Exciting day at the Canadian Opera Company

The Canadian Opera Company (COC) named Johannes Debus as its new music director and unveiled its new line up for 2009/2010 today.

I saw Debus last year when he conducted the COC in Prokofiev's War and Peace last October. The show was a co-production between COC and the English National Opera and I saw it for the first time at the ENO. What impressed me with the COC show was how all of a sudden the music, the plot and the direction all made intellectual sense. I finally understood why the music was written the way it was.

The rich sound from the orchestra and the chorus was filled with colours and nuances while maintaining absolute clarity. Debus somehow managed to let the music do the work for him and all he did was to channel his musicians' energy the way he wanted it.

Debus's appointment seemed swift but the new general manager Alexander Neef explained that he just knew Debus was the guy for the job after the War and Peace run in Toronto. I would agree with him.

The new maestro will conduct the Flying Dutchman in his debut season. Other shows that I can't wait to see include:
An Aix-en-Provence production of Stravinsky's Le Rossignol;
Paul Curran returning to direct Othello with Scott Hendricks singing Iago. Those who saw Hendricks' performance as Rodrigue in Don Carlos would understand why I'm excited.
Conductor Harry Bicket is returning to do Mozart's Idomaneo.
Eric Cutler will sing Roberto in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda. I saw him in Chicago last October in Pearl Fisher and he brought the house down.