Theatre: A Glimpse Into Egoyan's Cosi Fan Tutte!

Heya! Last weekend I had the fabulous opportunity to see the dress rehearsal for the first Opera of  2014, Cosi fan tutte, directed by Atom Egoyan. The dress rehearsal tickets are usually just given out to patrons of The Canadian Opera company, but my friend Jen had an extra ticket and I jumped at the chance of catching this behind the scenes look.

Lecturer Jenny Lorentowicz

The night started with a half hour talk by guest speaker Jenny Lorentowicz. Lorentowicz covered the history and background of the opera Cosi fan tutte and it's creator, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She also talked about the time period the opera was written and the opera's recent interpretation by director Atom Egoyan. It was interesting to learn about Mozart's most performed operas, and how it wasn't until the 20th century, the theatrical performance and musical score of Cosi fan tutte was finally performed together.

The Stage for Cosi fan tutte

Inside the Four Season Centre Auditorium

After the half hour lecture, the small crowd was allowed in the auditorium to watch the rehearsal on the third level. The opera already started, so I did not see the beginning. But thanks to the lecture beforehand, it was easy for me to catch up on the plot. It was great to watch the how the performance comes together and when Director Atom Egoyan stops and asks for a slight change in tempo or pitch from either the singers or musicians makes such a difference! And it's quite amusing (for the crowd) to see what happens when the Director has to scold the stage when they get too loud as he is trying to talk. Just like in school!
 

The Hallway Of The Four Seasons Centre

Overall, Mozarts' Cosi fan tutte, directed by Atom Egoyan was amazing! It would've been wonderful to see the performance in it's entirety without interruption but, it was also interesting to see it this way. For free! I'm just a little unsure about the costume choices, but I might've thought differently if I saw the opera in full. 

Sculpture in Four Seasons Centre Foyer: Expo Walking Woman by Michael Snow

This was my first opera I saw by The Canadian Opera Company, but hopefully not my last. The Canadian Opera Company, which is based in Toronto, is the largest producer of Opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America. They perform at The Four Seasons Centre For The Performing Arts, and their seasons generally run from October to May, with a break in November to January. For more information on The Canadian Opera Company and the performance schedule please visit www.coc.ca.


And P.s!: There are still tickets left to see this performance. If you can't make it to Cosi fan tutte, there are many more shows this season!

P.s,

Melanie!