Western Living Article - Edmonton Opera

In 1949, an ambitious young tenor and voice teacher from Quebec City moved to Edmonton to become the organist at a Roman Catholic Church. He took on a number of voice students, and from these humble beginnings set the stage for professional opera in the city.

Jean Letourneau was a one-man force as the first Musical Director of Edmonton Opera: collecting the singers, arranging for sets and costumes, directing and training the chorus, as well as acting as administrator and conducting the orchestra. Mr. Letourneau's drive and love of opera filled a young company with enthusiasm, the will to succeed, and the skills to do so. It also launched the careers of dozens of singers, including Ermanno Mauro, who went on to a major international career in opera.

With the financial support of Dr. Francis Winspear, Ray Milner and other leading Edmonton businessmen, the curtain rose on grand opera in a prairie city. On October II, 1963, Edmonton Opera's first-ever production, Madama Butterfly, was presented to a sold-out Jubilee Auditorium with Diane Nelsen singing the role of Cio-Cio San, and Ermanno Mauro in the role of Pinkerton. The gala opening night was considered the most colourful theatrical and musical event of the season. The audience wore evening clothes. A dress circle of 70 seats at the unheard-of price of $25 each sold out in a week. David Ker, president of the Edmonton Professional Opera Association (the Opera's first official name), 1963-64, remembered the night as a time when "hope, skepticism and curiosity filled the air. What happened that night was sheer magic...an incredible dream." And with much energy and courage, the dream became reality.

With dedicated fundraising efforts in the early years, budgets began to expand, and audience expectations naturally escalated. Given a taste of top-quality opera, Edmonton audiences began to insist on more imported singers, more professional stagings and more productions per year. As manager, artistic director and music director, Jean Letourneau had a tremendous workload, and the demands continued to increase. During the 1965-66 season, the company turned west for help: to Vancouver, where Irving Guttman was enjoying tremendous success with the Vancouver Opera Association, a company he had helped launch in 1960 with a production of Carmen.

After much insistence from Mr. Letourneau and a strong show of enthusiasm from the people behind Edmonton Opera, Dr. Guttman agreed to tackle the challenge as Artistic Director, a position to which he was appointed in 1965. To his surprise, Dr. Guttman found Edmonton a vibrant city, dedicated to opera, theatre, the symphony and other arts. And he encountered a young opera company already committed to first-class productions. A new era of opera began.

Dr. Guttman's first production was La Boheme in May 1966, and the Edmonton Journal gave high praise to the company. "If anyone hadn't realized it before, the Edmonton Professional Opera Association is one of the city's great new success stories," wrote the reviewer. "Its Boheme quite eclipsed March's offering by the Metropolitan Opera's new touring company. That's how good this young company is becoming. And we hear it has some more surprises up its sleeves. Bravo, Edmonton Opera."

Success followed success as the company matured. Critics and audiences began to see that Irving Guttman had a special talent not only for hiring the best singers, but also for finding the right voices that would work together. He had a signature style that saw the company grow and develop on stage and off for over thirty years.

In 1998, Dr. Guttman became Artistic Director Emeritus and Michael Cavanaugh took the reigns for three years. During Michael's tenure, Edmonton Opera audiences experienced a number of highlights, including the local premiere of Stravinsky's The Rakes Progress, and the western Canadian premiere of Beatrice Chancy.

He was followed by local talent Brian Deedrick in 2002, a theatre veteran with a passion for opera. Mr. Deedrick saw his first opera in Edmonton and was soon hooked. In fact, it was a meeting with Dr. Guttman himself that inspired him to make the crossover from theatre to opera. Although he completed his apprenticeship and training with the Canadian Opera Company, it was Edmonton Opera that presented him with his first significant directing opportunities. Since that time, he has worked steadily directing operas throughout North America and abroad. His passion for the art form is evident in his description of opera. "The most beautiful pictures you'll ever hear," he says. "The most beautiful music you'll ever see. It's no easy task to describe the wonders of opera. Where else do you find the world's most amazing voices? The finest orchestral music by four centuries worth of great composers? Visual images that will take your breath away? The spectacle? The grandeur? The laughter? The tears?"

Opera is truly the largest and most extravagant of art forms. It draws together and celebrates every facet of the artistic experience. The voice, orchestral music, acting, dance, visual arts, light and sound are all required to create the opera experience. This also makes it the most expensive art form to produce. The challenge of balancing the books with the artistic needs of the company has been an ongoing one, and countless dedicated presidents, board members, opera guild members, volunteers and staff members have ensured the Opera's success for over four decades. As the only professional opera company in northern Alberta, and one of only a handful in western Canada, Edmonton Opera continues to be one of the leading regional opera companies in Canada.

The 2003/2004 season marks a milestone for Edmonton Opera, as the company celebrates its 40th season of presenting grand opera to audiences of central and northern Alberta. Amongst the highlights of this season's celebrations, the City of Edmonton has officially proclaimed March 1 to 7, 2004, as Edmonton Opera Week to recognize the significant contribution the Opera and its programs have made to the cultural fabric of the city.

With a rich history of producing world-class operas, recitals, community outreach and educational programs, Edmonton Opera has employed hundreds of local singers, actors, dancers, choreographers, musicians, conductors, directors and designers to uphold an ambitious and celebrated art form. In the company's history, 64 different main-stage opera productions have been presented to audiences of over one million people.

Throughout its 40 seasons, Edmonton Opera has welcomed many world-class artists: Beverly Sills, Kathleen Battle, Cecilia Bartoli, Jose Carreras, Tracy Dahl, Maureen Forrester, Denyce Graves, Marilyn Horne, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Richard Margison, Samuel Ramey and Dame Joan Sutherland have all graced the Edmonton Opera stage, as have Maestros Mario Bernardi and Bramwell Tovey.

Edmonton Opera audiences have experienced many highlights, including the Canadian premieres of Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men and Verdi's Atilla.

Edmonton Opera remains committed to attracting and challenging audiences and artists through a creative program of opera production and education. It looks to the future with excitement, with plans to continue producing and presenting world-class grand opera for decades to come. All this, while maintaining the delicate balancing act of business and art.

How fitting, then, that the company's current general manager, Mary Phillips-Rickey, has a background in accounting. "I'm the bean counter," she says. But she also fully understands the power of opera. "Many changes have occurred in the world, and in the world of opera over the past 4° years.

But many things have stayed the same. The fact that opera is still an important part of our cultural makeup speaks for itself. The ability for us to remove ourselves from the realities of our 21st century lives, escape to worlds seemingly far away, and experience them through the music, theatre, dance and visual splendour of opera, is truly magical. And Edmonton Opera is proud to be a part of the magic."