Our Productions
Related Activities
- School-wide
"opera theme" days with workshops, guest speakers and singers from
Opera Ontario and the wider arts community, related art activities, and
activities related to other areas of the curriculum, children dressing
up in costume
- Hot-dog fund-raisers ("Have a wienie
for Puccini"), cupcake days, sales from "Opera Doodle Art", "Aida
Buttons", "Gypsy Jewellery", and "Opera Oinkers" (stuffed nylon pigs
decorated as Opera characters) going toward funding the opera; these
items have been sold at the school and at Hamilton Place during Opera
Ontario performances
- Sponsors from the local community fiscally support our
opera and are advertised in our opera programme
- Opera
"pen pals" ranging from Eduardo Villa (American Metropolitan Opera
roster tenor) to students from Hakadote Junior High school in Japan who
produced their own Carmen in October, 1999
- Workshops on opera education facilitation for music
teachers provided by Dawn Martens in conjunction with Opera Ontario
staff
- Master
classes for grade four and five students led by singers such as
Canadian baritone John Fanning, Canadian baritone Allan Monk, American
tenor Fred Love, Romanian tenor Constantin Nica, and Opera Ontario
chorus members
- The opportunity for the school to host
a special performance of Strathcona: From Nothing to Something , an
original opera written by school children in Hamilton's north end under
the direction of Opera Ontario staff
- Former members
of the Opera club participate in musical activities in Middle and High
School, have appeared (along with current club members) as
supernumeraries in Opera Ontario productions (in Tosca , La Traviata ,
Susannah , Faust, Elixir of Love ), and have returned as volunteers
during our opera productions
- Semi-professional videos of the opera produced each year
and sold to anyone interested in purchasing one
- Opera T-shirts produced each year and sold to anyone
interested in purchasing one
- Maintenance
of an "Opera Wall of Fame" in the school foyer; items include all
newspaper reviews by Hugh Fraser from The Hamilton Spectator and
autographed photos of opera stars including singers Ben Heppner and
Placido Domingo
- In our 2001-2002 season, visitors to
our school included the Canadian cast of Opera Ontario's The Little
Marriage of Figaro and a return visit from American tenor Eduardo
Villa; eight years of Buchanan Park Opera Club Alumni were represented
at the assembly for Mr.Villa
- In November 2004,
American tenor Eduardo Villa returns to Buchanan Park (he is in town
for Opera Ontario's Popera ) and a celebratory assembly is held
- Eduardo
Villa personally invites a group of leads to the dress rehearsal of
Popera in November 2004; we are the only visitors in attendance at
Hamilton Place and the leads meet and talk to American soprano Cynthia
Lawrence, Eduardo Villa, Eastern European mezzo Emilia Boteva, American
baritone Jeffrey Kneebone, and maestro Daniel Lipton