Opera in a Matchbox
Generally speaking, opera is considered to be lavish, expensive and grand. But
there is a small opera company, based in Vancouver, who believe "Opera in a
Matchbox" is a viable option, especially when budgets are counted in hundreds of
dollars, not tens of thousands.
Opera Pro Cantanti has been performing full productions of several mainstream
operas, fully staged and in costume, with piano accompaniment for over a decade.
They are Canada's only "repertory" opera company, with a current repertoire of
great standards like La Traviata, Nabucco and Macbeth by Verdi and Lucia di
Lammermoor by Donizetti. They even perform a scaled down production of Bellini's
Norma, normally thought of as a "monster" of an opera!
How do they do it? "Dedicated singers, passionate about singing these great operas,
and the willingness to accept our limitations" says Vancouver baritone Richard
Williams, the company's artistic director and founder. "We know we can't fill a
huge stage like the Queen Elizabeth, nor attract the size of audience needed to fill
such a space. That's where our "Opera in a Matchbox" model comes in. We scale
things down and focus on the singing, not the spectacle."
The company numbers around 20 singers, recently augmented by nearly 10 singers
from the Tri-Cities/Maple Ridge area. "We are bringing our production of Verdi's
Macbeth to Port Coquitlam, in recognition of the huge contribution these singers
have made to our company" says Williams. "We love singing in the Our Lady
of the Assumption parish hall.What a wonderful accoustic!
We will also be doing some future performances at Westacres in Maple Ridge.
The intimacy is just right for the
"Opera in a Matchbox" concept."
