A New Westminster director will be at the helm when Opera Mariposa returns to the stage in November.
The company is presenting Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi at St. Faith’s Anglican Church on Nov. 15, 16, 22 and 23. The farcical one-act opera about a rich old man, his last will and testament and the greedy relatives who want to get their hands on his fortune will be onstage alongside excerpts from other great Italian operas – including La traviata, Don Pasquale, Rigoletto and The Marriage of Figaro.
Gianni Schicchi features a diverse ensemble cast from across three continents, under the direction of New Westminster’s Jeanine Fynn.
Fynn is a Lower Mainland stage director who’s known for putting twists on traditional works. As a believer in opera as entertainment for all, she was the founding artistic director of New West-based DragonDiva Operatic Theatre and the founding curator-director for the viral photography and community engagement project Fez on a Chaise. She also regularly appears onstage with Vancouver Opera.
She has previously directed Gianni Schicchi twice before and says she was thrilled to be asked to revisit it for Opera Mariposa.
“It’s so exciting to be leading this international production,” she said in a press release. “Schicchi is a true ensemble piece. Many of the characters never even leave the stage until the final moments, which leaves space for the performers to create some wonderful quirks and special moments that are unique to their character interpretation. That is where the real magic exists for me. I mean – on top of the gorgeous music, singing and costumes which always draw me to opera.”
Mariposa’s artistic director, Jacqueline Ko, says she couldn’t imagine anyone but Fynn directing the production.
“Gianni Schicchi is an incredibly fun show, full of hoaxes and hijinks, so it really needs a stage director who has a gift for comedy,” Ko said in the release. “Several of the Mariposites have seen and even performed in Jeanine’s past productions of Schicchi, and to us, her interpretation is the definitive version of the opera. As soon as we decided to do this work, we knew she’d be our dream director.”
Gianni Schicchi features an ensemble cast led by acclaimed local baritone Richard Petroski as Schicchi, Opéra de Québec tenor Jonathan Gagné as Rinuccio, and multi-award-wining Armenian-Canadian soprano Sevan Kochkarian as Lauretta.
Tickets are $28 general, or $24 for students, seniors and those with disabilities, or $18 each for groups of five or more. Shows are at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are available at the door, through www.operamariposa.com or from Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006.
