Haigers Secure Seats to Opera to Start off the School Year: COC’s Roméo et Juliette

A modern interpretation of Roméo et Juliette. Cartoonist / Ilia Siraty

     In an excellent way to begin the 2025/26 school year, Earl Haig music students and grade 10 English classes were treated to a night at the opera on September 23rd from 7:00-10:15 PM. The Canadian Opera Company’s (COC) dress rehearsal for Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod was favourably reviewed by students, many of whom had never seen an opera production before. 

Prior to the performance, members of the COC gave a debrief on the opera to students to help them understand what to expect.

   “This helped me understand the skills of an actual operatic person rather than [the] opera I have seen in cartoons,” explained grade 10 student Sean Oh, who had never attended an opera before.

    As it was a dress rehearsal for students, schools, and community groups, patrons were informed before the show started that some singers might choose to sing at half their usual intensity to preserve their voice for the real stagings.  It was apparent that Kseniia Proshina, who plays Juliette, was holding back, as Juliette’s iconic Je Veux Vivre aria did not sound extraordinarily powerful even from the first few rows of seats; the official performance would debut the next Saturday.

    This production, directed by Amy Lane, takes place in late 1880s New York, and is set at a Barnum-and-Bailey-type freak show that the Capulets run (essentially creating a more depressing and operatic version of The Greatest Showman). Critics from major publications like the Toronto Star did not find this directorial choice very pleasing, calling it “incomprehensible” without reading the program notes carefully. The circus theme was very prominent in the first act, but became more irrelevant as the opera went on. With that being said, students were more receptive to Lane’s artistic vision than the critics.

  “I think [the circus theme] was effective because I feel like it demonstrated the wealth [and] extravagance of the Capulets, setting them up as more established than the Montagues,” expressed Grade 12 oboe major Charlotte Babe.

    For some grade 12 Claude Watson music students, this outing had a nostalgic touch of deja-vu. In October of 2022, when the current grade 12s were in grade 9, they attended a dress rehearsal of Carmen by Georges Bizet. Music ensembles, Earl Haig Singers and Symphony Orchestra, learned two pieces from Carmen and performed them on May 11, 2023 at Music Showcase.  Again this year, the two ensembles will prepare music from Roméo et Juliette for 2026’s Music Showcase.  While Carmen was a success for the students who went three years ago, many students say they enjoyed Roméo et Juliette more.

   “[Compared to Carmen], I could follow the story easier, and I like[d] the direction the opera went,” reasoned Charlotte. “I especially enjoyed the sets, such as the party set.”

      While opinions of the opera are mixed, Earl Haig students nonetheless enjoyed being exposed to an art form they don’t engage with on a regular basis.  This learning experience’s culmination at Music Showcase in June is a must-see.