{"id":114885,"date":"2025-06-05T11:18:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T15:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=114885"},"modified":"2025-06-05T14:00:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T18:00:01","slug":"preview-torontos-happenstancers-present-two-deaths-ophelia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/06\/05\/preview-torontos-happenstancers-present-two-deaths-ophelia\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Toronto\u2019s The Happenstancers Present: The Two Deaths Of Ophelia"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_114887\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114887\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-114887\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-73.jpg\" alt=\"L-R: The Happenstancers\u2019 Artistic Director &amp; clarinetist Brad Cherwin; conductor Simon Rivard; soprano Danika Lor\u00e8n; cellist Peter Eom (Photos courtesy of the artists)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-73.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-73-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-73-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-73-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-114887\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">L-R: The Happenstancers\u2019 Artistic Director &amp; clarinetist Brad Cherwin; conductor Simon Rivard; soprano Danika Lor\u00e8n; cellist Peter Eom (Photos courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>The Water speaks. Let love pull you under.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Happenstancers, Toronto\u2019s innovative chamber music ensemble, will present their next concert under the title The Two Deaths of Ophelia. The concert takes place June 19, and will feature the music of composers Linda Catlin Smith, Ann Southam, and Thomas Ad\u00e8s, and the world premieres of new works by Ryan Chase and Toronto composer Luis Ramirez.<\/p>\n<p>Ophelia is one of Shakespeare\u2019s iconic tragic heroines, and often used as a kind of metaphor for what is considered feminine. The Two Deaths Of Ophelia reimagines her character in a sonic portrait that works through the themes of love and desire, madness and death.<\/p>\n<p>The sound world created by the music of the five composers mimics the nature of water \u2014 strong yet erratic, sensuous and compelling.<\/p>\n<p>Incorporating two world premieres, the concert unfolds in a kind of double-bill.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_114888\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114888\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-114888\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-06-05T111509.948.jpg\" alt=\"L: Soprano Reilly Nelson; R: Composer Luis Ramirez (Photos courtesy of the artists)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-06-05T111509.948.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-06-05T111509.948-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-06-05T111509.948-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-06-05T111509.948-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-114888\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">L: Soprano Reilly Nelson; R: Composer Luis Ramirez (Photos courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>The Two Deaths Of Ophelia<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re playing with concepts this June,\u201d says conductor <strong>Simon Rivard<\/strong> in a statement. \u201cString quartet, tragedy, song cycle, melodrama \u2014 both classical music and theatre employ standardized forms, using familiar archetypes to carry audiences to unfamiliar and unexpected places. Can the same story be told twice? Can it remain the same? What if the narrator is changed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The world premieres frame the dual approach.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Torontonian <strong>Luis Ramirez<\/strong> has created a new work for three strings and three winds. It\u2019s based on imagining the very moment when Ophelia is suspended in time just as she\u2019s plunging into the water of the stream.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ryan Chase<\/strong>\u2018s Now Wonder Nyce and Straunge begins with three texts by Geoffrey Chaucer, and sets them to surrealistic music to be sung by soprano Reilly Nelson.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cWith these projects we explore layers of ideas within the chamber music concert \u2014 another familiar structure! \u2014 but on the surface this concert is also just an opportunity for our ensemble to engage with powerful and iconic music,\u201d says Happenstancer artistic director <strong>Brad Cherwin<\/strong>, \u201cworks that we might not have the opportunity to perform otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also on the bill is Claude Vivier\u2019s monumental Bouchara, performed by soprano Danika Lor\u00e8n. Vivier wrote the work, which he subtitled \u201cchanson d\u2019amour\u201d, in 1981 for a mixed chamber ensemble of woodwinds, percussion, strings, and voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVivier\u2019s otherworldly musical language has become a symbol of greatness in the Canadian classical canon, and has influenced countless composers since,\u201d says <strong>Lor\u00e8n<\/strong>. \u201cBouchara is one of Vivier\u2019s most spiritual and moving chamber works; a true gem in our country\u2019s rich history of classical innovators.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Program in full:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Linda Catlin Smith: Stare at the River<\/li>\n<li>Linda Catlin Smith: The River (Canadian premiere)<\/li>\n<li>Shawn Jaeger: Love Is (Canadian premiere)<\/li>\n<li>Ann Southam: Rivers (selections)<\/li>\n<li>Wolfgang Rihm: Ophelia Sings<\/li>\n<li>Oliver Knussen: Ophelia Dances<\/li>\n<li>Charles Wuorinen: Bearbeitungen \u00fcber das Glogauer Liederbuch<\/li>\n<li>Thomas Ad\u00e8s: Arcadiana (selections)<\/li>\n<li>Luis Ramirez: new work, title TBD (world premiere)<\/li>\n<li>Ryan Chase: Now Wonder Nyce and Straunge (world premiere)<\/li>\n<li>Krzysztof Penderecki: Abschied<\/li>\n<li>Claude Vivier: Bouchara<\/li>\n<li>Virginia Woolf: Recitations, from selected letters<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Personnel<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Simon Rivard, conductor<\/li>\n<li>Reilly Nelson, Ophelia One<\/li>\n<li>Danika Lor\u00e8n, First Ophelia<\/li>\n<li>Jesse Blumberg, Hamlet One<\/li>\n<li>Dion Mazerolle, First Hamlet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Musicians:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Strings: Luri Lee, violin; Sienna Cho, violin; Hee-Soo Yoon, violin and viola; Hezekiah Leung, viola; Peter Eom, cello; Travis Harrison, double bass; Lenny Ranallo, guitar<\/li>\n<li>Keyboards: Joonghun Cho; Wesley Shen<\/li>\n<li>Winds: Chris James, flutes; Aleh Remezau, oboes; Brad Cherwin, clarinets and artistic director; Nicolas Richard, bassoon; Ryan Garbett, horn; Declan Scott, trumpet<\/li>\n<li>Percussion: Nikki Huang; Thomas Li<\/li>\n<li>Billy Wong, lighting<\/li>\n<li>Fish Yu, electronics\/sound<\/li>\n<li>Hoi Tong Keung, production manager<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Find more details about the June 19 concert, and tickets, [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.ca\/e\/the-two-deaths-of-ophelia-tickets-1345501604519?aff=oddtdtcreator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? 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