIDA (Giuseppe Verdi/Antonio Ghislanzoni, 1871)

Aida will open and close the season in a new production that emphasizes the personal drama at the heart of Verdi’s masterpiece. This will be the first production of Aida presented at Glimmerglass.

“Aida is often thought of as a grand opera, a spectacle with elephants and pyramids,” Zambello said. “I have always wanted to present Aida in an intimate setting where we can focus on the tensions of politics between Egypt and Ethiopia through the prism of the love triangle.” 

2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Winner Michelle Johnson will sing the title role of the captive princess. Eric Owens will perform the role of Amonasro in his role debut. 

“This role is something I have been wanting to do for a long time,” Owens said. “Over the last five or six years my voice has settled higher and I want to do more crossover into certain baritone repertoire.”

Daveda Karanas will sing the role of Amneris.  Karanas can be seen in the Ring Cycle at San Francisco Opera as 2nd Norn in the new production of Götterdämmerung and Waltraute in Die Walküre. Award-winning fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra will design costumes for the production directed by Francesca Zambello. Nader Abbassi, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Cairo Opera Orchestra, will conduct the piece in his company debut.

“Since I was a child, Aida has been my favorite opera, and it was always my dream to conduct this piece,” Abbassi said. “I have had the honor to conduct Aida in more than six countries at important festivals – in Asia, Russia, China, Europe and in Africa by the pyramids where I belong. Now I feel the excitement and challenge of being an Egyptian conducting this great opera at Glimmerglass. I am thrilled, but overall I am proud.”

Robert Wierzel will design lighting. Wierzel has designed more than 35 productions for Glimmerglass and designs this summer’s productions of Carmen and Medea. 

This production of Aida is sponsored by Elizabeth M. and Jean-Marie R. Eveillard.

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