Vernon tenor Paul Moore continues on his mission to bring opera to the local masses.
After his successful Opera in the Park, held at Polson Park this summer, Moore is presenting a night out at the opera, with Nuit Musicale at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre Oct. 30.
“Similar to many of the great opera houses, the evening will include musical favourites, dance and special video effects,” said Moore, who will be joined on stage by guest soloists, accompanist Graham Vink, as well as his choir, the Kokanee Singers.
Together, they will perform arias and ensembles from opera’s greatest hits such as La Traviata, Tosca, Carmen, Rigoletto, The Magic Flute, The Merry Widow and others.
“The Nuit Musicale concert will be a feast for the eyes as well as the ears,” said Moore.
To help set the scenes, local artist Molly March is incorporating visual effects and image projections for the set design.
Moore has also invited local dancers to join the singers, as they do in most opera productions.
“The dancers and singers (are) sharing centre stage to create a breathtaking array of creativity,” said Moore, adding, “Arias from operas The Marriage of Figaro and Carmen will be interspersed with Spanish dance – flamenco and fandango – performed by the very talented Tanya Bakala with her Mission Dance Company.”
Mission Dance Company will also perform scenes from Tchaikovsky’s ballet Giselle, inspired by the National Ballet of Canada’s version.
Vernon’s own Heather Stranks and Jens Goerner, from City Dance studio, will also showcase a waltz in scenes from The Merry Widow and La Traviata.
Audiences are welcome to make it a true night at the opera and dress up to have their picture taken on the red carpet photo booth.
“The photos will be a nice keepsake of your magical night out,” said Moore.
Tickets for Nuit Musicale, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m., are $37/adult, $34/senior, available at the Ticket Seller box office, 250-549-7469, www.ticketseller.ca
