See The Merry Widow

Lively City column by Dan Hilborn
Published Feb. 4, 2006


Burnaby Lyric Opera is gearing up for its spring production of Franz Lehar's The Merry Widow coming to the Shadbolt Centre from Feb. 25 to March 4.

The Merry Widow is the rollicking tale of how the ambassadors of the small fictional European nation of Pontevedro scheme to keep the wealthiest widow in the nation from marrying a foreigner and taking her money out of the country.

The show stars Sheila Christie in the role of Hanna, the singing firefighter Andrew Greenwood as her suitor, Count Danilo, and Dolores Scott as Valencienne.

Originally staged in Vienna exactly 101 years ago, this production features beautiful waltzes, familiar marches, a famous can-can scene and a Balkan kolo. Burnaby Lyrric Opera has Matthew Bissett as stage director, and David Boothroyd as the musical director.

The Merry Widow will play at 8 p.m., Feb. 25, March 2 and 4, and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 27 and March 4. For tickets, contact the Shadbolt box office at 604-205-3000.

CLEF PRESENTS JOY YEH

Joy Yeh, the grand prize winner of the Burnaby Clef Society concerto competition and a featured performer with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, will be on stage at the Shadbolt Centre on Sunday, Feb. 19.

This afternoon of delightful music will also feature pianist Florence Mak, another Clef festival award winner, who has been studying at the Centre d'Arts Orford Music Academy in Quebec.

The Clef Society concert takes place at 2 p.m., Feb. 19. Tickets are $10 adults, $5 students and seniors and, as always, no charge to Clef Society members. Contact the Shadbolt box office at 604-205- 3000.

WOLF'S BOOK IS NO. 1

Congratulations to Burnaby city hall staffer Jim Wolf, whose new book Royal City: A Photographic History of New Westminster 1858- 1960 has hit the No. 1 spot on the B.C. Bestseller list.

Wolf is a planning assistant at Burnaby city hall and a fount of information for the Burnaby NOW. Last week, he was on these pages offering the city's assistance in finding a new home for the immaculate 1922 Dutch Colonial style home Longwood that has to be moved off a redeveloped property in the Buckingham Heights neighbourhood.

A Burnaby native, Wolf now lives with his wife and son in New Westminster, where he is active with that city's heritage preservation society.

THEATRE ON THE STREET

Burnaby-based theatrical rock band Myztery, will be performing a Ladies of the Night concert to benefit the Agape Street Ministries at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre tonight.

This is the same band that been astounding audiences across the Lower Mainland with its realistic sword fights and fearless depictions of the battle between good and evil.

Lead singer and band founder Pete Mason assures me that the band has been taking stage-fighting lessons ever since a minor mishap with a whip occurred during their Halloween performance in North Vancouver.

The band is also working with Joel Grenz of Motiontide Media to produce a documentary video on the band which bases its theatrical performances on the mystery plays that were popular in Europe during the Middle Ages.

Myztery was scheduled to be the subject of a CTV news story this week and has previously been caught in the lens of world-renowned photographer, and New Westminster resident, Dee Lippingwell.

Myztery's Ladies of the Night benefit concert takes place at 8 p.m. tonight, Feb. 4, at The Cultch, 1895 Venables St. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, or at the door for $17 adults and $15 students and seniors.

SYMPHONY AND SONG

The Weill Women chorus of Alisa Kort, Calla Krause and Karen Shumka will be on stage with the Burnaby Symphony Orchestra this weekend in their tribute to the music from the 1930s to '50s.

This walk down memory lane goes to a time when the world was preparing for war, and will feature some of the best-known tunes from the quill of Kurt Weill, one of the top songwriters of the 1900s.

They'll sing such fanciful Second World War-era tunes as We'll Meet Again, Yours and Kiss Me Goodnight, Sergeant Major, in addition to music from the score of My Fair Lady. The symphony will also play several well-known marches such as Colonel Bogey, This Is The Army Mr. Jones, Old Comrades and Gimby's Canada March.

The Burnaby Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Leonard Camplin, will be at the Terry Fox Theatre in Port Coquitlam at 8 p.m. tonight, Feb. 4, and at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in South Burnaby, tomorrow afternoon, 2 p.m., Feb. 5.

Tickets to either show are $30 adults, $25 students and senior, and discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Order them from the Burnaby Board of Trade at 604-412-0100, online at www.burnabyboardoftrade.com of by e-mail at info@burnabysymphony. com.

These concerts are sponsored by the new Mulberry Retirement Residence in South Burnaby.

MOM'S THE SEQUEL

The Arts Club Theatre is back in town this month with the hysterical sequel to their most popular shows - Mom's the Words 2: Unhinged.

After 10 years of touring their original show around the world, the creators of Mom's the Word have updated their tales of torment, teenagers, and the oldest unpaid profession in the world.

The play, which was written and performed by the Mom's the Word 2 collective of Jill Daum, Alison Kelly, Robin Nichol, Barbara Pollard and Deborah Williams, and is directed by Roy Surette, is coming to the James Cowan Theatre at the Shadbolt Centre from Feb. 14 to 9.

Tickets are available at all the usual outlets, or through the Shadbolt box office at 604 205-3000.

ZILLI IN WEST VANCOUVER

Romantica, a group showing featuring one of my favourite local artists, will be on display at Trafiq coffee house in West Vancouver from Feb. 9 to March 8.

The exhibit features the work of Italian-born artist Luigia Zilli, who moved to Burnaby six years ago after studying under the tutelage of Carlo Ballajana, one of the most respected sculptors in Italy whose works adorn some of the greatest art galleries on the continent, including the Vatican.

Zilli was the winner of the Burnaby Arts Council 2005 People's Choice Award last year and has previously shown her work in the little gallery in Deer Lake Park and at the Italian Cultural Centre.

Many of her works are landscapes drawn from memory of her home in the Veneto region of Italy. Later this year, she intends to return to Italy with a collection of new paintings featuring the gorgeous scenery of British Columbia.

Other artists in the show include Ludmila Mihalevich, another member of the Burnaby Arts Council, plus Vladimir Ekimov and Kateryna Yanova. A formal opening reception will be held at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 9.

So, after taking your sweetheart on a romantic walk along Ambleside Park, stop and enjoy the scenery (and flowers and other still lifes) at Trafiq, located at 1860 Marine Dr., West Vancouver.

VALENTINES FOR KIDS

Parents! Are you looking for something educational and a little bit different to do with the kids next weekend?

Then take the family down to Burnaby Village Museum on Feb. 11 for the Fun and Games with Heritage Valentines program that features a mix of learning and hands-on fun.

The three-hour program will give kids the chance to make an old- fashioned Valentines, a themed puzzle and play a trivia game based on the history of the day. The workshop will also teach the 'language of love' as spoken with flowers, fans and stamps in the age-old human courtship ritual.

Fun and games with Heritage Valentines costs $15 per family 'team' and runs from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., next Saturday, Feb. 11. Contact the museum at 604-293-6500 or visit the website www.burnaby.ca/webreg/ to register.

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE ARTS

There will be a definite Burnaby flavour to the sixth annual Chutzpah! Festival, highlighting the work of Jewish artists and performers in Vancouver this month.

The artistic director of the festival is Mary-Louise Albert, a Burnaby resident, as are dancers Bonnie Stewart of Flamenco Rosario and Shannon Moreno of Kindertransport Stories.

The festival opens with Rain Pryor, the daughter of the late, legendary comedian Richard Pryor on Feb. 25 at the Jewish Community Centre and runs through to March 12 with Chutzpah! Plus.

"It's thrilling to bring together artists from different parts of the world and from various discipline," Albert said in a press release. "Do you have to be Jewish to want to come and see these shows? Of course not. If you enjoy professional dance, theatre or music, you'll definitely find something to enjoy at Chutzpah!"

Flamenco Rosario performs with Argentinean dancing sensation Marcela Suez at 7 p.m., Feb. 27 and 9:30 p.m., Feb. 28.

Kindertransport Stories, which was inspired by the rescue of 10,000 Jewish children from the Nazi regime prior to the Second World War, plays at 7 p.m, March 1; 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., March 2; and at 11 a.m., March 5 at the Norman Rothstein Theatre.

Tickets range from $8 to $25, and can be purchased online at www.chutzpahfestival.com, by phone at 604-257-5145 or at the Jewish Community Centre, 950 W.41st Ave., Vancouver.

PALETTE CELEBRATES

Olga Zakharova is celebrating the fifth anniversary of her Palette Art Studio with an exhibition of student works in the CCM Centre gallery inside the Crystal Mall from Feb. 21 to March 4.

The featured artist is 15-year-old Ksenia Fofanova, whose colourful painting Exhibition is being used to promote the event.

Zakharova has had a busy year, and just finished her own exhibition at the Seymour Gallery in North Vancouver this month, in addition to placing pieces into juried exhibits at the Garibaldi Art Club, Burnaby Arts Council Gallery and in The Truth About Cats and Dogs exhibit at the Burnaby Art Gallery.

The CCM Centre gallery is located on the second level, beside the food court, at the Crystal Mall, 4500 Kingsway. The gallery has free admission and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., from Monday to Saturday only.