A Burnaby performer is front and centre in a fresh take on one of Mozart’s best-known operas.
Opera Mariposa is staging a contemporary interpretation of Cosi fan tutte (“They all do it”), Nov. 30 to Dec. 8 at Marpole United Church in Vancouver.
Mezzo-soprano Shanté Van Horlick appears as Dorabella, double-cast alongside Melissa Ratcliff (who appears Dec. 1 and 7).
Van Horlick is an up-and-coming name on the classical music scene, having already performed with companies such as Burnaby Lyric Opera, Vancouver Opera, Bard on the Beach, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and others. This is her first time with Opera Mariposa, and she was thrilled to be offered a part in this 21st-century reimagining of Mozart’s classic opera.
“It’s so much fun to be playing Dorabella,” Van Horlick says in a press release. “She’s such a silly and outrageous character, but she also gets such beautiful music. I’m especially excited about our director’s new take on this opera. We’re setting the show at a beachside resort, and the show has a tropical vibe as well as lots of sitcom-like shenanigans. I can tell you this – I’ve never before done a show where I got to sing opera in a bathing suit!”
Stage director Robin Hahn says Van Horlick was a perfect fit for the character of Dorabella.
“We needed someone with a gorgeous voice and technical virtuosity who also had incredible timing, and Shanté’s audition absolutely blew us away,” Hahn says in the release. “Opera Mariposa has a mandate to support emerging talent, and we’re absolutely thrilled to be showcasing such an incredible young artist with local roots.”
Van Horlick will star alongside an international cast hailing from across North America and Europe, conducted by Ian Dives and accompanied by Ryan Goetz.
Van Horlick has also been invited to join Mariposa as a member of their Repertory Concert Artist Program, which presents commissioned concerts year-round throughout the Lower Mainland.
CHECK IT OUT
What: Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, presented by Opera Mariposa
When: Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Marpole United Church, 1296 West 67th Ave., Vancouver
Tickets: $28 general, $24 students and seniors, $18 each for groups of four or more. Available at the door, at www.operamariposa.com or from Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006.
