CONTEMPORARILY CLASSICAL Vancouvers QuintEssence will be at Christ Church Trinity on Saturday, March 21st to share their modern take on operas timeless sound. Photo submitted
QuintEssence a young opera ensemble will be in the valley next weekend to present a fresh take on their classical sound.
We dont want classical to be seen as an elitist, snooty snoozefest is what it boils down to, said pianist Tina Chang.
Tina is the groups lone instrumentalist, and shes responsible for the rhythm behind four vocalists. Collectively as vocal pyrotechnics, they can take on any singing feat.
We have one of every voice type, Tina said. A soprano, the highest female voice; a mezzo soprano, which is a medium female voice that takes on the lower stuff; a tenor, high male voice; and a baritone, which is a low male voice. It gives us the full range to work with.
Before coming together to form QuintEssence, all five musicians had trained separately as opera performers along the coast, and were united through the Vancouver Opera Chorus.
Vancouver didnt quite have a group that did classical music the way we wanted, Tina said.
There are many ways to intrigue audiences into classical music we feel that our way of adding theatre is engaging and stimulating.
By injecting a major theatrical presence into their music, QuintEssence makes it easy to follow the centuries-old flavour of opera.
The ensemble prepares theatrical staging for each song, with a screen and projector as visual and lyrical aids.
Many operas are in four languages, not just English, so to help our audiences understand whats being said, theres not only movement on stage that corresponds, but a translation of the lyrics too.
The show begins at at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 21st at Christ Church Trinity. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for students, and can be purchased at Tiffanys Thredz and Pynelogs.
