Edmonton Opera

Wonderful evening at the ESO, thanks to Unilocal!
I’d caught The Barber of Seville earlier this year, and it wasn’t my favourite. However last night’s performance of Lucia Di Lammermoor was so beautiful. The evening’s vocals were breathtaking, and the production felt very lavish and rich. Simone Osborne as Lucia blew me away and broke my heart; what a powerhouse!
Everyone at the Jubilee was wonderful, from the will-​call attendants to the bartenders (kudos to the bartenders for donating all of their tips to fund raise for a rebuilt Roxy Theatre).
The 2.5 hours flew by and left me anticipating the next season — a perfect night.

I was lucky enough to attend a Unilocal elite event for the production of Lucia Di Lammermoor on Saturday and night and I have to say, I was blown away.
It was my first Opera that I’ve ever attended and I had a rough idea of what to expect, however it exceeded all expectations!
The forbidden love, family rivalry, death and tragedy had your attention from beginning to end. My favourite personally was Act 3, Scene 3… The finale :)
All of the artist’s vocals were amazing! To sing the way they do for as long as they do… Bravo!
Being presented at the Edmonton Jubilee also reinforces a wonderful evening out. The translation screen at the top of the stage was easy to read and definitely helped me understand certain scenes.

If you are in the 20 – 40 age range and have never been to an Opera, and never really had the desire… this review is for you.
I attended my first Opera show at the Edmonton Opera, for Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. I had no clue what to expect, and any expectations I did have were completely wrong.
Let me start by saying… it is not boring. I promise you that. It is actually 2 and half hours of beautiful talent, amazing voices, and a symphony orchestra that just captures you. You do not need to know Italian, or German, or French. There is a large screen above the stage that actually translates the important parts, so you know what’s happening. But it’s not a full translation so you can still enjoy the beauty of the Opera. Yes, I just said «Beauty of the Opera». There were moments where I was actually so engrossed in the performance that I forgot to watch the screen. But it was easy to figure it out.
And what do you wear to the Opera? Well I went on Saturday, which is opening night. You should definitely dress up, most definitely no jeans. But how far you want to go with dressing up is completely up to you. There were lots of dresses, from knee length to gowns. I would suggest making sure your dress is not strapless or spaghetti strap, or wear a cardigan over it. Maybe it’s okay, but I really didn’t see anyone wearing those type of dresses. There were also plenty of women in dress pants. Men were mostly wearing suits, and there were even some tuxedos! What a great place to come to see people wearing their best. That’s one thing I often think about, is how in the «olden» days it seems women always wore dresses and men always wore suits. It’s kind of nice to have an excuse to dress up in this age of yoga pants and jeans.
You should try to arrive a bit early, and enjoy a coffee or wine. You’ll have to be in your seats before the show start time, or else they’ll usher you to the top balcony until intermission.
I sat on the first balcony, right side, and it was definitely a good view. Just a heads up… the seats, while they look comfy, are not. Your tailbone will be screaming for relief just moments before intermission.
While I feel I cannot comment too much on the quality of the show itself, as it was my first opera, I will say that it definitely captivated me, and I felt that the performers were quite talented. Some more so than others, I think. I felt that some of the voices didn’t throw as well as the others, kind of a muffled sound. Some other people I was with felt the same, one of which had been to the Edmonton Opera before. I still enjoyed the show.
You should really give the Edmonton Opera a shot. I think Edmonton is pretty lucky to have an Opera, and we should try to make use of it and enjoy it as much as we can.

In the last few years I’ve been lucky enough to have attended a few operas. I’ve really only been to 4 performances and all in Edmonton and Calgary, but it has quickly becoming one of my favourite forms of entertainment. At the Edmonton Opera I’ve seen Aida and Barber of Seville. And while Aida was underwhelming mostly due to a strange interpretive dance numbers, the Barber was a great show and very funny. I really credit Calgary and Edmonton Opera for cultivating my interest in opera and can honestly say if they didn’t exist I likely would of never have an interest in this art form.
Is it opera in Italy, France or Spain, no. However, it has sparked a dream to attend a high level opera in one of these countries. And this perhaps is a good thing being exposed to traditional forms of art. We are lucky to have these productions in Alberta and hope the shows continue.
Keeping doing what you do Edmonton Opera and I’ll keep watching.

The 50^th Anniversary of the Edmonton Opera was a wonderful treat that I never thought I would experience.
Madama Butterfly is one of the most iconic operas of all time and has helped me appreciate the opera genre more than I ever did before.
I love the fact that the translation from Italian to English was put on a big screen because my Italian has become a bit rusty.
As an added bonus, it was wonderful to see some members of the original cast as guests of honour celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of Edmonton Opera.

What a treat! I came to the Edmonton Opera for their 50^th Anniversary and Opening night of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly last Saturday. It was a package I had won through Unilocal courtesy of Château LaCombe Hotel and Blue Sky Limos.
This was my first time to the opera as an adult aside from field trips as a chitlin.
You could certainly sense the excitement and magic in the air as we entered the Jubilee Auditorium all decked out to the nines!
The opera itself was 2 hours and 20 minutes with a 20 minute intermission and the time just flew by!
And in case you are nervous you won’t understand the various languages, do not fret! The Edmonton Opera has a small screen above the stage that runs the translation in English during the performance!
The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and Edmonton Opera Chorus brought production alive with special help from many special cast members from abroad. Cio-​Cio-​San (Madama Butterfly) was performed by Anne Sophie Duprels from Paris. Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton was performed by Luciano Ganci.
As an extra special treat, the Edmonton Opera flew in the original Madama Butterfly and Pinkerton from their debut performance 50 years ago in Edmonton for the Anniversary! Madama Butterfly also just celebrated it’s 110^th birthday of production this past February!
My date and I were treated to cocktail hour before hand and during intermission in the Director’s Circle downstairs.
Post performance, we attended the cast party on the 1^st floor where we got to meet some of the fantastic cast members and my husband even ran into an old music student of his that was in the Opera Chorus! Duchess Bake Shop catered the Cast Party with an amazing array of treats.
I truly could not have envisioned a more magical night!
Next season (staring in October 2014 and ending in April 2015) the Edmonton Opera is offering subscriptions to all three of their performances called the Great Escape with pricing for the subscription starting at only $ 96! I also checked out their website and noted they have student pricing available, too!
The coming seasons will include Rossini’s Barber of Seville (YAY!!!), Mozart’s Magic Flute, and Donizetti’s Lucia Di Lammermoor! I think I may have just found my Anniversary present for my husband but Shhh… Don’t tell him ;-)

I love the opera… It’s an ethereal dream like world where love, tragedy and comedy all collide under a spectacular symphonic canopy. Attending the opera just makes you feel grand, it’s a way of connecting to the past. I love that feeling of knowing that centuries of people have sat down to watch the same performance I’m about to see. I’ve been to a good handful of opera’s put on by the Edmonton Opera accompanied by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra — I always leave with the best feeling; knowing that I have spent a wonderful evening full of magic, mystery and romance. I can’t wait until the next one!
Que le spectacle commence!