For the first time ever, Pacific Opera Victoria has commissioned the creation of a complete opera.
Set during World War I, Mary’s Wedding is based on the successful Canadian play of the same name. The story is framed by the eponymous Mary’s remembrances of correspondence with her first love, Charlie, who left to fight in the Great War.
“Our company has commissioned this work from [composer] Andrew MacDonald,” says Robert Holliston, who worked as a vocal coach on the production. “The person who wrote the play, Stephen Massicote, is actually also providing the text for the opera, which is not always the case.”
Mary’s Wedding has been in the works for the last three years. With a production cycle longer than some major Hollywood movies, there can be a lot of pressure.
“People do expect highly of this company at this stage of our development,” says Holliston.
Working on a high-pressure production of this kind makes everyone involved develop coping skills for any performance-related anxiety, says Holliston.
“But in some ways it gets more difficult, because your standards tend to raise,” he says. “The more experienced and the more accomplished you feel that you are within the whole process, the better you want to do it.”
The production represents a massive investment of time, money, and talent. According to Holliston, the key to success in a huge undertaking like this is clear organization and lines of communication.
“Two things contribute to the relative smooth running of every production,” he says. “The first is that we all understand what we have to do.”
As for the second, Holliston says that a smooth production needs a hierarchy.
“It’s absolutely inevitable that there may be differences of opinion, but that hierarchy has to be respected,” he says. “There’s no room for democracy in art.”
Mary’s Wedding
8pm, November 16 and 18
McPherson Playhouse
$37.50-$142.50 ($15 student tickets at door, based on availability)
rmts.bc.ca