An operatic Talent Trust reunion in La finta giardiniera on May 25 and 26

On May 25 and 26 at the Sir James Dunn Theatre in Halifax, Opera Nova Scotia presents La finta giardiniera, a story Mozart set to music for Munich at the age of 18. 

The cast of seven soloists, directed by David Overton, features four Talent Trust scholarship recipients. 

     

• Top left: Lindsay Connolly as Cavalier Ramiro 
  (Portia White Award 2015)
• Top right: Marcel d'Entremont as Don Anchise 
   (Portia White Award 2013) 
• Bottom left: Jennifer Farrell as Arminda
  (Portia White Award 1999) 
• Bottom right: Suzanne Rigden as Serpetta
  (Portia White Award 2007)

The title La finta giardiniera roughly translates into ‘the would-be, or supposed, (finta) gardener/gardener’s, girl (giardiniera)’, and we’re told a more nuanced translation contains spoilers.

The work is multifaceted, with shades of Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well and Much Ado About Nothing. It will be presented fully staged with orchestra: arias in Italian, narrative in English.

The performance begins at 7:00 p.m. on both evenings. 

For more information (and spoilers), visit the La finta giardiniera Facebook event page. 

For tickets, contact the Dalhousie Arts Centre box office.

Suzanne Rigden, soprano performs in Mozart's Messiah on December 21 and December 22, 2017 with Symphony NS in Halifax

Suzanne Rigden will perform

suzannerigden.com

in Mozart's Messiah on 

December 21, 2017 and
December 22, 2017
at 7:30 p.m.
Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax

This evening will feature:

Bernhard Gueller, conductor
Suzanne Rigden, sopranoLauren Segal, mezzo-soprano
Owen McCausland, tenor
Brett Polegato, baritone
The Symphony Nova Scotia Chorus, with the Halifax Camerata Singers under the artistic direction of Jeff Joudrey

From Symphony NS' website:

For the first time in over 15 years, Symphony Nova Scotia presents Mozart’s magnificent Messiah! Once a staple of Christmas concerts worldwide, Mozart’s 1789 arrangement of Handel’s great oratorio is now rarely performed – but it remains a rich, dramatic, and nuanced interpretation that showcases both composers’ incredible genius. With added woodwinds, horns, and trombones, and a variety of new classical colours and flourishes, Mozart’s Messiah is a grand, fascinating masterpiece, and a chance to discover this beloved holiday favourite all over again.

More about Suzanne Rigden can be found at https://www.suzannerigden.com/

For tickets go to: https://symphonynovascotia.ca/concerts-and-tickets/concerts/rebecca-cohn-auditorium/mozarts-messiah/

Jeff Joudrey Artistic Director Halifax Camerata Singers announces new program

From Halifax Camerata Singers' press release:

Founded by Artistic Director

 Jeff Joudrey in 1986, Halifax Camerata Singers has become one of Canada’s leading chamber choirs, winning the Healey Willan Grand Prize for Canadian choirs in 2010.  Their latest recording, A Time for All Things, won the 2016 Best Classical Recording from Music Nova Scotia and was nominated for an ECMA in 2017.

Music, memories and life in Halifax and the battlefront in France form the backdrop for the choir’s poignant production, Halifax 1917:  

From Dreams to Despair,  

Sunday, December 3, 2017  

7:30 p.m.

Halifax Central Library

This co-production with the Halifax Central Library will take place in Paul O’Regan Hall, and also features actor/narrator Jeremy Webb, archival photographs from the days before and after the Explosion, and Rhapsody Quintet.  Last March this concert sold out and people were turned away at the door, so it is highly recommended to purchase tickets early for this one night only presentation, taking place just three days before the actual 100^th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion.
 
Halifax Camerata Singers will once again perform as part of the Symphony NS Chorus in December for two performances of Handel’s Messiah, this year conducted by Symphony Nova Scotia’s Maestro Bernhard Gueller, in the Mozart orchestration of the perennial holiday favorite with Dartmouth native Suzanne Rigden, soprano; Lauren Segal, mezzo-soprano; Owen McCausland, tenor and Brett Polegato, baritone.  These performances take place on 

Thursday and Friday, December 21 and 22 in the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. 

For more information and tickets please go to http://www.halifaxcamerata.org/content/content/current-season

Suzanne Rigden, soprano home for Opera Nova Scotia Recital on Friday, November 6, 2015

Suzanne Rigden, one of the brightest new singing stars on the Canadian opera scene, will return to her native HRM to offer the Opera Nova Scotia Distinguished Artist Recital, 

Friday, November 6, 7:30 p.m., Lilian Piercey Concert Hall, Maritime Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Halifax.

The brilliant and vivacious young soprano will sing a program of lyric concert repertoire and virtuoso operatic solos. A special highlight will be Zerbinetta’s Aria from Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, perhaps the most challenging feat in opera. Her pianist will be Tara Scott.

Suzanne Rigden is a NSTT scholarship recipient and the winner of the 2007 NSTT Portia White Award

The Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts,     

6199 Chebucto Road, Halifax

http://www.nsopera.org/

Tickets available at the door or through Opera NS Office 902-425-8586

General Admission $35.00 (incl. HST and $10 tax receipt) Students $5.00