THE LITTLE OPERA COMPANY PRESENT S AR TISTIC DIRECT ORS’ MESSAGE I t i s d iffi cult at times t o choose reper toire suitable for famil y aud ien ces. It n eed s t o b e acce ssible t o c h ildre n but sophist icate d and inte resting eno ugh t o am use adult s . S o , I sp en d hours and da ys s ear c hin g, listenin g, rev i ewi ng scores an d con sul ting with m y tr usted confident Diane Berg er. Finally i t happens. I come ac ros s a libretto that i s mar ried t o a score that i s a combina- tion o f acce ssibility and cleverness. The Princess and the Pea i s on e o f those operas . I n this version o f The Prin- cess and the Pea librettist Mar y Ann Pendino and composer Mary Carol W arwick set out to create the perfect family opera. The ch ara cters personali- ties have been given a bit o f a twist to underscore its contemporary flavor and the eclect ic na ture o f the music pro vide s something for ev eryone. Wh ile it i s a fai ry t ale and fai ry tales connote y out hfulness and frivo lit y , fairy tales ar e no t just for kid s . They hold a special place i n mos t o f out lives as they ar e part o f th e f abr ic that s hap ed our sense o f right and wro ng, o f good and e vil. Noted e duc a tional sociolog ist , He nry Su zzall o puts it this w a y: W hile the fair y tales have no immediate pur pose other than to amuse, they leave a substantial by-product which ha s a moral sign ifi cance. In ever y reaction which th e child has fo r d ist r ess o r humour in the tale, [ she ] h e deposits another layer o f vicarious experience w hich sets his character more firmly in the m ould o f right o r wrong at titu de. Eve ry sympathy, every av ersi on helps t o set the impulsive currents of [her] his life, and to give direction t o [he r] h is pe rs o nali ty . So, in the spirit of Suzzallo we invite you to sit back and experience the story once again. Our outreach opera allows u s th e opportunity t o work with many o f the young emerging artists . W e are p lease d t o b e able to pre sen t the m t o y ou this ev ening . Ou r br illi a nt prod uct ion team has w o rk ed t irele ssly with each other and with our cast t o pro vid e the best c ont ext for this opera. Y ou ar e certain t o ha v e a n enjo yable ev ening .

DIRECT ORS’ MESSAGE The basic story o f the Pri ncess and The Pea i s one w e have all h eard. As a ch ild it was m y lea st fa - vo urite fairytale. I think it was because I never new much about the Princess. In the version o f th e sto ry I was told she didn ’ t hav e a name . Ev en a s a n adult w orking on this prod uction I que stioned what the point o f the story was. What was so great about a women who’ s only known skill was t o detect i f she had a veg eta ble i n her bed? It see med s illy to commend such a stra nge attribute. So why ret ell this old story? In this version o f The Princess and The Pea Mary Carol Warwick has beautifully trans for med the w ell -known stor y b y pro vidi ng th e audience th e oppor tunity t o get t o know it s dragon slaying heroine. She has t ran sformed the once compl ace nt and sleep depriv ed prin- c ess o f old into a n ale rt, confident, and pa ssio nate young women. This familiarity with our heroine all ows for her sensitivity t o the pea to become just one more attribute o f a character already o f inter- est. I w o uld like to ch alle nge you, wh ile viewi ng this prod uction, t o r evi sit y our first impressions o f this classic tale and t o enjo y the man y subtle and brav e c hanges that W a rwi c k ha s made t o broaden our persp ect ives o f what it means t o b e a fairyt ale pri ncess.

opportunities t o perfor m over this summer sea- son. O n May 13th, h e will perfor m i n the Or vil le J . Derraugh Memorial Recital at W estminster Un ited Churc h. He w ill also s ingi ng the tenor solo i n ex cerpts from A rie l Ra mírez ’ s 196 4 w ork Misa Criolla (Creole Mass) u nd er t he directi on o f Carolyn Boyes. Jan i s this year’ s rec ipient o f the Winnipeg Music F esti v al’ s T udor Bo wl.

Michael D un bar —Doc tor / Ogre / Es peranz a Mic hael Du nba r (Barit one) Drag g ed kicking and scream- ing from the relati v e safety , s ecuri ty and o bscuri ty o f the tec h. booth, Mic hael i s m ak- i ng h is r e tur n to th e s tag e after a sev eral-year hiatus durin g whic h h e h a s “perfor med” as stag e ma nag er for many Little Opera Company productions . Previous stage credits include performances with Rainbow Stage, The Gilbert and Sullivan Society and The Little Opera Compan y – most notable of which (arguably) w as his role as the wit c h in Hans el and Gretel. The Princess and the Pea marks the sec- ond time he has assumed a “skirt” role (is there a theme emerging here?). The m ultiple roles of Doctor , Ogre and Esperanza have been espe- cially challenging to Michael and he v ery m uch appreciates the patience of the Stage Director, Music Director, Stage Manager, Artistic Director and especially his fello w cast members in helping him along the way! When not engaged in Little Opera Company activities , Mic hael – in his sev- enth year of r etirement from teaching high school English – w orks part time at the Elm- w ood/Kildonan YM/YW CA as a fitness centre supervisor/trainer , and continues to work out regularly . P RO DUCT I O N Jan B urdo n St age Ma nag er T ed Stebbing i ntrod uce d J an t o sta g e ma nag ement with Sundog Productions prese ntat ion o f The Apple Tree . Since then J an has w ork ed o n productions with g roups in clu ding The Bunch of Grapes , Rai nbow Sta ge , R o yal Winnipeg B all et School, Rainbow Harmony Projects , W ASO and The Fringe F esti val. J an i s de lig hted t o b e in v ite d out o f retirement t o b e part o f this production o f Th e Prin cess an d the P ea .

Brent P feil Produc tio n Man ager Brent Pfe il has dabbled i n m usic and the atr e o v er th e yea rs wit h perfor mances a t Rainbow Stage, the F ringe F estiv al, and with various local theatre g roups and chor uses. H e last perfor med with The Little Opera Company as Cuthber t Crow i n The Snow Queen. During this year's Fringe F esti v al, h e played P ete r Quince i n the 10t h Anniv ersary revival o f A Mid Summer Night's Fever. Other acti vities in clu d e coac hing high sc hoo l v o lley b all and playing various sports . A former high school C omp ute r Scie nce and Calculu s teac her , Brent i s cur rently working at MTS i n the I T depar tment. Oddly enou gh, h e can't help you with your phone prob lems .

Jamie Pl um mer Set Desi gner J amie Plumme r w as th rille d when the LOC ask ed her to design the Princess and the Pea . It i s a l way s a w onde rfu l experience t o w ork wit h the tale nted peop le in v o lv ed with the LOC . J amie recently g rad uated form University o f W inn ipeg with a n honours deg ree i n theatre design and i s ex cite d t o b e w orking i n a pro fessional fiel d doing what sh e loves to do . Some o f her mos t memor abl e design exp eri enc es inc lude The Magic F lute ( L OC), P ericle s ( U of W ) and Essay and th e R uss ian Play a t with The Winnipeg J ewi sh Th eatr e . Sh e w ould like to thank her f amil y and f rie nds for th eir lo v e an d su ppo r t .

T ed St ebbi ng Ligh tin g Desi gner Som e o f you m i ght reme mber a Sundog Productions I nc mount- ing o f "Once Upon A Mattress" star ring Nancy Drake and Marilyn Bo yle a t the W are house Th eatr e i n the nine tee n eighties . T ed i s de - lighted t o b e r evi siting this st or y a s li ghting d e - signer i n the L itt le Opera Comp any ’ s prod uct ion o f th e same story with the same sta ge manager, J an Bu rdo n. H e i s also happy to b e w orking again with techn ici an Gaétan L a R ochelle who

DRAMA TIS PERSONAE Princess / Baker ................................................................................................................ J essica Stro ng Princ e .............................................................................................................................. . . Ben Camp bel l Qu een / Dra gon / Hild a ................................................................................................. Ne dra F ranci s Jester ............................................................................................................................. . ............ Jan Nat o Doctor / Ogre / Esperanza .......................................................................................... Michael Dunbar PRODUCTIO N Ar tistic Dir ector ............................................................................................................. .. Sp enc er Dunca n son Dir ector . ........................................................................................................................... H e idi Malazd rewich Music Dir ector ............................................................................................................................. Beckie Edler Accompanist . ...................................................................................................................... Kimb er ly Lapatha Stage Manager . ............................................................................................................................ . ... Jan Burdon Costume Design . ........................................................................................................................ Carl a Oli phan t Set Design . ............................................................................................................................ . . Jamie Plummer Set C ons tr uction ....................................................................................................................... Ian F illi ngham L igh ting D esig n . ..... . .... . ..... . ........................................................................................... . ... .......... Ted Stebbing Lighting Technical . ............................................................................................................ Ga étan L a Rochelle Fight Coach . ...................................................................................................................... Ja cqu eline Loewen Poster / Graphic Design .. .......................................................................................................... Miles Linklat er Pr od uction Ma nag er ........................................................................................................... . .............. Brent Pfe il Media & Promotion / Webmaster / Program Editor ................................................................... . Do n Larsen House Manager . ................................................................................................................... R obe rt Ca mpbell

THE PRIN C ESS AND THE P EA—SY NOPSIS The story opens wit h the Q uee n consoling her disgrunt led son. In a moment o f p anic sh e call s for the doctor who informs her that her son ha s a heart problem, h e i s i n need o f someone t o l ove . Pri nce s ear ches the world for a rea l princess t o marr y but "something i s always wrong," and the Prince retu rns hom e in sadness . Ho wev er during his trav els h e m eet s a y oung w oman, brav e an d dar ing who claims to b e a princess. The Pri nce and his jester are not convinced o f her royalty until such time that she sa v es them from the dra gon and the ogre . A s the men make their escape, the jester takes a moment to let the Princess kno w that sho uld she surviv e, sh e w o uld b e w elc omed a t the castle. When the Princess arrives at the castle the Queen i s hor rified not only at the sight o f this "peasant', but als o at the prosp ect that sh e might win her son's lo v e . The Queen d eci d es t o test the v alidity o f the young w oman's c lai m by in viti ng her t o stay the night. The Queen prep are s the gue st's bed b y s ecretl y p laci ng a single pea o n the bed and p ili ng tw enty mattresse s and tw enty featherbeds atop it. Only a rea l Princess w ould ha v e the deli cacy to feel a pea through tw enty mattresses and twenty featherbeds . There, the y oung w oman spends the night. I n the morning, sh e tel ls her hos ts that sh e endured a sleepless night, being kept aw ake b y som ething hard i n the bed. The Pri nce re - joices and the tw o are mar ried . The op era , The Pri ncess and the Pea, composed b y Mary Carol W a rwi ck with libretto b y Mary An n Pendino, i s a n ada ptat ion o f a fairy tale b y Danish poet an d author Hans Chr istian And ersen. The tale lik ely had it s so urce i n a folk t ale that Andersen claimed to ha v e heard as a ch ild.

15 YEARS OF HIGH QUALITY CHAM BER OPERA! Next season will be The Little Opera Company’ s 15th year of presenting quality chamber operas and concerts to Winnipeg audienc es. The LOC will be l aunchi ng ne xt season wi th n ew br an din g an d a new lo go . We are very excit ed a bo u t pre s entin g thi s new br a ndi n g to ou r loy al a ud i ences , an d aim to rea ch even more Manitoba ns with our op eras and con cert s. Join our online Newsl etter to kee p up to date on th e lau n ch of our 15 th sea s on . Visit www .littleopera.ca/enews

Fall 200 9! Mozart’ s Così fan tutte—October 23-24, 2009