Summer Opera Intensive
For Singers and Pianists
THE MAGIC FLUTE
BY WA MOZART
IN GERMAN WITH ENGLISH DIALOGUE
AND OTHER OPERA EXCERPTS
July 20-August 18 2024
Rehearsal location:
Willowdale Presbyterian Church, 38 Ellerslie Ave, Toronto
Opera Performances:
August 10, 11, 17, 18, 2024
Adjala ON
Opera Excerpts:
July 30 - August 3
Opera Pub:
August 13, 2024
Openings for: Principle Roles, Adult Chorus, Children's ensemble
Role preparation, diction classes,masterclasses, individual coaching, repetiteur and leadership program for emerging pianists and flute players.
Masterclasses (Acting Through Song and Audition Preparation)
Fees:
$675 CDN $500 US (Principles)*
$350 CDN $260 US (Chorus)*
$400 CDN $300 US (Pianists)
$250 $185 US (Flute players)
*Alumni $650 and $325 respecivley
Principles submit resume photo and video of 2 contrasting opera selections
(1 selection must be in German)
with subject line, MAGIC FLUTE, to auditions@nostringstheatre.com
Chorus please fill out and submit these forms.
*If we are familiar with your work, kindly just send us your resume and photo*
in person call back Auditions - April 27-28, 2024
Willowdale Presbyterian Church, 38 Ellerslie Ave, Toronto
ROLES AVAILABLE
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Pamina: lyric soprano
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Tamino: lyric tenor
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Papageno: lyric baritone
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Papagena: soubrette or lyric soprano; comedienne
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Queen of the Night: high coloratura soprano
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Sarastro: bass
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3 Ladies: Largest roles in the opera. Soprano, mezzo-soprano and alto
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Monastatos: Lyric or comic tenor
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2 Armed Men/2 Priests: tenor and baritone
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Speaker of the temple: baritone
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Spirits: boys with unchanged voices, girls 14 and under
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Flute: Plays on stage. Part of cast
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Chorus: All voice parts
NB: Depending on the size of the role, singers cast might also appear in our excerpt program. All participants are invited to participate in Opera Brew Ha-Ha, a light-hearted, informal opera pub/revue.
CREATIVE AND PRODUCTION TEAM
PRODUCER - Denise Williams
DIRECTOR – Gregory Finney
MUSIC DIRECTOR/CO-PRODUCER – William Shookhoff
ASSOCIATE REPETITEUR - Clair Harris
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - Kathleen Mills
ARTISTIC MENTOR - John Holland,
FULL FACULTY - TBA
GREGORY FINNEY
DIRECTOR
Delighted to be starting at No Strings Theatre and returning to Opera By Request - after his company debut as Michonnet in ADRIANA LECOUVREUR – as Bartolo/Antonio in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO) Baritone Gregory Finney has been hailed for his versatility and skill after his turn as Escamillo in LA TRAGEDIE DE CARMEN with LooseTEA Music Theatre among others. One of Toronto’s busiest singers, mostly at home in comedic roles, he garnered rave reviews for his turn as Antonio/ Bartolo in Against The Grain theatre’s hit production FIGARO’S WEDDING. He’s been seen as Il Conte (LE NOZZE DI FIGARO); Papageno (DIE ZAUBERFLOTE) and as Figaro (LA MERE COUPABLE). He was seen in the Canadian premieres of JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA, LUISA FERNANDA, KATE AND THE DEVIL and KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY and the world premieres of KAMOURASKA and Eric Idles NOT THE MESSIAH. (@gregory_finney) (www.gregoryfinney.com)
WILLIAM SHOOKHOFF
MUSIC DIRECTOR
William Shookhoff is a noted conductor, pianist and vocal coach throughout Canada and abroad. He has served on the music faculties of the Universities of Toronto, Alberta, Wilfrid Laurier, as well as the Banff
Centre for the Arts and the Johannesen Summer Institute of Music. He has been on the Music Staff of the Canadian, Netherlands, Edmonton, and Portland (Oregon) Opera Companies. Mr Shookhoff was the Associate Conductor of the inaugural Canadian production of Les Miserables, and of the Canadian Tour and Toronto productions of Phantom of the Opera. He
has been a guest Music Director with Neptune Theatre (Halifax), Persephone Theatre (Saskatoon), and Citadel Theatre (Edmonton). Mr. Shookhoff makes frequent appearances in those capacities throughout Western Europe and China, as well as maintaining an active coaching studio in Toronto. He is a regular guest conductor with the Bluebridge Festival and with Opera Kitchener. He has also devoted his efforts to the development and presentation of the Massed Piano or Monster Concert, and has conducted such events at Carnegie Hall, New York; Massey Hall and Nathan Philips Square, Toronto; the White House, Washington, DC;
and the Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome. Mr. Shookhoff is Artistic Director Emeritus at Tryptych Productions.
JOHN HOLLAND
ARTIST-MENTOR, VOICE COACH
Windsor native Bass-Baritone John Holland has embarked on a diverse career of opera, oratorio, and art song. In 2020, John won a JUNO award as a member of the Ottawa Bach Choir. His Operatic credits include Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Leporello and Masetto in Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre in Prague, Vodník in Rusalka in the Czech Republic, Taddeo in L’Italiana in Algeri at Casa Loma, Purkrabi in Dvořák’s Jakobin, Caspar in Der Freischütz, Achilla in Giulio Cesare, Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore, Henry VIII in Anna Bolena, Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, and Alberich in Der Ring Des Nibelungen with Toronto’s Opera by Request.
He has sung at such locales as the Canadian Opera Company, Mozarteum in Salzburg, Bachfest in Leipzig (2014, 2022), Smetana Hall and the Estates Theatre in Prague, and San Marco in Venice, and has shared the stage with the likes of Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Rene Pape, and Lorin Maazel. Recent performances include, Bass Soloist in Shostakovich Symphony 14, Bass Soloist for a CD recording of Bach’s Motets on ATMA Classique, and several oratorio concerts.
He was a winner of the 2002 CBC Radio Opera Quiz Competition, and a finalist in the London Opera Guild Competition in 2001 and 2003. A respected academic, John is a three-time lecturer for the Canadian Opera Company’s London guild, a regular lecturer at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and a nine-time judge for the JUNO Awards. He is also an alumnus of the University of Windsor and Western University music faculties.
Dr. Holland completed his PhD in Musicology at York University in 2018. His scholarly work reaches over many genres, but is focused on the study of Czech Opera, Art Song, and Choral Works. His dissertation, Beyond the Silver Moon: Exploring the Lost Tradition of Dvořák's Operas Through a Study of Myth, Music, and Nationalism, critically analyzes these operas, and views them through the lenses of social, cultural, and political history, and pieces together the answers to why these operas are essentially lost works within the Czech lands, and abroad. In the fall of 2014, he produced the Canadian premiere of Dvořák’s opera Jakobin. He is also the founding director of the Canadian Institute for Czech Music, and continues to be in demand as a performer, choral conductor, and lecturer, as well as being a member of the contract faculty at York University.
ASSOCIATE REPETITURS -TBA