The Pearl Fishers, The Flying Dutchman on the horizon as Vancouver Opera unveils 2022-23 season plans

Going big, the company will also stage its first version of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The VO’s new promotional image for *The Flying Dutchman*

THE CELEBRATED FRENCH OPERA The Pearl Fishers returns to the Vancouver Opera stage for the first time in 28 years this October.

Georges Bizet’s classic joins Richard Wagner’s legendary The Flying Dutchman and Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the just-announced 2022-23 season of three full-scale operas.

Season-opener The Pearl Fishers (October 22 to 30 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre), featuring some of the most beloved arias in all of opera, will be directed by Rachel Peake, with conductor Kamna Gupta on the podium.

That production is followed in February with the company’s first mounting of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, based on Shakespeare’s famous play. Director Aria Umezawa will be making their Vancouver Opera debut, with conducting by Jacques Lacombe (last seen at Vancouver Opera conducting Turandot).

Wagner’s epic Dutchman kicks off April 29, with Brian Deedrick directing, Leslie Dala conducting, and Sean Nieuwenhuis bringing the turbulent sea to life through projections and production design.

Single tickets go on sale August 15; to subscribe or get more information, see vancouveropera.ca.

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Janet Smith

Janet Smith is founding partner and editorial director of Stir. She is an award-winning arts journalist who has spent more than two decades immersed in Vancouver’s dance, screen, design, theatre, music, opera, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.

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