Fernie Friends of Opera

29/02/2024

Madama Butterfly screening at the Arts Station Friday, March 1 at 6:00pm. Met Opera 2009 production with Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio San. Admission by donation, cash bar. Join us to watch and listen to Puccini's most poignant opera!

01/12/2023

TONIGHT! The Fernie Arts Station will screen The Met Opera's fantastic English-language production of Mozart's Magic Flute on Friday, December 1, starting at 6pm. Admission by donation

04/04/2020

Hello Opera Fans,
We've had to cancel our last two screenings of the season:
- Rossini's William Tell in a 2015 Royal Opera production (French with English subtitles) starring Gerald Finley and Malin Bystrom
- Massenet's Thaïs from The Met, 2008 (French with English subtitles) starring Renee Fleming, Thomas Hampson and Michael Schade
As we always do, we will be donating the DVDs to the Fernie library. To see what operas are in the library, search “opera DVD” in their online catalog.
The library staff is on hand to fetch your emailed requests for books and DVDs during their shutdown (see their page for details)
I hope everyone has been enjoying all the opera alternatives available online. The Met is continuing free streams of operas from their on-demand catalog
They will present encores of past performances from their Live in HD series. The encore presentations will begin at 7:30 p.m. EST each night on the company’s official website and will then be available for an additional 20 hours thereafter. Each showcase will also be viewable on the Met Opera on demand apps.
And of course there are operas available on YouTube. Search for your favorites; there are some gems out there, but you may not always find subtitles in English.
The classical music streaming service, Primephonic, has an opera playlist as well as some full opera recordings and many soloist albums. I'm thrilled at the variety and daily new selections on Primephonic and think it's certainly worth the monthly subscription price! And of course you can tune in to the opera stream on CBC Music for free.
The opera gossip sheets are always entertaining as well: operawire(dot)com is my latest favorite. If you know of other sources and resources from the opera world and would like to share, reply here and I'll compile a list to send to everyone.
Stay home and tuned in to music: it's good for the soul!
Take care, everyone, and see you in September.

30/09/2019

Here's a quick look at our season.

23/01/2019

Friday, Feb 1, 7:00pm at the Arts Station
admission by donation

Prince Igor
by Alexander Borodin

Nikolai Putilin, Galina Gorchakova, Sergei Aleksahkin, Olga Borodina
Kirov Opera & Ballet
Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg
conducted by Valery Gergiev

Russian with English subtitles, 1998, 3:14 h

Borodin adapted the libretto for his opera from the Ancient Russian epic The Lay of Igor's Host, which recounts the campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the invading Polovtsian tribes in 1185. In the opera prologue, Igor sets off to war leaving his wife and brother-in-law behind. All does not go well at home, and Igor’s army is routed. It ends happily, though.
This all-Russian production brings the richness and majesty of medieval Russia to the stage in an epic telling of the story with no holding back: the Kirov Ballet, Mariinsky Chorus with the illustrious Gergiev at the helm, all at their dazzling best.

Borodin's famous orchestral piece, The Polovtsian Dances, is a part of this opera, performed by the renowned Kirov Ballet.

25/09/2018

Next screening is Friday, October 5 - at the Arts Station - 7pm
admission by donation
NABUCCO by Giuseppe Verdi
A Met Opera production from 2001, James Levine conducting. Maria Guleghina, Sam Ramey, Juan Pons, Wendy White and Gwyn Hughes Jones, and the magnificent Met Opera Chorus.

03/09/2018

Our season opener...

Friday, Sept 7 at 7pm
Screening at the Arts Station, admission by donation.

TALES OF HOFFMANN Jacques Offenbach
Plácido Domingo, Luciana Serra, Agnes Baltsa, Ileana Cotrubas, Claire Powell

Royal Opera, Covent Garden
conducted by Georges Pretre, directed by Brian Large
French with English subtitles, 1981, 2:30

Seeking to exorcise the failure of his current love affair, the poet Hoffmann tells the tales of his three past loves: the doll-like Olympia, the high-class courtesan Giulietta, and the ambitious but delicate Antonia, and recalls how each was thwarted by the evil influence of his rival.
In this production by the distinguished film director, John Schlesinger, Offenbach’s nightmare world is brought to life. The all-star cast is headed by Placido Domingo in his prime as Hoffmann.

03/09/2018

Friday, Sept 7 at 7pm
Screening at the Arts Station, admission by donation.

TALES OF HOFFMANN Jacques Offenbach
Plácido Domingo, Luciana Serra, Agnes Baltsa, Ileana Cotrubas, Claire Powell

Royal Opera, Covent Garden
conducted by Georges Pretre, directed by Brian Large
French with English subtitles, 1981, 2:30

Seeking to exorcise the failure of his current love affair, the poet Hoffmann tells the tales of his three past loves: the doll-like Olympia, the high-class courtesan Giulietta, and the ambitious but delicate Antonia, and recalls how each was thwarted by the evil influence of his rival.
In this production by the distinguished film director, John Schlesinger, Offenbach’s nightmare world is brought to life. The all-star cast is headed by Placido Domingo in his prime as Hoffmann.

20/08/2018

Announcing our new season of screenings at the Arts Station...first Friday of every month, beginning Sept 7