Earlier this week, we held our first Behind the Scenes event – Dark Days: Behind the Scenes of Verdi’s Rigoletto – in partnership with Edmonton Opera and their Encore group. We had a great turnout with over 40 young professionals coming to check out the Opera, meet members of the cast, chorus and crew, and get a first hand look behind the scenes of a production like Rigoletto. Check out all the photos on Flickr and Facebook!

Led by Edmonton Opera’s Brianna Wells, we divided everyone up into 3 tours of the backstage areas and right on the stage itself. It was really interesting to see how things like lighting, costumes, and sound all come together during a show. One of the highlights was actually being on a lit set, to get a real feel for what members of the cast see while they’re on stage. We were also lucky to have members of the cast and chorus of Rigoletto join us – Ben Covey (Marullo), Robert Breault (Duke of Mantua), and Uwe Dambruch (Monterone/Sparafuclle), as well as the lovely Charlotte Burrowes, who sung a few pieces for us (in full costume!). We also had a prize pack including 4 tickets to Rigoletto, a CD and a signed poster from the cast – congratulations to Natasha and Bryn for winning it!

All in all, it was a great night – good food, good company, and of course, an exciting look behind the scenes of Edmonton Opera – giving us all a greater appreciation for what the Opera is all about! It was a fantastic way to kick off our five event Behind the Scenes series!

Thanks to Brianna and the team from Edmonton Opera and members of their young professionals group Encore who volunteered (be sure to check them out here and become a member!). If you didn’t get a chance to see Rigoletto this time, there are plenty of fantastic shows coming up this season, including Pirates of Penzance, Otello, and Songs of a Wayfarer/Seven Deadly Sins. So support the Opera and hope to see you at a future show!

Be sure to check out all the photos on Flickr and Facebook! And special thanks to Codie McLachlan for taking our photos!