I am founding co-artistic director of Opera Atelier. We produce twice a year in Toronto – employing singers, a full corps de ballet and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.
I am happy to say that Opera Atelier has not had to ‘let go of’ anything completely. That being said, we have had to cancel – but only for the time being, our production of Handel's The Resurrection, our Versailles Gala and our Dance Through Time performances for students from our school.
We will, however, follow through with all three of the productions mentioned above, once circumstances allow. Sets and costumes are well underway for The Resurrection, and we were already two weeks into rehearsal when the Ontario Premier declared a state of emergency – so we have a very good idea of what the production is. OA's Versailles Gala is an annual event, and in the meantime we are planning a Virtual Celebration for our Gala patrons. Dance Through Time is a very popular program and although our students will be unable to perform for Doors Open – we anticipate there will be plenty of other opportunities.
Our one obvious change to our programming is that of replacing our Versailles Gala with an online Virtual Celebration which will take place on May 20th, the same date that the Gala had been planned. We already have a spectacular line up of Canada's finest artists from around the globe who will participate.
Opera Atelier is posting on a daily basis on our Instagram, Twitter (@operaatelier) and Facebook (facebook.com/operaatelier). There's plenty of fascinating content from all of our artists, plus regular blogs written by me and OA Designers, plus some fascinating book blogs visitors are certain to enjoy under the hashtag #OATutti.
