Calgary Opera began with six people on a steering committee in January 1972. No grand building, no rich patron. It’s the best origin story in town.
The company’s own history names them: Maurice Lorieau, John Limacher, Gladys Hogarth, Peter Dezman, Fred Scott and Polyna Savridi. Its anniversary essay, Reflecting on 50 Years of Calgary Opera, credits Lorieau and Limacher with planting the seed. The Southern Alberta Opera Association was incorporated that April, with Alexander Gray as artistic director and James Beer heading a newly formed chorus.
How a volunteer group got a professional opera on stage
It happened fast. The University of Calgary archives describe a small group meeting to talk about a fully professional company, and La Bohème followed in March 1973. The company says the Calgary Philharmonic played in the pit. The Canadian Encyclopedia gives the dates as March 30 and 31 at the Jubilee Auditorium, with Herman Geiger-Torel directing.
Carmen came in 1974, and Calgary Opera says it featured Allan Monk, who later sang at the Metropolitan Opera. That’s our favourite small detail in the whole story, because a brand new company was already hiring people headed for the biggest stages.
What the early growth looked like
It grew quickly. The university archive says the company went from two productions a year to three, then four. By the early 1980s, annual attendance had reached 23,000 and the budget topped $1,000,000. Brian Hanson became general manager and artistic director in 1976, and the company’s essay remembers his 12 years at the head of the association.
A downturn pushed things back to three productions a year, and David Speers took the top job in 1987. A year later, Calgary Opera says, Speers made sure opera had a place in the Olympic Arts Festival. The Canadian Encyclopedia lists that as Porgy and Bess in 1988.
The archive says the company became Calgary Opera Association in 1982, the company’s essay says 1983, and the encyclopedia gives a different range again, so we’re leaving that date alone.
The encyclopedia adds that student matinees ran from 1978 to 1984 and were revived in 1991. A generation of Calgary kids met opera at the Jubilee, and we love that.
Why Filumena matters to Alberta stories
It put a Crowsnest Pass crime on an opera stage. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, Filumena premiered on February 1, 2003 at the Jubilee Auditorium, with Bramwell Tovey conducting. John Estacio wrote the music, John Murrell the libretto, and Calgary Opera and The Banff Centre commissioned it together.
The story is true. It follows Filumena Costanzo, an Italian immigrant in the Crowsnest Pass in 1915, who joined Emilio Picariello in a bootlegging operation. After a constable died, both faced execution, and she became the only woman hanged in Alberta.
The score mixes ragtime piano and bagpipes with traditional operatic forms, and the singing moves between English and Italian. Ragtime and bagpipes in an opera sounds like a great night out.
It later reached the National Arts Centre and Edmonton Opera in 2005. In 2001 the company hosted the premiere of Turtle Wakes, and its list of notable productions also includes Frobisher and Hannaraptor. New work was a habit here.
What to take from all this
A city of volunteers can run a professional company, then spend decades telling Alberta stories with it. The company also runs an Opera in Schools program, the McPhee Artist Development Program and Opera in the Village, which it describes as the first outdoor summer opera festival in Canada.
If you only know Calgary Opera from its main stage, start with Filumena, then read the 50 years essay. You will want a ticket by the end.
If this one hooked you, try Betty Mitchell, the botanist who built Calgary theatre, then The Jubilee and the Philharmonic Had a 28-Year Run. Or try Workshop 14 Grew Up and Became Theatre Calgary for a change of pace.
Related reading from us: Calgary Got Its First Civilian Brass Band in 1885.
Quick answers
Calgary Opera began with six people on a steering committee in January 1972. The company’s history names them as Maurice Lorieau, John Limacher, Gladys Hogarth, Peter Dezman, Fred Scott and Polyna Savridi. The Southern Alberta Opera Association was incorporated that April.
La Bohème followed in March 1973. The company says the Calgary Philharmonic played in the pit. The Canadian Encyclopedia gives the dates as March 30 and 31 at the Jubilee Auditorium, with Herman Geiger Torel directing. Carmen came in 1974.
Filumena premiered on February 1, 2003 at the Jubilee Auditorium, with Bramwell Tovey conducting. It tells a true story about Filumena Costanzo, an Italian immigrant in the Crowsnest Pass in 1915, who became the only woman hanged in Alberta. John Estacio wrote the music.
