To kick off the Russian White Nights Vancouver Opera Festival, everyone is invited to a day dedicated to Russian Arts, Music, Food, and Culture. Food trucks, circus and street performers, pre and post-show projections will be capped off with a big-screen presentation on the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza.
Russian White Nights Opening Festivities- April 28
To kick off the Russian White Nights Vancouver Opera Festival in style, everyone is invited to a day dedicated to Russian Arts, Music, Food, and Culture. Food trucks, Russian cultural performers, and daytime market vendors in partnership with Russian Theatre Palme, and a spectacular circus presentation, movie screening, an outdoor patio bar, and pre and post-show projections will be part of this lively celebration.
The White Nights is the name given in areas of high latitude to the weeks around the summer solstice in June when darkness is never complete. The most spectacular public event during the White Nights Festival is the arrival of the Scarlet Sails schooner. VO has partnered with local circus professionals, CircusWest, to stage the Scarlet Sails love story--a tale about dreams, hope and faith--on the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza. A specially created 40-foot long red schooner will serve as the stage for the dynamic circus entertainers performing gravity-defying acrobatic feats. Custom designed projections will be displayed on its 22-foot tall sails and music will also be featured in a performance for all ages.
The day is capped off with a big-screen presentation of Man with a Movie Camera, a unique vintage Russian silent film, on the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza – complete with movie snacks and drinks in our Happy Hour Patio Bar. Admission is free. Man with a Movie Camera is presented in partnership with the Vancouver International Film Festival. (Saturday, April 28 from 2pm, Russian Cultural performances 2pm-6pm, Scarlet Sails Performances at 6:15pm and 7:30pm, Man with a Movie Camera screening at 8pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza)
Additional Scarlet Sails Performances throughout the Festival
The Scarlet Sails schooner will remain on the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza throughout the festival, and CircusWest offering this unique circus experience for those who miss it on opening night. (Sunday, April 29 at 12:45-1:45pm; Thursday, May 3 at 6:15-6:45pm; Saturday, May 5 at 6:15-6:45pm; Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza)
Happy Hour Patio Bar
Throughout the Festival, patrons can enjoy Happy Hour, a hub for socializing, light refreshments, alongside a small stage for performances. Exact times listed on website. (Saturday, April 28 to Saturday, May 5, afternoons and evenings at the Happy Hour Patio Bar, Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza)
Opera Bar
The sensational Opera Bar returns on weekends to the Vancouver Opera Festival as the go-to destination to socialize with performers and artists, complete with artist and DJ performances, as well as snacks from the hottest local food trucks at select times. Vancouver Opera and Faculty Brewing Co have collaborated to produce Bravo beer, an ISA that will be available exclusively at Faculty Brewing Co (1830 Ontario Street) in the weeks leading up to the Festival and at the Opera Bar throughout the Festival. (Saturday, April 28 to Saturday, May 5 – closed April 30 and May 2 – from 9pm-1am at the Opera Bar, Queen Elizabeth Theatre Salons)
MUSIC AT VOF
From Russia with Love to Jonathan Darlington – May 1
To pay tribute to Jonathan Darlington’s extraordinary fifteen-year music-making partnership with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, join us for a special evening full of surprises, including Maestro Darlington at the piano and a special appearance by GOH ballet dancers. We will raise a toast to Maestro Darlington in the lobby after the performance! The performance will include “Two Pieces for 6 hands” by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian arias performed by principals from Eugene Onegin, and Igor Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale – Suite with violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, and percussion. (Tuesday, May 1 at 7:30pm, Vancouver Playhouse)
A Russian Songfest - Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program and Young Artist Coaching Intensive Program Alumni Recital – May 2
An evening of musical riches featuring alumni of Vancouver Opera Training Programs performing a wide range of their favourite Russian songs accompanied by the music staff of Vancouver Opera. The programme for the evening will include “From Jewish Folk-Poetry Op. 70” by Dmitri Shostakovich, 3 songs by Modest Mussorgsky: “Mephistopheles Song of the Flea”, “Night”, and “The Seminarist”, “Romances Op. 38” by Sergei Rachmaninoff, 3 songs from “Petersburg, a vocal poem” by Gyorgy Svirodov: “The Breeze has brought from far away”, “Petersburg song”, and “The Virgin City”, and “Five Poems of Akhmatova” by Sergei Prokofiev. (Wednesday, May 2 at 7:30pm, Vancouver Playhouse)
Russian White Nights: Opera Arias from 18th century St. Petersburg, Featuring Soprano Karina Gauvin – May 6
Hear the world’s reigning soprano in Baroque and classical repertoire-- Karina Gauvin--for a programme of virtuosic opera arias from 18th century St. Petersburg. Concert presented in partnership with Early Music Vancouver. Tickets at bit.ly/KG-RussianWhiteNights or by phone at 604-822-2697. (Sunday, May 6 at 3pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts)
FILMS AT VOF
Screening of The Overcoat (2001)
A presentation of the CBC film of Morris Panych’s original iteration of The Overcoat is followed by a talkback featuring a panel of artists including movement artist Wendy Gorling and composer James Rolfe. (Sunday, April 29 at 2:30pm, Vancouver Playhouse)
Doctor Zhivago Screening (1965)
A screening of Doctor Zhivago, the epic love story released in 1965, set amidst the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. Presented in partnership with the Vancouver International Film Festival. Tickets are $15, or $13 for current VIFF annual membership holders, and are available online through VIFF.ORG. Discounts are available for seniors and students. (Tuesday, May 1 at 6:45pm, Vancity Theatre)
Tickets and passes: VO Ticket Centre 604-683-0222 or online at vancouveropera.ca
Photo: The Overcoat by Courtesy of Tapestry Opera, photo by Dahlia Katz
