The Sault Opera Legacy
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In the Beginning ... 1970
The creation of Sault Opera (The Sault Opera Society, Limited) in 1970 was the outcome of an idea held by a group of people interested in developing an organization to perform full-scale productions of opera on stage in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
Although works by Gilbert and Sullivan, Lehar, and Strauss had been performed by the existing musical theatre organization in the past years, the 1969 consensus had been to concentrate only on Broadway-type musical stage productions in the immediate future, thereby seeming to leave the field clear for anyone interested in performing opera and operetta in Sault Ste. Marie.
In September 1969, a group of people called together by Arno Ambel and Wilf Beauchamp (with the help of Ed Gartshore) began music rehearsals for an eventual performance of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro". This group of leads consisted of: Dr. David Gould as Count Almaviva, Vilma Ambel as Countess Almaviva, Ardys Fleming as Susanna, Wilf Beauchamp as Figaro, Nancy Blyth as Cherubino, Isobel Tugwell as Marcellina, Robert Forster as Don Curzio/Don Basilio, and Diane Kallio as Barbarina.
The conductor of the Sault Symphony Orchestra, Lajos Bornyi, was engaged to direct the music; the stage direction was taken by Wilf Beauchamp. Rehearsal pianists were: Florence Joy Clement, Anton Gartshore, Barbara Severin, and on occasion, Gail Willett. Financing for the venture was guaranteed by the local German-Austrian Centennial Choir, whose director Arno Ambel became producer of the opera.
Vilma Ambel (Countess Almaviva), Ardys Fleming (Susanna), Wilf Beauchamp (Figaro), and David Gould (Count Almaviva) in "The Marriage of Figaro"
It was decided to produce the opera in February of 1970; in response to advertising, a 34-voice chorus and a 22-piece orchestra were formed for this presentation which took place on February 26, 27, and 28, 1970 in the Korah Collegiate Auditorium, with the help of other theatre groups (Musical Comedy Guild and Sault Theatre Workshop) who supplied costumes and flats for stage sets, as well as many of their members joining the production crew for the occasion.
This marked the first stage performance of the group which later in 1970 was formally organized under the name of "The Sault Opera Society" with Ted LaBerge as its first President, Arno Ambel as its Vice President in charge of productions and stage director for its next productions, and Samuel Bessant as its Music Director.
Now the questions remained:
1. Will there be enough of Sault Ste. Marie's opera fans coming to make it financially feasible?
2. Will the quality of the performance be on a standard high enough to justify the effort of an amateur group to produce a work which is generally regarded as a masterpiece of classical literature?
3. Will the audience enjoy the presentation of a comedy set to music in the classical opera style?
Approximately 200 people trudged through the snow on a cold February night in this steel town to witness the debut of full-scale locally-produced classical opera. Although the production ended with a deficit of $80, it was nevertheless an artistic success and it was proof enough that there was an audience for opera in the wilds of Northern Ontario.
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Isobel Tugwell (Marcellina) and Arno Ambel (Dr. Bartolo) in Sault Opera's first production of "The Marriage of Figaro" in 1970
Vilma Ambel as the Countess
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