Rather than sticking exclusively to the 17th century, Opera Atelier commissioned period violinist Edwin Huizinga to create a new violin solo, Inception, choreographed and danced by Gledhill. She has the pure sound so prized by fans of Baroque music, but she also has power, dramatic chops and good, old-fashioned charisma. This led smoothly into the “Chaconne” from King Arthur, elegantly danced by Juri Hiraoka and Tyler Gledhill, along with Atelier co-artistic director Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg.Ĭanadian soprano Mireille Asselin was radiant in “Hosanna in the Highest,” a sacred duet with Blumberg, She then took over the main vocal duties, culminating in a goosebump-inducingly vivid interpretation of “The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation.” She closed with the golden “Evening Hymn.”Īsselin, who sings with Opera Atelier frequently, is a treasure. Opera Atelier sewed an hour-long quilt of selections from Purcell masques, incidental music and songs beginning with American baritone Jesse Blumberg’s assured delivery of “Music for a While,” written for a counter-tenor as part of incidental music for a production of Sophocles’ Oedipus. In England, masques were all the rage, mixing dance, spoken dialogue, solo and ensemble voices, and instrumental music for orchestra. Purcell worked before opera - an Italian invention of the late 16th century - had crossed the English Channel. Now it was Toronto’s turn to see how tightly instrumental music, singing and dance can be integrated without the aid of sets, stage or lighting - or even an opera itself. The show, Harmonia Sacra (Sacred Harmony), was first presented at the Chapelle Royale at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris last year. Measha Brueggergosman returns to Opera Atelierĭavid Fallis reconciles two sides of his opera persona But instead of a shoestring-budget demonstration of the music and dancing of Baroque-era opera by the company’s founding co-artistic directors, we beheld an hour of highly polished performance centred on the music of British composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695) integrated with a recently commissioned work. The company was returning to the site of its inception 35 years ago. But Opera Atelier pulled it off at a one-off show at the ROM’s Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery on Thursday night.

Making dramatic and musical magic happen with only a handful of performers in the middle of a large hall is not easy. At the Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery in the Royal Ontario Museum on Feb.

Oedipe paris opera pulls