PRESENTS
From Vancouver / A Toronto premiere
Thursday, January 28, 1999 / 8pm (Opening Night)
Friday, January 29, 1999 / 1:30pm (student matinée) & 8pm
Saturday, January 30, 1999
du Maurier Theatrre Centre
RESERVATIONS: 416-973-4000
Score: Peter Hannan
Libretto: Tom Cone
Direction: Peter Hinton
Music Direction: Allen Cole
Set Design: Carolyn Smith
Costume Design: Karen Matthews
Lighting Design: Bonnie Beecher
Performers: Tom Arntzen, Christine Duncan, Randi Helmers, Mo Field, Peter Hurst, Tyley Ross (star of "TOMMY"), Jennifer Scott & Richard Theiss
The Band: Allen Cole, Ron Samsworth, Alan Stiles, Rick Sacks and Blair MacKay
 Biographies |
| FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE December 29, 1998 Media Refer to Dianne Weinrib, D.W. Communications (416) 703-5479 / Fax (416) 703-5489 Autumn Leaf Performance presents the Toronto premiere of The Gang, a contemporary opera that defies description--almost Autumn Leaf Performance (ALP) continues its groundbreaking endeavours with its presentation of OPERA BOOM 99 at Harbourfront Centre, the first-ever season of contemporary opera from across Canada. First up on the roster of three operas is the critically acclaimed The Gang, running as part of the du Maurier Theatre Centre Series at Harbourfront Centre, January 28-30, 1999. For tickets, call Harbourfront Centre Box-Office at 416-973-4000. Pushing the boundaries of opera on the eve of the millenium, The Gang, composed by Peter Hannan with libretto by Tom Cone, reflects a new phenomenon in the opera world - a surge of new operas mirroring the world we live in at the end of the century. The Gang, first produced by Vancouver New Music in June of 1997, is a tale of tribal desire in which individual obsessions imprisons more than it liberates. High a'top a cliff overlooking the Pacific, eight renegade gen-(x)ers build their utopia. But by the time their glass-house is complete, one of them is dead, the others half-crazed and the fragile democracy they built is in ruins. One of Canada's foremost composers working with electronics and MIDI, Peter Hannan has written for The Vancouver and Winnipeg Symphonies, Hemispheres, CBC Radio and Arraymusic, among others, as well as for the English alternative big band Icebreaker (Coyote Trinity). Prolific playwright Tom Cone's work includes True Mummy (which Edmonton's Northern Light Theatre premiered a new version of recently), The Architect (composer David MacIntyre) for Vancouver Opera and he has also had his work presented by CBC Radio, the National Theatre School and the Stratford Festival. The Gang had its genesis at Pacific Opera Victoria's con'temp'aria Festival of Contemporary Opera in June '95 when Hannan and Cone were provided with a room, eight singers, accompanists and coaches for five days to workshop new material. It provided Hannan and Cone with a whole new direction that involved an amplified "band," singers not from the opera world but from the jazz clubs and a commitment to communicate in the language and music of the streets. The result was The Gang. Toronto-based music director Allen Cole joins the creative team for this Toronto premiere which includes director Peter Hinton, set designer Carolyn Smith, costume designer Karen Matthews and lighting designer Bonnie Beecher. Hinton's eclectic and inspired cast includes returnees music theatre star Tyley Ross (of "TOMMY" fame), Vancouver jazz luminaries Christine Duncan and Mo Field, and multi-disciplinary artists Tom Arntzen, Peter Hurst., Randi Helmers, Jennifer Scott and Richard Thiess. The electrified, plugged-in band includes Allen Cole, Ron Samsworth, Alan Stiles, Rick Sacks and Blair MacKay. In reviewing this opera about survival and fear, Chris Dafoe of The Globe and Mail noted "Using a musical language full of complex rhythms and striking contrasts between the rough electronic noise generated by the orchestra and the sweet vocal harmonies of singers, Cone choreographs the breakdown of a society with visceral power.... Hannan blends surging percussion, glassy marimba lines, raw electronic noise and synthesizer effects with voices that move easily from the Ping-Pong melodies of 12-tone singing to cream jazz harmonies. The result is a powerful, coherent voice that swings from subtle synthesizer colourings to the sort of explosive percussion barrage that, at the end of the first act, left the audience speechless, save for the stunned 'Wow!' from the balcony that was heard as the lights came up." The Vancouver Province commented "The Gang is spectacular.... Hannan's difficult, richly textured music is beautifully performed by the excellent cast.... That the disturbing themes of obsession, abortion, rape and other assorted evils> are as palatable as they are is due to the power of the music." And The Vancouver Courier observed "The Gang is an in-your-face pressure cooker of 20th century paranoia." The Gang takes place at the du Maurier Theatre Centre at Harbourfront Centre January 28-30 with performances Thursday through Saturday at 8pm and a Friday matinée 1:30pm. Tickets run $15.50-$32.50. OPERA BOOM Paks for the three-show season are available at $35, $55 & $75. Call the Harbourfront Centre Box Office at 416-973-4000. All presentations at du Mauurier Theatre Centre will be followed by a public "talk-back" with the artists. On Saturday, January 30th (12 noon ) ALP, in conjunction with Indigo Books, Music & Cafe, will also host an INDIGO OPERA FORUM for The Gang at their Bay & Bloor store featuring artists from the opera and Toronto community. -30- |
