Toronto audiences will get a rare chance to hear the operatic work of Richard Wagner in a concert presentation of Tristan and Isolde by Powerhouse Opera. Wagner’s opera will be performed in an abridged version in concert, in German with surtitles.
The romantic story is taken to its essentials: the music, and of course, the singing.
The Cast
The roles require a specific skill set from singers. Powerhouse Opera has assembled a cast with experience in Wagnerian roles.
Susan Tsagkaris: Isolde
Dramatic soprano Susan Tsagkaris will perform the role of Isolde. It’s a role she is returning to, having studied and performed it from the outset of her career. She is one of the few vocalists with the designation as a hoch dramatische soprano.
Susan has performed with the McGill Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Brott Festival, among others. She performed in Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna at the Luminato Festival. A former member of the COC Studio Ensemble, she has performed with opera companies across the country, from Vancouver to Calgary and Toronto.
With a focus on Wagnerian roles, she received a scholarship from the Wagner Society of Ohio. In Europe, she has trained with, and recorded Wagner and Strauss selections with, expert Klaus Sallmann. When the soprano in a concert production fell ill, Susan successfully sight-read the role of Brünnhilde on a moment’s notice.
Along with her stage performances, she’s known as the Opera Singer in the 1995 Keanu Reeves flick Johnny Mnemonic, as well as a CBC TV movie titled Under the Piano alongside Teresa Stratas and Megan Follows.
Peter Furlong: Tristan
Berlin-based Heldentenor, Peter Furlong is known as a Wagner specialist, and has performed various roles in his operas. In February 2020, he sang the role of Siegmund in a co-production of the Berlin Wagner Gruppe and Opera by Request. The entire Ring Cycle was performed over one weekend in Toronto.
The American singer is now based in Berlin, and has performed throughout Germany, as well as in Boston, Belgium, Italy, and New York. His 2017 recording of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (Thorofon) was critically acclaimed.
His Tristan will be his concert debut in the role.
Rounding out the cast will be Canadian Mezzo-Soprano Catharin Carewin in the role of Brangäne, Baritone Andrew Tees as King Marke, and Toronto-based Tenor Alexander Cappellazzo as Der Junge Seeman. Brahm Goldhamer plays the piano.
Powerhouse Opera
Powerhouse Opera showcases dramatic operatic repertoire, with a special focus on the works of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss presented in a lightly staged concert format. As such, the company works with dramatic singers and big voices, typically qualities that reach their peak later in a vocalist’s career. The works are also typically challenging to present in a fully staged form; the concert format gives audiences the chance to hear the music, as well as providing singers with important credits in a niche operatic category.
The performance will take place on October 29 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. For tickets and more information, see [HERE].
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