In A Word...Joel Ivany, Artistic Director, Against The Grain Theatre

Why, Joel, Why?

Joel Ivany, Artistic Director of the supremely innovative Against The Grain Theatre, has directed for The Canadian Opera Company, The Aventa Ensemble, The Canadian Children’s Opera Company, The Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, The U of T Opera Division, Wilfred Laurier University, Opera Nuova and The Banff Centre.  

CharPo: Why should anyone who hasn't, attend an opera? It's just people shrieking in each others faces!

Ivany: Well if you only have 30 seconds...Opera has the ability to connect with people the way no other art-form does.

If you have 3 minutes, read on.

So why don't people go to opera?  Some people inside opera think it's a fashion thing that scares people away.  I personally don't think so.  Many companies try to "dress down" opera making it more accessible.  Our company encourages our audience to wear what they feel comfortable in.  To be fair, some people (even young people) go to the opera to dress up.  Growing up, the only time I ever dressed up, was for church. On the other hand, opera companies shouldn't be offended if people show up in jeans and toques as well.  Opera, for some, is a chance to clean up and dress up and for others it is a chance to unwind and enjoy.  

We become less focused on our North American single-mindedness and are more aware of the world outside of us.

I also don't think opera is too high an art-form.  What it is, is a way to connect with the history of other countries that some of us do not have the luxury of visiting.  To hear Italian music, German music, French music.  We become less focused on our North American single-mindedness and are more aware of the world outside of us.  What can be difficult about opera sometimes is the understanding of what is going on.  You can understand quite a bit from the visual presentation, but often opera is sung outside your original language.  Surtitles can help quite a bit and are there to be read.  It would be like watching a foreign language film.  I don't know how many films I've watched without the subtitles.  Surtitles can be very useful.  The fun flip side of hearing it in another language is that anywhere you go in the world, opera is generally presented the same way.  You'll be in a theatre, hearing the same Italian opera and suddenly the world is a much smaller place.  

At Against the Grain Theatre, we do a lot of intimate opera, at the Four Seasons Centre, The Canadian Opera Company will present an opera with 2000 people.  In either environment, it's about sharing an experience.  An artistic, theatrical, musical experience.  

I think people often don't give it a chance simply because there is nothing in their daily living to compare it to.  In Ontario and I imagine most of Canada, we've grown up with television and movies, when we were younger we saw many plays through educational field trips.  Our English classes in High School were spent studying Shakespeare and if we were lucky, a trip to Stratford.  It made it easy to attend a Soulpepper performance or try a new Canadian play out.  In my five years of High School Music (back when there were OAC's) we watched one opera and it was a DVD of La Bohème with Pavarotti.  That's about it.  Had I not gone to University for music, that would have been the only real exposure to opera.

All this meaning that the idea of an opera is foreign to many Canadians.  Where do most hear about it?  Television and the movies.  

To hear (sometimes) an 85 person orchestra play for one woman who is somehow making such a beautiful, enormous sound from her body is stunning.

So then why should anyone come to see an opera who has never been before?  Because you will not experience anything like it.  To hear (sometimes) an 85 person orchestra play for one woman who is somehow making such a beautiful, enormous sound from her body is stunning.  To see designers paint an expansive picture that is cohesive with the movement and music is impressive.  To experience live theatre is vital.  

Whether we like it or not, our bodies are rhythmical and musical.  Our heart pumping out blood at regular intervals.  It's engrained in who we are.  

So if you're already an opera goer, next time you go to your next show, find someone who has NEVER been and ask them to go.  It would be exciting to hear what they think.  If you've read this and are still unsure, find me on twitter and ask away.  I'll be glad to answer any questions.

@joelivany
@atgtheatre
www.againstthegraintheatre.com
www.joelivany.com