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Joel Ivany

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Joel Ivany
Born
Penticton, British Columbia
NationalityCanadian
Alma materUniversity of Western Ontario
University of Toronto
OccupationStage director
Years active2011–present
Organization(s)Against the Grain Theatre, Edmonton Opera, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Notable credit(s)Messiah, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte
SpouseMiriam Khalil
Websitejoelivany.com

Joel Ivany is a Canadian stage director and the founder and first artistic director of Against the Grain Theatre in Toronto, Ontario. In November 2021, he was named artistic director of Edmonton Opera.

He is known for directing adaptations of the Messiah, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte. Ivany is currently the program director for opera at the Banff Centre.[1]

Early life and education

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Joel Ivany holds a Bachelor's of Music degree from the University of Western Ontario and an Artist Diploma in Opera Directing from the University of Toronto.[2] His directing career began in 2011 when he won Third Prize in the 6th European Opera Directing Competition for his concept presentation of Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi alongside Canadian designers Camellia Koo and Jason Hand.[3] Following workshops at Banff in 2010, he directed the premier of the chamber opera Marilyn Forever by Gavin Bryars with the Aventa Ensemble in Victoria BC, 2013, followed by performances at the Adelaide Festival, Australia, in 2015.

Career

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He made his concert directorial debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in a staged presentation of Requiem (Mozart)[4] and his main stage operatic directing debut at the Canadian Opera Company directing Carmen,[5][6] both in 2016.

He is perhaps best known as an opera director through his company, Against the Grain Theatre (AtG).[7] As its founder and artistic director, Ivany has worked to present modern adaptations of past operas. Through his company, Against the Grain Theatre, he has produced adaptations of La bohème in a bar,[8] Pelléas et Mélisande in an outdoor courtyard,[9] Le nozze di Figaro in a wedding venue, aptly renamed Figaro's Wedding,[10] Così fan tutte renamed A Little Too Cozy[11] and set in a reality television dating game show and in one of the CBC's very own television studios in Toronto,[12] an outdoors reinterpretation of Mozart's Don Giovanni titled Uncle John,[13][14] a staged/choreographed Messiah,[15] and The Turn of the Screw in a converted attic.[16]

As a main stage opera director he has received critical acclaim in such productions The Tales of Hoffmann with Edmonton Opera, Macbeth for Minnesota Opera[17] and Carmen for Vancouver Opera.[18]

In Canada he has directed for the Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, Edmonton Opera, Against the Grain Theatre, the University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University, Music Niagara, Opera Nuova, the University of Western Ontario, The Royal Conservatory of Music, and the Banff Centre.

Internationally he has worked with Washington National Opera, Minnesota Opera, The Norwegian National Opera, Bard Summerscape, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wexford Festival, the Adelaide Festival, Opera Holland Park, and Lyric Opera Studio Weimar.

He co-directed the Messiah/Complex for Against the Grain Theatre which became a worldwide hit and reviewed in the New York Times.[19]

He was named Artistic Director of Edmonton Opera, November 2021.[20]

Awards and recognition

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Ivany has written four original adaptations of opera librettos including La bohème, Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro and Così fan tutte. His production of Figaro's Wedding garnered 7 Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction, and a win for Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Musical/Opera in 2014.[21]

In 2015 his production of Uncle John received three Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations.[22]

In 2018 he was inducted into the Faculty of Music Alumni Wall of Fame at his Alma Mater, Western University[23]

In 2018 his co-production of Orphée+ received 9 Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations and won 5 awards including Outstanding Production.

In 2020 he was named a Canadian Arts Hero in the Globe and Mail.[24]

Personal life

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Joel Ivany resides in Edmonton, Canada with his wife, soprano Miriam Khalil and two sons, Sammy and Amil Ivany.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Laing, Zach. "ATG brings opera with a twist to Banff Centre". Banff Crag & Canyon. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  2. ^ "How Against The Grain changed the opera game with modernized productions in bars, galleries and studios". National Post. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  3. ^ "The Banff Centre partners with Against the Grain Theatre and Canadian Opera Company for innovative new opera training program". Banff Centre. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  4. ^ Vincent, Michael (23 January 2016). "Not quite Requiem, not quite a success: review". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  5. ^ Harris, Robert (8 April 2016). "Director Joel Ivany delivers a production of Carmen you can trust". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  6. ^ Sumi, Glenn (6 April 2016). "Who's afraid of opera?". Now (newspaper). Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  7. ^ DeMara, Bruce (4 January 2016). "These five Torontonians are due for a big 2016". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  8. ^ Terauds, John (2 June 2011). "This La Bohème belongs in the bar". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  9. ^ Kaplan, Jon (22 June 2014). "Pelléas Et Mélisande". Now. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  10. ^ Terauds, John (29 May 2013). "Figaro's Wedding a treat from beginning to end: Review". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  11. ^ Bonfield, Stephan (30 August 2015). "Joel Ivany's A Little Too Cozy gives Mozart a reality TV-style makeover at Banff Centre". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  12. ^ Harris, Robert (13 May 2016). "Amadeus meets The Bachelor in Against the Grain's A Little Too Cozy". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  13. ^ Bratishenko, Lev (19 August 2014). "Opera comes down from the mountain". Maclean's. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  14. ^ Robb, Peter (29 July 2015). "Chamberfest: Joel Ivany reimagines opera with #UncleJohn". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  15. ^ Crawford, Trish (2 October 2015). "Rockin' barefoot Messiah to play at Harbourfront Centre". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  16. ^ Sumi, Glenn (31 May 2012). "Frighteningly good". Now (newspaper). Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  17. ^ Fuchsberg, Larry (31 January 2014). "A gripping, corpse-strewn Macbeth at Minnesota Opera". Star Tribune. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  18. ^ Duke, David Gordon. "Joel Ivany directs two casts in Vancouver Opera's 'sexiest opera' Carmen". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  19. ^ Bilefsky, Dan (2020-12-21). "A 'Messiah' for the Multitudes, Freed From History's Bonds". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  20. ^ Wheeler, Brad (2021-11-18). "With the appointment of Joel Ivany as its artistic director, Edmonton Opera cuts against the grain". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  21. ^ "35th Anniversary DORA MAVOR MOORE AWARDS". TAPA. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  22. ^ "2015 Dora Mavor Moore Awards Announced". Musical Toronto. June 1, 2015.
  23. ^ "Alumni Wall of Fame 2018". Alumni News. June 8, 2018.
  24. ^ Doyle, John; Hertz, Barry; Lederman, Marsha; Wheeler, Brad; Nestruck, J. Kelly; Taylor, Kate; Pereira, Judith (2020-12-18). "The Globe and Mail's Canadian arts heroes of 2020". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  25. ^ Crawford, Trish (19 June 2014). "Four-month-old baby gets role in Pelleas et Melisande". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
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