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Post: First Act: Completed (Four Seasons Centre)

Dancebreak

Well appears someone at the National Ballet was reading my post because this morning I get an e-mail announcing the launch of a new website where you can purchase tickets for $20 from the comfort of your home!

http://dancebreak.ca/

I'm impressed. I'm gathering a group of friends to see West Side Story next Friday.

The Opera Company apparently has a similar website, equally as impressive, too bad they don't advertise it:

http://www.coc.ca/purchase/newage.html

I'm also impressed by this:

Opera 101

New to opera? Get educated during a free, relaxed, no-attitude evening at the Underground at the Drake Hotel. The winter session of Opera 101 takes place Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008, with host Brent Bambury and his special guests, From the House of the Dead's Robert Künzli and Astrid Janson.

All good moves by both the Opera and Ballet. If you don't get young people and young professionals (20+ crowd) into your shows now, I can tell you now, that we aren't coming and supporting later in life.

I also have to give credit to the Toronto Symphony where they have had an active and well subscribed $15 rush ticket program for some time now.

Louroz
 
The COC, TSO and National Ballet put on a number of pay-what-you-can ( just walk in! ) performances, at Harbourfront in the Summer for instance.

The TSO has a series of concerts for children at RTH on Saturday afternoons and a program allowing high school music students to attend rehearsals of the orchestra. And of course there's the TSO Youth Orchestra which tours across Canada and abroad. The Adopt a Player program allows TSO musicians to visit schools in the GTA ( the last time I saw the Bach Consort - which is composed of TSO players who donate their time for free - it was as a fundraiser for Adopt a Player). Preludes is a similar program, which visits students at school. Masterclasses are offered for high school orchestras and bands. Though not as ambitious as what the COC does, the TSO also occasionally holds free lunchtime concerts at RTH.

The COC has run a school tour program for over 20 years, performing operas written for children and running workshops in schools. They also run a school program to visit dress rehearsals, and hold workshops, at the opera house.
 
FM: The National Ballet mass email sent yesterday also contains a nice video of rehearsals for West Side Story Suite at the Walter Carsen Centre on Queens Quay.
 
The TSO has marketed its youth program heavily in the Chinese language, which is a smart idea. It's almost a stereotype that middle-class Chinese-Canadian parents force their kids to take private music lessons (usually piano lessons). The COC could market its program to this group too.
 
I saw Jan Wong at the TSO a couple of years ago - a forgettable concert, but she was standing, applauding wildly, at the end. I don't think she gets out much.
 
What's with all of the standing O's anyways? I always feel guilty if I don't join in. Last Friday's Marriage of Figaro was good not great but I was pressured to stand at the end when I was the last hold out.
 
Marriage of F did not get a standing O on the Sunday afternoon that I saw it. D Carlos did the following Sunday.

Audiences at the TIFF are pretty stingy with standing Os (and good thing too).

42
 
I have yet to go to a theatre performance where the crowd doesn’t give a standing ovation. I bet someone could go up and burp the alphabet on stage and a Toronto crowd would stand up and cheer.
 
When I went, both Figaro and Don Carlos were given chubbies ( i.e. half the audience ), but not full standing erections.
 
I stood and applauded wildly at both performances. Why? Because I wanted to. Because they deserved it. Because I didn't think it through, I just felt it. Don't feel it? Then stay seated. My great peeve is with the people who make a mad dash to the doors as soon as the lights go up at every performance regardless of the quality. Rudeness beyond the pale! Stand and applaud, sit and applaud or just sit and be sullen. But at least have the common courtesy to stay a few extra minutes to show the performers some respect. There, now I feel better.;)
 
billy corgan said:
I have yet to go to a theatre performance where the crowd doesn’t give a standing ovation. I bet someone could go up and burp the alphabet on stage and a Toronto crowd would stand up and cheer.
Click to expand...

Bullshit. Are you actually Margaret Wente? I attented 6 operas after the Ring Cycle last year and only two -- Elektra and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk got ovations of any sort, in the Tuesday night series. Elektra got the standing treatment because it was deserved. The Macbeth ovation was really just lukewarm.

The Ring Cycle got the ovations it deserved.
 
adma said:
Well, the point's more that the idea of "the opera" remains hifalutin and inaccessible to many. That is, unless they stage a production of "Tommy" or "Quadrophenia", or else lease out the space for some GladstoneDrakey events like Trampoline Hall or something
Click to expand...

These are good operas you've suggested. They require amplification though. The point of a great opera house is the lack of amplification. The FSCPA fills the requirement very admirably I think.

We could get the Who stuff at the Sony, in fact they ought to do it.
 
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