TheDeal

• $17.50 for one ticket to the 2014 Tri-City Gala Concert Tour, presented by Vancouver Concert Opera Society (up to $35 value)
• When: Friday, January 10, at 7:30 p.m.
• Where: First United Church
• Seating: general admission
• Door time: 6:30 p.m.
• Ticket values include all fees.

The value of this deal is based on regular ticket prices and doesn't reflect student, senior, or military discounts.

Vancouver Concert Opera Society Presents 2014 Tri-City Gala Concert

Bizet, Donizetti, and Verdi would be enough to draw many music fans to Vancouver Concert Opera Society's 2014 gala concert tour. Between these three composers, some of the most celebrated operas in history were created, including Carmen, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Rigoletto. But the program isn't the concert's only draw. With piano accompaniment from VCOS's own Michael Onwood, the songs are performed by a quartet of remarkable Canadian vocalists: soprano Arianna Sovernigo, mezzo-soprano Natalie Burdeny, tenor Sunny Shams, and baritone Andrew Greenwood. While all four have belted across the country and around the world (including recent Italian debuts for both Sovernigo and Burdeny), Mr. Shams is the newest face. Only 26 years old, he made the leap to opera from working as a jazz pianist and vocalist, and has since racked up credits with the Burnaby Lyric Opera and the Vancouver and Victoria Symphonies. Together, the entire group tackles some of music's most beloved arias, duets, and ensembles, many of which already exist in their impressive repertoires and repeatedly cracked iPod screens.

Vancouver Concert Opera Society

For the Vancouver Concert Opera Society, it's about the music, not the spectacle. Eschewing some of opera's more grandiose traditions, such as elaborate set pieces or Viking helmets slathered in caviar, the group opts for a laser-like focus on the compositions themselves. These range from original-language concert versions of masterworks to lesser-known gems that have earned praised from Opera Canada.