"AUTUMN LEAVES - from Chanson to Jazz" Jazz and Pop are not a purely American phenomenon! A number of very well-known standards were originally French chansons! Opera Appassionata will take you on a musical journey tracing the various styles of chanson from France to Québec, from Art-Song to Opera, from "Feuilles mortes" to "Autumn Leaves" and more. The program will feature singers experienced with chanson and others more classically trained, accompanied on piano and saxophone.

"HANSEL AND GRRRETEL" - Opera by E. Humperdinck Fairy Tales are something special and this opera is no exception because we can all identify with the story. Hansel and Gretel grow up in poverty. That doesn't mean they can't have fun. Unfortunately it means that having fun gets them into trouble. They have reason to be afraid of their mother, but should be more afraid of the things they find out in the woods! Opera Appassionata will bring this story closer to home by setting it in modern Vancouver which has gingerbread houses of a different kind...

"ORATORIO FOR AIDS" - Fundraising Concert of Highlights World AIDS Day is taking on global dimensions and Opera Appassionata is pleased to offer this Fundraising concert to benefit AIDS Vancouver and the Dr. Peter Centre. This concert is a meaningful way for artists to help make a difference in the lives of suffering compatriots. A great variety of music from many oratorios accompanied in turn by piano and organ will be sung by some of the finest soloists in Vancouver. The unforgettable acoustics of the St. Andrew's-Wesley United, St. James' Anglican and Langley United Churches invite you to be transported into a realm where angels come alive. Your support in coming to this concert is much appreciated.

"Serenades at Simmons" - Annual Mattress Concert This is the perfect concert for the time of the year when the days are short and the weather is cold. You won't be sitting on hard pews or uncomfortable chairs, but lying on a Simmons mattress as you listen to serenades and lullabys drifting by you. Soloists slowly walk through the mattress gallery, singing to each one in the audience. Guitar and piano provide the accompaniment to romantic music from opera, art song, musical and pop song. This may well be one of the most memorable and relaxing concerts you will have ever been to! There is only limited space available, so be sure to reserve your tickets now.

"The Operaball" - Comic Opera by R. Heuberger Much of late 19th century Vienna revolved around elegant parties with ballroom dancing, the best-loved of which were masked balls at the opera. In Heuberger's opera, Paul takes his wife Angelika to the big city to visit Jörg and Margret. The ladies contrive to test the faithfulness of their husbands by dictating an invitation to the Opera Ball and directing the chambermaid to deliver them secretly to Paul and Jörg. The gentlemen enjoy the time of their lives at the ball except that their dates keep escaping. The following day, accusations prevail until all find out that the mysterious lady the men were making out with was neither their wife nor the wife of the other but… Included in this opera by Heuberger are also some of the most famous Waltzes by Johann Strauss jr. like the "Blue Danube Waltz" and the "Emperor Waltz" accompanied by live orchestra.

"Amadigi" - Opera in the Greenhouse by G. F. Handel After Opera Appassionata's sold-out performances at the Wellbrook Winery, we return to the Sunset Nursery Greenhouse for another "garden opera", this time in the enchanted garden of the sorceress Melissa! Amadigi sets out to free his beloved Oriana only to find out that his best friend, Dardano, is also in love with Oriana and that Melissa has captured his fiancée because she wants Amadigi for herself. Handel's 10th opera was a great success in his time, playing for an unbelievable 3 consecutive seasons and Charles Burney wrote years later that Amadigi contained "more invention, variety, and good composition, than in any one of the musical dramas of Handel which I have yet carefully and critically examined." The excitement of the music and its vocal fireworks come alive in a special way among the plants and flowers of the Greenhouse in South Vancouver!

"enLISZTed Opera - Concert of Opera Excerpts and Piano Solos Franz Liszt, best-known as the greatest piano virtuoso of the 19th century, was also a prolific composer and conductor who loved opera. His many showpieces for the piano include transcriptions, paraphrases and variations on themes from operas by Mozart, Bellini, Verdi, Wagner and others. Opera Appassionata will present a selection of these rarely performed works at different instruments throughout a piano show-room paired with opera singers presenting the music in its original form in the quoted operas. An evening of beautifully sung opera played by very fast fingers!

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