{"id":101600,"date":"2024-02-05T15:07:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T20:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=101600"},"modified":"2024-02-05T15:15:39","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T20:15:39","slug":"preview-maestro-denis-mastromonaco-talks-mounting-fully-staged-tosca-mississauga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/02\/05\/preview-maestro-denis-mastromonaco-talks-mounting-fully-staged-tosca-mississauga\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Maestro Denis Mastromonaco Talks About Mounting A Fully Staged Tosca In Mississauga"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R:
L-R: Ernesto Ramirez (Cavaradossi); Angela Sanchez (Tosca); Andrey Andreychik (Scarpia) (Photo courtesy of MSO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As an organization, the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra (MSO) falls somewhere between a professional and a community orchestra. It\u2019s dubbed as a \u201chybrid\u201d orchestra.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly unique,\u201d allows MSO Music Director Denis Mastromonaco<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The MSO is presenting a fully staged version of Puccini\u2019s beloved opera Tosca on February 8 and 10. It\u2019s an ambitious project for such an organization, but it\u2019s only the latest in a series.<\/p>\n

Mastromonaco is a graduate of the University of Toronto, and pursued post-graduate studies in Orchestral Conducting at the State University of New York, where he graduated with a Master of Music Degree, summa cum laude. Denis continued studying in Europe, and holds diplomas in conducting from the Wiener Konservatorium, the Salzburg Mozarteum and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy.<\/p>\n

His career has taken him throughout North America and Europe, and recently, has focused on music in the community. He is also Music Director for the Mississauga Symphony Youth Orchestra, York Symphony Orchestra and Opera York, and Etro.<\/p>\n

We spoke to him about the upcoming production.<\/p>\n

The Interview<\/h2>\n

Tosca is the most recent in a series of operas presented by the MSO going back several years. Why bring it out of downtown and into the GTA? \u201cBack in 2018,\u201d Mastromonaco recalls. \u201cI come from an opera background, [and] besides the COC, there weren\u2019t many opera companies producing fully staged operas.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points out the demise of companies such as Opera Ontario, and Opera Hamilton. Outside of the COC and Opera Atelier, and especially outside the downtown area, audiences can expect operas in concert, or vocal recitals perhaps.<\/p>\n

Along with what he saw as a gap in the area\u2019s offerings, the MSO had a key ingredient. \u201cWe have a wonderful theatre in Mississauga,\u201d he says of the Living Arts Centre. He notes its large stage.<\/p>\n

Where there\u2019s a will, there\u2019s a way. \u201cWe saved up our resources, and mounted our first opera, which was Carmen,\u201d he recalls. The MSO has since also staged La Boheme and La Traviata. \u201cWe were just about to do our fourth opera when the pandemic came.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last season, the MSO picked up the thread again with a semi-staged version of Barber of Seville. Mastromonaco says Tosca was always on the list. \u201c[It\u2019s] one of my favourite operas,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Opera is also about the drama, and the details are important (and budgeted for). Custom made costumes have been created by Sara Baruffaldi<\/strong>, formerly of La Scala, with sets by Tri-Cities opera of New York.<\/p>\n

The MSO\u2019s success with opera is the proof in the pudding, so to speak. But, it\u2019s a matter of careful planning. \u201cIt\u2019s a tough one. It\u2019s about budget, it\u2019s about balancing [it all],\u201d he says. \u201cIt begins with a couple of things.\u201d A great tech team has to go along with a great venue. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have that, right away you\u2019re restricted with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maestro Mastromonaco\u2019s varied background makes him a good point person. \u201cI\u2019ve had the pleasure and fortune of working with opera behind the scenes for [the length of my career],\u201d he notes. He also comments on support from the city of Mississauga, which is looking to push its musical talent. The orchestra should be part of that, he notes.<\/p>\n

The production is a note of cautious optimism about the future. \u201cWe were on a roll, sadly, just before the pandemic,\u201d he says, recalling a highly successful season just prior to the lockdowns. \u201cThere\u2019s a bit of fear these last couple of years.\u201d He\u2019s been encouraged, though, by a positive reaction to Verdi\u2019s Requiem earlier this season, and sold-out holiday audiences. \u201cI think we\u2019ve opened up again,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrchestras are pushing to get back what we had.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra (Photo courtesy of MSO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tosca: The Cast<\/h3>\n

The story of Tosca is one of love and betrayal fuelled by jealousy. Passions are high in 19th-century Rome, home to lovers Cavaradossi (Ernesto Ramirez), a painter, and singer Tosca (Angela Maria Sanchez). A situation with tragic consequences develops when Cavardossi hides a political prisoner from the evil police chief Scarpia, with Tosca caught in the crossfire.<\/p>\n

Maestro Mastromonaco enjoys the cast that\u2019s been assembled for the project. \u201cThey\u2019re all from different place in life,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Soprano Angela Maria Sanchez<\/strong> takes the title role. Based in Toronto, she is a graduate of The Glenn Gould School of Music, and she made her operatic debut in The Tales of Hoffmann with\u00a0Summer Opera Lyric Theatre\u00a0in 2017. She has also performed at the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, in\u00a0La Boheme\u00a0at\u00a0The Brott Opera Festival, and in the lead role of Satuzza in\u00a0Callaveria Rusticana with Toronto City Opera\u00a0debut in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s going to be great,\u201d Mastromonaco says.<\/p>\n

Mexican-Canadian tenor Ernesto Ramirez<\/strong> performs the role of Cavaradossi. Praised for his Italianate sound, he has performed with Mexico\u2019s Opera de Le\u00f3n, in\u00a0La Boh\u00e8me\u00a0with Pacific Northwest Opera, and he sang\u00a0Don Jos\u00e9\u00a0with Opera Kelowna\u2019s\u00a0Carmen. He has performed with Calgary Concert Opera Company,\u00a0Southern Ontario Lyric Opera and\u00a0with Alberta Vocal Arts, along with the
\nHamilton Philharmonic, Symphony Nova Scotia, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Niagara Symphony, and Kingston Symphony, as well as in Europe and throughout the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cErnesto actually stepped in,\u201d Mastromonaco says, \u201cour original Mario unfortunately had a health issue\u2014 a replacement, but a tremendous voice,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Andrey Andreychik<\/strong> plays the villainous Scarpia. The baritone recently sang the role Alfio in\u00a0Cavalleria rusticana\u00a0with\u00a0Toronto City Opera, and the Oracle Voice of Neptune in\u00a0Idomeneo\u00a0with\u00a0Teatro Bellini\u00a0in Catania, Italy. He earned a diploma in opera performance from the University of British Columbia, and had his professional debut with\u00a0Theater Hof\u00a0in Germany. He has performed across Europe, China, Russia, and North America. Andrey now makes his home base in Germany, where he\u2019ll be performing with Theater Bad Elster, and make a company debut with F. X. \u0160alda Theater, Liberec, along with multiple engagements in Lithuania this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s really a delight to work with,\u201d notes Mastromonaco. \u201cWith Tosca, it\u2019s basically three leads. Unlike many operas, except for Scarpia, who is dead in act three, they\u2019re on stage basically the whole time. We had to find individuals who [had] great voices, and who could sustain 2 1\/2 hours of singing.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also gives credit to a talented and supportive secondary cast.<\/p>\n

What can audiences expect? Mastromonaco’s approach is rooted in tradition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI note to a lot of our patrons that, part of my background, my philosophy is, I tend to do traditional opera,\u201d he says. That includes the details of set and costume design. \u201cThey look lovely,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a traditional opera. I try to stay close to what the composer intended.\u201d<\/p>\n