Banned from the Concert Hall
Schedule
Wed May 22 2024 at 08:00 pm to 10:00 pm
UTC-07:00Location
Victoria Event Centre, 1415 Broad St, Victoria, British Columbia | Victoria, BC
Banned from the Concert HallWednesday, May 22nd
Doors: 7 PM | Show: 8 PM
General Admission: $30 | Student: $15
Minors Permitted with Parent/Guardian
A Pub night of dirty drinking songs covering explicit subject matter from sex and alcohol to scatological humour. Songs by English baroque master, Henry Purcell, his 17th century drinking buddies, and free spirits of the modern age, sung by a dynamic trio of tenors: Benjamin Butterfield, Isaiah Bell, and Timothy Carter. Accompanied by Mark McDonald on harpsichord and piano. Following the sold-out concert in November, Victoria Baroque is offering a second chance to hear this belly-achingly funny show! Come and be tickled and pleased like you would never expect!
Artists' Bios
Benjamin Butterfield, tenor
Praised by The New York Times as, “clarion-voiced and vibrant”, Benjamin has performed throughout North America and Europe as well as in the Middle East and Asia.
Recent engagements have included Messiah in Santa Rosa, California, the Verdi Requiem with the Vancouver Symphony, Bach’s B minor Mass with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, a pre-concert recital of Ukrainian Art Song at Roy Thompson Hall through the Toronto Symphony and Handel’s Alcina with Les Violons du Roy in Montreal under Jonathan Cohen.
Past seasons have seen Benjamin at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (Haydn’s Creation), Het Concertgebouw (Handel’s La Resurrezione), at the National Concert Hall, Taipei (Puccini’s Messa di Gloria), as well as at the Kyiv Opera (Stankovych’s Kiddish Requiem) with Oksana Lyniv and the Frankfurt Symphony.
With over forty CD recordings he has been recognized by the Juno Awards and is heard on CBC Radio. He is also featured in Messiah for ZDF TV from the Handel-Festspiele Halle with Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert and is the voice of Colm Feore for the contemporary opera vignette, Traffic Jammed in Dan Redican’s film Burnt Toast.
Head of Voice for the School of Music at UVic, Butterfield was named a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and presented with a Ruby Award from Opera Canada. He is Co-Director of the Ukrainian Art Song Summer Institute (Toronto) and serves as guest faculty for Opera Nuova (Edmonton), the Sicily International Voice Competition and Festival (Italy), Orford Musique (Quebec) and Valley Opera Summer Intensive (Kelowna).
Isaiah Bell, tenor
Isaiah Bell performs across North America as a Classical tenor. In opera, he recently created the role of Johan in the world premiere of Julien Bilodeau & Michel Marc Bouchard’s La Reine-garçon at Opéra de Montréal (to be reprised at the Canadian Opera Company in 2025), as well as creating the role of Antinous in Rufus Wainwright and Daniel MacIvor’s Hadrian at the Canadian Opera Company. He also sang The Barber of Seville for Vancouver Opera, Mark Morris’s production of Curlew River at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the world premiere of La beauté du monde at Opéra de Montréal, and Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Des Moines Metro Opera. Concert engagements include regular appearances with the Toronto Symphony, San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Oratorio Society of New York. He also curates solo recitals that integrate traditional repertoire with spoken poetry and original compositions (Early Music Vancouver, Société d’art vocal de Montréal, Ottawa Chamberfest).
Isaiah complements his performance practice with composing and writing for the theatre. Currently he combines all these disciplines in his chamber-opera/cabaret-theatre solo show The Book of My Shames, a co-creation with director Sean Guist around Isaiah’s own words and music. The piece, currently touring in a version for chamber orchestra, has been described as “impossibly beautiful”, a “fascinating creation,” and a “comic, wrenchingly personal tour-de-force.”
Some recent and upcoming projects include Acis and Galatea with Richard Egarr and Philharmonia Baroque at Tanglewood and Caramoor, Haydn’s Creation with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Florida Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall. He also appears in concerts with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Valley Concert Society, and the Bach Choir of Bethlehem.
During pandemic shutdowns, Isaiah created a diverse body of work, including translating, adapting, and performing Poulenc’s solo opera La voix humaine for a City Opera Vancouver filmed production (a “finely tuned performance, so perfectly married to his own sensitive and intelligent adaptation” — Opera Canada). He also designed hybrid concept recitals for Early Music Vancouver and Ottawa Chamberfest, which featured his own music and poetry alongside works from the Classical canon. For 200 days in 2020, Isaiah immersed himself into a large-scale daily art/music/poetry creation project inspired by the meditative practice of haiku writing. The results can be seen on Instagram @isaiahisaiahisaiahisaiahisaiah.
Isaiah is also engaged with music education and creative-process training. He travels speaking and hosting master classes, and directs experimental concerts and stage productions for young artists (University of Victoria, Opera NUOVA, University of Toronto). He is currently editing his first novel for publication, and trying to teach himself the ukulele.
Timothy Carter, tenor
Calgarian-born tenor Tim Carter currently resides in Victoria BC and recently completed his Master of Music at the University of Victoria, studying under Benjamin Butterfield. Taking a round-a-bout path to becoming a singer, Tim studied Psychology at the University of Calgary for years before making the switch, completing his Bachelor of Music at UofC under Dr. Laura Hynes. Having a keen passion for the study of languages, as well as a deep love of performing, opera was a natural fit. Tim is in the early stages of his career and is particularly excited about showcasing queer narratives through this art form. Recently, he premiered a new art song cycle by queer Edmontonian composer Stuart Beatch, Still Running, which describes the modern gay man’s experience growing up in the prairies.
Photo credit: @j.abramphotography
The VEC has zero tolerance for any type of racist, sexist, ableist, fatphobic, transphobic or homophobic behaviour. All guests must abide by the VEC’s policies listed here.
The VEC’s full accessibility details and elevator instructions can be viewed here: https://victoriaeventcentre.ca/attendees/accessibility/
This event is taking place on the traditional, stolen, unceded land of the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. We acknowledge the rich cultural history of the many peoples and rituals that have been affected by the ongoing process of dispossession and colonialism. We hold this understanding in our interactions and engagements with this land and its people.
Where is it happening?
Victoria Event Centre, 1415 Broad St, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
