In Czech tradition, every year that ends in the number four is deemed a ‘Year of Music’. In 2014, the CICM produced the Canadian premiere of Dvořák's Jakobín to much acclaim, and now for 2024, we are happy to be bringing three operas sung in the original Czech, including a remounting of Jakobín. The Year of Czech Music Opera Fest also involves collaboration with Toronto’s Opera By Request.
Starting off the activities is the recital The Voices of Prague, which features music composed for or premiered in Prague. We know that Mozart’s Don Giovanni was written for Prague and premiered at the Estates Theatre in 1787, but it was possible due to the success of Mozart’s Figaro earlier. This exciting recital includes music by Mozart, Dvořák, Smetana, and more. Arias and scenes from Jakobín, Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Prodaná Nevěsta, etc. Grace Quinsey, Soprano, John Holland, Bass-Baritone, and William Shookhoff, Piano, bring this wonderful music to life! The recital is on March 8th, 2024, as part of the ‘Fridays at Noon’ recital series at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. For more information, click here.
The first opera in our Opera Fest is the quintessential Czech opera, Smetana’s Prodaná Nevěsta (The Bartered Bride), and will be on Saturday, March 9th at 7:30pm at College Street United Church. We celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Smetana’s birth, and this performance is linked with the Czech Philharmonic’s Smetana200 project. This collaboration with Opera By Request will be presented in concert with piano accompaniment, and sung in Czech with English supertitles.The amazing cast features soprano Grace Quinsey as Mařenka, a young village woman betrothed to another man, tenor David Walsh as Jenik, her true love, and bass-baritone John Holland as Kecal, the marriage broke trying to split them apart. Tenor Alexander Cappellazzo plays Vašek, the man Mařenka is promised to. Her parents are Kušina, baritone Henry Irwin, and Ludmila, played by soprano Mila Ionkova. Vašek’s parents are the wealthy landowner Mícha, played by bass Mikhail Shemet, and Háta, mezzo-soprano Alex Beley. A trio of circus performers round out the cast; Ringleader, Mezzo-soprano Catharin Carew, Esmerelda, soprano Thera Barclay, and Akrobat, bass Kyle Simpson. William Shookhoff is the pianist and music director. The score is filled with folk melodies and dances, and moments both comedic and touching. There is the possibility of a second performance on the afternoon of Sunday, March 10th, so stay informed through our social media. Ticket information can be found here.
In the spring of 2024, one of the most curious opera plots returns to Toronto in Janáček’s Věc Makropulos (The Makropulos Case). The story about the mysterious history of Emilia Marty is filled with intrigue. The cast is led by soprano Antonina Ermolenko as Emilia, and baritone Michael Robert-Broder as Baron Jaroslav Prus. The performance will be in concert with piano accompaniment and sung in Czech with English supertitles.
In the autumn of 2024, the CICM revisits its success from 2014 in the remounting of Dvořák's stunning opera Jakobín. The story features themes dealing with mistaken identity, a music schoolroom, a love triangle, family reconciliation, patriotism, and the healing power of music. The plot centres around a small Czech village, and gives a glimpse into village life during Dvořák's time. Benda, the music teacher, lives in the village with his daughter, Terinka, played by soprano Grace Quinsey. She is in love with Jiří, a peasant singer, played by Ryan Downey, but is also courted by an older man, the Purkrabi (village bailiff), played by bass-baritone John Holland. Strangers come to the village from France, where the French revolution has been taking place, and word has spread around the village that these strangers are Jacobins who are coming to bring the persecution of the revolution to the Czech lands. In fact, the strangers are Bohuš, played by baritone Michael Robert-Broder, and his wife Julie, played by soprano Paulina Swierczek. Bohuš is the estranged son of Count Vilém of Harasov, bass Dylan Wright, and is at odds with the count’s nephew, Adolf, played by baritone Alasdair Campbell. There may be some more Czech surprises added to the season, so be sure to visit our website:www.canczechmusic.ca and follow us oninstagram.
