From Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore to Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, UBC Opera announces 2024-25 season
Jules Massenet’s beloved Manon rounds out the operatic offerings
Emily Pogorelc.
UBC OPERA HAS just announced its 2024-25 season with three distinct works on the lineup.
Opening the season is H.M.S. Pinafore, running from October 4 to 6 at the Old Auditorium. Gilbert and Sullivan’s popular comedic operetta takes sharp jabs at the British class system while delving into themes of love, honour, and decency. The story centres on Ralph Rackstraw, an ignoble sailor, and Josephine, a ship captain’s daughter whose father has promised her to the arrogant Sir Joseph Porter. Made in 1878, the opera was composed by Sullivan while Gilbert wrote the libretto.
Up next is Kurt Weill’s American realist tragedy Street Scene, taking place January 30 to February 2 at Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. With a libretto by writer Langston Hughes, the work first captured Weill when he saw Elmer Rice’s play of the same name in 1930. Rice later agreed to a musical adaptation, with Street Scene opening on Broadway in 1947 and earning the first Tony Award for best original score. The score merges operatic traditions with musical theatre, including arias, show tunes, blues, jazz, and spoken dialogue. The storyline unfolds over the course of two blazingly hot days in a working-class immigrant community in a New York City tenement block and features more than 30 characters. The main narrative follows the Maurrant family; Frank, the father, is a violent alcoholic who suspects his wife, Anna, is having an affair and whose daughter, Rose, dreams of a better life.
Finally, Jules Massenet’s beloved Manon runs March 28 and March 30 in the Old Auditorium in a copresentation with Opera West Society. International guest artists Emily Pogorelc and Frédéric Antoun will take on the leading roles alongside members of the UBC Opera ensemble. Pogorelc is an American soprano who will play the title role, while Quebec-born tenor Antoun stars as Chevalier des Grieux. Having premiered in 1884, the work known for its soaring vocal lines and lush orchestral music is set in 1721 during the reign of Louis XV. Manon is a beautiful young lady destined for a convent because of her love for material wealth, but she meets and falls in love with the Chevalier des Grieux. They plan on eloping but their bliss is threatened by des Grieux’s father and rich nobleman de Bretigny, who conspire to separate them.
In addition, UBC Opera presents Singer Behind the Song in collaboration with Opera West Society on October 3 at the Old Auditorium. The evening features Javier Camarena, one of the globe’s greatest tenors. Known as the “king of the high Cs”, the Mexican artist was named male singer of the year in 2021 by the International Opera Awards. He is the only singer in the history of the Metropolitan Opera to have sung encores in three different productions, and he repeated the accomplishment in Madrid, Barcelona, and London. The event will include a performance by and an interview with Camarena.
Finally, UBC Opera will host its popular Opera Teas, with two at the Old Auditorium and two at the UBC Botanical Gardens, as well as a holiday concert in November.
Subscription renewals are now on sale. New subscription bundles go on sale August 7. Single tickets are available from September 3 at noon. 
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