Founded in 2015, Vera Causa Opera (VCO) describes themselves as an innovative opera company. They are a charitable organization spearheaded by a volunteer board of directors that uses a collaborative structure to choose shows each season. Most recently they have been working on a production of The Child and the Spells written by Maurice Ravel.
The community theatre allows people of all ages and experiences to join and collaborate on bringing together each show. The Child and the Spells, specifically, brings together four key components: actors, singers, dancers, and musicians.
“The Child and the Spells is a French opera that’s sung in English about a child who doesn’t do his homework, throws a tantrum, destroys half the things in his room, and those things come to life to teach the child a lesson about being good and respecting your parents,” described Dylan Langan, the artistic director and conductor of VCO.
For this run, VCO took the script, typically translated into Old English, and updated the language to be more colloquial. The opera company, “wanted a script that reflected the needs of their participants and the community, seeking content that challenged the actors and musicians while being accessible and entertaining,” said Langan.
Supported by grants and donations, VCO provides paid professional opportunities for youth. They are aimed at supporting their health and well-being while giving them a place to hone and showcase their talents within the community. They are able to give youth the opportunity to work alongside local professionals and expand their understanding of theatre.
For a second year, Vera Causa Opera has collaborated with the Contemporary School of Dance to bring dancers of all
ages to the stage to work alongside actors and the band. Georgina Rombough, the choreographer and dance company director for the Contemporary School of Dance in Waterloo, explains the process of bringing the opera to light through dance: “For many of our dancers, this is a new experience; performing with a live orchestra is very new for some of them. That’s a great opportunity because it trains your ear differently… to have that music live is a really vital training experience for the dancers to go through,” said Rombough.
Unafraid of modifying the choreography to suit the dancers and embed it properly within the performance, the dancers are a key component to the show, and as a non-competitive dance studio, they are able to expand and collaborate with VCO to bring a well-rounded piece to the stage.