Stravinsky's Shimmering Operatic Fairytales

The Canadian Opera Company presents Robert Lepage's resplendent, critically acclaimed compilation of works by Igor Stravinsky once more at Toronto's Four Seasons Centre this Spring. A melding of pure theatrical magic and the lyrical whimsy of The Nightingale, Ragtime and Pribaoutki amongst other fables, the production evokes the Oriental fascinations of the 19th century with rich waves of color and sound.

Using Japanese-style puppetry, voice and orchestral arrangments, Lepage conjures a fairytale world inhabited by vibrant characters, lush costumes and sweeping stage designs. The centrepiece of the short stories, The Nightingale is a dance opera based on the beloved Hans Christian Andersen fairytale about a Chinese Emperor who learns of the beauty of the Nightingale's evensong. But when the Emperor spurns the dulcet-toned bird for a mechanical replica, the Nightingale returns to its forest home and the Emperor falls deathly ill...