Author Archives: Opera by Request

Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro

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Opera by Request presents Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, in concert with piano accompaniment, Saturday, November 18th, 7:30pm, College St. United Church, 452 College St (Bathurst).  All seats $20.00.  Phone 416 455-2365 for reservations and information.
Figaro………………………………….Brian Dearden, baritone
Susanna………………………………Roanna Kitchen, soprano
Countess……………………………..Rianna Robinson, soprano
Count…………………………………Sebastien Belcourt, baritone
Cherubino……………………………Alessia Vitali, mezzo-soprano
Marcellina…………………………….Michaela Chiste, mezzo-soprano
Bartolo/Antonio………………………Kieran Kane, baritone
Barbarina……………………………..Sasha Koukarina, soprano
Basilio/Curzio………………………..Jordan Baldwin, tenor
William Shookhoff, music director and pianist

Verdi: Rigoletto

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Opera by Request presents Verdi’s Rigoletto, in concert with piano accompaniment, Friday, November 10th, 7:30pm, College St. United Church, 452 College St. (Bathurst). All seats $20.00.  Phone 416 455-2365 for reservations and information.
Rigoletto……………………………………Gene Wu, baritone
Gilda………………………………………..Emily Rocha, soprano
Duke of Mantua……………………………Daevyd Pepper, tenor
Maddalena, Countess Ceprano………….Alessia Vitali, mezzo-soprano
Sparafucile, Count Ceprano………………Wes Hui, bass-baritone
Monterone…………………………………..Luke Noftall, baritone
Borsa………………………………………..David Walsh, tenor
Marullo………………………………………George Theodorakopoulos, baritone
William Shookhoff, pianist and music director

Mozart: Idomeneo

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Opera by Request presents Mozart’s Idomeneo, in concert with piano accompaniment,   Saturday, October 28th, 7:30pm. College St. United Church, 452 College St. (Bathurst).  All seats $20.00.  Phone 416 455-2365 for reservations and information.

Idomeneo………………………………..Dillon Parmer, tenor
Ilia…………………………………………Maghan MacPhee, soprano
Idamante…………………………………Whitney O’Hearn, soprano
Elektra…………………………………….Whitney Sloan, soprano
Arbace, High Priest………………………Francis Domingue, tenor
Oracle……………………………………..Henry Irwin, baritone
Cretan women…………………………….Hillary Krutchick, soprano
                                                                Bree Horton, mezzo-soprano
William Shookhoff, music director and pianist

Review: Rossini’s Otello

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Last night I watched a concert presentation of Rossini’s Otello from Opera by Request, a company who demonstrate their importance with every outing.

…The prolific Rossini, one of the quickest composers in history, who premiered three operas in 1816, and four the next year likely didn’t agonize over his work the way Boito and Verdi did. Does it matter that the story has been changed? Does it matter that some of the music in the scene where Otello murders Desdemona resembles music we hear in Barber of Seville, composed earlier the same year?  Not when the goal is a virtuoso display of vocal fireworks.

– Leslie Barcza,
barczablog

Thank you to Leslie Barcza for this insightful and supportive review of our most recent performance. Read the full review here.

Rossini: Otello

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Opera by Request presents Rossini’s Otello, in concert with piano accompaniment, Saturday, June 24th, 7:30pm, College St. United Church, 452 College St. (Bathurst). All tickets $20.00. Phone 416-455-2365 for reservations and additional information.

Otello…………………..Paul Williamson, tenor
Rodrigo………………..Ernesto Ramirez, tenor
Iago…………………….Dillon Parmer, tenor
Desdemona……………Meagan Reimer, mezzo-soprano
Elmiro………………….Dylan Wright, bass-baritone
Emilia………………….Abigail Veestra, soprano
Doge/Gondolier………Francis Domingue, tenor

William Shookhoff, pianist and music director