Coc’s Carmen
– Irresistible And Seductive –

Toronto, Ontario – This fall, the Canadian Opera Company presents one of the world’s most popular operas, Bizet’s Carmen. A masterpiece of the lyric theatre, Carmen is a highly charged melodrama about an irresistible gypsy, Carmen, and her seduction of a young soldier.
Carmen runs:

• September 29 at 7:30 p.m.

• October 1 at 7:30 p.m., 4 at 7:30 p.m., 7 at 7:30 p.m., 13 at 7:30 p.m., 15 at 4:30 p.m., 19 at 7:30 p.m., 21 at 7:30 p.m., and 23 at 2 p.m., 2005
  at the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts, and is sung in French with English SURTITLES™.

Tony Award-nominated director Mark Lamos, who staged the world premiere of The Great Gatsby at the Metropolitan Opera and the COC’s 1994 production of Il Re Pastore, returns to direct this bold new production. COC General Director Richard Bradshaw and COC regular Derek Bate will conduct.

Co-produced by Opéra de Montréal, San Diego Opera and the COC, this production is set in 1940s Latin America, and captures the themes of powerful passions, obsessive love and yearnings for freedom. Michael Yeargan, who collaborated with the COC on Rigoletto, and François St-Aubin, who makes his COC debut, design the set and costumes respectively. Associate lighting designer Wendy Greenwood recreates Robert Wierzel’s original lighting design.

The cast is truly international. Making their COC debuts are Russian mezzo-soprano Larissa Kostiuk as Carmen, and Romanian tenor Atilla B. Kiss as Don José, the naive young soldier who falls under her spell. A soloist with Moscow’s Helikon Opera Company, Larissa Kostiuk has appeared in performance at festivals and opera houses across Europe, and her portrayal of Carmen with Helikon Opera received great acclaim at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris. Atilla B. Kiss is a permanent guest soloist at the Hungarian State Opera and has appeared in performance at the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

Rising star Spanish soprano Ana Ibarra, makes her COC and role debut as Micaëla, the young peasant woman in love with Don José. Brazilian baritone Paulo Szot makes his COC debut as Escamillo, the swaggering matador eager to seduce Carmen. Former Ensemble Studio bass Alain Coulombe, recently seen in Albert Herring, is Zuniga, Don José’s captain. Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins, a prize winner in the 2005 Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition, sings the role of Moralès, an officer under Zuniga’s command. Ensemble Studio sopranos Michèle Bogdanowicz and Virginia Hatfield (making her COC mainstage debut), are Carmen’s gypsy friends Mercédès and Frasquita, respectively. Ensemble baritone Peter Barrett and Ensemble tenor Lawrence Wiliford (making his COC mainstage debut), are the smugglers Le Dancaïre and Le Remendado. Canadian actor Christian Laurin, who also appears in the COC’s Macbeth as Duncan, is Lillas Pastia the Innkeeper and a Guide.

Based on the novella Carmen by French author Prosper Mérimée, Bizet’s Carmen was coolly received at its premiere in Paris in 1875. Condemned in the press as too immoral to be staged, Carmen marked the first time in opera that a female character could flout morality and still remain the heroine of the work. It is now consistently ranked as one of the most produced operas in the world, with 142 productions in the last 10 years having been mounted in North America alone. The COC last performed Carmen in 1993.

Single tickets for Carmen went on sale June 15, 2005 and may be purchased by calling 416-872-2262, online at www.coc.ca, or in person at the Hummingbird Centre Box Office (1 Front Street East, Toronto) or Ticketmaster Outlets. Ticket prices for all performances range from $40 to $175. Special young people’s tickets for all performances throughout the season are priced from $18 to $88. These ticket prices apply to those who are 17 years of age or under, accompanied by and sitting next to an adult. Starting September 17, 2005 at 10 a.m., $18 and $29 tickets are available for patrons between the ages of 18 and 29 through the 18to29: Opera for a New Age program presented by TD Bank Financial Group.

Subscriptions for the COC’s 2005/06 season may be purchased by calling 416-363-8231, toll-free at

1-800-250-4653, or in person at the COC Box Office (227 Front St. East, Toronto) or at the Hummingbird Centre Box Office. Patrons can also purchase subscriptions securely online at www.coc.ca.

Carmen Production Co-sponsors: CIBC World Markets and CIBC Mellon

Presenting Sponsor of SURTITLES^TM: Sun Life Financial

The COC Ensemble Studio is Canada’s premier training program for young opera professionals and provides advanced instruction, hands-on experience, and career development opportunities. The Ensemble Studio is generously supported by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage, The John A. Cook Young Artist Development Fund, Harris Steel Group, The Audrey S. Hellyer Charitable Foundation, The Hal Jackman Foundation, The John McKellar Charitable Foundation, Ruby Mercer Fund, George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation, Roger D. Moore Ensemble Studio Endowment Fund, RBC Financial Group, and an anonymous donor.

The COC offers free 20-minute introductions to the opera and its theme at the Hummingbird Centre, 45 minutes prior to each performance.

The COC, in partnership with the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto, kicks off its third season of The Opera Exchange: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Opera with Rodelinda and Carmen: Girls’ Night Out! On Saturday, October 22, 2005, from 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., members of the COC as well as noted scholars from the University of Toronto and the University of California, Los Angeles, will explore these two very seductive and passionate operas being mounted by the COC this fall and the equally seductive and passionate women who rule them.

The full-day symposium takes place at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park Crescent, Toronto. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased through the COC Box Office at 416-363-8231. Admission is $5 for students with a valid I.D.

The COC and Hilton Toronto’s award-winning restaurant Tundra present Appetite for Opera: Carmen on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 at 7 p.m. Appetite for Opera: Carmen is an innovative and informative evening of opera and fine dining with a delectable twist: guests will be the first to experience Tundra’s Carmen-inspired menu, including a signature dessert created especially for mezzo-soprano Larissa Kostiuk by award-winning Executive Chef John Cirillo. Each course of the four-course meal is preceded by a presentation about each act of the opera by COC Speakers Bureau member Robert Morassutti, followed by a table visit by Chef Cirillo and a wine expert to discuss each course and its wine pairing. Appetite for Opera: Carmen seatings are $75 per person. Reservations can be made by contacting Stefan Bauer, Assistant Food and Beverage Manager, Hilton Toronto, at 416-860-6800.

The Canadian Opera Company Web site, at www.coc.ca, contains information on all productions including synopses, historical backgrounds and production photographs.