Opera Atelier Salutes Love in All Its Splendour with Mixed Program— ALL IS LOVE

Toronto’s Opera Atelier has just announced the return of ALL IS LOVE, the fully staged mixed program celebrating love in all its splendour at Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, on stage from April 11 to April 14, 2024. 

ALL IS LOVE features the music Opera Atelier loves most and includes repertoire by J.P. Rameau, M.A. Charpentier, and Renaldo Hahn in addition to excerpts by Henry Purcell, Matthew Locke, and G.F. Handel, enhanced by the full corps of Artists of Atelier Ballet. ALL IS LOVE breaks new ground for Opera Atelier by staging Act 1 of Debussy’s operatic masterpiece Pelléas et Mélisande, played on 19th century period instruments by Tafelmusik.

“In February 2022, Opera Atelier was one of the first Toronto theatre companies out of the gate, following the lifting of COVID restrictions, with its fully staged production of ALL IS LOVE in Koerner Hall,” says Marshall Pynkoski, Founding Co-Artistic Director. “Ironically, the one night only performance coincided with the Freedom Convoy truckers’ takeover of the city, which resulted in a complete shutdown of access to Koerner Hall and surrounding areas, coupled with an unprecedented winter storm. Nevertheless, the stunning mixed program played to a wildly enthusiastic audience of 250 intrepid theatregoers, and I was determined at that time that ALL IS LOVE would return to the stage as soon as possible.”

ALL IS LOVE includes stage direction by Founding Co-Artistic Director Marshall Pynkoski C.M., the full corps of Artists of Atelier Ballet, featuring dancer Eric César De Mello Da Silva, formerly of the Royal Danish Ballet, with choreography by Founding Co-Artistic Director Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg C.M., and additional solo contemporary choreography created and performed by Artist of Atelier Ballet Tyler Gledhill. The production also features Composer/Violinist Edwin Huizinga, and the renowned Tafelmusik under the baton of Opera Atelier Music Director David Fallis.

In addition to soprano Measha Brueggergosman-Lee, ALL IS LOVE includes Opera Atelier audience favourites: tenor Colin Ainsworth, soprano Karine White, soprano Meghan Lindsay, mezzo-soprano Danielle MacMillan, soprano Cynthia Smithers, bass-baritone Douglas Williams, and baritone Jesse Blumberg.

“Returning to ALL IS LOVE after a two-year hiatus allows our cast to approach this unique production with renewed confidence and enthusiasm. New excerpts and artists have been added to the program by Opera Atelier’s artistic team, and we are thrilled to at last be able to share ALL IS LOVE in a fresh, positive environment with Toronto audiences,” adds Pynkoski.

The program will run approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes without intermission and includes:

ALL IS LOVE – a mix of Henry Purcell and Renaldo Hahn, created specifically for Measha Brueggergosman-Lee by Christopher Bagan
La Nuit – M.A. Charpentier
Nuit d’étoiles – Claude Debussy
Pelléas et Mélisande opening scene – Claude Debussy
L’heure Exquise – Reynaldo Hahn
Mi Lusinga – G.F. Handel
O Sleep, Why dost thou leave me? – G.F. Handel
Where’er you walk – G.F. Handel
Lay your doubts and fears aside – G.F. Handel
Inception – Edwin Huizinga
Curtain Tune – Matthew Locke
Music for a While – Henry Purcell
Entrance of Swans – Henry Purcell
Two Daughters – Henry Purcell
Passacaille from King Arthur – Henry Purcell
Entrance of Mercury – J.P. Rameau
Plus j’observe – J.P. Rameau
Enchantment of Renaud – J.P. Rameau
Minuets from Les Indes Galantes – J.P. Rameau

“Opera Atelier’s artistic team is particularly thrilled by this opportunity to further expand the definition of period performance by including our fully-staged excerpt of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande – a moment that was enthusiastically applauded by audience and critics alike,” says Zingg.

ALL IS LOVE features a collection of paintings by Opera Atelier Resident Set Designer Gerard Gauci that reflect each movement of the production, with costumes by Michael Legouffe.

Single tickets for ALL IS LOVE are on sale now with a limited number of $40 Operatix available for patrons under 35 and arts workers.

Tickets and information at:

 OperaAtelier.com

This presentation was made possible through the generous support of BMO.

Opera Atelier gratefully acknowledges the support of The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council and the Institut Français of Paris.

About Opera Atelier

Opera Atelier is North America’s leading opera/ballet company dedicated to creating period productions realized as complete artistic statements – with equal attention given to music, dancing, acting, and design. With productions performed in partnership with award-winning period-instrument orchestra, Tafelmusik (Elisa Citterio, Music Director), Opera Atelier has toured to major opera houses and festivals internationally. Opera Atelier is dedicated to equity, diversity and inclusion, the education of youth and young artists, and offers a robust slate of education, enrichment and outreach opportunities to engage audience members of all ages.Since 1985, Opera Atelier has been led by founding Artistic Directors Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, who most recently, were both named members of the Order of Canada and Officers of the Order of Arts and Letters (Officiers dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by the French Republic.

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