What better venue than the shores of a bustling river to enjoy an al fresco meal and some swashbuckling entertainment.
This August 22-25, 2013, the boardwalks of trendy East Village will be abuzz with pirates and pirate lovers of all ages. Novel of all, this is the first outdoor festival of its kind to take place in Canada.
"I think it will be a wonderful event for people that love the opera and people that have never been to the opera," says Stage Director Robert Herriot. "It’s a unique opportunity in Calgary to see a new event pioneered in the opera."
The Pirates of Penzance is one of the director’s favourite shows to put on, and has been since he first learned the Gilbert and Sullivan collaborative piece back in high school.
"While we were doing this show in Edmonton I was just blown away at how happy I was doing it," he says of the 2010 production. "No one dies, no one has consumption...it’s a rocking good time."
Though Herriot says he will stick with the character ideas he developed three years ago, he will be updating lyrics and has reconfigured the stage set-up for the Calgary performance.
"These characters are all pretty strong, in that I know who each of them is and how they interact and who they are in the world," he says.
The tent, which will accommodate 900 to 1,000 attendees, will feature ally seating, meaning seats on either side of a long stage. Herriot says this will dictate different blocking, movement and angles than the positioning he directed in Edmonton.
Despite the somewhat casual venue, General Director and CEO for Calgary Opera for the last 15 years Bob McPhee promises the cast of roughly 8 principles, 24 in the chorus, and 14 in the orchestra, has not been compromised.
"Yes this in a tent and it’s an outdoor summer event, but we’ve brought in some of the finest singers in Canada that are often on our main stage and performing all over the world," he says.
This includes soprano Tracy Dahl (Mabel) who has graced the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Houston Grand Opera and the Chatelet in Paris, and raked in numerous prestigious awards including the Golden Baton and the Ruby Award.
"Tracy Dahl is a good friend and I adore working with her every chance I get... she’s also a neighbour," says co-Winnipeg habitant Herriot.
Famed baritone Brett Poletago is set to play The Pirate King. He is known for his show-stealing performance at the Inaugural Gala Concert for the Canadian Opera, which took place in the Four Seasons Centre, and has appeared on the notable stages of Lincoln Centre, La Scala, the Kennedy Centre and Carnegie Hall. He returns to Calgary after performing in the opera Moby-Dick in 2012.
Playing the lead role, Frederic, is tenor Colin Ainsworth. Ainsworth has performed previously with the Royal Opera House, the Greek National Opera, Edmonton Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre and Opera Atelier.
The comic opera in two acts follows the plight of poor Frederic who, born on the February 29 of a leap year, must technically remain apprenticed to pirates until he has reached his 21st birthday, which equates 63 years in captive service. His only reprieve is the love of young Mabel, the daughter of the Major-General, who agrees to wait out his duty in steadfast love.
Seats sold fast for the six performances scheduled for this show. If you were not fortunate enough to get one, there is still a variety of all-age, family-friendly activities that you can come to the festival to take part in.
August 22-25, Arrias in the Afternoon will run free on a side stage at the East Village festival site (5th Street and Confluence Way SE). Arrias from Carmen, La Boheme and Rigoletto will be performed by four graduates of the Calgary Opera training program.
August 12 a fully registered Opera Camp begins. This camp affords the youth enrolled an introduction to stage, performance, vocal training and more by an excellent fleet of professional performers and opera crew.
"On the second day of the festival [the youth] take over the main stage and there’s a free public performance of their version of the Pirates," McPhee says.
Pirate movies will be projected on the Simmons building on the Friday and Saturday nights of the festival following the main stage performance, also with no charge.
Swashbuckling on the Bow will showcase select members of the Calgary Opera’s fencing and fight instructors dueling it out in pirate style and seeking some audience participation.
So You Think You Can Sing Opera? is "our answer to American or Canadian idol," McPhee describes. Eight singers selected by the submission of a taped performance and resume will be performing in the semi finals. This number will be taken down to three singers for the final night, and prizes will be awarded.
Picnic in the Village precedes the Sunday matinee performance, and is sponsored by City Palate, the Sidewalk Citizen artisan bakery, and River Café, meaning the most chic brown bag you can nosh out of in this city. For $30 you can eat on Riverwalk Plaza from noon to 2pm. Orders must be placed in advance by calling 403.262.7286.
Food trucks will be set up along the river, with all sorts of pirate banners and activity, and a beer garden will be sponsored by Big Rock.
"If the weather holds on... it should be fabulous down there," McPhee slates.
Three to four years of work have gone into seeing this festival realized, and would not be possible without the collaborative efforts of the province, the city, some very dedicated sponsors, and developers in the East Village.
Having expanded programming with new work, adding a young artist training program, and becoming financially comfortable, McPhee says that now was the right time for Calgary Opera to move forward with this premier event.
"It’s very clear that throughout the world, in the US ...there’s dozens of summer opera festivals...and across Canada they are virtually non-existent," he says. "It seemed a logical step in our community to start a summer opera festival."
McPhee notes that the city is not yet saturated with festivals, making it an ideal locale to open with this outdoor opera event. While working with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra McPhee headed a five-day symphony festival which met with huge success, and he predicts the same forecast for Opera in the Village.
In fact, he is even game for taking this festival on the road.
"The music is great the story is just wacky," Herriot says. "I think we’re going to have a good time."
Performances will go on rain or shine. A detailed schedule of events and show synopsis can be found on their website.