OPERA BREVE was launched in the autumn of 1997 as a chamber opera company that is dedicated to the presentation of one-act operas from the international and national, classical and contemporary repertoire. The only professional company in Canada with such a mandate, Opera Breve produced in its first two main seasons, eight chamber operas - works rarely produced by major opera companies and virtually unknown to the most ardent of opera lovers.

The choice of performance venue was an important aspect of the company's philosophy. For two seasons, Opera Breve successfully transformed the small ballroom of the Listel Vancouver Hotel into an operatic salon. The intimacy of the environment, coupled with the company's decision to perform primarily in English, meant that audiences were treated to opera experiences that were informal and accessible. Many people who attended had never previously been to an opera event. In addition to the "main season", Opera Breve became a regular feature of the musical life of O'Doul's Restaurant and Bar adjacent to the hotel The Opera Breve cabarets, which were presented bi-monthly in the fall/winter and weekly in the summer, offered programs ranging from opera and operetta highlights, to art songs and Victorian parlour songs. The ensemble of some thirty-five performers consisted of many Vancouver's finest young classical singers and pianists.

In its goal to broaden the audience for opera, Opera Breve takes its performances into the community on a regular basis: a special evening of "fine music" designed to compliment a "fine dining" experience has become an annual event at two exclusive private social clubs. In the fall of 1999, the company pioneered a series of events that would bring opera to the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Two special programs of operatic excerpts were created and performed after regular business hours in a local bank for an enthusiastic, capacity audience, comprised mostly of residents of the Eastside community. Responding to popular demand, the company presented five more of these "Singing Bank" programs, two of which were collaborations of opera/theatre with Vancouver's pioneering theatre ensemble, Savage God. The success of those evenings attracted considerable local and national media attention, TV.

The new millennium also marked the beginning of a new association for Opera Breve – it became the "resident opera company" at Christ Church Cathedral in the heart of downtown Vancouver. The beautiful setting and superb acoustics of the Cathedral's chancel and sanctuary offer a unique opportunity for Vancouver's "micro" opera company to continue its mission of showcasing Canada's rising operatic talents and making the experience of going to the opera accessible, unusual and unforgettable.

OPERA BREVE VANCOUVER

Post Office Box 2050, MPO,
Vancouver BC, Canada, V6B 3R6.
(604) 682 3848 ext 53 / Fax (604) 682 8377

Donna Wong - Juliani • General Director