Whether you’re a fan or haven’t yet become one, Calgary Opera has something in store for every Calgarian interested in the arts this upcoming 2024/25 season.

This season’s focus is on furthering the connections of opera with community and bringing in new, innovative performances this year in addition to some mainstay favourites of opera canon.

“We’re always anchored by a mainstage season of performances at the Jubilee that feature not only singers from Calgary and around the world, but the Calgary Philharmonic and the Calgary Opera Chorus,” said Sue Elliott, CEO and General Director of Calgary Opera.

“But also a whole variety of other events and experiences, to really make sure that we are meeting people where they are, and offering them a taste of this, a taste of that, and all designed to tell our own stories.”

The mainstage season of performances at the Jubilee Auditorium kicks off with Don Giovanni, the classic libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte set to the music of Mozart which tells the tale of the lecherous and murderously villainous young noble that has intrigued audiences for centuries.

“I mean, who doesn’t want to come to any kind of theatrical evening and see the villain get his just desserts? Who doesn’t want to see that?” said Elliott.

“There might be people in our own lives who are frustrating to us, and perhaps we wouldn’t wish a descent into hell on them, but nevertheless it’s an incredible evening featuring one of operas’ baddest of the bad.”

She said it’s one of those productions that audiences can see repeatedly as the way the lead character Giovanni is played can change the tone and tenure of productions.

“There are all different ways to kind of tell the story of Giovanni in terms of whether he is outright abusive and really evil the whole time, how manipulative and seductive are they, and how strong is the sheep’s clothing that the wolf is wearing,” Elliott said.

Don Giovanni is on stage on Nov. 2, 6, and 8.

Comedy comes to the Jubilee in February

February kicks off the season’s second production, with a more modern opera that combines the glitz and glamour of the golden age of silent film with the transformation that was occurring into the talkies.

Don Pasquale tells the story of an aging silent film director pursuing a young actress in the next generation of film, all performed in the comedic style of classic Italian films like La Dolce Vita and Roman Holiday.

It’s the perfect story to put on stage in February, Elliott said.

“When the composer [Gaetano Donizetti] wrote it, in his mind it was to be performed as if the story was happening that same year—he wanted it to be a contemporary story. So, we’re not taking it as far as bringing it to 2024, but set instead against the Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck,” she said.

“One of the reasons why that time period was chosen by our stage director Stefania Panighini is that it presents a wonderful collision of generations that’s at the heart of this particular story.”

She said that generational tension was something that would be immediately apparent to audiences, and instantly familiar to anyone who has caught a sitcom or two.

Opera never more relevant to Calgarians

Coming in April is a double bill of two one-act operas Bluebeard’s Castle and Gianni Schicchi, which despite having both premiered in the interwar period following World War 1 and during the Spanish Flu Pandemic, present wildly different takes on society from that period,” Elliott said.

“I think one of [Conductor Jonathan Brandani’s] moments of brilliance, and he has many of them, is that both of these operas were composed and premiered in 1918, and they present radically different stories and perceptions of their story worlds.”

She said that the noir tension-filled Bluebeard is juxtaposed with the comedic family story of Schicchi.

“You have the kind of noir mysterious Bluebirds Castle that’s full of tension with an orchestra score that adds to that tension—if you can just imagine a tension knob on your stereo, and just cranking it to 11 out of 10,” Elliott said.

“Then after intermission, again, set at the same time period, when the curtain opens someone has already died, but it’s a complete comedy from beginning to end. It’s about a fight over an estate, and all the manipulation that various members of the family or want to be members of the family undertake in order to change the outcome to benefit them.”

Elliott said that one of the reasons why opera has remained so relevant for audiences is that they’re timeless stories that could be ripped from the today’s headlines.

“At its heart, opera often involves death or the threat of it. And really, we do this because it teaches us how to live better lives. Thinking about what Béla Bartók and Giacomo Puccini had seen coming out of the Spanish flu—and in many ways than the pandemic that we just experienced and are still recovering from—it up-ended art in really important ways,” she said.

“By putting these two things together, we also hope that we’re paving the way for the stories of our time and for people to see and feel and experience the way in which art came out of that period in the early 20th century, and to imagine all of the recovery that we still need to make now.”

Many accessible opportunities for opera outside of the Jubilee

Elliott said that the upcoming season had dozens of opportunities for individuals to take in some of Calgary’s finest singers.

Among those opportunities for families are opera experiences far removed from the traditional theatre experience.

“We’re inaugurating a series of Saturday afternoons, called Serious Family Fun at the Mamdani Opera Centre, and those will be very interactive afternoons that involve music and storytelling and arts and crafts and all of the many components, artistic disciplines and technical in some ways that goes into making opera,” Elliott said.

The company is also holding a series of performances of The Witty Squirrel at the centre. Some of those are designed for families that want a relaxed setting that accommodates children with sensory needs.

“We’re not the first opera company to offer sensory-friendly performances, but this is the first time Calgary opera has done this,” Elliott said.

She said that this was to ensure that individuals who might otherwise not be able to enjoy opera performances in a traditional setting, would still be able to engage with the art form.

“We will have spaces set aside that have less sensory stimulation with ear coverings, like sound-dampening headphones, available for people as needed. The performers will be working with coaches to alter or modify their performances slightly, so perhaps not singing as loudly.”

Lighting would also be relaxed for those performances, making for less harsh viewing between a darkened room and a brightly lit stage.

“We’re working to make this available, and learning as we go as well here in Calgary about how to do this. Then look to see what’s next, engaging with clinical providers in the community to make sure that what we’re offering matches what the needs are, and then seeing what else we can offer, subsequent to next season,” Elliott said.

“Expanding and changing, we’re all about that.”

The Witty Squirrel will also be going on tour at several southern Alberta schools as a way of engaging children in opera.

More interactive experiences happening in 2024/25, but get your tickets

Among the brand new experiences for the upcoming season was an incredibly interactive operatic experience focused on drawing in people to a performance outside of just the stage, Elliott said.

“It involves three events, two of which are called Opera After Dark that take place here at the Mamdani opera center, and then a wonderland event that takes place in a different location. These are very immersive 18+ multimedia song poetry experiences like no one has ever had with Calgary Opera,” she said.

“There’s definitely music and storytelling involved, but a whole different take on people coming into what we hope is a different world. We’re welcoming people to come in costume, and to be in character all night, as they experience everything we have to offer for that.”

The ever-popular opera brunches and cabarets are also getting new names and expanded dates for the season.

“This past year, we did the first ever cabaret performance… and it was so popular that we’re actually going to do four next year. We’re going to do two holiday cabaret performances in December, and two springtime cabaret performances in March,” she said.

Calgarians will have to get their tickets fast for those as they will sell out early, Elliott said.

“Those are some of the things that are the hottest tickets in town.”

For more details, and to see details about Calgary Opera’s 2024/25 season, see www.calgaryopera.com/2024-25.