Vancouver Opera Guild

The purposes of the Vancouver Opera Guild are to stimulate interest and participation in, and otherwise encourage and support the continuation and growth of opera in Vancouver, Canada, and to provide financial support, including scholarships, bursaries, and awards, to young people pursuing a career in opera.

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October 2024 Tour Report

NAPLES, ROME, PARMA, MILAN TOUR

Although the tour officially began on October 9, many of us travelled to Naples the day before and were greeted by a spectacular thunder/lightning performance at our hotel on the evening of October 8. The hotel was a former palazzo (Palazzo Caracciolo) and was 500 years old! It occupied a whole block of the Via Carbonara and was built around two courtyards. These open courtyards were covered with a ‘tent’ roof and were the dining room and bar areas. When the storm started, we were perfectly safe and dry, but the noise of the rain falling on the roof and the brightness of the lightning were operatic, to say the least – a very dramatic beginning to our tour! The tour started the following day with our reception in the same courtyard bar. We met the rest of the group and our guide, Sergio, who has been with us on previous tours. The next day, we had a guided tour, by bus and by foot, of the historic centre and the suburbs of Naples, with time in the afternoon to explore and get lost several times among the narrow curving streets of the old town. On the third day, we had a short ride to the site of Pompeii, with Vesuvius shadowing our route. Pompeii is immense. We saw only a small part, but what we did see gave us a haunting impression of that day in AD 79 when the volcano began its massive eruption.

That evening we were taken by bus to the Teatro San Carlo, the oldest opera house in Italy, for a concert performance of Simon Boccanegra. The opera house is magnificently decorated, and the performance was quite wonderful.  The chorus, dressed in black dresses or black tie, were on the stage for the whole opera, though not lit when they were not singing. The singers came and went as the opera progressed, and not only the words they sang, but also the stage directions, were shown as part of the surtitles. The singers, Ludovic Tezier ( Simon Boccanegra), Michele Pertusi ( Jacopo Fiesco), Mattia Olivieri ( Paolo ) and Marina Rebeka ( Maria Boccanegra), all used their voices to portray the action so well that the lack of costumes and setting didn’t seem to matter! At the end of the opera, the bus managed to find a spot very near to the theatre to pick us up.

On our final day in Naples, we had an excursion to Ischia. We had a short bus ride to the ferry then a 45-minute ride to Ischia from Naples harbour. Once in Ischia, we found our guide and the small bus we used to drive around the island on the narrow roads. We were due at the garden of La Mortella, which had been the home of Sir William Walton and his Argentine-born wife Susanna, in the afternoon. Our island tour was delightful, and by lunchtime we were in the highest village on the Island in the small piazza, where we had a memorable meal that was as simple as it was delicious – bruschetta with tomatoes, and freshly pressed orange juice to drink!  After lunch, we arrived at the garden and spent a lovely afternoon there with the plants and the view as we climbed through the garden or sat in the refreshment area, before we returned to the harbour and the ferry back to Naples.

The following day, we left our lovely hotel and travelled the short distance to Rome, with a stop at Caserta, the Royal Palace built for the King of Naples and the Two Sicilies in the late 18^th century to rival Versailles. It is huge and, as it was used by both German and American Armies and bombed in WW2 and looted, it has only been recently restored.  Indeed, the restoration continues. We did see the restored rooms, which are interesting and lovely, as well as the gardens and the fountains. The fountains extend far into the gardens, which were primarily used for hunting but are now mostly lawns, mowed by robots which we saw working! The stream extends for 5 kms and there are three sets of baroque fountains along the route as it descends. We had lunch in Caserta before continuing to Rome and our hotel, The Grand Hotel Palatino, in Monti, very close to the Roman ruins.

The following day, we had a free day in Rome, so everyone did what they wanted to do, which including walking around areas of the city and visiting art galleries, palazzi and the Vatican. Rome was very crowded in the tourist areas, and the traffic was very heavy. Most of the tourist sites are so crowded that timed tickets, bought either online or through hotels or other agencies, are necessary. We did have a pre-booked timed entry to the Villa Borghese for our last full day in Rome, and we had two hours in that magnificent museum. The bus took some of the group back to the hotel, but others walked back along the Via Veneto or other famous streets. We used the bus to travel to the Teatro dell’Opera for a performance of Peter Grimes that evening.

Peter Grimes is a very sad story of the human condition, but the music is wonderful, especially the Sea Interludes which were used to enhance the scenes. The cast was English, and the production was a joint production with Paris Bastille, Madrid and London Royal Opera. The English cast was Alan Clayton as a very convincing Peter Grimes, Sophie Bevan as Ellen Orford, and Sir Simon Keenlyside as Captain Balstrode. There was an appreciative audience, and it was a late night, as it was almost midnight by the time we arrived back at the hotel.

The following morning, we set off quite early for Parma, our longest coach ride. We arranged a stop in the hill top town of Montepulciano in Tuscany for lunch. The coach let us off above the coach park to save us a little walk, but we did have to climb up through the town to the piazza. Unfortunately, our lovely sunny and warm weather changed here. While we started in dry weather, it later changed to a gentle rain as we left. The town is famous for its red wine, and there are many wine bars and shops along the main streets. It is really lovely and I think we would have enjoyed more time there, but needs must, and after lunch (with wine of course) we returned to the coach and made our way to Parma, the Hotel Maria Luigia, and the Verdi Festival. The hotel, where we have stayed before, was full. Not only were there two other opera groups (at least!) from the UK and New York, but there was also a lively group of alumni from one of the East Coast American universities, who were on a tour of the food processing regions of Emilia-Romana – a reminder that this is also a famous area for food production.

It was still raining when we set off for Mantua the following day, although it did stop before we reached the city. We were visiting the Gonzaga Palazzo Ducale in Mantua – another very large building, with frescoes completed by Mantegna. Fortunately, Mantua is off the main route through the area and is far less crowded, so we were able to move through the Palazzo with ease and enjoy the guide and commentary. After lunch in the old town, we returned cross country to Parma and a performance of Macbeth in the Teatro Regio that evening. This was the revised French version of the opera, and Roberto Abbado was the conductor. The cast was headed by Ernesto Petti and Lidia Fridman as Macbeth and his ambitious wife. Michele Pertusi, whom we had seen in Simon Boccanegra in Naples, was Banquo. The scenery was minimal and the costuming classic, except for in the Witches scene, which was very creative. The whole opera was very well done. Before the intermission, Lady Macbeth stole the show, but after the intermission, Macbeth had his turn! It was a wonderful performance, and we walked back to the hotel in the rain!

On our last day in Parma, a trip to Busseto did not go according to plan! On our way there, we were stopped on a bridge due to an accident that had happened shortly before our arrival. It was serious, and the police were present and investigating. Two hours went by before we were able to leave, and we arrived in Busseto too late for our visit to Verdi’s birth house, but we did have lunch and a quick visit to the museum before our afternoon opera at the Teatro Verdi,  a gem of an opera house, which holds only 300 people. We were allocated 5 boxes for 25 people and I don’t think anyone will ever ask again why we do not book seats in boxes! It was an experience! Let us leave it at that! The opera was Un Ballo in Maschera, with a young cast. Giovanni Sala was Ricardo, Ilaria Alida Quilico, Amelia, Kang Hae, Renato, Licia Piermutteo, Oscar, and Danbi Lee, Ulrica. It was difficult to see which version (king or governor) was being performed. There was a count, and he was a governor! For costumes, there was something for everyone! The conspirators were in modern evening dress, Ulrica was dressed as Elizabeth 1^st as was Oscar (page) in the last act. The Count (king /governor) was dressed in Elizabethan clothes too, but female! All in all, it was charming and light-hearted. The singing was absolutely wonderful, and we were very close to the stage which was so interesting.

Northern Italy had had a great deal of rain, and as we travelled to Milan the following day, the fields we saw were like ponds. It was still raining when we arrived at the Hotel Cavour for our final performance at La Scala. It is a 10-15 minute walk to the theatre from the hotel, and we all had to use raincoats and umbrellas. There were several cloakrooms just before the entrance to our seats, where we left our wet outer wear. We were at La Scala to see Der Rosenkavalier with Krassimira Stoyanova as the Marschallin, Kate Lindsey as Octavian, Sabine Devielhe as Sophie and Gunter Groissbock as Baron Ochs, all conducted by the Berlin Phil’s Kyrill Petrenko. It was lovely! The production was set in the early 1900s, and projections were used to change scenes, as well as sliding walls. In the final act, the trio was sung before a projected forest, and the Marschallin left the inn with Sophie’s father in a beautiful antique car of the period. What a wonderful finale to our tour!

The final day in Milan was spent sightseeing, shopping or walking. Fortunately, although it was damp, the rain had stopped. Milan was as crowded as Rome had been. We ended the tour with a small reception in the Hotel Cavour before dinner and said good bye to Sergio, our faithful guide. We had seen five completely different operas – all well-produced and sung- as well as having visited a variety of places that showed different aspects of Italian life. We enjoyed the rural scenery of Ischia as well as the ancient sites of Pompeii and Rome. We admired the Renaissance palace and frescoes of Mantua as well as the Baroque Villa Borghese in Rome and the very modern vibe in Milan. We enjoyed some wonderful meals and drank some interesting wines. Italy appeals to all.

Report by Lis Dawson with the help of Genny Maclean and Jill Plumbley.

June 2024 Tour Report

MUNICH, STRASBOURG, PARIS, LONDON TOUR

It isn’t too often that the weather has impacted our tours but this year a wet spring and early summer in Europe as in Canada, certainly had an effect! We arrived in Munich to heavy rain which affected not only Bavaria but all of Central Europe – and heavy it was! Those of us who arrived a day ahead of the start of the tour spent the day on the “Hop On Hop Off “ bus tour around Munich but while we ”Hopped On” we did not “Hop Off”. We went on the two routes around the city so we did see most of it as best we could. However during our walking tour the following day and our visits to the opera it did not rain so we were spared that.

We stayed at the Hotel Plazl which is in the restored old city centre so we were able to walk everywhere. The hotel was across the street from the Hofbrauhaus and several other very good restaurants. It was a five minute walk to the Bayerische Staatsoper which performs at the National Theatre which is part of the Residenz, the former Royal Apartments in the city. We met the group and our tour manager, Bernhard, at the reception in the hotel bar on Saturday evening. We were a mixed group, with several couples and singles hailing from BC, Ontario, the US and the UK.

We saw two operas in Munich. The first opera was Norma staged as rather minimalistic, but effective generally. We heard three fine voices in Joseph Calleja as Pollione, Sonya Yoncheva as Norma and Tara Erraught as Adalgisa. The opera had an early start as it was Sunday so some of the group located the refreshment area where wine and sandwiches were sold. The following evening, we saw a Tosca which demonstrated what happens when the director takes control! Tosca was a film star and Cavaradossi was a film director. The First Act had so much going on as it was a film set filled with nudes, a transvestite wedding and probably lots of other things as well. It was so confusing that Cavaradossi’s first act aria sort of went unnoticed. At the end of the First Act when the Te Deum is sung, a statue of the Virgin Mary was dragged into the scene amid boos from the audience. The following acts weren’t quite as confusing but, nonetheless, the music and singing took a back place to the direction. The director did give space to allow Scarpia (an autocrat) to deliver his blistering thoughts and Tosca sang her Visi Arte without distractions and it was very good! This did not happen for Cavaradossi, though, in either his First Act aria or Act Three aria. Scarpia was sung by Luca Salsi, Tosca by Eleanore Buratto and Cavaradossi by Charles Castronovo – all well- known singers but the direction and staging certainly detracted from the music and the singing. However, to be fair, it was a packed audience of much younger people than we are used to seeing at the opera and they applauded!

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Upcoming Tours

NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Tour – SOLD OUT

March 10 – 17, 2025

Featuring operas at the Metropolitan including Moby Dick, La Bohème, Aida and Fidelio.

Opera Festivals in England

June 11 – 23, 2025

Featuring performances by Garsington Opera and Glyndebourne Opera including L’Elisir d’Amore, Mazeppa, Queen of Spades, Parsifal, and Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Opera in Sante Fe – SOLD OUT

July 27 – August 3, 2025

Featuring operas at the Sante Fe Opera House including Rigoletto, Die Walkure, The Marriage of Figaro, The Turn of the Screw and La Bohème.