Our Productions

Related Activities

• School-wide "opera theme" days with workshops, guest speakers and singers from Opera Ontario and the wider arts community, related art activities, and activities related to other areas of the curriculum, children dressing up in costume
• Hot-dog fund-raisers ("Have a wienie for Puccini"), cupcake days, sales from "Opera Doodle Art", "Aida Buttons", "Gypsy Jewellery", and "Opera Oinkers" (stuffed nylon pigs decorated as Opera characters) going toward funding the opera; these items have been sold at the school and at Hamilton Place during Opera Ontario performances
• Sponsors from the local community fiscally support our opera and are advertised in our opera programme
• Opera "pen pals" ranging from Eduardo Villa (American Metropolitan Opera roster tenor) to students from Hakadote Junior High school in Japan who produced their own Carmen in October, 1999
• Workshops on opera education facilitation for music teachers provided by Dawn Martens in conjunction with Opera Ontario staff
• Master classes for grade four and five students led by singers such as Canadian baritone John Fanning, Canadian baritone Allan Monk, American tenor Fred Love, Romanian tenor Constantin Nica, and Opera Ontario chorus members
• The opportunity for the school to host a special performance of Strathcona: From Nothing to Something , an original opera written by school children in Hamilton's north end under the direction of Opera Ontario staff
• Former members of the Opera club participate in musical activities in Middle and High School, have appeared (along with current club members) as supernumeraries in Opera Ontario productions (in Tosca , La Traviata , Susannah , Faust, Elixir of Love ), and have returned as volunteers during our opera productions
• Semi-professional videos of the opera produced each year and sold to anyone interested in purchasing one
• Opera T-shirts produced each year and sold to anyone interested in purchasing one
• Maintenance of an "Opera Wall of Fame" in the school foyer; items include all newspaper reviews by Hugh Fraser from The Hamilton Spectator and autographed photos of opera stars including singers Ben Heppner and Placido Domingo
• In our 2001-2002 season, visitors to our school included the Canadian cast of Opera Ontario's The Little Marriage of Figaro and a return visit from American tenor Eduardo Villa; eight years of Buchanan Park Opera Club Alumni were represented at the assembly for Mr.Villa
• In November 2004, American tenor Eduardo Villa returns to Buchanan Park (he is in town for Opera Ontario's Popera ) and a celebratory assembly is held
• Eduardo Villa personally invites a group of leads to the dress rehearsal of Popera in November 2004; we are the only visitors in attendance at Hamilton Place and the leads meet and talk to American soprano Cynthia Lawrence, Eduardo Villa, Eastern European mezzo Emilia Boteva, American baritone Jeffrey Kneebone, and maestro Daniel Lipton