Enjoy our Summer Archive Series!

If you’ve been following us on social media, chances are you’ve come across our Summer Archives Series where we unveil rarely seen finds from our paper archives, props, and costume departments.

Check out our roundup of delightful highlights below and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for more unbeatable behind-the-scenes content!

We began our series with an exclusive look at the hand-painted costumes from our 1999 production of The Golden Ass—one that audiences will never see on stage again.

Commissioned by COC General Director Richard Bradshaw, with music by Randolph Peters and a libretto by Robertson Davies, this extravagant take on the Latin fable featured hand-dyed costumes by Marjory Fielding and an exquisite rattan Ass head crafted by Karen Rodd. The latter marked an impressive collaboration between the COC’s wig, costume, and props departments.

Next was a 1938 score of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, which includes handwritten annotations from COC General Director Herman Geiger-Torel, who led the company from 1959-1976.

Geiger-Torel directed the 1958 touring production and used this copy to write in English translations, rehearsal schedules, as well as the cast list.

Back then, COC productions like this one toured across Canada—playing in high school auditoriums, converted movie houses, and even gymnasiums. These productions were accompanied by piano rather than a full orchestra. Many of the cast of 1958's Barber returned in a fully-staged production at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre the following year.

Wagner’s Ring cycle was the first production to open the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in 2006. Conducted by Richard Bradshaw, it was also the first complete Ring ever mounted by a Canadian company! (Fun fact: the Four Seasons Centre is only the second opera house in the world to open with the complete Ring cycle—the first being the Festspielhaus at Bayreuth, which opened in 1876).

In Das Rheingold—the first of four operas that constitute Wagner's Ring—Donner, god of thunder, uses his hammer to clear the storm clouds and bring forth a new dawn. The hammer from our 2006 production is still in excellent condition and resides in a custom case.

Continuing on the hammer theme, we shared one of six hammers created for a production of Il Trovatore from the late 1980s. A sparking device is taped to the handle, cleverly allowing the performer to create sparks each time the anvil is struck.

Plus, a bit of theatre magici! This self-extinguishing candle was designed for the fateful scene in La Bohème in which Mimí’s candle goes out. Its provenance is uncertain, although we know that it predates our 1990 production. This clever contraption is a particularly interesting theatrical relic as we move away from using live flame on stage.

That wraps up our Summer Archive Series for now, but be sure to stay tuned for future forays into the vault, where countless more treasures await!