Past Performances
Carmen
Presented at Knox United Church, Parksville, October 18th & 19th, 2008Carmen ignites the stage and Vancouver Island Opera
By Steven Heywood - Parksville Qualicum Beach News- October 20, 2008
Two performances of Carmen, and two sold out shows for Vancouver Island Opera in their new venue. The butterflies suffered by VIO artistic director Tatiana Vasilieva were gone as the curtain fell on the second of two weekend operas Sunday afternoon.
"It was just wonderful," said the VIO founder afterwards, adding a short rest will be followed by preparations for next year's performance.
Vasilieva selected a talented group of soloists for Carmen - bringing back solid performer John Arsenault as Don Jose, the man who gives up everything for Carmen, only to be rejected in the end. Also returning to VIO was Willy Miles-Grenzberg, as the matador Escamillo.
Cara Brown has a strong performance as Micaela, faithful, yet jilted by Don Jose. Brown's solo performance Sunday was one of the best of the afternoon. Her voice beautifully depicted the anguish of loss.
Alicia Woynarski's Carmen was riveting, as befits the title role. Vasilieva is glowing in her praise of this young mezzo-soprano and one can see why. Woynarski dominates the stage - as is befitting the role - not yielding it until the final act.
A colourful show with a strong cast and chorus (as usual for VIO), Carmen featured local dancers and singers from local elementary school French immersion programs. VIO has really gotten the community involved in their productions, which bodes well for this mid-Island-based opera company.
