Stage: Beloved soprano Jessica McCormack returns home to perform in Opera New Brunswick's 'Topsy Turvy'

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Kathy Kaufield
For the Telegraph-Journal

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Jessica McCormack has a noticeable glint in her eyes and a smile on her lips as she belts out her favourite Gilbert and Sullivan song, Poor Wand'ring One, from The Pirates of Penzance.

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Peter Walsh/Telegraph-Journal

Some of the cast members for Opera New Brunswick’s production of ‘Topsy Turvy: A Night/Matinee of Gilbert & Sullivan’ are, back row from left, Fred Rowe, Victor Kindred, Christopher Lane, David Shoots; second row from left, mezzo soloist Christianne Belanger, tenor soloist Graham Thomson, baritone soloist Peter Groom and June Garnett; third row from left, Maxine MacMillan, Claire Driscoll, Jessica McCormack and Brenda Craig Brooks; front row from left, Sarah Wiseman, Jenny Ryan, Marilyn Williams. ‘Topsy Turvy’ opens in Saint John on Friday and has productions in Fredericton and Sackville this weekend.

It's a light and sparkling song, but also a challenging one to sing. And Saint John's beloved soprano performs it effortlessly.

The small crowd at her rehearsal breaks into applause as she finishes the song, and McCormack bursts out laughing.

"This is such a great song," she says. "I love it. It's full of gratuitous vocal acrobatics."

She clearly loves performing these vocal acrobatics, and audiences clearly enjoy hearing them - which is why McCormack, who now lives in Ohio, has returned home to perform this weekend in Opera New Brunswick's new production Topsy Turvy: A Night/Matinee of Gilbert & Sullivan.

"There's something rewarding about singing Gilbert and Sullivan. I think it's great music. There's a lot of drama in it. And I love any opportunity to perform in New Brunswick," she says.

Over a century ago, playwright and humorist Sir W.S. Gilbert and composer Sir Arthur Sullivan wrote a series of comic operettas that were wildly popular in their own time and are now considered the forerunners of modern musicals.

Featuring four soloists - three of whom are from New Brunswick - Topsy Turvy includes selections from the most popular Gilbert and Sullivan works, including HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.

The production is lively, witty musical theatre performed in English with great melodies and opportunities for fine singing, says Christopher Lane, executive director of Opera New Brunswick.

"For newcomers to opera, the Topsy Turvy concert is the perfect bridge between Broadway musicals and opera," says Lane.

In addition to McCormack, the cast also includes Christianne Bélanger, a mezzo soprano from the Grand Falls area; Peter Groom, a baritone who teaches at Mount Allison University; Graham Thompson, a tenor from Prince Edward Island; and the Opera New Brunswick chorus. Pianist Anne Marie Murphy of Fredericton will accompany the singers, and Saint John actor Tim Turnell will narrate the production.

Lane describes Topsy Turvy as a "concert performance," meaning it won't include any costumes or staging, but the singers will still be "in character" as they perform. The only musical accompaniment will be the piano.

"There will still be the character interaction and the storytelling," says Lane. "We've taken the best of the best from Gilbert and Sullivan, and we'll be tying it all together with a wonderful narration."

McCormack says she loves the acting side of performing opera. She will take on three characters in Topsy Turvy: Mabel from The Pirates of Penzance ("I hate to say she's flaky but she's a little flaky."); Josephine from H.M.S Pinafore ("She's conflicted, and you will definitely hear that."); and Yum-Yum from The Mikado ("She's confident. She compares herself to the sun and moon.")

McCormack, 29, has been a popular performer in the Port City for two decades, since she made her stage debut at the age of eight singing The Gentle Donkey on The Empty Stocking Fund. She performed at the annual Christmas fundraising show every year until she graduated from high school. She still calls in a pledge every year even though she no longer lives in New Brunswick.

Nowadays, McCormack, who describes herself as a "teaching artist," is an assistant professor of music at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, where she teaches applied voice technique and directs the Opera Studio. She holds a doctor of musical arts from the University of North Texas, a master of music degree in opera from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor of music in voice performance from the University of Toronto. Her studies and performances have taken her around the world - to Austria, Germany, France, Italy and the Czech Republic. She's performed at Carnegie Hall and the Boston Early Music Festival.

McCormack says she has received amazing support from her family, friends, teachers and audiences in Saint John and over the years, she has performed at countless events in the Port City - at churches, nursing homes, Kiwanis Clubs, the Imperial Theatre. She says those performances - in front of warm and supportive local audiences - gave her the experience and confidence she needed to get her where she is today. Because of that, she takes every opportunity she can to give back to the community that supported her so much.

While in the city this week, she plans to spend some time teaching students individually. She'll also serve as a real-life role model for students from Fredericton High School who will be taking part in the capital city's performance of Topsy Turvy.

Part of Opera New Brunswick's mandate is to support and reach out to young performers, says Lane, and as such, ONB will donate $5 from each senior and adult ticket sold at the Fredericton performance of Topsy Turvy to help support Fredericton High School's production of The Mikado. Next August, Fredericton High School will perform The Mikado at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the biggest arts festival in the world. ONB has also invited the students to perform at the Fredericton show, which will give them valuable experience in front of an audience.

"New Brunswick high schools have a great tradition of performing musicals, but FHS has taken this a giant step further in tackling Gilbert and Sullivan," says Lane. "The Mikado requires high production values, skilful comic acting and superb singing. We want to applaud FHS's Mikado by offering tangible financial support."

Lane says he's thrilled to give the Fredericton students a chance to perform and to hopefully instill in them a love of opera. For such a small province, New Brunswick has a large number of classically trained singers who perform around the world, like McCormack does.

"This is a real opportunity to ensure this tradition continues," Lane says.

Opera New Brunswick performs 'Topsy Turvy: A Night/Matinee of Gilbert & Sullivan' at the Imperial Theatre in Saint John on Friday at 8 p.m. (tickets are available by calling 674-4100 or at www.imperialtheatre.nb.ca). The Fredericton performance takes place on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Tom Morrison Theatre in Fredericton High School (tickets are available by calling 458-8344 or at www.theplayhouse.nb.ca). Opera New Brunswick marks its first show in Sackville on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Brunton Auditorium at Mount Allison University (tickets are available at Tidewater Books, 4 Bridge St., Sackville; La Guitare, 388 St. George St., Moncton; or at the door.) Tickets for all performances are $35 for adults; $30 for seniors and $10 for students.