Opera NUOVA Presents Gian Carlo Menotti's THE CONSUL at Freemason's Hall

The Consul tells a timely story about bureaucracy and immigration during turbulent times. Gian Carlo Menotti was himself an Italian immigrant to the United States, and wrote the opera as a response to refugees fleeing Europe after World War II. This works is an honest reflection of what we are living today, and to that point we have transcribed the libretto sung by the Foreign Woman who is seeking a safe haven passage from Italian into Ukrainian. For The Consul, Menotti won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the 1950 New York Drama Critics' Circle award for Best Musical.

Out of all of our presentations this summer, The Consul has the largest orchestra conducted by Gordon Gerrard. It's a wonderful opportunity to see this opera in the round at Edmonton's oldest venues - Freemason's Hall at the Masonic Temple in Downtown Edmonton with our audiences only a few feet away from the performers.

Conductor Gordon Gerrard is among the exciting new generation of music directors demonstrating new visions for orchestral leadership in Canada. Currently in his sixth season leading the Regina Symphony Orchestra, Gordon has distinguished himself as a leader in innovative and inclusionary programming. Trained first as a pianist and subsequently as a specialist in operatic repertoire, he brings a fresh perspective to the podium that endears him to audiences and musicians alike. After an international search, Gordon was appointed Music Director of the Regina Symphony Orchestra where he has taken bold steps reimagining the orchestra's programming, including its Forward Currents Festival dedicated to social change and community engagement.

He has held the posts of Associate Conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Resident Conductor of Calgary Opera. He has returned to Calgary Opera to lead productions of La Bohème, Roméo et Juliette, Die Fledermaus, Lakmé and the Canadian premiere of Mark Adamo's Little Women, which was recorded for national broadcast on CBC's Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. Gordon made his debut with Edmonton Opera leading the western Canadian premiere of Rossini's Le Comte Ory.

Gordon has made appearances with many of Canada's leading orchestras, including Toronto, Québec, Kitchener-Waterloo and Victoria. He has worked regularly with the National Ballet of Canada, and in 2016, he made his European debut at Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsburg in Germany.

Gordon is a passionate and gifted educator. He demonstrates his commitment to education through his regular work with the young artists at Calgary Opera, the Atelier Lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal and has spent many seasons working with students at the Banff Centre, Opera Nuova (Edmonton), UBC Opera (Vancouver), Opera McGill (Montréal) and the Glenn Gould School (Toronto).

Brian Deedrick returns to Opera NUOVA to direct The Consul. Previous shows include A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sondheim's Into the Woods, Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen, Gilbert & Sullivan's Gondoliers, Heggie's Dead Man Walking, Bernstein's Candide, Donizetti's The Elixir of Love, Handel's Alcina, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and Kurt Weill's Street Scene were such pleasures in previous NUOVA seasons that it is great to be working once again with the singers of tomorrow! Recent productions include Le comte Ory for Edmonton Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor in Tennessee; Candide in Salt Lake City; La fille du régiment for Hawaii Opera Theatre; Tosca for The Rheinsberg Festival just outside of Berlin; Threepenny Opera for Studio Theatre; La Bohème in Winnipeg; Aïda in Toledo and Charlotte; Manon in Montreal; Don Giovanni for Toledo Opera; Die Fledermaus for Knoxville Opera; Eugene Onegin for Opera Carolina; Don Pasquale in Honolulu and Oh! Christmas Tree for Theatre of the New Heart right here in Edmonton. Upcoming projects: Madama Butterfly in Knoxville, Carmen in Winnipeg, and Turandot in Grand Rapids, Michigan. But before all of that, Brian heads back for a summer of tour guiding in Berlin.

WHO: Opera Nuova

WHAT: Music and Libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti

WHEN: June 29, 2022 at 7:30pm
June 30, 2022 at 7:30pm
July 2, 2022 at 7:30pm
July 3, 2022 at 1:30pm

WHERE: Freemason's Hall, 10318 100 Ave NW, Edmonton

TICKETS: $20-$42 plus service fees

Conducted By: Gordon Gerrard
Direction By: Brian Deedrick
Costume Design By: Josée Chartrand
Lighting Design By: Brock Keeler
Stage Managed By: Claire Thornton
Repetiteur: Elisabeta Cojocaru
Additional Libretto By: Kateryna Khartova