Spencer Duncanson, A rtistic / M usic Di rector It has be en st ate d “The mor e things cha nge th e mor e the y sta y the s ame”. I find it int er est ing that e v en in Mo zart ’ s tim e the mount in g of an o pera pr o v ed to be a m onum ental t ask, daun ting to th e financ ial, logistical and emot ional p ock ets of th e most exp erienced impres arios . It tak es a great d eal of ener gy to both prod uce and part icip ate in an oper a; th e sin ger/ actor , the pr oduction cr e w and the aud ience me mber each ha v e a r esponsibilit y to opt imiz e the oper at ic experienc e . I t i s not a m indless art form, but on e tha t in v ites ev ery one to p articip at e a ct iv el y ; a n ac tiv ity that w e somet im es find o v erwhelm ing . Mozart’ s oper a, The Im pr esario , is a c omic sn apshot of th e backstag e tribu lat ions of the theatr e . While th ey appear humor ous in th is cont ext, I assur e y ou that in act ual ity the y h a v e caused m an y a pr oduc er of o pera, film , danc e , and theatr e to crin ge on occ asion. No nethe- less, we pers e v er e not just because we ha v e t asted the nect ar of th eir fru it but bec ause th ese art forms surpass the ind ividual. In the w ords of o ur op era’ s impr esario , Mr . Scruples: “Do not w orry about art or m usic Madam e . The y ha v e endur ed for c enturies, gen erall y in sp ite of, not because of individu als . ” In co nclud ing Mozart admo nishes all partic ipan ts to yield to art and in so do ing enrich themselv es . I in vite y ou to activ el y jo in us as we yield to this artist ic u ndert akin g .

Karl a W ei r—D irecto r A Un iv ersity of W inn ipeg gr adua te in t heatr e (Honors -dir ecting) and p ast recip ient of th e T udor Bo wl A w ard for v ocal p erformanc e , Kar la h as been activ e with m an y loc al groups and has dev elop ed a strong in ter est in d ir ect in g and st age design. As a perform er , Kar la has appe ar ed in pr od uctions w ith Rain bo w St age , the Gilbert and Sulliv an Society , Inter estin g The atr e , Univ ersity of M anitoba’ s Oper a W ork shop , Red Hen Pr od uctio ns, Prairie P erformanc es, and has been a long-t im e mem ber of the Man ito ba Opera Cho rus . She is lookin g forw ard to p erforming in th is season’ s u pcoming pr oduct ions of T osca and The Ma gic Flute. Dir ecting credits inc lude , A Musical J ou rney Through Canada for Pr airie P erformanc es . The Mediu m, The Old Maid and the Th ief , F ace on the Barr oo m F lo or and The Gift of the Ma gi w ith the L ittle Op era Comp an y . W end y L il l’ s The Occupa tio n of Hea ther Rose , and Da v id Gill es’ F ade to Blac k. Kar la h as held d ir ect ing appr e nticeships w ith P op ular Theatr e A llian ce on the pr oduction of Hect ic and Red Hen ’ s pr oduction of J uana la loca ?. Ass ist ant di r ectors hip r o les inclu de th e Oper a Pr oject’ s C osi f an t utte , P opul ar The atr e All ia nce’ s Hectic, a nd MTC’ s Cherr y Docs. Kar la has en jo y ed coaching for th e Manitoba Conserv a tory for Music an d Arts in the ad v anced v ocal d iv ision an d feels priv ileged to have spent the last d ecad e d esigning “maqu illag e” for W inn ip eg’ s Fr ench T heatr e , Le Cercle Molier e . Sh e cont inu es to ho ld master c lass w orkshops on mak eup d esign and app licat ion for the atr es and sch ools, as w e ll as conducting priv ate coaching in performance .

Cary Denb y , Accom panimen t Cary grad uat ed from the F acu lty of M usic at the Un iv ersity of Man ito ba in 1990 and s ince then, has made a liv ing as a fr eelance accom pan ist p la y ing for numer ous cho irs, soloists a nd ensem b l es . Curr en tl y , Cary is in v o lv ed w ith the Gilbert and Sulliv an Associa tio n, the Ro yal W inn ipeg Ballet and the S t. J am es School Divis ion. At the Un iv ersity of Manit ob a, F acult y of Mus ic she is in v ol v ed with the V oc al M aster c lasses, th e Cantat a Sing ers, as w ell as the B ison M en’ s Chorus, conduc ted by h er husban d Ste v e .

St. J ames Anglican Church, The Rev . Canon Murr a y Still St. James Church Summer Concert Committee Diane Ber g er—Assist. Music Dir ectio n Corinne Enns—Sta ge Mana g ement (Winnipeg) In Kenor a J ohn Gale, Da vid Elliott, J aso n Bo wles T ri-Lite (Sta ge Equipment)

Sy nop sis: A frustra ted impr esari o and his as sista nt (w ho is a comic actor wit h his o w n aspir a tions f or star d om) ar e try ing to estab lish an ope r a com - pan y . The y ar e appr oached by a w ealt h y pa tr on with a g e ne r ous of f er of financial supp ort…onl y if the y wi ll hir e tw o singers: first a w ell-kn o wn, b ut f aded oper a div a, then a y oun g talented beginner . Bot h ar e audi tione d and bot h ar e offer ed contr acts . S par ks f l y , ho w e v er , w hen bot h insi st on top billing !

Mr . Scruples (an impresario) ···························· Don Larsen Mr . Bluff (his assistant) ··································· Gr eg McLean Mr . Angel (a wealthy financier) ························· Darryl Brunger Madam Goldentrill (a f aded o pera star) ··············· Margot Hardi ng Miss Silv erpeal (an aspirant opera star) ················ Lara Secord-Haid