Opera Lyra Ottawa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Opera Lyra Ottawa is an opera company founded in 1984 by soprano Diana Gilchrist after the demise of the National Arts Centre's summer opera productions. Its current Artistic Director is Tyrone Paterson. The company generally presents two staged productions each year.

In 1986 the company moved to the theatre of the NAC for its staged presentations, often employing the National Arts Centre Orchestra for instrumental accompaniment. It also has given concert performances of operas, evenings of opera excerpts, and concerts featuring the music of composers such as Kurt Weill, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Stephen Sondheim. In 1988 Opera Lyra Ottawa took its staged production of La bohème to Kingston, Ontario. The Guild also presents DVD screenings of operas at Library and Archives Canada throughout the year.

From 1987, under the artistic direction of Jeannette Aster, the company continued its policy of presenting most operas in French or English and, in 1990, it began to give lectures for adults, school programs, and workshops for children. Also in 1990, the company formed the Opera Lyra Ottawa Boys' Choir led by Laurence Ewashko, formerly conductor of the Vienna Boys' Choir.

In 1990, the company produced a program of "Canadian Opera Treasures" with Thirteen Strings, the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, and soloists including Sandra Graham, Rosemarie Landry, John Fanning, and Michael Schade. The concert included excerpts from eight operas including Lavallée's The Widow, Telgmann's Leo, the Royal Cadet, and Quesnel's Lucas et Cécile.

A search committe from the Opera Lyra Volunteer Board selected Tyrone Paterson as General Director in 1998. Maestro Paterson has a wealth of experience in Opera and had conducted permformances of Aïda and Tosca for OLO. He undertook both the management of the business side of operations, as well as artistic leadership. Under Paterson's gudiance, OLO has increased its budget and the number of subscribers and donors to all-time highs. Since Paterson's arrival, the company has explored new repertoire to critical acclaim, including operas such as The Pearl Fishers, Salome, Roméo et Juliette, Un ballo in maschera, Falstaff, and Otello.

Writing for the Ottawa Citizen, Richard Todd noted that OLO's 2006 version of Verdi's Falstaff "was an overall success and a major feather in the company's cape [sic]. It is easily the most ambitious production the company has undertaken to date."

Maestro Paterson has also continued to grow the Young Artist Program, holding "silver cast" matinees and Opera for children, giving emerging singers much needed professional stage experience.