Academic + Campus Events

U of T and McGill collaborate to stage North American premiere of banned Haydn opera

siddiq22 — Wed, 17 May 2023 15:55:01 +0000

U of T and McGill collaborate to stage North American premiere of banned Haydn opera

siddiq22 Wed, 05/17/2023 - 11:55

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The cast and creative team behind a new production of Orfeo gather for rehearsal in the Geiger-Torel Room at U of T's Faculty of Music (supplied photo)

Tabassum Siddiqui

Topic

Our Community

Academic + Campus Events

Performance

Faculty of Music

Music

Opera

Austrian composer Joseph Haydn may have been known as the “Father of the Symphony,” but he also penned a number of operas – including one that was declared contraband and shut down before its premiere in 1791.

Caryl Clark

Now thanks to a collaboration between the University of Toronto and McGill University, that opera – L’anima del filosofo (or Orfeo: The Soul of the Philosopher) – will be staged in North America for the first time. The production, which includes students and professional artists, will be performed on May 26 and 27 at the MacMillan Theatre at U of T’s Faculty of Music, alongside an academic symposium about the opera at Walter Hall on May 27 supported by U of T's Jackman Humanities Institute in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, the opera was never performed during Haydn’s lifetime after “authorities in London, fearing that the new plot resonated too closely with liberal Enlightenment ideals advanced in revolutionary France, shut down the production during rehearsals in May 1791,” says musicologist and Haydn scholar Caryl Clark, a professor of music history and culture in the Faculty of Music who spearheaded the project.

To stage the opera – which lay dormant in Eastern European archives until the Cold War – Clark and fellow musicologist Dorian Bandy, a professor of early music and music history at McGill who will serve as conductor for the production, brought together a cast and crew from both universities along with award-winning theatre practitioners from Canada and the U.S.

Clark and Bandy told U of T News about the challenges of mounting a long-lost opera for the first time and why such an ancient tale still resonates onstage today.

What is the story behind Orfeo?

Clark: With his great musical powers – he’s a singer and lyre player – Orpheus gains entry to the Underworld to rescue his beloved who died of a snake bite on their wedding day. Warned not to look back at her on their journey out of Hades, his passions overtake his rational mind – he looks at her, and she vanishes forever, leaving him to lament into eternity.

How are U of T and McGill working together on the production?

Bandy: Collaborations of this nature are usually between individuals – in this case between me and Caryl. However, both of us have gotten many other people from our respective universities involved in the production. The performances are taking place at U of T, and U of T students are making up most of the cast and chorus. U of T colleagues have also been helping with many behind-the-scenes aspects of the production – from choral preparation and vocal coaching to elements of lighting and design. McGill’s Early Music program, meanwhile, is responsible for the period-instrument orchestra that will be playing in the pit during the production. The performances will really embody an ideal synthesis of the strengths and energies of each university.

What made you want to take on this opera for the first time – and what challenges did you face in mounting a production that’s a North American first?

Bandy: Haydn’s lost Orfeo opera has been on Caryl’s radar for more than three decades! Caryl first learned of this opera as a graduate student at Cornell University, and she spent much of her career working on it – publishing articles, presenting papers at conferences and even delivering pre-concert lectures at productions in Europe. In late 2019, we met at a musicology conference and both agreed that launching a production at one of our universities would make for a stimulating project.

Clark: The challenges of putting together a production of this opera are not unique to Haydn. Opera is expensive, so many of the primary hurdles have involved fundraising. However, equally crucial has been the assembly of a keen and visionary creative team, including our energetic young director Nico Krell, who has taken a leading role in shaping the look, feel and underlying message of our production.

Although the lack of a North American staging tradition for this opera might seem an obstacle – after all, most members of the creative crew were not already familiar with this work when they signed up to be a part of the show – this also affords us a huge amount of artistic freedom and flexibility. The audience will not be entering the theatre with the baggage of preconceptions about the music, memories of favourite past productions and the like – and this means that we will have the pleasure of presenting this piece to many listeners for the very first time, and shaping their expectations and experiences more actively as the performances unfold.

(L-R) Orfeo performers Asitha Tennekoon (who plays the title role) Parker Clements (Creonte), Lindsay McIntyre (Euridice) and Maeve Palmer (Genio) (supplied images)

What can attendees expect to learn at the corresponding symposium on May 27?

Clark: Along with colleagues from Northeastern University and Brown University, we will discuss the intellectual context for the opera and the process of mounting this production – and students from both U of T and McGill will present their experiences of preparing the opera for public performance.

Opera and politics are inextricably intertwined. Music, art and literature have the power to shape the thoughts and minds of listeners, readers and audiences, so governments and politicians are particularly sensitive to the potential of theatrical representation and other forms of artistic expression to destabilize society and undermine government authority. Indeed, Haydn’s Orfeo was to have premiered a few months after the statesman Edmund Burke penned his Reflections on the Revolution in France in 1790. There are many historical precedents for banning works of art deemed too politically sensitive for their times. Our production focuses on the extinguishing of Enlightenment values and delivers a powerful contemporary environmental message by staging “nature’s revenge.”

Seven ways to celebrate U of T’s Alumni Reunion

siddiq22 — Tue, 16 May 2023 16:07:50 +0000

Seven ways to celebrate U of T’s Alumni Reunion

siddiq22 Tue, 05/16/2023 - 12:07

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University of Toronto graduates can take part in more than 100 events across the three campuses during Alumni Reunion, which runs May 31 to June 4 (all images supplied)

Adina Bresge & Alice Lawlor

Topic

Our Community

Academic + Campus Events

From a street festival to topical lectures and an Ontario Science Centre gathering, there are plenty of ways University of Toronto graduates can reconnect with tri-campus life at Alumni Reunion this spring.

The annual celebration, which runs from May 31 to June 4, is expected to attract thousands of alumni to catch up with old friends, make new memories and come together as a global community.

The festival features more than 100 events across the three campuses and online, including fun activities for kids, special events organized by faculties and colleges as well as milestone celebrations for those who earned their diplomas in a year ending in 3 or 8.

“Alumni Reunion is a wonderful opportunity to renew our bonds to the university and to one another as a community – with a wide array of planned in-person and online events,” says Barbara Dick, assistant vice-president, alumni relations.

“We see our alumni community as ambassadors of U of T and look forward to celebrating their continued success while helping them foster connections – both old and new."

Here’s just a small sample of the many events and activities on offer in 2023:

Alumni Fest is back

Hit the streets for some food, music and entertainment at this family-friendly outdoor event. Alumni Fest takes place in downtown Toronto along St. George Street.

Give the kids a passport to hands-on learning

Best suited to children aged four to 12, the Kids’ Passport event on the St. George campus gives young explorers a chance to earn stamps for participating in hands-on activities such as a bookstore scavenger hunt, catching Pokémon and investigating a pretend crime.

Get back to class (without worrying about grades)

This year’s Stress-Free Degree lectures cover a broad swath of subjects ranging from the buzzy TV show Squid Game to the legal side of AI. There are nine lectures on offer by experts from U of T Mississauga, U of T Scarborough, OISE, Temerty Faculty of Medicine and more, available in-person and online.

Learn from racial justice champion Lesra Martin

The activist and acclaimed lawyer who helped secure the freedom of Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter is also a U of T alumnus from Innis College. In this online conversation, Lesra Martin shares his origin story, journey to U of T and the insights that shaped his successful career. The University of Toronto Alumni Association’s Annual General Meeting will follow the talk.

Party like a scientist

New and new-ish grads take over the Ontario Science Centre for the biggest SHAKER event of the year. Admission is $20 and includes all non-alcoholic beverages, treats and one alcoholic drink ticket. Shuttle buses from the St. George campus are available.

Kick off Pride month with Italian eats

Head to Eataly Toronto for an evening of cocktails, fine cuisine and mingling with alumni and friends at the 2SLGBTQ+ Spring Soirée.

A big anniversary deserves a big celebration

Take a trip down memory lane at invite-only events for alumni celebrating their 50th, 55th, 60th, 65th, 70th, 75th, and 80th anniversaries of graduation, including the Chancellor's Breakfast and the 50th Anniversary Ceremony at Convocation Hall.

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Alumni Relations

Alumni Reunion

High-tech classrooms and improved accessibility: An inside look at University College renovations

Romi Levine — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 04:00:00 +0000

High-tech classrooms and improved accessibility: An inside look at University College renovations

Romi Levine Mon, 04/15/2019 - 00:00

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University College's renovations are set to be completed in early 2020 (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Romi Levine

Topic

City & Culture

Academic + Campus Events

Accessibility

Alumni

Classroom

Faculty of Arts & Science

University College

University College’s grandeur peeks through the swaths of plywood where renovations are currently underway – revealing close-up views of intricate stained glass windows and the storeys-high dome of the Croft Chapter House.

University of Toronto’s oldest building is undergoing a large-scale revitalization that seeks to bring the building, which is over 160 years old, into the 21^st century with the latest classroom technology, significantly improved accessibility and contemporary elements that will complement its heritage features.

The renovations, which are expected to be completed in early 2020, were made possible thanks to an increase in ancillary fees for UC students and donor gifts, including $3 million from Paul Cadario, U of T alumnus, former member of the Governing Council and a former manager at the World Bank, and a $2.5-million donation by Edmund and Frances Clark, who come from a multi-generational family of UC alumni. Edmund Clark is the former CEO of TD Bank.

The Clarks also gave $2.1 million to update the UC quad after the interior renovations are complete.

Donning a hard hat and protective boot coverings, University College Principal Donald Ainslie took U of T News around UC to see how the building is being transformed.

UC library's new East Hall location (photo by Romi Levine)

The centrepiece of the UC revitalization is the library, located in the East Hall. The room is anchored by archways on one side and a sleek, curved white staircase on the other, which leads up to a mezzanine that wraps around the room’s perimeter.

UC's vision for the new library, courtesy of Kohn Shnier Architects and ERA Architects

UC library’s new home isn’t actually new at all – it was where the library was originally located before a fire destroyed it in 1890. The accessible mezzanine is a nod to the one that existed before the fire – and allows for up-close views of stained glass windows that were installed in 1911.

The trio of stained glass windows (pictured below) commemorate the three U of T students who died in the Fenian raids.

“In 1866, the Irish nationalists who were U.S. Civil War veterans decided to attack the British Empire by staging incursions around the Fort Erie, Niagara Falls area,” says Ainslie. “The university had just finished exams so the students were called upon to go and fight to defend the empire.”

Ramps connect each new room in UC – making a building that used to be hard to navigate much more accessible.

“UC was created to be the college for everyone,” says Ainslie. When the college was created in the late 19^th century, it was founded on “the idea that everyone should be able to attend university,” he says. “We're constantly learning new ways in which we live up to that ideal.”

Work to make the building more accessible includes installing a new elevator, which can be seen from the quad, and adding an accessible entrance at the front of the building.

“That's a really important change and one that's central to what we're trying to do,” Ainslie says.

Inside the Croft Chapter House, the darkened dome is now a bright white (pictured above), with carved wood beams meeting below a halo of windows. This where the Paul Cadario Conference Centre will be located – a modular space allowing for different types of gatherings.

A glass wall will be installed near the entrance to the Chapter House, which will be inscribed with a line of poetry written by Anne Michaels, a UC alumna and outgoing Toronto poet laureate, and translated into 150 languages currently spoken in Toronto.

A massive fixture will be installed in the conference centre that is acoustically designed to reduce the echo caused by the room's high ceilings (rendering courtesy of Kohn Shnier Architects and ERA Architects)

Creating functional spaces was an important aspect of the revitalization for Ainslie.

“That was something I certainly realized when I started as principal, that the college had a lot of underutilized space,” he says. “Thus one goal of the revitalization is the development of new spaces that will bring UC students and the whole U of T community into this great building."

Those instrumental to UC's revitalization project, including Ainslie, Cadario, Michaels and U of T President Meric Gertler, were invited to write their names on the wall in the Chapter House – an Easter egg that will be permanently hidden behind its walls (photo by Romi Levine)

Two classrooms are being upgraded as part of the revitalization project, says Ainslie. Both will be “super smart and super flexible,” outfitted with multiple screens, allowing for two-way conferencing and designed for team-based learning.

UC partnered with the Faculty of Arts & Science and Academic + Campus Events to create spaces that are optimal for different ways of learning and teaching.

Learn how U of T is creating innovative, accessible learning spaces

A view of one of UC's many impressive stained glass windows (photo by Romi Levine)

While upgrades are important and necessary, honouring the heritage of UC was an important part of the revitalization project, says Ainslie.

“It's a national historic site and a core building of the university and so we are working very closely with our architects and heritage consultants.”

Room with a view: Once renovations are completed, this might be one of the most coveted offices in the building (photo by Romi Levine)