加拿大佩萊格里尼歌劇團: «星光月夜演奏會» / Ottawa Pellegrini Opera Presents: "Opera Under the Stars" Sept 29, 2012

This semi-private event  «營火 * 美酒 * 星光歌劇院» was organized and hosted by Mr. D Kai Ma 馬稚凱, Musical Director of Canada's Pellegrini Opera, in the backyard of his own home in Chelsea, Quebec.

I attended the event because I always wanted to support the Ottawa Pellegrini Opera. Beside, the description of the "Opera Under The Stars" event was so poetic:

雀兒喜河谷中秋賞月

".... ~ 秋意漸濃, 我們在Chelsea河谷有約，Gatineau Park 裡五號高速公路兩旁的偌大森林每時每刻都有細膩的色彩變化；這片天然的調色盤預計將在下個週末達到色澤層次演繹的最高潮! 也就是當您駕車來光臨本會下週末所舉辦的 "雀兒喜河谷中秋賞月" ~ «營火 * 美酒 * 星光歌劇院»的二十餘公里沿途上，首先迎接您的就是這位大自然的天才畫家。此次活動將結合本會，專業藝術團體 (Pellegrini Opera) 與活動地點村落Chelsea Quebec當地之鄰里居民等多方人士參與，期許以此方式讓本會的活動更具朝氣與多元。...."

During the supper gathering in La Vallée Motel Restaurant in Chelsea, Mr. Ma personally thanked Maria Pellegrini and other organisers, volunteers, and supporters for their hard work.

The crowd then walked across Highway 105 to Mr. Kai Ma's property where a piano and other equipment had been set up on a well-lit backyard stage. Lucky for both the audience and performers, the weather remained dry and we all enjoyed a good night of great classical music under the starry clouds :O

Photo Credit: 加拿大星光歌劇院

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以下附貼有關馬稚凱的資料,源自 "Opera Under The Stars" 餐會和音樂節目的海報:

D. Kai Ma began his musical performance in piano and voice at the age of 11. Besides opera and concert performances, he served as choral master of the Taipei Capital Opera Company and hosted 2 classical music radio programs. He began singing countertenor in 2000. He has performed and toured as a soloist with several major music ensembles in Taiwan and Canada. He currently serves as music director for Pellegrini Opera in Ottawa, Canada.   馬稚凱是位全方位的古典音樂工作者，一九九六年起以男高音活躍於台灣古典音樂界，二ＯＯＯ年後轉攻假聲男高音，二ＯＯ三年移居加拿大後，即受到當地古樂團的延攬並從事職業演出，經常透過加拿大廣播網CBC古典頻道播送。除了演唱活動，亦長期研習歌劇指揮法，二Ｏ一二年通過甄選並開始擔任加拿大Pellegrini Opera歌劇團的音樂總監。

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以下附貼有關 Maria Pellegrini 瑪麗亞·佩萊格里尼 的資料:

(http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emc/maria-pellegrini)

Maria Pellegrini 

(Anna) Maria Pellegrini. Soprano, b Pretoro, Italy, 15 Jul 1943, naturalized Canadian 1965. Emigrating to Canada in 1958, she studied 1960-4 with Ernesto Vinci at the RCMT, then in London with Joe Macko. She sang with theCOC first (1963) as the High Priestess in Aida, then (1965, her debut in a major role) as Gilda in Rigoletto. Further COC roles have included Nedda in I Pagliacci (1966), Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly (1971 and 1975), and Violetta in La Traviata (1974 and 1978). She was a 1967 Metropolitan Opera auditions winner and made her debuts at Covent Garden (1968) and Sadler's Wells (1969) as Gilda and Cio-Cio-San respectively.

Specializing in the Puccini repertoire, she has appeared with the Edmonton, Manitoba, Quebec, Southern Alberta (Calgary), and Vancouver operas and Opera Hamilton, and has sung in Genoa, Trieste, Parma, and Catania in Italy, in Pittsburgh and New Orleans in the USA, in Santo Domingo, and with the Welsh National Opera. She appeared in the 1977 CBC TV production of Madama Butterfly with Pierre Duval, Bernard Turgeon, Judith Forst, and a CBC orchestra conducted by Jean Deslauriers, and was Musetta in the 1980 production of La Bohème in Ottawa.

After her performance in the title role of Opera Hamilton's 1982 production of Madama Butterfly, Arthur Kaptainis wrote 'Chief among a strong and even cast was Maria Pellegrini... [who] waltzed through all the coquettish fan-fluttering motions with balletic ease. But her performance was still fresh and immediate, thanks to acting that conveyed innocence, an appearance that conveyed youth, and singing that was handsome and intense from beginning to end' (Toronto Globe and Mail, 18 Sep 1982).

Pellegrini, Maria, singer
Soprano star Maria Pellegrini (photo by Lois Siegel).

Author Harvey Chusid

Bibliography

Mercer, Ruby. 'Maria Pellegrini,' OpCan, Fall 1971

'Tragic lady of opera,' ibid, Dec 1977

Jones, Gaynor. 'More than a butterfly: Maria Pellegrini is trying to shake her image as the ''Butterfly soprano'','Music, Jun 1980

Links to Other Sites
Pellegrini Opera   http://www.pellegriniopera.org/
The website for Pellegrini Opera. Offers a profile of acclaimed soprano and artistic director Maria Pellegrini.

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