‘Star’ time for Surrey’s rebranded Crescendo Operatic Society with grant-winning show

Surrey’s Crescendo Operatic Society is “Following a Star” to Bell Performing Arts Centre for a special night of Christmas music and stories, on Friday, Dec. 2.

Directed by Dolores Scott, the show promises performances of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” (a short opera by Gian Carlo Menotti) and “The Three Kings” (uplifting carols sung with the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow).

“This Christmas show is extremely family-friendly and the perfect start to the season,” says a post on the Bell’s website. “Joy, wonder and love are the theme of the season if you choose to partake in this feast for the senses.”

The Crescendo company, formerly known as Young People’s Opera Society of B.C., earned a grant to perform “Following a Star” at the 1,052-seat theatre through the Bell Performing Arts Centre Community Program.

The contest, presented by Bell Canada and Surrey School District, was launched in January to grant free rental of Sullivan-area theatre to three local organizations hit hard by the pandemic. For 2022, the other two winning groups were African Heritage Music & Dance Society and Global Peace Alliance BC.

Tickets for “Following a Star” range from $12.50 to $17.50, depending on age, on bellperformingartscentre.com/event/following-a-star, or call 604-507-6355.

Prior to the pandemic, Young People’s Opera Society staged “The Elixir of Love” at Surrey Arts Centre’s Studio Theatre. The company was founded by Patricia Dahlquist in 2005, and as Crescendo Operatic Society will continue its mission to offer “affordable opportunities for singers to learn about performing in the practical setting of production,” as noted on crescendooperatic.org.

“In this respect it is a unique organization with weekly rehearsals and several performances a year,” the website says. “The COS program incorporates singing, movement and acting as well as learning various aspects of stagecraft and offering positions in production.

“COS has worked with hundreds of singers (amateur and professional), engaged many musicians, and delighted thousands of audience members of all ages and interests. Society members are from all over the world and have gone on to study and perform in major cities across Canada and the U.S.”

Crescendo Operatic Society membership is open to all ages, and rehearsals are held Sunday afternoons at Trinity Lutheran Church, 11040 River Rd., North Delta.

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tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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