{"id":16369,"date":"2013-12-02T10:24:53","date_gmt":"2013-12-02T15:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=16369"},"modified":"2013-12-02T10:30:25","modified_gmt":"2013-12-02T15:30:25","slug":"a-few-choice-words-on-the-future-of-canadian-opera-from-alexander-neef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2013\/12\/02\/a-few-choice-words-on-the-future-of-canadian-opera-from-alexander-neef\/","title":{"rendered":"A few choice words on the future of Canadian opera from Alexander Neef"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"neef\"<\/a>At 10 a.m. on Monday morning, the official press release arrived by email regarding the opera Hadrian<\/em>, to be premiered in 2018-19 by the Canadian Opera Company.<\/p>\n

In the release, Alexander Neef, general director of this country’s largest and internationally most recognized opera company has this to say:<\/p>\n

Of [composer Rufus] Wainwright Neef says, \u201cRufus has such incredible passion for opera, and he brings a genuine desire to contribute to the art form and the future of opera. That\u2019s an especially rare quality and an essential one, in order to create a meaningful piece of art that lives on long after its premiere.\u201d Neef adds, \u201cRufus writes very well for the voice, but what has impressed me so much is that he writes with a completely different musical vocabulary for opera than for his other writings. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how his musical language will translate to Hadrian.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For the first time since he arrived here five years ago, I’m worried that Neef doesn’t have the remotest interest in developing any cultural appreciation for his new home country and the tremendous creative work that goes on in Toronto beyond the COC’s Front St. and University Ave precincts.<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

Here is the full text of the press release:<\/p>\n

Toronto <\/strong>\u2013 Alexander Neef<\/strong>, General Director of the Canadian Opera Company, today released details of the company\u2019s new opera commission, Hadrian<\/strong><\/em>, composed by internationally acclaimed Canadian-American singer, songwriter and composer Rufus Wainwright <\/strong>with libretto by award-winning Canadian actor, director and playwright Daniel MacIvor<\/strong>. Inspired by the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his love for Antinous, Hadrian <\/strong><\/em>is currently in development and is scheduled to open the COC\u2019s 2018\/2019 mainstage season.<\/p>\n

Set at the end of the classical era, Hadrian <\/strong><\/em>tells the story of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his profound grief at the death of his lover Antinous. Hadrian\u2019s relationship with Antinous, a young man in his entourage, was frowned upon by many in his inner circle. In fact, during this period of the most critical changes in religious history \u2013 the rise of monotheism in the face of the end of the old pagan deities \u2013 Hadrian\u2019s love for Antinous was not only discouraged, it was dangerous. When Antinous drowns in the Nile at the height of their love affair, many questions arise about the nature of his death. Hadrian <\/strong><\/em>offers answers to those questions and in turn raises more questions about self-sacrifice, jealousy, treachery and love itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe began the process of creating a new opera for the Canadian Opera Company several years ago, and I\u2019m very proud to say that we are now at the stage where we can make the news public,\u201d says COC General Director Alexander Neef<\/strong>. \u201cBringing a world premiere to the COC\u2019s mainstage is a significant undertaking for the company and we\u2019re proud to say that all the elements are now in place to make a strong project. Rufus and I have been talking about what Hadrian <\/em>would look like for at least three years now and I\u2019m very excited about the musical and dramatic direction that this piece will take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hadrian <\/strong><\/em>will be Wainwright\u2019s second opera. \u201cI\u2019m thrilled to be setting out on this epic journey with the COC and look forward to once again diving into the deep end, a requirement on all fronts in the world of opera,\u201d Wainwright <\/strong>says.<\/p>\n

Of Wainwright<\/strong>, Neef <\/strong>says, \u201cRufus has such incredible passion for opera, and he brings a genuine desire to contribute to the art form and the future of opera. That\u2019s an especially rare quality and an essential one, in order to create a meaningful piece of art that lives on long after its premiere.\u201d Neef <\/strong>adds, \u201cRufus writes very well for the voice, but what has impressed me so much is that he writes with a completely different musical vocabulary for opera than for his other writings. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how his musical language will translate to Hadrian<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe story of Hadrian and Antinous has long fascinated me,\u201d explains Rufus Wainwright<\/strong>, on his enthusiasm for the opera\u2019s subject. \u201cBe it through initially reading Marguerite Yourcenar\u2019s classic novel Memoirs of Hadrian<\/em>, going further afield in investigating the history surrounding his reign \u2013 arguably one of the most critical periods in the western time line since it represents the end of the classical era \u2013 or most importantly visiting Tivoli, Hadrian\u2019s villa near Rome, which, though crumbling, impressively illustrates the might and vision of an incredible man. He was an Emperor filled with ambition, sensitivity and intelligence and like all big political figures he also had a tormented and brooding dark side. Perfect opera material.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wainwright <\/strong>adds, \u201cAnd then there\u2019s Antinous, essentially the <\/em>male equivalent to Helen of Troy \u2013 though we know he actually existed and exactly what he looked like. At one point he was neck and neck with Christ in terms of cult status after disappearing in the Nile. Imagine what a different world that would have been if he had lived!\u201d<\/p>\n

Of Daniel MacIvor<\/strong>, who makes his debut as a librettist with Hadrian<\/em><\/strong>, Neef <\/strong>says, \u201cYou can\u2019t have a great opera without a great libretto. Finding a great librettist is critical and I\u2019m delighted that Daniel has joined this project. Hadrian <\/em>will be the first opera he has written, making the occasion of this commission even more momentous. He comes with a fresh perspective on how this opera can take dramatic shape. It\u2019s an exciting pairing. Daniel is as articulate, sharp and passionate about developing this story through words as Rufus is about using music.\u201d<\/p>\n

For MacIvor<\/strong>, writing an opera was almost a surprise. \u201cIf someone had told me a year ago that I would be writing a libretto, I would not have believed them. But as I investigated the form I began to see how my writing could serve it. The very soul of the libretto is the idea that rigorous economy of language will expose the essential beauty of that language. Initially I was concerned that my lack of knowledge in the form would be a detriment to finding my way, but under the assured tutelage of Alexander and surrounded by the rapturous passion of Rufus for opera, my initiation has been muscular and swift.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a thrill for me in finding the essential function of the fewest words possible in the telling of a story,\u201d MacIvor <\/strong>continues. \u201cAnd what a story to tell! The deeper I delve into Hadrian\u2019s world and his time, the more parallels I see to how we live today. Are we too facing the end of an era? It does feel that way more and more. And the mystery of why Hadrian\u2019s remarkable love for Antinous \u2013 underlined by his bottomless grief \u2013 has not been celebrated widely as a model of eros points to a fear of same-sex love that has changed little from his age to ours. I\u2019m honoured to be starting this journey into the world of opera with the COC and inside this powerful and resonant story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rufus Wainwright <\/strong>has established himself as one of the most prolific songwriters and male vocalists of his generation. A Grammy-nominated and multi-Juno Award winner, Wainwright <\/strong>has carved out his own singular sound in the worlds of pop, opera, theatre, dance and film, and been hailed by Elton John as \u201cthe greatest songwriter on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wainwright<\/strong>\u2019s much acclaimed first opera, Prima Donna<\/em>, made its world premiere at the Manchester International Festival in July 2009. Prima Donna <\/em>was described as having \u201cinspired touches and disarmingly beautiful passages in this mysterious, stylistically eclectic work,\u201d (New York Times<\/em>), that Wainwright\u2019s \u201cgift as a melodist and an orchestrator are in no doubt\u201d (The Guardian<\/em>), and that Prima Donna <\/em>is a \u201clove song to opera, soaked in the perennial operatic themes of loss, betrayal, delusion and nostalgia, and saturated in the musical styles of opera\u2019s golden age\u201d (The Times<\/em>).<\/p>\n

One of Canada\u2019s most successful and distinctive playwrights, Daniel MacIvor<\/strong>\u2019s work has received critical acclaim around the world. He has written numerous award-winning pieces for theatre including See Bob Run<\/em>, The Soldier Dreams<\/em>, You Are Here<\/em>, Arigato, Tokyo<\/em>, and most recently The Best Brothers<\/em>, and his work has been translated into French, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, German and Japanese. MacIvor <\/strong>is the recipient of an Obie Award and a GLAAD Award for his play In On It<\/em>. He also received the Governor General\u2019s Literary Award for Drama in 2006 for his collection of plays, I Still Love You<\/em>, and in 2008 he was awarded the Siminovitch Prize for Theatre.<\/p>\n

Hadrian <\/strong><\/em>will be the fifth opera commissioned by the COC that has had its world premiere on the company\u2019s mainstage since 1950. The COC\u2019s previous mainstage commissions are The Golden Ass<\/em>, 1999 (composer: Randolph Peters; librettist: Robertson Davies); Mario and the Magician<\/em>, 1992 (composer: Harry Somers; librettist: Rod Anderson); H\u00e9loise and Ab\u00e9lard<\/em>, 1973 (composer: Charles Wilson; librettist: Eugene Benson); and The Luck of Ginger Coffey<\/em>, 1967 (composer: Raymond Pannell; librettist: Ron Hambleton).<\/p>\n

The COC was also the world-premiere presenter of Louis Riel <\/em>(composer: Harry Somers; librettist: Mavor Moore in collaboration with Jacques Languirand) in 1967, a work commissioned by the Floyd S. Chalmers Foundation.<\/p>\n

For presentations off the mainstage, the COC has commissioned 14 operatic works that have premiered in concert, as part of its school tour initiative or as chamber opera productions featuring members of its young artist training program, the Ensemble Studio.<\/p>\n

Information regarding the creative team, as well as casting, design and sponsorship of Hadrian <\/strong><\/em>will be released as details become available.<\/p>\n

John Terauds<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 10 a.m. on Monday morning, the official press release arrived by email regarding the opera Hadrian, to be premiered in 2018-19 by the Canadian Opera Company.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,39,43,62,63],"tags":[6451,223,612,927,6467,2896,6474],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/12\/neef.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-4g1","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16369"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16375,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16369\/revisions\/16375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16369"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=16369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}