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“Let’s Celebrate!” COUNTESS MARITZA BY IMRE KALMAN for TORONTO OPERETTA THEATRE’ S SILVER JUBILEE SEASON
Toronto, 02 December 2009…Imre Kalman’s masterpiece, COUNTESS MARITZA, continues Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Twenty-fifth Anniversary Season opening Boxing Day, Dec. 26 with subsequent performances on Dec. 27 (mat), 29, 30, 31, Jan. 2 & 3 (mat). TOT is the undoubted Canadian leader in presenting the masterworks of the lyric theatre in all its variety and has over 25 years produced musical entertainment that includes comic operas, operettas, zarzuelas, opéra bouffe and musicals.
TOT’s Founder and General Director Guillermo Silva-Marin has chosen to highlight the Austro-Hungarian operetta tradition during the Holiday Season with COUNTESS MARITZA, Kalman’s gem from operetta’s Silver Age. His sumptuous score rivals THE MERRY WIDOW, effectively mixing Viennese elegance with Hungarian passion. A smash hit at its premiere in Vienna in 1924, Kalman’s tuneful confection about an impoverished nobleman and his beautiful countess plays powerfully on stage today. Brilliantly entertaining with waltzes and soaring melodies, COUNTESS MARITZA is a tale of social change and loss of status, colored by the drama of the First World War. Conducted by Derek Bate, with stage direction by Silva-Marin, the stars are Lara Ciekiewicz in her TOT debut as the glamorous heiress Maritza and David Curry, also making his local and TOT debut as Tassilo. Ms. Ciekiewicz, of Ukrainian background, was a member of San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Programme and is currently with Opera de Montreal’s Atelier Lyrique. David Curry is from Oakville, Ontario but has made his home in the UK. He starred in THE FLY at Paris’ Chatelet conducted by Domingo, appeared in Weill’s SILBERSEE at the Wexford Festival, and has toured as Tony in WEST SIDE STORY in Spain, Vienna, Paris and for ‘Last Night at the Proms’ in London. They are joined by TOT favorites Elizabeth DeGrazia, who last appeared for the company in GYPSY VIOLINS and Fred Love, remembered as Danilo in THE MERRY WIDOW.
Spend New Year’s Eve in the traditional European way…at the operetta! Dinner beforehand at the HotHouse Café, performance at the St. Lawrence Centre and finish the evening back at the HotHouse with dancing to a live band, champagne and dessert amid friends and the cast of COUNTESS MARITZA. Call the Box Office and ask about TOT’s New Years’s Eve Gala Evening subscription package.
There’s also TOT’s budget priced FAMILY NIGHT OUT offer. Purchase a regular ticket at the price level of your choice and get 50% off 2 tickets for those under 16 years of age.
Call 416-366-7723, toll free at 1-800-708-6754 or online at www.stlc.com. The theatre is wheelchair accessible and close to public transit.
Toronto Operetta Theatre is grateful for the support of Deutsche Presse (media sponsor), the Jackman Foundation, The Bedolfe Foundation, Marriott Toronto Downtown Eaton Centre, Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council. The TOT Friends Campaign partners are HotHouse Café, Hotel Victoria, Hernando’s Hideaway, and Café Nicole.
