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Two legends, Catherine Malfitano and Sir Andrew Davis deliver our Wilde & witty double bill which marks the COC debut of one of today's leading singing actors, internationally celebrated American bass-baritone Alan Held.
In A Florentine Tragedy, based on Oscar Wilde’s play, a merchant discovers his wife is having an affair with the Prince of Florence. A cat and mouse game ensues, ending in a brutal kill with a stunning twist, all set to Zemlinsky’s ravishing score. This rarely seen late-Romantic opera is followed by Puccini’s beloved tour-de-force comedy Gianni Schicchi, in which family members frantically scheme to benefit their own greed. Puccini shows a masterful comic touch with this swiftly paced opera, featuring the beloved soprano aria, “O mio babbino caro.” Both of these 1917 one-act opera gems are ingeniously set in the same Italian villa, decades apart.
At the Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W., Toronto. Performance time is approximately two hours, 15 minutes including one intermission. Sung in German/Italian with English SURTITLES™.
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis Director: Catherine Malfitano Set Designer: Wilson Chin
Simone / Gianni Schicchi: Alan Held Bianca / Nella: Gun-Brit Barkmin Guido Bardi: Michael König Lauretta: Simone Osborne
New Canadian Opera Company Production.
Promotion image of Florence generously provided by www.visitflorence.com.
Alan Held as Gianni Schicchi in a scene from the COC's Gianni Schicchi, 2012. Photo: Michael Cooper; Gun-Brit Barkmin as Bianca in the COC's A Florentine Tragedy, 2012. Photo: Chris Hutcheson
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