The Globe and Mail is beginning a series on the creation of a new performing arts centre -- The Four Seasons Centre -- in Toronto. The Centre would house the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada. Please enter:

http://www.globeandmail.ca

and enter Sandra Martin in the seven-day site search.

Also, a humorous piece on government arts funding may be found at The Globe site; enter MacFarlane in the seven-day site search.

Installment #2 from Sandra Martin:

http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030329/RVHOUS

Installment #3 from Sandra Martin:

http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030412/RVCOCC

A status report from Ray Conlogue in The Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030916/UOPERM

Ray Conlogue speaks with some of the craftspersons who are working on the theatre's infrastructure, in The Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040214/HOUSE14

A project update with an emphasis on the conflicting desires ballet and opera companies regarding acoustics:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040619/HOUSE19

The discussion about the size of the stage caught my eye. For comparison, Sadler's Wells is quite large by UK standards, but small by N. American standards at 15m x 15m. Apparently SFB's new "Sylvia" is too large for Sadler's.

Does anyone have the dimensions of the Four Seasons stage?

<small>[ 21 June 2004, 01:44 PM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Regarding the size of the stage at the Four Seasons Centre, the very helpful Whitney Binns,
Publicist, Canadian Opera Company has sent me this information garnered from the architect:

- The architectural proscenium opening is 15.850 m wide, by 11.500 m high.
- The stage is 18 m deep. (The wings, beyond the prosc opening are about 8 m each, so the total stage width, including the wings is about 32 m wide.)
- The rear stage is another 13 m deep by 20 m wide.
- The side stage is 18 m by 18 m.

Don't know how this compares with the Hummingbird. The figures are comparable with Sadler's Wells, but people from N. America often say that Sadler's is small by their standards.

Sandra Martin discusses a few of the planned patron amenities at the Four Seasons Centre, in The Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040719/HOUSE19

The comments about the lack of washroom facilities for members of the more beautiful sex were bang on! I often see lineups of 2 dozen women or so waiting to use the facilities during intermissions. Hopefully this will be resolved at the Four Seasons.

On a positive note, the washrooms at the Hummingbird Centre are always kept meticulously clean. As an alternative, if you really have to go and there is a long lineup, you may consider visiting one of the restaurants nearby and using their facilities.

National Ballet of Canada seeks $3.5 million in donated funds to help bridge the transition from its current performance venue at The Hummingbird Centre to the new Four Seasons Centre. Martin Knelman examines some of these issues in The Toronto Star:

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1093385410312

Click below to take a virtual tour of the National Ballet of Canada’s new ballet palace:

Tour of the Four Seasons

It’s a fun site with a lot of neat features.

Click below for the NBoC’s Four Seasons Section:

National Ballet of Canada

I walked by the site for the Four Seasons Centre on my way from work to Union Station this past Friday and was surprised to see only one sign posted (Canadian Opera Company)! One would think both the opera and National Ballet of Canada would plaster posters all over the site!

The location on Queen and University is bustling with transit activity. I hope the designer can work a miracle ensuring the building is sound proof. I wrote this before but I was a little disappointed in the lack of glitz for the building. I know it’s early but looking at what I saw, it’ll be a miracle if its ready by the summer of 2006 as projected.

<small>[ 05 September 2004, 02:19 PM: Message edited by: Michael Goldbarth ]</small>

The National Ballet of Canada revealed they have a $790,000 deficit at their Annual Meeting. It is likely to grow this season given it is a weak one performance wise. The Contract along with some of the mixed programs are not exactly crowd pleasers. I also question showing Madame Butterfly so soon.

$790k in the hole!

Perhaps Karen Kain will find more money for the NBoC in her newly appointed role as chair of the Canada Council for the Arts? Expect the National Ballet of Canada to announce they will try the bold move of performing a Four Seasons schedule at the Four Seasons Centre. Yes, you will see ballet in spring, summer, winter, and fall! Why they don’t perform summer ballet is beyond me. Summer is the height of the tourist season in Toronto. Why not give it a go?

Karen Kain

Below is an enlightening quote from Karen Kain:

So why go to New York to show a ballet (the Contract) you know is not guaranteed to fill the house?

Ballet Funding