The St. James's Cathedral bells were tolling this morning, as they always do, when I was on my way to work. The difference was I noticed the unusual crowd outside the Cathedral lawn, all in formal attire. Then I remembered it was Maestro Bradshaw's funeral today. Instead of paying my tribute publicly, I have chosen to do so privately and hopefully share my sentiment beyond the church doors.
Like many opera lovers in Toronto, I witnessed Maestro Bradshaw's achievements in the past decade, so much so that my partner and I decided to show our support by hosting our wedding at the Canadian Opera Company (COC) headquarters garden and subsequently became the company's supporting members. We met Mr. Bradshaw at several member and fundraising events and I had expressed in person my appreciation of his gifts and contributions to Toronto, including his leadership to bring us a new production of the Ring Cycle and to build a world-class opera house for the company.
In my note to the COC the morning when I learned about his sudden death, I said how Mr. Bradshaw taught his audiences to think, see and listen for themselves. I can still remember when I saw the COC for the first time in 1997, performing Madama Butterfly, I had my reservations. The show was a revival at the Hummingbird Centre and I left the theatre thinking, this was at best adequate.
Then the following year, I saw Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex and after that Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle and Schoenberg's Erwartung and I was hooked. Over the years, my musical appreciation ability grew with the company's expanded artistic achievement. By the time I saw the company's new production of La Traviata, which received abundant poor press reviews, I had formed my independent opinion. The production was the first La Traviata that made me weep. If one could look beyond the S&M scenes and the postmodern pastiche design, one would feel the pain of a woman who sacrificed herself for an ideal.
The Maestro may be a consummate politician but he never needed a stunt to win his audiences. By giving Toronto the Ring, the opera house and even the most seemingly controversial productions, he showed what it meant to believe, to take a stance and to deliver.
And for once, the press got it right in their obituaries. He was a superhero in the opera world, and beyond. Let's hope the COC, its audiences and our city will extend his legacy and learn from his courage to provoke, inspire and create.
