Bowties And Ballgowns – Classical Music in Vancouver
THE SCENE
Vancouver’s rich performing arts heritage first found its footing in the 1920’s when the Lyric Theatre gained early notoriety as home to the city’s first orchestra. Soon, a proliferation of professional and amateur companies breathed life into houses such as the Strand, the Coronet, the Vogue and the Pantages. The Lyric even premiered a Gilbert and Sullivan-inspired musical, Atlantis. Sadly, time and neglect turned most of these venues into memories. What was once the neon-lit Great White Way is now the infamously decrepit Hastings Street. But the spirit of the performing arts never died.
Now, contemporary Vancouver has become home to a thriving classical entertainment scene with dozens of local musical theatre, opera and dance companies performing at over twenty venues. The truth is the jewel of the West Coast will always give you a reason to put on a cummerbund or slide into a couture dress.
THE ESSENTIAL CLASSICAL MUSIC VENUES
Vancouver Opera
835 Cambie St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 2P4 tel: (604) 683-0222
Queen Elizabeth Theatre, home to the Vancouver Opera – by Jason Vanderhill
The famous Queen Elizabeth Theatre (649 Cambie Street) is home to the Vancouver Opera, Canada’s second largest company of its kind. Founded in 1958, it has been producing stellar performances of both the traditional and contemporary variety for over fifty years. The VO is not only word-famous for its mainstage productions but has also received acclaim for its educational programs, which, in the last three decades, have reached over 1.6 million children. In fact, part of this celebrated company’s success has been in the establishing of creative partnerships in order to bring opera to a new generation of appreciators. The Vancouver Opera has been at the hub of the city’s cultural centre almost since its conception, establishing itself as a major creative and educational force in the West Coast performing arts community.
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
601 Smythe St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 5G1 tel: (604) 876-3434
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra – courtesy of VSO
The VSO has been Vancouver’s orchestra since 1919, beginning as a modest non-profit society. By 1930, it had matured into a professional orchestra and has since become synonymous with West Coast classical music culture, entertaining almost a quarter of a million patrons yearly. Its home, The Orpheum Theatre, along with Queen Elizabeth Theatre and The Vancouver Playhouse, comprise the live performance venue group known as the Vancouver Civic Theatres group. The orchestra provides an enigmatic series of classical concerts from VSO Pops, Kids’ Koncerts! and Tea and Trumpets to Bach and Beyond, Surrey Nights and North Shore Classics.