COC Premieres Handel’s Celebration Of Love, Rodelinda

Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Opera Company’s fall run is extended this season with a third production, the COC premiere of Handel’s Rodelinda. Internationally acclaimed Toronto-based director Tim Albery, who staged the company’s recent Peter Grimes, directs this new production before returning in January for the COC’s Götterdämmerung. Handel specialist Harry Bicket, who made a highly-praised Metropolitan Opera debut with Rodelinda in 2004, makes his COC debut conducting. Dany Lyne, who also designs the COC’s Macbeth this fall, continues her collaboration with the company by creating the set and costumes. Rodelinda is in performance at the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts on October 18 at 7:30 p.m., 20 at 7:30 p.m., 22 at 7:30 p.m., 26 at 7:30 p.m., 28 at 7:30 p.m., and 30 at 2 p.m., 2005 and is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES™.

A feast for the ears, Rodelinda is a celebration of enduring love. Rodelinda, the Queen of Lombardy, clings to the hope that her exiled and presumed dead husband, Bertarido, still lives, all the while fighting off the enemies who would claim her and Bertarido’s throne in his absence. Albery’s and Lyne’s vision of Rodelinda captures the feelings of romance and absolute devotion that exist between the title character and her husband while simultaneously depicting the heartbreak of their separation and the harsh realities that keep them apart. Thomas C. Hase designs the lighting for this production.

Stunning young American soprano Danielle de Niese makes her Canadian and role debut as the steadfast Rodelinda. Since graduating from the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in 2000/01 at the age of 21, de Niese has received enormous praise for her appearances with opera companies throughout the U.S., her return performance at the Met in the title role of L’Enfant et les Sortileges, as well as for her recent operatic debuts in Amsterdam, Paris and Tokyo. Singing opposite her as King Bertarido is young American countertenor Gerald Thompson who also makes his Canadian and role debut with the COC. A participant in the prestigious Merola Program and a 2005 Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera, Thompson’s performances have been lauded by critics from the New York Times, the LA Times, and San Francisco Chronicle, among other publications, for his supple sound, exceptional acting ability and stage presence.

Canadian opera stars dominate the remaining roles. COC Ensemble Studio graduate tenor Michael Colvin, who appeared in the company’s Tancredi last April, is Grimoaldo, Bertarido’s enemy. Canada’s leading countertenor Daniel Taylor, last seen in Julius Caesar, returns to the COC as Unulfo, Bertarido’s loyal advisor. Contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, who appeared alongside Colvin in Tancredi, is Eduige, Bertarido’s sister. British baritone Peter Savidge makes his Canadian debut with the COC as Garibaldo, Grimoaldo’s henchman.

Rodelinda is a COC premiere and it is also quite possibly the first time the opera has been staged in Canada. Rodelinda premiered in London in 1725 and is considered one of Handel’s most successful operatic works with its compelling story, credible characters and exceptionally powerful music that allows for a wide range of emotions to be explored. As with most of Handel’s operas, Rodelinda fell into relative obscurity with the composer’s death in 1759. The mid-20th century saw a renewed interest in Baroque music and since then Rodelinda has increased in popularity.

Single tickets for Rodelinda went on sale August 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.

Rodelinda Production Sponsor: RBC Financial Group

Presenting Sponsor of SURTITLES™: 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 Canadian Opera Company Web site, at www.coc.ca, contains information on all productions including synopses, historical backgrounds and production photographs.