KAMLOOPS, B.C. – The Kamloops Symphony’s first concert experience of the 2020-21 season will be a performance of Igor Stravinsky’s devilish tale for stormy times, The Soldier’s Tale, presented in association with Western Canada Theatre.
The theatrical parable of a soldier who is tricked into selling his fiddle (aka his soul) to the devil for the promise of unlimited riches, The Soldier’s Tale was composed and premiered in 1918, amidst the Spanish Flu pandemic. Stravinsky, who had become well known for his large and lavish ballets at the time, was suddenly required to create a theatre piece that could tour economically by only using a handful of performers. A story for a time of world upheaval and financial hardships, it is a story of Stravinsky’s world and ours, and is an opportunity to explore how artists have reinvented themselves amid pandemics a century apart.
The KSO is excited to collaborate onstage with WCT again for the first time since the 2013 co-production of The Fiddler on the Roof. WCT Artistic Director James MacDonald debuts on the Kamloops Stage in the triple role of the mysterious Narrator, a bewitched Soldier, and the Devil himself. Local emerging dancer Lauren Okano is the Princess who wins the Soldier’s heart. These guest artists will be joined onstage by a septet of KSO musicians – clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, violin, bass, and percussion – led by the fiery Dina Gilbert. WCT Production Manager Bill Chabassol will also be creating a hellish landscape with lighting.
Just as Stravinsky made artistic changes out of necessity, audience members are invited to join the KSO and WCT in discovering new ways of engaging. See The Soldier’s Tale as you like it:
Watch the “Opening Night” online on Saturday, September 26 at 7:30 pm. This performance will be followed by an online Q&A with Dina and James.
And/Or, for those who would prefer a big screen experience, the performance will be shown at the Paramount Theatre on Sunday, September 27 at 1:00 pm and again at 4:00 pm. Each of these showings at the Paramount will be limited to a 50-person capacity.
Tickets for the online viewing are $15 for an Individual, or $25 for a Household Pass. A special COVID price of $5 is also available. Tickets for the showings in Paramount Theatre are $20. All tickets can be purchased from Kamloops Live! Box Office at 250-374-5483 or www.kamloopslive.ca.
