On this day in 1975, a fashion fundraiser was being advertised to support opera in Edmonton.
The Fall Fashion show, held at Edmonton's Plaza Hotel (now the Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel), was held by the city's opera guild, a volunteer organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the city's opera company.
Opera has been a part of Edmonton's history since the early 1900s but has taken many different forms along the way. The first was the Edmonton Amateur Operatic Society, founded by Vernon Barford, a farmer turned choirmaster. The society staged The Chimes of Normandy, their first production, in 1904.
Over the next half century, Edmonton played host to many amateur opera companies of various sizes. Then, in 1963, Jean Létourneau founded the Edmonton Professional Opera Association and served as its first artistic director. It was one of the first professional operas in Western Canada. Its first production was the classic Madama Butterfly.
In 1965, Létourneau was succeeded by Irving Guttman, one of the most influential figures in Canadian opera history. In 1960, after studying performance and directing in Quebec and Toronto, Guttman became the founding artistic director of the Vancouver Opera. He kept that job when he joined Edmonton's operation in 1965 (indeed, not content with splitting himself between opera companies in two cities, he was also involved with the founding of the Manitoba and Saskatchewan operas, as well as Calgary's company).
The early years of the Edmonton Opera saw success. Crowds were sizable and international talent was brought in to perform in front of them. By 1972, the company had a base of about 6,000 subscribers.
The Edmonton company worked to reach people beyond the theatre, too. It collaborated with the CBC to bring productions to national radio audiences, twice winning a Canadian Music Award for Best Opera Broadcast in 1977 and 1978. The company also ran a touring opera educational program from 1973 to 1984 that saw it bring performances to schools. Over this time, the group provided training, mentoring, and support to emerging opera performers.
Guttman stayed on as the Edmonton Opera's artistic director for more than 30 years before retiring in 1998.
In recent years, the company (now named the Edmonton Opera) has had to adjust. As with many arts organizations, it weathered the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic created, which linger. Opera is less popular than in previous decades as well. The organization is currently making a push to attract new audiences. Earlier this year, the opera joined with other artistic organizations to host free performances targeted at younger audiences.
This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse of @VintageEdmonton.