Join Vancouver Opera host Nicholas Burns and artists from the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program for a lively, behind-the-scenes exploration of Mozart’s beloved comedy Così fan tutte. Through live musical excerpts and engaging conversation, this evening unpacks the opera’s enduring themes of love, deception, loyalty, and human folly.

Opera Adventures: Mozart’s School for Lovers

Vancouver Public Library

Poulenc’s searing one-woman opera, semi-staged and up close. Part of Vancouver Opera’s VOICES series.

The phone rings. She knows who it is, and she knows how this ends.

For five years she has loved a man who was never fully hers. Tonight he is calling to say goodbye. Alone with the line, and surrounded by the remnants of the life they shared, she pleads, deflects, jokes, and lies. She holds on as long as she can, struggling between the future she imagined and the one she now has to face by herself.

Francis Poulenc’s La Voix humaine is one of the most intense works in the operatic repertoire. It has one singer, one telephone, and a text by Jean Cocteau. We only ever hear her side of the conversation, and somehow that tells us everything. The silences hurt as much as the words.

This semi-staged recital brings the opera into an intimate space, close enough to catch every hesitation and every breath she can’t quite steady. Whether this is your first opera or your fiftieth, it’s a performance you won’t shake easily.

La Voix humaine: One Woman, One Last Phone Call

Vancouver Opera

If you’ve heard of Figaro, chances are you’ve heard of him a number of times in a row (Figaro...Figaro...Figaro...Fiiiiiiiiiiiigaro!!!). Figaro is something of a fixer, and not just of hair. In this adventure, the industrious barber works to unite two young lovers, Count Almaviva and Rosina, but to do so, he must also thwart Dr. Bartolo’s plan to make Rosina his bride, thereby pocketing her considerable dowry.

Arguably the most buffa opera of all opera buffas, The Barber of Seville is a joyful, high energy romp that delights the eyes and ears while offering a much-needed counterbalance to the deep, dark doldrums of a Vancouver midwinter.

In a colourful reimagining by the dynamic Canadian creative duo of director Morris Panych and designer Ken MacDonald, Barber’s fast-paced plot is kept aloft by the unrivalled comedic chemistry between Cesare Sterbini’s libretto and Rossini’s energetic, endlessly inventive melodies, steered here by Maestro Leslie Dala.

Admittedly, opera can lean a bit towards the tragic, so it may surprise some that in a story full of trickery, scheming, and lovers separated by a despicable villain…everything ends well! Save that pit in your stomach for another day and enjoy a sparkling, laugh-out-loud comedy ride packed with irresistible melodies, scissor-sharp scheming, and Rossini’s most famous tunes.

EPSG:4326

The Barber of Seville

Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata premiered in 1853 and has since become one of opera’s most beloved works. Today, it stands as the second-most-presented opera worldwide since 2022—an enduring favourite whose popularity shows no signs of slowing.

A sweeping story of impossible love, set to some of Verdi’s most emotionally-charged music, La Traviata tells of Violetta, a courtesan desired, elevated, and ultimately undone by the society that fixes its gaze on her. Alfredo sees her through the soft blur of infatuation, believing he alone can capture her truth. Alfredo’s father, however, sees Violetta as a “fallen woman” and demands that she break off her relationship with Alfredo for the sake of his family’s reputation. Heartbroken sacrifice made, her health worsens. Alfredo rushes to her side, but is it too late to undo what’s done?

Helmed by internationally acclaimed Vancouver-based director Idan Cohen, this new co-production with Pacific Opera Victoria closes out 2026–2027 with a striking stage design that draws from Pop Art, classic Hitchcock aesthetics, and mass media culture, while Vancouver Opera’s esteemed Music Director Jacques Lacombe steers Verdi’s score through the intoxicating desire lines of romance, high drama, and exquisite melody.

Marianne Bertrand

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 3, 2026

La Voix humaine: One Woman, One Last Phone Call · Vancouver Opera

13 - 21 Feb, 2027

The Barber of Seville · Vancouver Opera

Apr 24 - May 2, 2027

La Traviata · Vancouver Opera

Past events

Jan 28, 2026

Opera Adventures: Mozart’s School for Lovers · Vancouver Opera

Future and recently performed repertoire

Flora Bervoix in La traviata by Verdi

Vancouver Opera

Berta in The Barber of Seville by Rossini

Vancouver Opera

Elle in La Voix humaine by Poulenc

Vancouver Opera

About

Marianne Bertrand hasn't added a bio