Today I have been in beautiful Toronto for a day of Neue Stimmen
auditions combined with regular ones for COT. This is a fertile hunting ground
as a rule – during this season just finished five excellent Canadian singers
contributed to our productions, and whenever I come here I expect to find more
new talent for future seasons. And so indeed it has proved.this time. Some
excellent candidates to go to the Neue Stimmen final rounds in Germany
in October, and and there are some other amazing prospects for 2007 and 2008 at COT.
Torontonians love Chicago so an invitation from COT is always welcome!
During the break I joined two pillars of the Canadian Opera Company, Sandy Gavinchuk and Phil
Boswell, who must have served the company in total nearly 50 years between
them. Both served my predecessor as General Director of COC, Lotfi Mansouri,
and remain with my successor Richard Bradshaw. They were, as always, amusing,
charming, and ever welcoming – and full of support for the extraordinary young
singers that Canada persists in producing in defiance of the population
statistics. The COC is doing a remarkable job in the advanced training and
development of opera singers; and the teaching of Mary Morrison and Patricia
Kern, and other distinguished members of the faculty at the University of
Toronto, is undoubtedly also a major factor in providing them with the material
to take on to great things. I predict major international careers for at least
three of the current crop.
This morning I had a look at the new opera house which opens 15 months from
now.
Still much a construction site of course, as you can see from this
photograph taken this morning,
but it is apparently on schedule and the COC opens their first season with the
Ring. This will for sure be a major event to which Wagnerian pilgrims
(aka Ringheads) will flock from all over the world. This is the same phenomenon that is seen in
Seattle and Adelaide for example – those Wagnerites can not get enough of
it.
I had walked over to the site on Queen and University from my hotel, the
Novotel (not at all bad and fabulous value),
via the Hummingbird (formerly
O’Keefe) Centre which is the long time, and just for one more season, horrendous performance home of COC. These pictures speak for themselves. Oh
man!!! Dora the Explorer fans will know what I mean – others will think I
have lost it!
I am writing this on my flight back to Chicago – a splendid Memorial Day
evening. We are on time and I should be home by 8.30 and will post this as soon
as I can. But dinner will take priority.
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