Orlando/Lunaire Cast

| Patrick Young | Ashiq Aziz | Scott Belluz | Carla Huhtanen |

Patrick Young Director and Designer

Patrick Young is a theatre artist who creates evocative, visual spectacles for the stage. Born in Toronto, he studied Literature at Columbia University in New York and has lived and worked in the United States and South Africa. In the US, he has assisted directors regionally and Off-Broadway. His own work, which has been described positively by TimeOut New York as an “aggressively weird goulash,” is both multi-media and multi-disciplinary, often combining live music, dance, video, images and text. Past projects include Champ: A Space Opera created with the Brooklyn-based band Champollion and choreographed by Mark Morris dancer John Heginbotham, which was presented at the New York International Fringe Festival. Also, Love|Suicide, a short piece adapted from a 17th century Japanese bunraku play, which was presented at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York. Patrick is very interested in opera as a performance medium. He is delighted to be working with Ashiq Aziz and the Classical Music Consort and to be directing Acis and Galatea in his hometown.

back to top

Ashiq Aziz Conductor, Music Director

Ashiq Aziz, “young firecracker” (Toronto Star), praised for his “innate musicality” (Globe and Mail) and ability to “enthral audiences” (Toronto Star), is a conductor and harpsichordist committed to producing thought-provoking, historically informed performances of music from the Baroque and Classical periods. He is the founder and artistic director of Toronto’s Classical Music Consort, and his work as a guest director has taken him to the US, UK, and Sweden. Recent engagements with the CMC have included a sold-out performance of Handel’s Messiah in December 2008, a complete cycle of Haydn’s twelve London Symphonies over four concerts as part of its year-long Haydn bicentenary celebrations in 2009, and a critically-acclaimed production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas last August, as part of its Underground/Opera series of projects in collaboration with the experimental multi-disciplinary company Opera Erratica and its director Patrick Young. Mr. Aziz has served as assistant to Laurence Cummings for the London Handel Festival’s Production of Handel’s Poro (2007), for the English National opera’s production of Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea (2007), as well as assistant to David Fallis for Opera Atelier’s production of the same (2009). Future projects include a performance of Handel’s rarely performed Roman oratorio, La Resurrezione, with the CMC in May, and an original Underground/Opera production entitled Orlando/Lunaire, in August. Educated at Upper Canada College, the University of Toronto, and the Royal College of Music, London, he has studied period performance direction with Andrew Parrott, Laurence Cummings, and Adrian Butterfield, conducting with Raffi Armenian, Peter Stark, Ivars Taurins, and Paul Spicer, and harpsichord with Terry Charlston and Charlotte Nediger. For more information about Ashiq Aziz, please visit www.classicalmusicconsort.org.

back to top

Scott Belluz Countertenor

The Canadian countertenor Scott Belluz is rapidly gaining international recognition as an engaging vocal artist. Praised for his "warm, rich voice and impeccable coloratura," (La Marseillaise) Scott brings his committed artistry to repertoire ranging from 17th century to newly composed works.

In November 2009, Scott created the role of l'Oiseau in the world premiere of Gilles Tremblay's L'eau qui danse, la pomme qui chante et l'oiseau qui dit la vérité with Chants Libres in Montreal.

Highlights of the 2008-2009 season included the role of Athamas in Handel's Semele with Pacific Opera Victoria, Damien in the world premiere of R. Murray Schafer's The Children's Crusade with Soundstreams Canada, and several projects with Tapestry New Opera, including performances in Opera Briefs, Opera to Go, and the title role in Omar Daniel's The Shadow.

Recent performances have included the role of Oberon in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream conducted by David Agler at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Bach's Magnificat with the Ottawa Choral Society and the role of Andronicus in Handel's Tamerlano with the Aradia Ensemble and Kevin Mallon, conductor.

back to top

Carla Huhtanen Soprano

From early to modern repertoire, Carla Huhtanen has performed with Grand Teatro La Fenice, BBC Concert Orchestra, festival d'Aix, Opera Atelier and Garsington Opera in roles such as Susanna and Blonde (Mozart), Angelica (Handel), and Cunegonde (Bernstein). She has been praised for her "vivid, fine-toned, accurately placed coloratura" (Independent), and her "clarity of tone and smoothness of line...matched only by her exquisite acting" (Opera Now). Much in demand as an interpreter of contemporary music, she has sung the work of Salonen, Moravec, Leroux, Rehnqvist and Scelsi and numerous premieres of Canadian and American works. Upcoming: CD release of The Music of James Rolfe (Centrediscs) and performances with Array Music, Tapestry New Opera, Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, and Edmonton Opera.

back to top