Operetta Fans and Chocoholics Rejoice!!!
THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER
|
|
|
Think of it ... some of the world’s most beautiful melodies and a hero who is armed with chocolates instead of bullets. That’s the story behind Oscar Straus’ most popular musical, which premiered in Vienna in 1908 and then took New York and London by storm the next year. My Hero is the big hit from the show, a soaring romantic ballad sung by the idealistic young heroine Nadina. Comic scenes abound, none more amusing than the Dressing Gown ensemble where each of the three ladies tries to keep her love letter to the chocolate soldier a secret!
|
|
|
LOSING MONEY ON PURPOSE!
The source of our great operetta is George Bernard Shaw’s ARM AND THE MAN and the curmudgeonly Irishman’s sardonic wit shines through Straus’ music in a masterly fashion. However, Shaw was not amused and his crankiness cost him a lot of money. He agreed to the use of his play but only if none of his dialogue was quoted, the names of the characters were changed and he did not get any royalties. This last condition he came to regret mightily since the musical was a huge hit and he lost out on the pots of money at the end of the Chocolate Soldier’s rainbow.
|
|
|
|
|
GSM on STRAUS and his Soldier with a Sweet Tooth
Shaw’s ARMS AND THE MAN is one of my favourite plays and hysterically funny from start to finish. Then when I first heard the music for Straus’ musical version, I was even more enchanted. The music adds so much to the situation and we have a fabulous group of singers who can act and actors who can sing for the TOT show in April. Our heroine is Jennifer Taverner, who was such a delight as Kathie last season in THE STUDENT PRINCE. Soon after our show, she will be off to Banff for a project with Against the Grain and the Canadian Opera Company. And then we feature Michael Nyby as Bumerli, the unwilling military man who carries chocolates instead of ammunition. Mike will be perfect – a marvellous singer with stage presence to burn – wish I’d seen him as Danilo in Edmonton Opera’s Merry Widow. I have to warn Jennifer and Mike about Greg Finney, who plays Col. Popoff … he steals every scene he’s in. He can get more laughs with a raised eyebrow than any actor I know. Anna Macdonald rounds out our quartet of principals as Masha, a girl out to get her own hero! I look forward to the rehearsal process, dealing with characterization, the brilliant text and Straus’ melodies and making sure the cast speak their lines clearly and don’t bump into the furniture … good advice from Noel Coward. With this cast … a piece of cake!
|
|
|
SPECIAL SPRING OFFER!
USE PROMOTIONAL CODE: CHOCOLATE20
and receive a 20% discount on single tickets
|
|
|
Welcome PETER TIEFENBACH
Pianist, CBC Producer, conductor, professor and straight man for Canada’s Primadonna, aka Mary Lou Fallis. Yes, Peter is and has been all of these and lived to tell the tale. He is also a composer/ arranger and one of his funniest works is the live action monologue, TALES FROM MY CUPBOARD, for soprano, clarinet and piano, which our leading lady, Jennifer Taverner, has performed! Go to YouTube and enjoy. But be sure to come to the St. Lawrence Centre anytime from April 26th to 30th and enjoy…!
|
|
|
|
MARDI GRAS BALL A HUGE SUCCESS
TOT friends like to party! The fun began with cocktails and a close examination of party-goers’ costumes during the reception at our recent MARDI GRAS BALL at the Chelsea Hotel on February 25. Then came a rush to the Silent Auction tables where the competition for chosen items was fierce. The delicious four-course meal, however, was just an appetiser leading to a stellar performance by our TOT stars, featuring tunes from DIE FLEDERMAUS, MERRY WIDOW, CHOCOLATE SOLDIER and even Broadway melodies, sung by Elizabeth Beeler, Vania Chan, Jennifer Taverner, Michael Nyby, and our own GuillermoSilva-Marin. Capping the amazing evening, Jossy and the Band got the entire crowd on its feet for ‘dancing till dawn’. There are those who are already planning their costumes for next year’s MARDI GRAS BALL!!!
|
|
|
|
|
Singers Meagan Larios, Tammy Short, Eugenia Dermentzis, Nicholas Borg, and TOT Board members Samantha Fonseca, Marco Gidaro and Pierre Montagnier at the Springtime Reception for Donors and Volunteers.
|
|
|
|
