An Opera Revived In Concert Hosted By Stuart Hamilton

This once popular opera first premiered at the Paris Opéra-Comique in 1866 with immediate success - it was performed more than 100 times in its first six months. Today Mignon is seldom produced as a fully-staged opera, but a number of its arias have remained popular in concert programs.

New York Times critic, Donal Henahan, once described the music of Mignon as "...quite fetching, disarmingly direct in its appeal to the ear and the operagoer's tender heart. Many composers of more prestigious works would kill to have written half a dozen of the best numbers in Mignon."

Mignon is an adaptation of Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister". It was written by librettists Michel Carré and Jules Barbier, better known for Gounod's Faust and Offenbach's Des contes d'Hoffmann. It is the story of two women who vie for the affections of the same man with an ingenious plot that captures all the elements of French grand opera: love, betrayal and compassion.

The title role of gentle Mignon requires a versatile singer, and Mariateresa Magisano has a beautiful lyric soprano voice that is capable of singing heavier roles yet possesses amazing coloratura. She enjoyed wonderful success as Rosina in The Barber of Seville with Opera Lyra last season. Soprano Shannon Mercer, cast in the feisty role of Philine, was well-loved as Nanetta in our 2006 production of Falstaff. Her voice has gorgeous tone which simply shimmers. Tenor Stuart Howe as Wilhelm Meister has the perfect voice for this role which demands a singer who can easily float the notes without strain or forcing the tone.

Stuart Hamilton, the founder of Toronto's Opera-in-Concert series and CBC's Radio Two Opera Quiz host, will guide us through this year's opera-in-concert as our special guest host. Tadeusz Biernacki, one of Canada's leading opera repetiteurs and an experienced conductor in both opera and ballet, will lead the production from the piano. Mignon also provides several roles for the talented members of the OLO Opera Studio and features the excellent OLO Chorus.

The concert will take place on September 30, 2007 at 2 pm. Tickets are $15-$50. -- www.operalyra.ca