WAITING FOR GODOT and THE HOBBIT - REVIEW OF 2026 STRATFORD FESTIVAL PRODUCTIONS

Reviewed by James Karas

The Hobbit at the Avon Theatre and Waiting for Godot at the Festival Theatre wrapped up opening nights week (May 25 to May 30, 2026) at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. Seven plays in six days is an experience to be savored especially when the productions are of the highest quality.

The Hobbit is based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien which has been adapted for the stage by Kim Selody. It is this year’s Schulich Children’s Play sponsored by the Schulich Foundation. Children are the target audience of the production and quite appropriately The Hobbit is an adventure story.

The wise and seriously hirsute Gandalf (Tim Campbell) with white beard to his stomach, hair to his shoulders and big walking stick launches the adventure. He recruits hobbit Bilbo Baggins  (Richard Lee) out of his happy retirement to lead twelve dwarfs to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its vast treasure from the dragon Smaug (also played by Tim Campbell). This is serious business done on dramatic sets with stupendous lighting and special effects. Bilbo is hired as a burglar. The leader of the Dwarfs is Thorin Oakenshield (Aaron Krohn).

The Hobbit may compete with Homer’s Odyssey and the adventures of Odysseus with Cyclops, Anthropophagi and murderous Sirens. Tolkien/Selody have dwarfs, trolls, giant spiders, goblins elves, trolls and other creatures that live in Middle-earth.   

Members of the company, The Hobbit. Stratford Festival 2026. 

Photo: David Hou.

The play has more than thirty characters played by nine actors. The roles they play as stated above are guaranteed to fascinate the youngsters. The other actors with multiple roles are Heidi Damayo, Sara-Jeannie Hosie Derek Kwan, Michael Man and Jennifer Villaverde.

The costumes are out of the world or in Middle-earth or to be exact in Tolkien’s imagination. Th real source for the costumes is the immense creative talent of Ting-Huan and Christine Urquhart. Lighting Designer Michael Walton does unbelievably fantastic effects with the lights. The extraordinary sets are designed by Lorenzo Savoini. One cannot praise these people enough because no adventure story would be effective without their contributions.

Director Pablo Felices-Luna handles the handful of actors with the numerous roles, the changing scenes and complexities with expertise and the youngsters should enjoy the production.

In short, it is a fantastic show that should grab the attention of the young ones and their parents or guardians.

Waiting for Godot

Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot has kept the attention, fascination and wonder of audiences, scholars and readers for more than seventy years. The play is produced regularly and people leave the theatre wondering what the hell was going on. There is really no answer except “what you see is what you get.” You may think you know what you see but you may never know what you get or what you are supposed to think of what you get. I hope that is completely confusing.

The Stratford Festival production directed by Molly Atkinson features Tom McCamus as Estragon, Paul Gross as Vladimir, Jonathan Goad as Pozzo the slave owner and David W. Keeley as Lucky the slave. Gordon Paul Miller and Asher Albert Waxman alternate as the Boy.

In a desolate area with a bare tree, the two tramps talk about nothing and have nothing to talk about except that they are waiting for Godot. One of them is beaten and we get the impression of nothingness. We do not know of nothingness nor of who or what Godot is or that he exists.                                                                                                                                                

Tom McCamus as Estragon, Paul Gross as Vladimir 

and Jonathan Goad as Pozzo, Waiting for Godot. Stratford Festival 2026. 

Photo: David Hou.

Atkinson uses the large Festival Theatre stage to add to the void that the characters occupy.

In McCamus and Gross, Atkinson has some of the best talents to play the tramps with Goad and Keeley delivering fine performances in the secondary roles. Estragon is beaten up, has trouble with his shoes and is truly pathetic. Vladimir tries to be optimistic but that does not change anything even when they try to play games.  Waiting for Godot has humour and in some productions, it is played almost as a comedy. Atkinson directs an orthodox production which has some laughs but she does not overdo it.

Pozzo holds Lucky the slave at the end of a rope and the Latter does not say much. It is a pathetic scene on top of a pathetic everything without engaging our sympathy as in a non-Beckett play.

A passing thought. How about looking at Waiting for Godot as a metaphor for life, our life, the world. A meaningless void in which we kid ourselves that someone will come , a redeemer, something and we kid ourselves that he is coming and we should wait for him??/

The Hobbit  by Kim Selody adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel opened on May 30 and will run in repertory until October 23, 2026, at the Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett opened on May 30 and will run in repertory until July 31, 2026 at the Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ont. www.stratfordfestival.ca

James Karas is the Culture editor of The Greek Press, Toronto

SOMETHING ROTTEN! - REVIEW OF 2026 STRATFORD FESTIVAL PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas 

Welcome to the return of the Stratford Festival’s 2024 musical extravaganza, Something Rotten.

The production and the audience’s reception can only be described in superlatives but I will begin and end with outstating praise for Director and Choreographer Donna Feore. I suggest that she is the alpha and omega of the production without forgetting the busload of highly talented performers and behind-the-scenes people who bring the show to us.

Something Rotten is a musical that satirizes modern musicals by poking fun at them while two of the characters are trying to write one themselves.  Set in the age of Shakespeare, two brothers, Nick (Mark Uhre) and Nigel Bottom (Henry Firmston) try to earn their daily bread in the theatre. There are many writers around but an arrogant William Shakespeare (Jeff Lillico) dominates the trade.

The two brothers try to emulate Shakespeare. He is writing a play that sounds like ham. Is it about eating Danish pastry with ham and eggs? Is it a ham omelet? Some day musicals will dominate the theatre and you will get a Fidler sitting on a roof and a musical called Cats and many other such titles. Things are changing and the first song tells us, “Welcome to the Renaissance” and is followed by “God I Hate Shakespeare.” There are numerous comic references to modern musicals.

With book and music by Karey Kirkpatrick, music by Wayne Kirkpatric and book by John O’Farrell, the trio covered the music, the comedy and plot of the show brilliantly. After that it was the performers, actors, singers and dancers, under the direction and with the choreography of Donna Feore who put it all together. The people on stage come up to fifty, give or take, if I counted them accurately. I know of smaller villages. 

Members of the company, Something Rotten! Stratford Festival 2024. 

Photo: David Hou.

If you are curious about that busload of performers, here is the breakdown. There is the main cast and we have the Acting Troupe followed by The Ladies of the Renaissance and The Bard Boys. We also have the Chefs, and the Renaissance Writers, Astrologers, Townspeople, Puritans, Eggs and Omelets, and the Swings. OK?   

Nick and Nigel consult Nostradamus (a hilarious Dan Chameroy) who predicts the future. Shakespeare was two years old when Nostradamus died but don’t bother me with details. OK, the Nostradamus of Something Rotten is the nephew of the real one! There is Shylock (Steve Ross) who wants to invest in a musical but he can’t because he is a Jew. They find a way. And there is the snooty Lady Clapham (Nehassaiu deGannes) who must be obeyed so she can invest. Bea Bottom (Starr Domingue) is a delightful wife and Portia (Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane), a lovely Puritan who delights and surprises. Yes, she is the lawyer who talks about the quality of mercy. The Puritans led by Brother Jeremiah (Juan Chioran), Portia’s father, are a pain in the unmentionable. I may add that the production is not as fastidious as I am  in its use of colourful language. Colourful? Make that dirty jokes and sexual puns that are just delightful.

From left: Mark Uhre as Nick Bottom and Dan Chameroy 

as Nostradamus, Something Rotten! Stratford Festival 2026. 

Photo: Ann Baggley.

Let’s get down to business and find a suitable subject for a musical. The brothers consider their options. How about Richard II. Too late. Shakespeare has one. How about The Black Death? I don’t think so. What about Omelet, The Musical? The humour, boisterous action, the songs and the gorgeous dance routines keep the audience enthralled.  

We get a dance routine done by the eggs and one done by the omelets. These are just two of the fantastic choreography that Donna Feore produces. She never hesitates to put a group of dancers on the stage who do fantastic numbers. The audience jumped to its feet and gave the performers lengthy standing ovations in the middle of the performance. Plus, an uproarious one at the end of the show.

I can heap praise on the actors/singers/dancers and the backstage artists but that will simply delay your effort to get a ticket and enjoy a great production.
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Something Rotten!, book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, music and lyrics by Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, opened on May 29  and will continue in repertory until October 31, 2026, at the Festival Theatre, 55 Queen Street, Stratford, Ontario. www.stratfordfestival.ca

James Karas is the Culture editor of The Greek Press, Toronto

DEATH OF A SALESMAN – REVIEW OF 2026 STRATFORD FESTIVAL PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is a great play by an American playwright and the Stratford Festival has staged it again to its credit. The production is dramatic, superbly conceived and acted but I take issue with the set.

Willy Loman, the salesman of the title, is a man at the end of his rope. Based in New York City, he travels throughout New England, as far as Boston, showing samples and trying to sell to store buyers. Willy dreams of wealth and of achieving success in 1950’s America by being well liked.

He has instilled the same spirit in his two sons and lives with the conviction that you can “make it” without hard work.

Tom McCamus gives a signature performance as the pathetic Willy. He looks exhausted but tries to maintain his pride and belief that he and especially his sons can succeed in business despite lacking any tools such as education, integrity and hard work. He is ill-tempered and frequently explodes until he is forced to realize that his dreams and his sons’ chances of success are non-existent. McCamus takes us through the trajectory of Loman’s life with superb acting.

Willy’s sons, Biff (Joe Perry) and Happy (Josh Johnston) are products of their father’s illusory dreams and hopes for them. Biff returns home after spending time in the West as a farm worker and in jail. He thinks he can approach a successful acquaintance and get money from him to go into business with his brother. He ends up walking out with the man’s fountain pen. He did not finish high school because he caught his father committing adultery.

                                

Tom McCamus and Lucy Peacock as Willy Loman and Linda Loman.

The brothers are shallow liars and pretenders in  a terrific scene where they lie about their achievements to pick up two women and abandon their father in the restaurant,

Miller provides an illusory example of easy success in Uncle Ben, Willy’s imaginary brother who made a fortune in Africa. David W. Keeley, dressed in a white suit, appears as the ultimate example of success but it is all an illusion.

Miller also provides examples of decency and success in Willy’s neighbor Charlie (Matthew Kabwe) and his son Bernard (Raymond Strachan). Charlie gives money to Willy pretending it is a loan and offers him a job. Bernard tries to help Biff with his studies. His neighbors are successful through hard work. In this production they are black and that drives the message of how to succeed in America with unerring accuracy considering the current racist attitudes.

The most powerful and sympathetic character is Willy’s wife Linda, played by the powerful Lucy Peacock. Linda sees and knows everything but she says little and tries to support her husband and keep the family together. A stunning performance.

The problem I have is with Scott Penner’s set. The Lomans live in a mortgaged house in Brooklyn. It is surrounded by tall buildings on three sides and some windows are lit. Willy Loman famously arrives carrying his cases of samples and walks into his house. In this production he walks into the yard of his house. We see a table and a fridge and when the sons come on stage there is a bed and some furniture to the right of the “kitchen.” The problem is we are still outside and the set is incongruous, and simply wrong. Surely, we could have had a view of the tenements and a view of the kitchen and the boys’ bedroom. This was unacceptable

Death of a Salesman is a great play and director Dean Gabourie does impressive work in bringing it to the Avon Theatre. It is a cohesive, moving and indeed a splendid production. Except for the sets.  _____________________

Death of a Salesman  by Arthur Miller opened on May 28 and continues in repertory until October 31, 2026, at the Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario. www.stratfordfestival.ca

 James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM – REVIEW OF 2026 STRATFORD FESTIVAL PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the second play by William Shakespeare produced this season by the Stratford Festival. It is a hilarious success and has all the ingredients of a superb production.

We all have our personal views of what we want to see in a production of a play by the bard. I prefer fidelity to the text and creativity. Director Gaham Abbey is faithful to Shakespeare’s text without being slavish and he lets his imagination roam so that we get the best of creativity and some infidelity.

The production is done in the theatre-in-the-round Tom Patterson. The set consists of a large, white tree trunk that has fallen across the stage and a large globe hanging overhead. The tree stays in place and is very useful, but the globe turns and presents a kaleidoscope of colours. There is a rich array of lights and projections for the floor and the stage in general.

As everyone knows, Midsummer has four sets of lovers. The first is King Theseus and Hippolyta who are about to get married and impatiently wait for their wedding night. Then we have the fairies King Oberon and Queen Titania who are already married but are having a serious tiff over the possession of a child. Oberon will punish her by making her fall in love with the first thing that she sees on waking up which turns out to be an “ass”.

The real fun is with the young Athenians, Lysander (Jordin Hall) and Hermia (Vivien Endicott-Douglas), who run away from Athens and are followed by Demetrius (Thomas Duplessie) who also loves Hermia and Helena (Jessica B. Hill) who loves Demetrius. Puck magically but mistakenly induces Lysander to fall madly in love with Helena, reject Hermia and cause war to be declared among the lovers.

The funniest part of the play is the entertainment prepared by the town tradesmen, the “mechanicals” for Theseus’ wedding. They put on Pyramus and Thisbe, the tragic comedy of the lovers of Roman mythology.

From left: Steven Hao as Snug, Aaron Krohn as Francis Flute, 

Sarah Dodd as Rita Quince, Sara-Jeanne Hosie as Snout and 

Michael Man as Robin Starveling, A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

Stratford Festival 2026. Photo: David Hou

Oberon has magical powers and Puck carries out his orers. There are fairies accompanying Titania and Oberon and the explanation for everything may lie in the title of the play.

Let me praise fine acting. The mechanicals are hilarious individually and as an ensemble. A couple of male roles are played very well by women: Quince is played by Sarah Dodd and Snout is played by Sara-Jeanne Hosie with wonderful results. The effervescent Bottom is played by the effervescent Michael Spencer-Davis. Michael Man plays Starveling and the piano. Yes, they have music accompaniment for their great production. Aaron Krohn is Francis Flute and Thisbe; Steven Hao is Snug and the Lion and with the fast-moving and hilarious skit I can’t recall all the double roles played by all.

Abbey has molded them into a comic ensemble that had the audience in the palm of their hands laughing,

The young lovers’ scenes are choreographed as much as they are directed. The men challenge each other to fight; the young women engage in a barrage of angry insults. Helena is taller than Hermia and the latter calls her a painted Maypole. It is all delightful and an outpouring of poetry that its words are converted into music.  

Andre Sills as Oberon and Sara Topham as Titania are superb and they develop from a bickering pair to a loving family. In this version the little boy that Oberon demands from Titania is in fact a lively little girl played with gusto by Vivienne Abbey. Now the fairies become a family instead of a feuding duo. Marvelous touch.

Evan Buliung as Theseus and Ijeoma Emesowum as Hippolyta along with Tim Campbell as Egeus, Hermia’s father, play relatively minor roles. A waste of talent? They form the bookends of the play and the first two have a wonderful wedding thanks to the reconciliation of all and the performance of the mechanicals.

Mike Nadajewski as Puck is fast on his feet and his tongue. Even better, he is not afraid to engage the audience and get applause and laughter because he can do it. Wonderful performance.

The production gains a great deal from Lorenzo Savoini’s set design, Kevin Lamotte’s motley lighting design and the projection and video designs by Normal Studio. Joshua Quinlan’s costume designs provide tuxedos for the aristocratic men, long gowns for the ladies and more colourful attire for the fairies. The mechanicals wear simple workers’ clothes. All work very well.

The production opens with fairies jumping out of the stage floors and singing something that I did not get. The play itself opens with Theseus and Hippolyta, and I have no idea what Abbey had in mind with the additional scene. I may add that some of the actors had little idea of the intonation of iambic pentameters, but I enjoyed the production so much that I will leave it at that.

Quibbling aside, this is an outstanding production.

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, produced in collaboration with Groundling Theatre, opened on May 27, and will run in repertory until September 26, 2026, at the Tom Patterson Theatre, Stratford, Ont.

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto

GUYS AND DOLLS – REVIEW OF 2026 STRATFORD FESTIVAL PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

It is opening week at the Stratford Festival and if you are lucky or dedicated to the theatre you can see seven productions in one week. There is nothing better.

After The Tempest we were treated to lighter fare, the musical Guys and Dolls. First produced in 1950, it has the classic format of lively music, songs with a melody and wonderful lyrics and a plot that induces laughter and floats on the lighter side.

The plot involves New York’s underworld, the crap players, the serious gamblers and a couple of love stories one of which involves the love of a gambler for a Salvation Army sergeant whom he convinces to go to Cuba with him.

A musical at Stratford means Donna Feore and she is the star of this production as director and choreographer. As director, she does excellent work in handling the large cast, delivering the humour and a fine overall production. The opening night audience loved it. 

But her achievement and I dare say love is choreography and the production features dazzling dances. She believes in precision, disciplined performances, a dazzling display of athleticism and simply extraordinary dancing. The rest is a bonus. 

The star of the show is New York City where the dedicated crap shooters are looking for a place to ply their trade or is it hobby. The police, you see, are not fond of gambling and want to arrest its practitioners. To make it short, the gentlemen find a Salvation Army mission in Manhattan in which to enjoy their trade.

Jennifer Rider-Shaw as Miss Adelaide, Dan Chameroy as 

Sky Masterson and Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane as Sarah Brown. 

Photo: Dariane Sanche.

More specifically, let us see what two leaders of the underworld are doing   Sky Masterson (Dan Chameroy) is attracted to Salvation Army Sergeant Sarah (Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane), and the impecunious Nathan Detroit (Mark Uhre) bets $1000 that Sky cannot take Sarah to Cuba. What are the chances of that happening? Do I need to tell you that Eros will stick his fingers here even though these people are not Greek?

And did you know that Nathan has been engaged to Miss Adelaide (Jennifer Rider-Shaw) for twelve years, according to him. But Mis Adelaide has told her mother that they are married and in fact have five or six children. The conjugal entanglements are an obvious source of humour, and the actors make sure they get the laughter. But we need and get one hell of a show. The brightly lit stage shows off New York and Havana, and the music generates life and excitement. The costumes are tantamount to a fashion show as the ladies perform at the Hot Box Club.

The quality of singing has a wide range from the reasonable to the good. The cast has some Stratford veterans and some newcomers. A credit to the solid foundations of the repertory company.

 Colourful characters abound, of course. Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Steve Ross) who is in for the comedy and some singing, but no dancing. Big gambler from Chicago Big Julie (Juan Chioran) with a voice all his own, and characters with nicknames like Ox, Horse and Rusty. On the side of the angels, we have General Matilda (Starr Domingue) Arvide (Stephen Patterson), Lt. Branigan (Nehassaiu DeGannes), and a huge cast including Gamblers, Hot Box Dolls, Mission Band, Guys, not to mention Gangsters, Runyonland Citizens, Havana Dancers, Bridesmaids and Cops. You get the idea. I bow to all of them and give them a standing ovation. Far too many to speak individually about them

The artistic team gets huge marks for a show that needs and displays their talents. Set Designer Michael Gianfrancesco, Costume Designer Dana Osborne, Lighting Designer Bonnie Beecher, Sound Designer Haley Parcher and Music Director Franklin Brasz all have crucial and obvious roles in putting the show together.

The musical and this production provide everything for a thoroughly entertaining evening at the theatre, but the most outstanding feature is Donna Feore’s choreography and its execution.
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Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser (music and lyrics), Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows (book) based on a story and characters by Damon Runyon, opened on May 26 and will continue in repertory until November 1, 2026, at the Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ont. For more information go to:  www.stratfordfestival.ca

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto.

THE TEMPEST - REVIEW OF 2026 STRATFORD FESTIVAL PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

Out of this world! 

That may be a depiction of the island where Prospero was exiled by his brother or a description of Antoni Cimolino’s production of The Tempest, one of Shakespeare’s last plays. Cimolino has lavished his finesse and ample directorial talents on a stunning production that one may want to treat as his farewell to a Festival that he has served so well.

As we know, The Tempest opens with a violent storm that causes the sinking of a ship and the death of all its passengers. Cimolino and set and costume designer Julie Fox have devised a dramatic and memorable opening. A huge sail is raised on the stage with rope ladders going to the top. Thunder and lightning and violent winds batter he ship’s crew and passengers. The opening scene of the play is frequently shortened but, in this production, Cimolino plays it to the fullest. Fantastic opener.

Prospero took over the uncivilized island from the witch Sycorax whose son the brute Caliban he tried to “civilize”. That did not go well, and Caliban tried to rape Prospero’s daughter Miranda and he is still considered a barbarian.

The island is thought of as being inhabited by Prospero, his daughter, the spirit Ariel (the wonderful Marissa Orjalo) and Caliban. Cimolino has some wild creatures and other spirits living there including Iris (Michelle Giroux), Ceres (Jenna-Lee Hyde) and Juno (Allison Lynch).

From left: Geraint Wyn Davies as Prospero, Ashley Dingwell as 
Miranda and Dakota Jamal Wellman as Ferdinand, The Tempest. 
Stratford Festival 2026. Photo: David Hou.

Prospero is a loving and protective father of his teenage daughter Miranda. He has magical powers and was able to cause the shipwreck of the opening scene in which his usurping brother Antonio and his collaborator Alonso, King of Naples are passengers. Geraint Wyn Davies plays Prospero as a benevolent, wise man, properly underplayed in contrast to the evil baddies of the past and now present on the island. Gonzalo of the text becomes Gonzala in this production, a paragon of virtue and decency played by the superb Fiona Reid.

Caliban (Jonathan Goad) is bitter about his servitude to Prospero and about his loss of freedom. Caliban is played as a clown and our sympathy for him wanes. Excellent work by Goad.

The romance of the play falls on Ferdinand (Dakota Jamal Wellman), the son of King Alonso, and Miranda. She has never seen a man before and he has not seen anyone as beautiful as her. What more do you want? Okay, this will lead directly to love and marriage and fun for us as we watch fine acting by Wellman and Ashley Dingwell.

The three scenes with Stephano (Ben Carlson), Trinculo (Josue Laboucane) and Caliban as drunken conspirators who want to take over the rule of island are hilarious. Cimolino has the expertise of veteran actors, and the result is an explosion of laughter. Trinculo is variously described as a servant or butler or jester to King Alonso. Cimolino makes him the King’s chef who is dressed accordingly. The three roll on the stage, are drunk out of their minds and give superb performances.

The magical atmosphere of the play is created by Berthold Carriere’s music, Ranil Sonnadara’s sound designs, Immogen Wilson’s lighting designs and Jason Miller’s creative planning, Kudos to all of them.

The set consists of huge rock that can be used as a lookout and turned to serve as Prospero’s cell or cave. Sparse and perfect.

Cimolino’s genius lies in his attention to details. He can get a laugh from the utterance of a single word, a slight pause, a gesture or an intonation. The word Milan is pronounced as we do today with the accent on the second syllable which sounds as if it has two “a”s. In Shakespeare’s time the accent went on the first syllable and the last syllable was short. Cimolino has the word pronounced as it is spoken today at the beginning so we know what he is talking about and then it is switched to Elizabethan intonation so as not to interfere with the poetry. Marvelous.

I said thus production is out of this world and it is so because we are in a world of magic and transformation. There are many scenes where we witness magical changes. Ariel, for example, can tap someone on the shoulder and we see change. But the ultimate transformation comes at the end when Prospero has given up his powers. The change comes from the transformation of human attitudes. The play calls for Prospero to take revenge against his evil brother and the King of Naples who deprived him of his position and sent him into exile. But the play ends with a display of benevolence, forgiveness, reconciliation and one may say on a note of grace. As Prospero says, “the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance.”

And for us, the rarer action is to take us out of this world through a great night at the theatre.

Ave atque vale, Mr. Cimolino.
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The Tempest by William Shakespeare opened on May 25 and will run in repertory until October 24, 2026, at the Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ontario. www.stratfordfestival.ca

JAMES KARAS IS THE CULTURE EDITOR OF THE GREEK PRESS, TORONTO,

WERTHER – REVIEW OF 2026 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

Jules Massenet’s Werther has had a rocky history, but it has joined the standard repertoire even if it is with infrequent productions. The Canadian Opera Company last performed it in 1992. Thirty-four years later, it is offering us a new production, a co-production in fact with the Opera de Montreal and the Vancouver Opera. Nice to see Canadian companies co-operating. 

The libretto is based on Goethe’s novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, his sorrows being that he cannot get the woman he loves. That is hardly a unique occurrence and disappointment in love for the duration of a play or a novel, means that you take your moping and life goes on. You may take the case of King Edward VIII who give up a kingdom for the woman he loved.

In the opera’s creaky plot Werther is in love with Charlotte, and she has no objection to reciprocating his grand passion except for the fact that she is married and not prepared to betray her husband. And adultery is not an option. This is noble love.

Massenet’s librettists provide some padding like rehearsing Christmas carols in July, meeting some local people to help with the advancement of the plot and an extended death scene. If a man is willing to give up his life for love, he is entitled to some of our time.

The COC production by Alain Gauthier with sets designed by Olivier Laudreville and costumes designed by Leilah Dufour Forget is very good and there is nothing they could do about the creaky plot. But to Gauthier’s credit he remains faithful to the feel of the opera.

The opera opens with the ever-reliable bass Robert Pomakov as the Bailiff trying to get his six children to rehearse Christmas carols in July. They will get them right by Christmas.  

Werther, our hero, enters the yard of the Bailiff’s house and he is in a state of ecstasy. He has not seen Charlotte, the woman that will make him more ecstatic which in his case is impossible. He is at the peak. He wonders if he is awake or dreaming. This is paradise where the woods sigh like a harp. He goes on praising nature, the sun, the walls, the hedges in almost erotic language. The expression of that powerful ardor in the opening scene and to the end of the opera is in the hands and vocal chords of tenor Russell Thomas. Through solos and duets his defining romantic being is maintained with unfailing sonority.

 Victoria Karkacheva and Russell Thomas in Werther. Photo: Michael Cooper

The inspirer of his passion is not nature or the hedges and flowers, but the lovely Charlotte sung by soprano Victoria Karkacheva in her debut with the COC. Charlotte in the hands of Karkacheva has everything to offer as a woman but there a couple obstacles. She is first betrothed and then married to Albert (bass-baritone Gordon Bintner – fine performance). And she promised her mother that she will marry Albert. Karkacheva has a lovely voice and she expresses passion and restraint but eventually tells Werther that she does love him and they kiss. In this opera a kiss is the equivalent of a celestial experience.      

Soprano Simone Osborne sang the role of Sophie, Charlotte’s teenage sister. We like her character and her lovely singing except that on a couple of occasions that orchestra drowned her out.

Johannes Debus conducted the COC Orchestra in the outpouring of romantic music (it’s a package deal) that rounded off the evening.

The set by Landreville consisted of some moveable walls and a view of the background when we are in the Bailiff’s yard. The background is a bland colour and it is at odds with Werther’s aria praising nature. Would some lush greeneries not have been more appropriate? Maybe it would make no difference. Werther sees or dreams of whatever he wants anyway.

Director Gauthier does a highly commendable job by giving us a well-thought out, solid and enjoyable production.    

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Werther by Jules Massenet with a libretto by Edouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann is being performed seven times by the Canadian Opera Company until May 23, 2026 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. For details see www.coc.ca

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto