Ambur Braid’s Salome sets the Four Seasons Centre alight

Ambur Braid (Salome)

Ambur Braid (Salome) and Michael Kupfer-Radecky (Jochanaan)

Michael Schade (Herodes) and Karita Mattila (Herodias)

By John Gilks, 04 February 2023

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“a triumphant homecoming, all but eclipsing the rest of a very strong cast”

Reviewed at Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto on 3 February 2023

Strauss R., Salome

Canadian Opera Company

Johannes Debus, Conductor

Atom Egoyan, Director

Derek McLane, Set Designer

Catherine Zuber, Costume Designer

Michael Whitfield, Lighting Designer

Canadian Opera Company Orchestra

Ambur Braid, Salome

Michael Kupfer-Radecky, Jochanaan

Michael Schade, Herodes

Karita Mattila, Herodias

Frédéric Antoun, Narraboth

Carolyn Sproule, Herodias' Page

Owen McCausland, 1st Jew

Michael Colvin, 2nd Jew

Jacques Arsenault, 3rd Jew

Adam Luther, 4th Jew

Giles Tomkins, 5th Jew

Robert Pomakov, 1st Nazarene

Jorell Williams, 2nd Nazarene

Vartan Gabrielian, 1st Soldier

Scott Conner, 2nd Soldier

Alex Halliday, Cappadocian

Serge Bennathan, Choreography

Lepage’s Bluebeard and Erwartung pairing remains compelling theatre

John Gilks, 25th April

Some 30 years after its first appearance, Robert Lepage’s double bill of Duke Bluebeards Castle and Erwartung is still strikingly effective and very modern-looking music theatre.

*****

Canadian Opera Company’s Barber proves as fresh as ever

John Gilks, 5th February

The Barber is back in Toronto with an excellent cast, young and old, and it’s as lively, colourful and energetic as ever.

****1

Christopher Alden’s Rigoletto returns to Canadian Opera Company

Michelle Assay, 28th January

Christopher Alden’s Victorian-era Rigoletto still divides opinions, despite top-notch performances all around in this Toronto revival.

***11

Canadian Opera's Orfeo returns elegant, restrained and very satisfying

John Gilks, 9th October

The restrained beauty of Robert Carsen’s production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice is matched by musical elegance in its revival current revival at the Four Seasons Centre.

*****

Canadian Opera Company opens season with Roméo et Juliette

John Gilks, 27th September

Amy Lane’s production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the COC is eye-catching and enjoyable but doesn’t offer the same level of insight as her Faust last season.

***11

Eugene Onegin revival fails to find the magic spark in Toronto

John Gilks, 2nd May

Robert Carsen’s 1997 production of Eugene Onegin has aged remarkably well but the latest Canadian Opera Company revival of it doesn’t quite recapture its magic.

***11

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John Gilks

John trained as a mathematician before working all over the world in management consulting. He’s now settled in downtown Toronto as an e-health strategy consultant. His operatric interests are eclectic but lean to the very early and very modern. He is also passionate about art song. His writings can be found in Opera Canada magazine and in his blog. He is owned by a small, grey cat called Jane.