Grand River Opera will present Mozart’s Idomeneo to launch their 2025/26 season. Performances take place from October 16 to 18 in Kitchener with an all-Canadian cast.
Grand River Opera was founded in 2022, and held its first show in March 2023. The company, led by Artistic Director Jennifer Carter, is dedicated to making opera accessible, inclusive, and relevant to contemporary audiences.
Mozart’s Idomeneo
Mozart wrote Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante (Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante) as a commission with librettist Giambattista Varesco. The work premiered in January 1781 in Munich, Germany.
The story takes place in Crete, not long after the end of the Trojan War. Ilia is the daughter of Priam, the recently defeated King of Troy. After the war ended, Ilia was taken to Crete.
She has fallen in love with Prince Idamante, who is the son of King Idomeneo, King of Crete, but hesitates, and in fact rejects him at first. Electra, daughter of Greek king Agamemnon, however, knows the truth and is jealous.
When Idomeneo is caught in a storm at sea, he asks Neptune to spare his life, a deal he makes that has shattering consequences. Add a battle with a monster and the mercy of the gods to the mix in this story of enduring love.
The Cast
- Idomeneo: Marcel Van Helden
- Ilia: Kathryn Rose Johnston
- Arbace: Melosa Wang
- Idamante: Mackenzie Spoltore
- Elettra: Jennifer Carter
- High Priest: Autumn Wascher
Marcel Van Helden is an emerging tenor. He’s a graduate of Western University with a Master’s degree and Artist Diploma in vocal performance. Marcel also earned an undergraduate degree in physics. He’s performed with choirs and orchestras as a soloist, including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Rose Orchestra, Puccini’s Missa di Gloria with Chorus Hamilton, and Handel’s Messiah in various productions. His operatic roles include Rodolfo in La Bohème, Peter Quint & Prologue in The Turn of the Screw, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.
Canadian soprano Kathryn Rose Johnston was born and grew up in Kingston, Ontario, and is currently based in Toronto. She earned a Master of Music in Opera from the University of British Columbia, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Toronto. Kathryn was a finalist in the National Auditions for the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal and the 2023 National Capital Opera Society Competition, and was named a First Prize Winner in the American International Vocal Competition in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a member and co-producer of the a cappella quartet the Fonitika Vocal Ensemble. She has performed a wide variety of roles, including both traditional and contemporary repertoire.
London based mezzo-soprano Melosa Wang is a recent graduate of Western University with a specialty in music education. One of her passions is researching lesser known composers, and including their works in her performances. She strongly believes in the collaborative nature of music, and works with choirs and youth groups in London to encourage community engagement, and collective musicianship.
Musician and actress Mackenzie Spoltore is a graduate of Laurier University, where she studied voice. The mezzo-soprano has performed in the chorus of Carmen for Brott Opera; other roles include Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte (Lyric Opera Studio Weimar), Little Red in Into the Woods, and Amy March in Little Women (both with Opera Laurier). She teaches voice at the Premier School of the Arts in Waterloo, and also plays the trombone in her spare time.
Soprano Jennifer Carter is the Artistic Director of Grand River Opera. In addition to roles in Grand River Opera productions of Turn of the Screw, Hansel & Gretel, and Zanetto, she has performed with the Wagner in Vermont Festival, Dramatic Voices Berlin, Powerhouse Opera, Opera by Request, Opera Susquehanna, and the Colours of Music Festival in Barrie. In addition to her performance work, she is the owner of Resound Voice Studio, a private teaching studio.
Canadian soprano Autumn Wascher studied at Wilfrid Laurier University in the Bachelor of Music Vocal Performance program. They have performed the roles of Antonia & Giulietta in The Tales of Hoffmann, Cendrillon in Cendrillon, and in 2019 sang the role of Micaela in Carmen with the KW Symphony at Centre in the Square. Autumn has also served as a choral scholar at the Knox Presbyterian Church.
The Production
Idomeneo will be on stage at the Registry Theatre in Kitchener October 16 to 18.
The production will be sung in Italian with English translation via projections, accompanied by piano, and the Grand River Opera Community Chorus. The creative team includes stage direction by Bridget Ramzy, and musical direction by Charmaine Fopoussi.
- Find tickets and other show details [HERE].
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