Say you heard them when! Kudos to our stars!

Vancouver Concert Opera Co-Operative is committed to promoting Canada's emerging professionals and this is the time of year where people are "getting stuff". As singers send off applications, audition for roles / residencies / young artist programs, it's about this time that we start hearing all the good news!

That said, VanCOCO sends out congratulations and kudos to the following talented singers who have graced our stage so far:

Mezzo Soprano Katherine Landry will sing the role of Mother in Vancouver Opera In Schools (VOIS) touring production of Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel this Fall.

Soprano Arianna Sovernigo is yet again a Jeunes Ambassadeur! She will be representing Canada at the "Città di Alcamo" International Singing Contest in Alcamo, Italy this coming September!

Baritone Ed Moran will grace the stages of Parksville again this Fall where he will join Vancouver Island Opera as Dulcamara in their production of L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love), an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti.

Contralto Natalie Burdeny has been selected to participate in the Professional Masterclass Series at the Buck Hill-Skytop Music Festival in Pennsylvania under the direction of Maesto Peter Mark, Founding General and Artistic Director of Virginia Opera (1975-2010), and of the International Opera Alliance, as well as the the new LYRIC OPERA VIRGINIA.

Young Dramatic Soprano Sarah Vardy is undeniably the busiest of all our singers and is set up to cover just about everything that Mozart has to offer. Late this spring she will attend Portland Spring Opera Workshop (PSOW) where she will sing Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro. In July, she will tackle the roles of Dritte Dame in Die Zauberfloete with Vancouver Summer Opera Workshop and then Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte) with Vancouver Summer Opera Studio (wwww.vansos.com). August will take her abroad to Germany where she will sing Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro and Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte. Both with Lyric Opera Studio of Weimar. And before all of this she will debut the role of Mercedes with VanCOCO!

You have the chance to hear all these singers in May during our Encore Performances of Carmen in Vancouver and Victoria! Visit www.vancoco.ca for full details and be able to say... I HEARD THEM WHEN!

Carmen in 40 seconds!

We stumbled upon this little ditty on YouTube the other day. If you don't know the plot to Carmen, here's the whole darn thing in 40 seconds with animation! Turn up your speakers and listen carefully as the singer has a charming British accent.

We promise that our performances in May will be as dramatically fulfilling and in real live technicolour! For full performance dates and advance tickets please visit our website.

Our first published review in Opera Canada!

If you haven't already picked up the Spring 2011 issue of Opera Canada now's the time to do so. Page 45 features the review of VanCOCO's inaugural production of Carmen! We are so pleased to have graced the pages of Canada's top Opera publication with our premiere performance. To read the full review click here.

If you didn't catch the show you will have another chance in May. Encore performances are booked for Vancouver (May 14, 2011) and Victoria (May 22, 2011). Don't miss out on reduced price tickets available on our website.

Carmen is back!

Don't miss our encore performance of Bizet's Carmen on May 14th, 2011 at 7:30pm... and for those of you on Vancouver Island, we will be coming to you on May 22nd! Please visit www.vancoco.ca for full details!

Riveting, passionate, poignant and totally satisfying... Carmen In-Review

Carmen Dress Rehearsal

A surprise was in store for those of us lucky people who made up the standing-room-only audience at Vancouver's Canadian Memorial Church on Saturday, January 8th for a concert performance of "Carmen". A modest unassuming new Vancouver operatic company, Vancouver Concert Opera Co-Operative, under the Managing and Artistic Director, contralto Natalie Burdeny, produced a "Carmen" that was riveting, passionate, poignant and totally satisfying.

Accompanied by piano collaborator, Dr. Kinza Tyrrell, from the vigor of the first notes to the sadness of the final scene, her participation anchored, but never overwhelmed the singers. She supported, focussed and fulfilled the role of a pit orchestra to the extent that the audience never seemed to realize that there was no pit orchestra!

Backstage with Frederik Robert (Don Jose)
and Natalie Burdeny (Carmen)

The casting was superb. Not a single weakness, even considering that tenor John Arsenault (Don Jose) was ill and had his role taken on two day's notice by tenor, Frederik Robert. As this was a concert performance, scores were in view, so Robert's reliance on his score was easily accepted. But his performance was beyond the bounds of sight reading! Robert has a vibrant tenor, well-controlled, beautifully articulated, and sensitively acted. He had the audience in tears by the end of the last act. his last "Carmen, Je t'adore" breaking our hearts.

Natalie Burdeny's contralto was perfect for the part of Carmen. She showed an enviable understanding of the role, careful use of the many nuances of her vocal arsenal, to portray the vagaries of Carmen's personality. Her card scene was particularly memorable as she was able to counter-point the darkness of her fate against the frivolity of sopranos Frasquita (Kathleen Morrison) and Mercedes (Jeanine Fynn), both small parts but well done, controlled and balanced.

The Smugglers Backstage - L to R:
Kathleen Morrison (Frasquita), Paul Just
(Remendado), Natalie Burdeny (Carmen),
Ed Moran (Dancaire), and Jeanine Fynn (Mercedes)

The part of Micaela was exquisitely sung by Arianna Sovernigo who possessed a delicate, pure soprano, every note centered and nurtured by consummate breath control.

Arianna Sovernigo as Micaela

As this was a concert production, most of the comprimario roles came from the chorus and melded seamlessly back into the chorus when their parts were finished.  Zuniga (bass-baritone, Max van Wyck), Morales (baritone, Ed Moran), El Remendado (tenor, Paul Just) and El Dancaire (tenor, Ed Moran) sang with gusto and panache, and added to the tightness and vitality of the opera.

The greatest excitement brought to an already exciting evening was contributed by baritone Andrew Greenwood, who made his entrance as Escamillo striding down the centre aisle of the church. Greenwood brought to his part the European experience of having sung this role in Prague. Given the freedom of a memorized part, this allowed him the opportunity to act, to relate and to play with his character which brought even more reality to the production, that had already mesmerized the rapt audience.

Baritone Andrew Greenwood
as Escamillo

I have seen countless productions of "Carmen", beginning at the age of 12 when my father took me to the travelling San Carlo Opera production here in Vancouver, "Carmen" at the Opera Comique in Paris and a ghastly production in English in immediate post-war London, but I have never been so gripped by the work as I was last Saturday evening by this modest, talented and committed little group of dedicated singers! Kudos to the Vancouver Concert Opera Co-Operative (www.vancoco.ca). Kudos to Natalie Burdeny for her vision and her presentation. And kudos to a Vancouver audience who came out in droves and leapt to its feet with cheers at the conclusion. Vancouver can use more of music of this calibre!

Hilary Clark
Review Contributor, Opera Canada Magazine

The Show Must Go On...

As they say in showbiz... "the show must go on!" and indeed it will. Due to illness the role of Don Jose will be performed tomorrow night by Tenor Frederik Robert.

No stranger to the operatic stage, Frederik has performed on numerous stages across Canada. We are very fortunate that he calls Vancouver his home and was available to fill the tall boots of John Arsenault.

To learn more about the multi-talented Frederik who started his career at the ripe old age of 8... please visit his website. In addition you can hear his beautiful rendition of Ben's Song which is also available for purchase online.

VanCOCO shouts out a big thank you to Frederik for stepping in and wishes him and the rest of the cast all the best for a great performance; one of many more to come I'm sure!

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