A stellar ballet and opera line-up means that the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts isn’t short of glamour on most evenings. But on October 18, 2012, the Canadian Opera Company’s Operanation 9: Sweet Revenge plans to take things up a notch — or three. Operanation, the COC’s annual gala fundraiser for young opera professionals, will transform all three floors of the Four Seasons Centre into what will undoubtedly be the season’s most glamorous celebration of opera and art in the city. Sweet Revenge, the gala’s theme, was inspired by Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus (The Bat), a comedic operetta set amidst an early 20th century Viennese royal ball. (Read: There will be good champagne. Feel free to don your fanciest garb.)
While the gala will reflect opera’s old-world intrigue and sensuality, it will be unique in its grounding of the genre in the contemporary art and music context. For the ninth year in a row, Operanation will showcase rising young opera stars from the COC’s Ensemble Studio, alongside a to-be-announced contemporary musical artist (last year, it was Rufus Wainwright), set against the backdrop of works from current visual artists.
This bold approach aims to highlight the ways in which traditional notions of opera connect with other creative genres. Alexander Neef, the COC’s General Director, says: “What’s important to me is that we get opera out of its silo and place it in the contemporary environment…we try to update opera.” Neef states that the principle behind his approach is that the appreciation of opera coexists perfectly with — rather than excludes — the appreciation of other musical genres. And, inspired by the European context, where performance arts are more integrated within the community, Neef says that one of Operanation’s aims is to situate opera within a multidisciplinary creative community.
In line with that vision, Operanation is a key supporter of retaining and drawing in a wealth of Canadian creative talent: proceeds from the gala benefit the COC’s Ensemble Studio, which over the past 30 years has provided a comprehensive coaching program to young pianists and singers in Canada.
What: Operanation 9: Sweet Revenge
When: October 18, 2012
Where: Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Tickets: $150 per person at operanation.ca or by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231. Early Bird tickets are now on sale, with the first 125 tickets available for $125 per person.
Maria Gergin is a Toronto-based lawyer.
Photo: Knot PR