I’ve been interested in going to an opera for quite some time. I know some operas, performed in an opera as a youngster, but haven’t really immersed myself in that particular form of performing arts. Living in Toronto, that’s kind of a shame, as there is really a lot of great opera going on.
April 22, 2012
For my birthday, way back in January, brother R gave me a ticket (and one for him too) for Opera Atelier‘s production of Armide by Jean-Baptiste Lully. The performance was last night. It was lovely. Opera Atelier specializes in works of the 17th and 18th Century. They draw on the aesthetics and ideals of the Baroque, while creating their performances with the sensibilities of the 21st Century. The combination was very interesting. This was my first experience with Opera Atelier, but I’m definitely considering going back for next year’s production of Mozart’s Magic Flute, which I’m told they do beautifully.
I was not familiar at all with the story of Armide prior to this outing, so I needed to do a little advance reading in order to be able to follow what was happening. Luckily, my perusal of the synopsis was sufficient to give me the necessary background. The story was actually quite straightforward, and there were relatively few characters, so the French language of the lyrics did not prove a stumbling block at all.
The performance itself was beautiful. The orchestra was Tafelmusik, the Baroque Orchestra, playing period instruments. The Tafelmusik choir also provided the chorus for the opera, with their singers stationed in the balcony level boxes, surrounding the audience with their perfectly pitched voices. The performers in Tafelmusik’s orchestra and chorus are all incredible. They perform their own concerts on a moderately regular basis, and are highly recommended.
I don’t know enough about opera to know the names and past performance credentials of the stars of last night’s performance, but from the perspective of an amateur audience member they were all stellar. Armide was played by Peggy Kriha Dye, who not only has a beautiful voice, but has gorgeous acting ability, and carried the story that was very much about her psychological and emotional journey. Renaud, the male lead, was played by Colin Ainsworth, who has an incredible tenor voice. The remainder of the roles were also excellent. As were the dancers, performing in interesting mix of Baroque style dance and modern movement.
The whole day was great, as the birthday present involved a dinner cooked by brother R – chicken with a vegetable stir fry with a lovely berry and cheese plate for dessert. And then after the show we went out for a drink with some others for great conversation, and making of new friends. All in all, a splendid day at the opera.
