Toronto Masque Theatre returns with their popular mid-winter cabaret. They continue the season with George Frideric Handel’s wonderful piece of love and transformation, Acis and Galatea, a personal favourite.
This is the story of a sea nymph, her shepherd lover and their encounter with a jealous giant. The work was originally devised as a one-act masque which premiered in 1718. In its original production, Acis and Galatea took place in an English stately home. What better location for this story than Toronto’s own Enoch Turner Schoolhouse? This venue is rich in history and charm.
The production will feature some of Canada’s finest singers, including:
Lawrence Wiliford, tenor, as Acis
Teri Dunn, soprano, as Galatea
Peter McGillivray, baritone, as Polyphemus
Jonathan MacArthur, tenor, as Damon
An orchestra with sperformers specializing in historically-informed performance practice from Toronto, Montreal and Amsterdam:
Larry Beckwith, director and violin 1
Cristina Zacharias, violin 2
Mary-Katherine Finch, cello
John Abberger, oboe
Alison Melville, recorder
Sylvain Bergeron, theorbo
Noam Krieger, harpsichord
The chorus will feature members of the Daniel Taylor’s Schola Cantorum from the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. For the pre-show event, members of Schola Cantorum will perform short solo pieces drawn from the music of Handel and his contemporaries. Pre-show begins at 7:15pm. The designers for Acis and Galatea are Lindsay Squire, scenic design, and Gabriel Cropley, lighting design.
Previous Toronto Masque Theatre productions have always been a delight to attend. I have also enjoyed their setting within the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, a venue that is certainly a hidden gem, if you have yet to visit it. This production of Acis and Galatea should please Handel and masque theatre fans alike. This is a lovely way to spend a winter night with a glass of wine, while this tale of eternal love is told by a group of acclaimed artists.
