City Opera Vancouver's Summer Serenades wrap up outdoor concerts, August 18 to 20 and 25 to 27

Paired Pairing features dynamic duos, while Manila to Beijing Direct melds Chinese and Filipino music, at venues including Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Courtyard

Yuhui Wang.

City Opera Vancouver’s Summer Serenades series continues August 18-20 and 25-27, at Chinatown’s Sun Yat-Sen Courtyard, Olympic Village’s Milton Wong Plaza, and Yaletown’s The Roundhouse (Turntable Plaza)

CITY OPERA VANCOUVER kicked off its free outdoor concert series Summer Serenades earlier this month with Ukrainian folk melodies and operatic arias. This weekend and next, the event continues with six more noon performances lined up at three different locations.

From August 18 to 20 it’s Paired Pairings week, as singers Chloé Hurst and Emma Parkinson take the stage alongside pianist Roger Parton. The musicians are performing a collection of dazzling duets with keyboard accompaniment.

Soprano Hurst and mezzo-soprano Parkinson are both on faculty at the Vancouver Academy of Music, while Parton is resident rehearsal pianist and principal coach at City Opera Vancouver.

Chloé Hurst. Photo by Kevin Clark Studios

Earlier this month, Parkinson performed as a soloist in The Ladies Vespers at the Early Music Vancouver Summer Festival. She has collaborated with a wide roster of Vancouver-based organizations, including re:Naissance Opera, Astrolabe Musik Theatre, and Ballet BC.

The show on August 18 takes place at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Courtyard, in the classical Chinese garden nestled away in the heart of Chinatown; on August 19, take in views of False Creek at the Milton Wong Plaza show in Olympic Village; and the week wraps up on August 20 at the historic Roundhouse Turntable Plaza in Yaletown.

Next week, City Opera Vancouver celebrates the series finale from August 25 to 27 with Manila to Beijing Direct, an exploration of Filipino and Chinese music. Parton returns as pianist for the show, alongside baritone Yuhui Wang and mezzo-soprano Alyssa Samson. They perform at the Sun Yat-Sen Courtyard on August 25, Milton Wong Plaza on August 26, and the Roundhouse on August 27.

Earlier this summer, City Opera Vancouver named Gordon Gerrard as its new artistic director after the organization’s founder, Charles Barber, stepped down from the role in January. Gerrard is scheduled to take the helm in September.

In the meantime, opera fans can take in Summer Serenades by bringing a lawn chair for lounging and a parasol for shade.

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Emily Lyth

Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.

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