The 2023 DalOpera mainstage production is a double bill of stunning contrasts. Fountain School of Performing Arts students will perform Umberto Giordano鈥檚 one-act tragedy Mese Mariano, followed by the comic opera La Chanson de Fortunio by Jacques Offenbach.
The production, directed by V茅ronique Mackenzie and music directed by Betty Allison, will be performed in the Sir James Dunn Theatre from Nov. 30 until Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Dec. 3.
Love in many forms
The two operas tell stories about different forms of love: one familial and romantic, the other tragic and hilarious.鈥滲oth pieces are really about love and how there are all kinds of definitions and experiences to love,鈥� says Mackenzie.
Mese Mariano takes place in a church orphanage, where a young woman named Carmela has come to visit her son. 鈥淪he was forced to give him up, which is a big part of her character,鈥� says Samantha Fullerton, who plays Carmela. 鈥淪he has gone through a lot of hardship in her life and she's not quite recovering from it, but she's learning to cope with it.鈥� The opera focuses on Carmela鈥檚 undying love for her child.
A scene from Mese Mariano.
Then, the stage will transform for a comic opera about men chasing romantic love. La Chanson de Fortunio revolves around the titular Fortunio, an elderly lawyer with a beautiful wife. Mary Austin, who plays Fortunio鈥檚 clerk Valentin, explains: 鈥淗is good luck with women is attributed to this song that he used to sing to women; that he has since lost. So we spend the show looking for the song and trying to successfully use it on our romantic interests.
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Switching between styles
Mese Mariano and La Chanson de Fortunio are not a traditional pairing, says music director Betty Allison, but this arrangement allows students and audience to experience traditional, tragic opera as well as absurd comedy. 鈥淪o I think it takes the audience on that same journey it鈥檚 taking our students on,鈥� says Allison.
Each opera has a distinctive musical and theatrical style as well. Mese Mariano is a traditional Italian sung-through opera. 鈥淚t's kind of quintessentially what most people think of as what opera is. It's very dramatic,鈥� says Allison. In contrast, La Chanson de Fortunio will alternate between spoken English dialogue and French singing. 鈥淭hink of it like a Gilbert and Sullivan or a musical theatre piece鈥�, says Allison.
Both operas will use projected surtitles to translate the Italian and French song into English, in a first for the DalOpera program. Karina Matys, who also plays Carmela, says this makes the opera accessible to audiences, while giving students a great learning challenge: 鈥淲e've been doing English operas for the past several years, so we wanted to do something different.鈥�
Music and movement
The rehearsal process for Mese Mariano/La Chanson de Fortunio has involved steady work since the end of last academic year, when the performers received their roles and librettos. By learning their music over the summer, the students are prepared to rehearse in the fall.
鈥淕etting the music into your body and letting it settle is a real thing,鈥� says Matys, 鈥淎nd so being given these roles over the summer, we've had the roles now for six months and it feels so much better and easier to sing.鈥�
Working together
The operas鈥� theatrical worlds come to life thanks to set designer Holly Meyer-Dymny and costume designer Katrin Whitehead, as well as numerous Technical Theatre students. 鈥淚t's one set that serves both operas that will transform. So we are able to take the audiences . . . from one emotional setting to another,鈥� says Mackenzie. Mese Mariano will use plain, somber aesthetics, in contrast with the loud colours and silly props of La Chanson de Fortunio.
The directors and performers are excited by the collaboration between different Fountain School of Performing Arts programs, which has brought this unique production to life. A few acting students are involved, playing non-singing roles. 鈥淪uddenly they're in each other's worlds,鈥� says Mackenzie, 鈥渁nd I love that it will make the school tighter out of respect for what each other does.鈥�
Audiences should expect a performance that challenges their ideas of what opera can be and leaves them feeling joyful. 鈥淭he big thing that I would like people to take away is just to look at the contrast and realize that opera is not one kind of thing,鈥� says Fullerton. The love within the stories and the creator鈥檚 love of their work will shine through.
Says Mackenzie, 鈥淭hey'll see the set, they'll see the collaboration and they will feel something. You can't help but feel something.鈥�
Tickets for Mese Mariano/La Chanson de Fortunio are .