CALENDAR
Domoney Artists on Stage & Screen
PAST ENGAGEMENTS
2024
Jan 11 -- 13
Tenor Ernesto Ramirez joins the fun as Alfred in Die Fledermaus, The Champagne Operetta, presented by Calgary’s Alberta Vocal Arts; Shandra Gallant, director; Carlos Foggin, music director
www.albertavocalarts.com
Jan 19, 21, 24, 26 & 28
Baritone Jorell Williams debuts with Greek National Opera as Alexandre in Nadia Boulanger’s only opera, La Ville Morte. With a libretto by Gabriele d’Annunzio from his play of the same name, La Ville Morte is a tale of “suppressed lust and taboo turned lethal, the prisons of other people’s objectifying desires, and the liberatory potential of creativity.” The work, which was scheduled to premiere in 1914 in Paris, was never staged due to the outbreak of the first World War. The first performance took place in 2005, followed by a 2020 production in Sweden. The opera’s score has been supervised by David Conte, a former protege of Boulanger. Neal Goren conducts the cast and an 11-member instrumental ensemble. Robin Guarino directs.
Jan 21
Soprano Melody Courage performs in Vancouver with IndigiDivas: Opera Hits + Indigenous Stories, with Allegra Chamber Orchestra; Janna Sailor, conductor
www.allegrachamberorchestra.com
Jan 26 -- Feb 16
Bass-baritone Giles Tomkins sings the roles of Parson and Badger in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, a new production from English National Opera. When a forest gamekeeper traps a fox and attempts to domesticate her, their encounter leads to a poignant reflection on the natural cycle of life and death, as well as our relationship with the planet. Johannes Debus, conductor; Jamie Manton, director
Jan 27
Marion Newman is a special guest performer with IndigiDivas (Melody Courage, Rebecca Cuddy, and Michelle Lafferty), in concert with Calgary Philharmonic. First Nations music composers from across Turtle Island, alongside fresh interpretations of opera’s greatest hits. Janna Sailor, conductor
Jan 28
Dion Mazerolle is a guest artist with Montreal’s Ensemble Caprice in Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse (Boismortier), an opera- comique first performed in 1743, based on Cervantes’ famous novel; Matthias Maute, conductor www.mbam.qc.ca
Feb 8 & 10
Tenor Ernesto Ramirez stars as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca with Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, fully staged at the Living Arts Centre, Hammerson Hall; Stephen Carr, director; Denis Mastromonaco, conductor www.mississaugasymphony.ca
Feb 9
Tenor Asitha Tennekoon sings with Vancouver Bach Family of Choirs for their 2024 "Behind the Keys" fundraiser, including works by Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, Ian Cusson, and George Gershwin; Leslie Dala, conductor
Feb 11
The hour is dark for Ukrainians around the world. Russia's invasion of our homeland is nearing its second anniversary and our hearts are heavy. We turn to music to bring a sparkle of light back into our souls. "Ukrainian Lights" is a festival of classical music showcasing a mix of beloved classics and contemporary gems by Ukrainian and international composers performed by exceptional Ukrainian and Ukrainian-Canadian musicians.
"Her Winding Path" features Toronto-based Ukrainian soprano Natalya Gennadi and Ukrainian pianist Anna Sagalova performing a gorgeous selection of 20th and 21st century art songs by Ukrainian and international composers. The program, curated by composer Anna Pidgorna, explores the winding paths that women's lives can take.
Feb 28
Jorell Williams and soprano Jonelle Sills perform in Canadian Opera Company’s noon hour concert series. In this exciting program celebrating new and old work celebrating Black Canadian composers, presented with the Canadian Art Song Project, repertoire will include songs by R. Nathaniel Dett and the public premiere of by Maria Thompson Corely’s The Colour of Joy.
Feb 29, Mar 2 & 3
Marion Newman stars as Isabelle Eberhardt in Song from the Uproar (Music by Missy Mazzoli, Libretto by Royce Vavrek and Missy Mazzoli), with City Opera Vancouver; Anne Hodges, director; Gordon Gerrard, conductor
A passionate romantic and one of the most adventurous women of her era or any other, Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904) was unique: explorer, nomad, journalist, novelist, Sufi. At age twenty, after the death of her mother, brother and father, she left her life in Switzerland for a nomadic and unfettered existence in the deserts of North Africa. She traveled extensively through the desert on horseback, often dressed as a man, relentlessly documenting her travels through detailed journals. At age twenty-seven Isabelle drowned in a flash flood in the desert.
Song from the Uproar uses texts inspired by her writing to immerse the audience in the surreal landscapes of Isabelle’s life; she describes the death of her family, the thrill of her arrival in Africa, her tentative joy at falling in love, the elation of self-discovery and the mystery of death.
Mar 9
Tenor Jean-Philippe Lazure debuts as a guest soloist with Bach Elgar Choir, in Handel's Choral Masterpieces", a fascinating look at Handel’s life and choral works, including selections from Acis and Galatea, Messiah, and Alexander’s Feast; Alexander Cann conducts Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra
Mar 9
Mezzo soprano Hillary Tufford is a guest soloist in Duruflé’s Requiem with Victoria Philharmonic Choir; Peter Butterfield, conductor
Mar 14 & 16
Soprano Melody Courage and mezzo-soprano Marion Newman star in Opera Kelowna’s Wreckonciliation. It’s a talk show. It’s a concert. It’s completely irreverent… in a good way! Wreckonciliation is a musical response to the last decade of learning, striving, and failing to reckon with Canada’s colonial past. Mezzo-soprano Marion Newman, of Kwagiulth and Stó:lō First Nations with English, Irish and Scottish heritage; Métis soprano Melody Courage, and director Yvette Nolan (Algonquin), have teamed up with Opera Kelowna for an evening that upends expectations and invites everyone to take up the joy, and the work, of building a better future together. Musical Direction by Rosemary Thomson. Accompanied by string quartet and piano.
Mar 22 -- 24
Tenor Asitha Tennekoon stars as Boy Angel in the Canadian premiere of Du Yun and Royce Vavrek’s Angel’s Bone.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning opera uses contemporary opera as a creative lens and collaborative tool to generate conversation and awareness around human trafficking of youth. Using multimedia design elements and a unique community engagement approach that brings together social workers, survivors, lawyers, human rights activists and opera artists in co-presentation, this cross- cultural event premiered in Vancouver in November 2022.
Co-produced with Sound the Alarm Music/Theatre (Vancouver), Turning Point Ensemble (Vancouver) and Loose Tea Music Theatre (Toronto), and Array Music ( Toronto).
Mar 29
Baritone Clarence Frazer sings the role of Jesus with Metropolitan United Church in the second Canadian performance of Bach’s Markus Passion BWV 247, as reconstructed by Robert Koolstra ( 2017); Jonathan Oldengarm, director and continuo
Mar 29
Baritone Dion Mazerolle is a guest soloist with Montreal’s Les Idées Heureuses in their continuing project of presenting Graupner’s Cantatas at Salle Bourgie; Geneviève Soly, musical director
Mar 29
Countertenor Daniel Cabena is a guest soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion with Grand Philharmonic Choir, and Musicians of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony; Mark Vuorinen, conductor
Mar 30
Tenor Asitha Tennekoon is the Evangelist and tenor soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion with Vancouver Bach Choir; Leslie Dala, conductor
Apr 6 & 7
Janna Sailor is guest conductor with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra for "Shift", featuring music of 20th Century compositions by Stravinsky, Debussy, and Ravel
www.okanagansymphony.com
Apr 7
Asitha Tennekoon debuts with Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra as the Evangelist in St. John Passion; Leslie Dala, conductor
www.saskatoonsymphony.org
Apr 13, 17 & 19
Jacques Arsenault is Remendado in his debut with Manitoba Opera, and Giles Tomkins is Zuniga in Carmen; Tyrone Paterson, conductor; Brian Deedrick, director
Apr 19 -- 21
Baritone Jorell Williams performs in the American debut of La Ville Morte, following performances with Greek National Opera in January
Apr 20
Janna Sailor conducts the Saskatoon Symphony for "XYE Divas", featuring the best female pops, rock, blues, and jazz voices Saskatoon has to offer including Eekwol, Sonia Reid, Falynn Baptiste, Elyse Evangelista, Eileen Laverty, Madison McLean, Ellen Nasser, Kateryna Khartova, and more!
Apr 27 & 28
Baritone Dion Mazerolle is a guest soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with Ensemble Caprice, in Montreal and Quebec; Matthias Maute, conductor
Apr 27 & 28
Melody Courage, soprano debuts with Kamloops Symphony Orchesta in Mozart’s Requiem; Gordon Gerrard, conductor
May 3 & 4
Mezzo soprano Marion Newman, tenor Ernesto Ramirez, and baritone Jorell Williams are guest soloists in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with Symphony Nova Scotia
www.symphonynovascotia.ca
May 4
Mezzo Soprano Maria Soulis is a guest soloist in Bernstein's Chichester Psalms with Choral Works; Brian Rae conductor
www.choralworks.ca
May 4
Soundstreams presents Grandma’s Shawl, featuring and curated by New Voices winner Natalya Gennadi – a musical journey inspired by the tale of Kokum Shawls, telling the story of the lasting bond between Ukrainian women and Indigenous women, at the Redwood Theatre, Toronto
May 9
Soprano Melody Courage is a guest artist in Nos Voix with Vancouver’s Muzewest Concerts --a night of chamber music featuring the world premiere of works by Jesse Plessis and Patrick Carrabré
May 11
Tenor Asitha Tennekoon is a guest artist in a recital with Élisabeth St-Gelais at Halifax’s Cecilia Concerts, featuring the evocative and powerful compositions of Cecilia Concerts 2023/24 Composer-In-Residence, Ian Cusson
May 14
Jacques Arsenault and Marjorie Maltais join their beautiful voices together as French Squeeze, presenting original accordion arrangements of their favourite French songs from the Champs-Elysees to the shores of the St. Lawrence, including well-known hits by Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, Jacques Brel, Alys Robi , La bolduc and more
May 26
Baritone Jorell Williams debuts as a soloist with Ottawa Choral Society’s performance of Dvorak’s Te Deum; Gabrielle Gaudreault, Conductor/Artistic Director
May 28 --31 & Jun 1
Baritone Dion Mazerolle is Alberich and Bass baritone Giles Tomkins is Fafner in Edmonton Opera’s final production in their 60th anniversary season, a brand new production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold. Adaptation by Jonathan Dove and Graham Vick, Orchestrated by Jonathan Dove; Simon Rivard, conductor; Peter Hinton-Davis, director
Jun 12 -- 15
Asitha Tennekoon joins a stellar all-Canadian cast as Peter Quint/Prologue in Britten’s spooky psychological thriller, The Turn of the Screw , as Opera 5 returns to live performance at Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto; Amanda Smith, director; Evan Mitchell, musical director
Jul 13
Mezzo-soprano Hillary Tufford, a Fellow of the Vocal Academy with Toronto Summer Music Festival, performs with colleagues in the Re:Generation concert, “Veiled Devotion: Schumann, Debussy and Howells”
Jul 20
Hillary Tufford performs in Toronto Summer Music Festival’s Re: Generation concert, “Betwitching Beauty: Faure, Sibelius and Britten”
Aug 23 & 24
Clarence Frazer returns to Opera Kelowna in their double bill, singing Silvio in Pagliacci and Betto in Gianni Schicchi; Rosemary Thomson, Conductor; Glynis Leyshon, Director
Oct 6
Jorell Williams performs spirituals and classical music by Black composers and poets on what would have been Fannie Lou Hamer’s 107th birthday, as Kentucky Opera celebrates the work and life of a voting rights legend; Taylor Burkhardt, pianist www.kyopera.org
Oct 8
François Racine directs "La Servante et la Clairvoyante” , featuring the rising stars of L’Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal in two chamber operas -- La Serva Padrona (Pergolesi) and The Medium (Menotti) with Orchestre classique de Montréal; Simon Rivard, conductor
Oct 12 -- Nov 10
Soprano Caitlin Wood joins the cast of "Music of the Night", touring B.C., with favourites from ten of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s iconic musicals: Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sunset Blvd, and more!
Oct 19
Clarence Frazer premieres a new song cycle, "Songs for a Cold Land", by Janna Skarecky as part of a program featuring several works by members of Toronto’s Heliconian Club
Oct 26
Janna Sailor returns to Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra to conduct an all-Canadian program featuring “Controlled Burn” by Cris Derksen, Jean Coulthard’s Canada Mosaic, and John Estacio’s Frenergy.
Oct 26, 28 & Nov 1
Baritone Jorell Williams stars as Belcore in his debut with Manitoba Opera in their season opener, Donizetti’s delightful comedy, L’elisir d’amore; Ann Hodges Director; Tyrone Paterson, Conductor
Oct 26, 31 & Nov 2, 3
Bass-baritone Giles Tomkins returns to Vancouver Opera as Frank in their sparkling season opener, Die Fledermaus; Ashlie Corcoran, director; Jacques Lacombe, Conductor
Nov 10
Jorell Williams is a guest artist with Omaha Symphony in Mendelssohn’s Elijah; Ernest Richardson, conductor www.omahasymphony.org
Nov 19
Jorell Williams performs with the New York Festival Song, joining a stellar group of Black American male singers (Joshua Blue, Will Liverman, Joseph Parrish, and Chaz’men Williams-Ali) in My Brother’s Keeper. Conceived by baritone Justin Austin, this program tells a story of brotherly love and community among Black men in America through art song, soul, gospel and opera, alongside NYFOS’ Artistic Director, pianist Steven Blier
Nov 17 -- 19
As part of Vancouver’s Indie Fest 2024, Asitha Tennekoon joins the cast of Eurydice Fragments, the long-anticipated premiere blending powerful vocal performance, dance, XR, and motion capture technology in an immersive performance that explores the complexity of identity and self-expression in the modern world
Nov 21
Janna Sailor conducts the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra for SOJOURN: An electrifying program that celebrates some of the most exciting voices in contemporary music, from Reich to Montgomery. David Braid’s Joya Concerto, brings together two remarkable Canadian artists: Braid, “one of this country’s true renaissance men” (Ottawa Citizen), and violinist Mark Fewer, known for his genre-defying virtuosity. The work melds global musical influences—from jazz to Indian classical to passages reminiscent of Stravinsky.
