Afew months ago, Sevan Kochkarian was in the middle of a rehearsal when she got a surprise.
John Arsenault, the music director and board president of DragonDiva, asked her to try out for his opera company's upcoming production of Candide.
Arsenault had wanted the Centennial secondary grad to play the saucy role of Paquette. "I was thrilled about it," the Coquitlam resident said. "I went home that day and started preparing for my audition."
An opera student at the Vancouver Academy of Music, Kochkarian had never been in the Leonard Bernstein show before (but had sung Glitter and Be Gay at previous functions).
Needless to say, the former Theatrix actress won the role and, this week, will be bringing Paquette to life as part of the Evergreen Cultural Centre's second annual Opera on the Lake summer series.
"I love opera," the soprano said. "I think the stories are wild and crazy. Some are comedic, some are tragic but [they are] filled with so much emotion, drive and passion."
Jeanine Flynn, artistic director for DragonDiva, which last year presented the radio play-opera The Old Maid and the Thief at Evergreen, said Arsenault had been pressing the theatrical company for a while to showcase Candide.
"It's an amazing piece but there are a lot of characters in it," she said. "This was the first year it felt like it was the right year for it."
Most of the cast of 10 portrays several roles in the operetta, which is based on the 1759 novella of the same name by the French writer Voltaire.
Arsenault plays Candide, a dreamer who searches for the meaning of his life. Along the way, horrible things happen to him but he tries to live to his ideals. Ultimately, he figures out it's an imperfect world. "He's a simple man with simple needs so he goes through life without being fazed much," Flynn said, adding the operetta "is set in a way that makes it comical and satirical."
Newcomers to opera shouldn't shy away as the piece is in English and there is dialogue. As well, "it's really close to musical theatre in a lot of ways," Flynn said.
Kochkarian said the narrative is a totally ridiculous - and fun. "The dialogue is outrageously hilarious," she said. "The audience will be on the floor laughing. It's hard for us as the actors not to laugh on stage."
And for opera lovers, "it's a bit of twist from what they're used to," Flynn said. "Over our past seven years, we've been progressing to things that are sort of on the fringes of opera."
DragonDiva's Candide runs Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., at the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam). Please note the show is not suitable for minors. Tickets are $25 and includes dessert afterwards. Call Evergreen at 604-927-6555 or visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca.
