CALGARY, AB – Despite ongoing challenges for the live performing arts sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, today Calgary Opera announced its first entree into the realm of digital programming with a virtual holiday concert.
Streaming digitally on demand from December 18, 2020 to January 3, 2021, The Yuletide Sessions: a holiday concert from home is a 50-minute original concert production featuring a program of seasonal favourites blended with beloved classical masterworks performed by members of the company’s 2020-21 Emerging Artist Development Program. Sure to become a gem in Calgary Opera’s collection, these special performances have been conceptualized and crafted especially for the screen and recorded to ensure the best audio quality that captures the authentic beauty and power of each singer’s voice.
The production is a co-creation by stage director Vanessa Porteous and music director Mark Morash. No stranger to Calgary Opera, Porteous previously directed the company’s live, in- person holiday production of Christmas at the Opera in 2018 and 2019.
The musical side of the production is being led by the company’s new Interim Music Director, Mark Morash, a renowned conductor and pianist. Originally hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Morash comes to Calgary Opera following his tenure as Director of Musical Studies for the Opera Center of San Francisco Opera. His role with the company will help to bridge the vacancy created by the departure of the company’s most recent Artistic Director, Bramwell Tovey, in October 2020 for health reasons.
“I am thrilled to be working with a company that has so readily embraced the reality of presenting in the virtual space,” said Morash. “In such challenging times as these for live performance, this program is a way for us to share an uplifting and heartfelt holiday experience with Calgarians. In collaboration with Calgary Opera’s amazing Emerging Artists, we have come up with a program that has been enormous fun to prepare, but more importantly gives us a welcome opportunity to reconnect with audiences.”
The participants of the 2020-21 Emerging Artist Development Program who will be featured in The Yuletide Sessions: a holiday concert at home are:
Lillian Brooks, Mezzo-soprano, Kallie Clayton, Soprano, Jeremy Dubé, Baritone, Alanna Fraize, Mezzo-soprano, Scott Rumble, Tenor, Jeffrey Strand, Tenor, Eden Tremayne, Soprano, Dominic Veilleux, Bass-baritone
Digital access to the production is just $10 per household and can be purchased starting November 25, 2020 from calgaryopera.com.
