November 2001 - Nr. 11
The Dreams of Mark DuBois
by Sybille Forster-Rentmeister
A lot can and should be said about one of Canada’s best loved tenors.
When he performs his annual concert in the Hansa House on Highway 10, right on the cusp of Mississauga and Brampton, on top of Toronto, the community facility turns into a festive hall, ready to worship the best of all mankind’s endeavours, the arts. Billed as "Mark DuBois and Friends" the presentation travels through a musical world as divers as our community. But before the concert starts a sumptuous dinner is served. This year was no different, except for the musical offering during the meal. Instead of something canned everything, not just the food, was fresh and live.
Brian
Roman turned out to be the promised mystery guest. With his flamboyant style
he entertained with many favourite and popular tunes, not forgetting a
tribute to New York. And even though it was almost too much entertainment
for dinnertime, most people enjoyed the dynamic performance.
Despite the fact that dinner seemed to take forever, it did taste very well from start to finish. There is just one thing that some of us do not get used to, and that is the fact that the coffee does not arrive together with the desert, if it arrives at all. A thermos on all tables would solve the problem of inordinate waiting periods.
Finally,
after a brief introduction by an in-house MC, Mark DuBois arrived with his
friends, or at least some of them. For all of them there would be no room at
the club or any other venue. There simply are too many of them, and they are
busy performing on the stages of the world, as it should be.
It
is our very good fortune that Mark does honour his agreement with the club,
and even turns down other engagements offered afterwards to sing in our
community. Not everyone in the same class as Mark DuBois will do that. Most
will no doubt drop a less paying private club evening for a more profitable
and prestigious stage engagement. Not Mark DuBois, whose promise has been
good and always kept with us.
It
is a unique opportunity for people to be extremely close to the artists. The
space between stage and public is not interrupted by an orchestra pit. The
artists come down from their lofty height and wander among us mere mortals
between the tables, touch us and allow themselves be touched and looked at
from close quarters. They come so close, one could smell the grease paint if
they were wearing any.
This
evening unfolded with a short good humour welcome and introduction by Mark
before he launched into his first offering, an all time favourite from Lehar’s
Merry Widow, to be followed by a duet with the beautiful and dramatic
soprano Heidi Klassen, the Drinking Song from La Traviata. Then the
effervescent Gisèle Fredette sang Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy and
Bess and the audience fell in love all over again with this multi-talented
artist with the warm and vibrant mezzo-soprano voice.
Song
after aria the audiences’ admiration for the artists grew, so well
accompanied by Brahm Goldhamer. With each performance the intensity of
emotions grew. When Heidi Klassen sang Violetta’s famous duet Adio from La
Traviata this writer was not the only one with tears in her eyes.
So
many favourites were heard. It was a delight to hear songs and arias from
opera, operetta and Broadway shows. Each and everyone deserve to be written
up in detail, if it were not for the shortage of space in a newspaper. But
it must be said, that before the break in the program 14 very exiting pieces
were sung, each one of them to major acclaim of the audience, often with
open scene applause, for instance when Mark DuBois sang "Wien Du Stadt
meiner Träume".
After
the intermission another 9 grand arias were performed, making this a
full-length evening program.
The
second part, as did the first, contained some incredible choices. Gisèle
and Mark sang, totally unrehearsed!, "The Prayer", made famous by
Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli; Mark sang "My son Bill" and
revealed that after 4 daughters he was finally going to be the father of a
son in the near future.
Heidi
delighted with a Rosalinde Czardas from the Fledermaus. The two ladies had
sung a duet from Haensel and Gretel earlier and Gisèle excelled with torch
songs of French origin. An aria from Carmen particularly sparked the
audiences’ enthusiasm.
The
evening would not be complete without Marks incomparable persiflage of the 3
tenors, and especially one of them, showing us that he can not only sing as
well and as high, but that he also has a much bigger hanky than you know
who, while singing O Sole Mio with as much schmaltz and flourish as the
original.
The Champagne Song from the Fledermaus was the perfect closing, showing off one more time the three beautiful voices of these gifted artists. The persistent applause made them sing "I could have danced all night" from My Fair Lady, and then, late in the evening the concert finally came to an end.
Lou
Wegner, who had again helped to put this event together for the club, and MC
Klaus Rückert handed the ladies beautiful bouquets before everyone took one
last bow.
It
was not long afterwards that the artists came back again for a photo session
with Opera York’s board of directors, which was introduced earlier with
other mention of sponsors and dignitaries by Mark DuBois, who was appointed
Artistic Director for the opera.
The 5-year-old opera services the immense region north of Toronto, encompassing a big cultural mix, dominantly of oriental origin in the Markham area, a huge Italian contingent in Woodbridge and Vaughan, as well as all sorts of other groups living in Thornhill, Richmond Hill, Newmarket and Aurora. This large area constitutes a mega city by itself.
Mark’s desire and pledge is to entertain and service this diverse district to its benefit. Already the overwhelming success of the "Opera for Schools" programme is bringing about great change. Many artists bemoan the scrapping of music appreciation in our schools for generations of children, but few are doing something about it. Together with Suzanne Compass and Gisèle Fredette thousands of students were already introduced to opera and operetta as well as modern musical. And mostly they loved it, even though they thought they would loath it before, simply because they had no idea what it was.
In the next season thousands more of Canada’s young people will learn about the pleasures music can give, how exciting opera can be, and how close operetta is really to one of their favourite soaps on TV, except the theatrical version is shorter and has music in it, which is in fact very cool and often very sexy to boot.
Early next year, on January 7, 2002, a concert series for seniors will be started. This series is designed for senior groups of 20 and up. Tickets are only $7.50 and include the bus trip to the theatre! What a wonderful way to while away the cold winter! Call Maria to book your group at 416-469-0086.
Opera
York is the proud recipient of the prestigious Trillium Award which awarded
the organisation $42,600 to fund a part-time assistant and the development
of a new education kit, including a CD of music by Canadian artists from the
CBC library.
For more information on the company, its artists and program you can access the internet at www.operayork.com
The next project for Opera York is the annual fund raiser called " For the Love of a Tenor", featuring none other than Mark Dubois and world-renowned cantor Paul Kowarsky, Donna Bennet, soprano, Gisèle Fredette, mezzo soprano, and pianist Brian Finley. Following the performance is a wine and cheese reception where the artists can be met. For tickets and more information call 416-469-0086 or consult the advertisement in this issue.
Some of Canada’s finest musical organisations are faltering despite their good work and establishment. What we need is a bigger audience to support these companies of artists. Opera York is the only one doing what has been so sorely missing for a long time, namely the education of young people in the joy of music. No matter how hard times have been people have always turned to music to sustain them. It is vital that we participate in such an endeavour, for ourselves and for our children, for our future well-being.
It is Mark DuBois’ dream to sing for a long time to people of all ages, but especially to a new and young audience that before only favoured modern and popular sounds.
