Second Nature isn’t Sheppard’s first experience performing for a young audience: he performed Operation Superpower last year. Iain MacNeil (David), Lauren Eberwein (Lydia), Danika Lorèn (Elizabeth) and Aaron Sheppard (Jake) in the COC’s production of Second Nature, 2016 photo: Chris Hutcheson This year’s school tour is the Canadian premier of Second Nature, a futuristic opera about habitat loss, created last year specifically for young audiences by 26-year old American composer-conductor Matthew Aucoin. Studying opera informs you of various cultures, and it is an incredibly inclusive form of art.” The relatability of opera is a point that the COC has promoted tirelessly through its school tours for 50 years – and with considerable success. It’s all people, of all ages and ethnicities. “Opera is sung and set in so many languages. “It’s not just loud voices with Viking costumes,” he stresses. This, along with the recent updating of The Opera Guide support Sheppard’s view of opera being more relevant now than ever, and having special importance in the preservation of arts and culture worldwide. This year’s performance on November 27 is already sold out, a clear indication that opera is alive and thriving amongst the young set. In addition to the tours, the COC offers local audiences a one-day opportunity to see the School Tour show and participate in hands-on activities related to the opera. So naturally, he’s a part of the COC’s annual Ensemble Studio School Tour (his second), which brings interactive opera experiences to around 10,000 students in Ontario schools every November and December. Firm in his conviction that opera should be introduced to children – to show them how fun and exciting it is – he is the ideal opera ambassador to present this art form to children. As a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s famed Ensemble Studio, he’s performed in many classical operas, and is excited to perform in more contemporary ones this season. However, it is anything but!”Īnd he should know. “Opera is an unique example that’s sometimes viewed as an antiquated art form. “There are so many new operas being written, or even old ones updated, that are incredibly relevant and accessible to children of all ages,” he asserts. Given this contemporary dynamism, one can’t help but wonder: is it accessible for children?Ĭanadian tenor Aaron Sheppard avers enthusiastically that it is. In fact, David Pountney points out in his Foreword to the book that opera is more diverse now than ever before–which definitely puts opera in the “contemporary” category. On the other hand, of the 100 composers referenced in the recently updated The Opera Guide by Amanda Holden, more than 50 have been popular since 1900, and 18 of them are living–and young. On the one hand, it’s been around for over 400 years…so it can be termed “classical”. The thing about opera is…it’s an art form that’s impossible to categorize. He had to let everyone know that he had been to France many times and they were all rude and unorganized.Canadian Tenor Aaron Sheppard (photo courtesy of the COC) I guess we've all seen him dozens of times, at home and while traveling. Plus he was about 6'4" and maybe 275 lbs. How come so many tourists and locals alike, men and women, with those awful legs and bulging bellies, think that they look ala mode? There really should be fashion police at all airport exits.Ī loud jerk at CDG when we arrived last September, was spouting anti-French sentiments, really loud, as we were being pushed & shoved through the long unorganized lines through immigration or whatever they call it Of course he was dressin the above costume, complete with baseball hat and a huge camera around his neck. I guess shorts will be out when we are there this winter, so we will be spared that sight at Le Train Bleu. I too have noticed that the French are dressing more and casually, but it is usually chic faux sloppy. Even though I'm no Audrey Hepburn or Katherine Hepburn for that matter, casual day dress is great, I'm the T shirt/jeans/sandals queen, but nights out - black top, black pants and nice accessories - how much trouble is that?