A man leans over a table with a glass of wine, while another man hangs upside down beneath it, with a bottle and two glasses on the table in the dimly lit background.

Bulkley Valley Concert Association

Adult Ticket

Senior Ticket (60+)

Youth/Student (under 18)

Take This Waltz Inspired by a pandemic-era road trip, Take This Waltz is the idiosyncratic, multidisciplinary love child of renowned bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch and Ne.Sans Opera &amp; Dance&rsquo;s artistic director Idan Cohen. A hybrid form embodying opera, dance and chamber music with strong cinematic overtones, the creators may well have invented a whole new genre &ndash; let&rsquo;s call it cohenlieder. True to its highway origins, it is a kind of travelogue through Leonard Cohen&rsquo;s oeuvre. The production debuted at the same Chutzpah! Festival in Vancouver in 2022 where this iteration was presented in partnership with Vancouver Opera. It was preceded by 2012&rsquo;s Chelsea Hotel, a Cohen musical of sorts, and the Cohen-approved piece of dance-theatre called Dance Me, created by Les Ballets Jazz de Montr&eacute;al. While one can draw parallels to these precedents, Take this Waltz is unique in its casting of an opera star as a Cohenesque everyman, who is joined on his musical journey by dancer Ted Littlemore as a spiritual companion / expression of the singer&rsquo;s inner self. Cohen&rsquo;s songs are about interior dramas of the heart and soul instead of exteriorized grand Romantic themes, so there is a huge difference in scale here in a genre that could also be named opera intime. But it mostly worked, as Okulitch&rsquo;s rich bass-baritone &ndash; that sounded at times like black velvet melting &ndash; carried the show. And perhaps naming its kind is less important than enjoying the ride. Indeed, it was both a visual and musical pleasure to watch the kinetic interaction between dancer and singer who matched each other in their rich articulations of body and voice. They were accompanied on stage by live chamber music, well played by Taras Luka on accordion, Llowyn Ball on violin and Doug Gorkoff on cello with a spare yet evocative spirit. Although there were suggestions of storylines, most of the interpretations of Cohen&rsquo;s work arrived at a kind of universality, exploring the themes of love and death. The props and set design (by Amir Ofek) were simple but effective: a table, a chair, a suitcase, a bottle of wine and two glasses (revealed during &ldquo;Treaty&rdquo;), and later doctor&rsquo;s and patient&rsquo;s gowns donned in &ldquo;One of Us Cannot be Wrong&rdquo; (&ldquo;I showed my heart to the doctor / He said I&rsquo;d just have to quit&rdquo;) and the x-rayed image of a heart. Lighting design by Itai Erdal and the suggestion of whiteface makeup on the mute Littlemore lent the feel of a silent film. Musical arrangement by Adrian Dolan and the work of dramaturg Ra&iuml;na von Waldenburg helped transform the evening into one of Cohenesque metatheatre. <p fr-original-style="box-sizing:inherit;width:649.047px;margin:0px;color:rgb(15, 14, 91);line-height:1.5;" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 649.047px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(15, 14, 91); line-height: 1.5;">Please note that after 4:30 PM on the day of the concert, online ticket sales will close. Tickets will still be available for purchase at the door.

<p fr-original-style="width:100%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgb(15, 14, 91);" style="width: 100%; margin: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(15, 14, 91); line-height: 1.5;">Hi <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip " fr-original-style="" style="color: rgb(42, 42, 196); overflow-wrap: anywhere; user-select: none; background-color: rgb(248, 248, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255); border-radius: 4px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 8px; font-size: 11px; display: inline-block; box-sizing: inherit;">First name ,<p fr-original-style="width:100%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgb(15, 14, 91);" style="width: 100%; margin: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(15, 14, 91); line-height: 1.5;"> <p fr-original-style="width:100%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgb(15, 14, 91);" style="width: 100%; margin: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(15, 14, 91); line-height: 1.5;">Thank you for purchasing tickets to this performance!<p fr-original-style="width:100%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgb(15, 14, 91);" style="width: 100%; margin: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(15, 14, 91); line-height: 1.5;"> <p fr-original-style="width:100%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgb(15, 14, 91);" style="width: 100%; margin: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(15, 14, 91); line-height: 1.5;">If you would like to contribute further, contact us to become a volunteer, or talk to your friends about our cause!<p fr-original-style="width:100%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgb(15, 14, 91);" style="width: 100%; margin: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(15, 14, 91); line-height: 1.5;"> <p fr-original-style="width:100%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgb(15, 14, 91);" style="width: 100%; margin: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(15, 14, 91); line-height: 1.5;">The Bulkley Valley Concert Association

Take This Waltz Inspired by a pandemic-era road trip, Take This Waltz is the idiosyncratic, multidisciplinary love child of renowned bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch and Ne.Sans Opera &amp; Dance’s artistic director Idan Cohen. A hybrid form embodying opera, dance and chamber music with strong cinematic overtones, the creators may well have invented a whole new genre – let’s call it cohenlieder. True to its highway origins, it is a kind of travelogue through Leonard Cohen’s oeuvre. The production debuted at the same Chutzpah! Festival in Vancouver in 2022 where this iteration was presented in partnership with Vancouver Opera. It was preceded by 2012’s Chelsea Hotel, a Cohen musical of sorts, and the Cohen-approved piece of dance-theatre called Dance Me, created by Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal. While one can draw parallels to these precedents, Take this Waltz is unique in its casting of an opera star as a Cohenesque everyman, who is joined on his musical journey by dancer Ted Littlemore as a spiritual companion / expression of the singer’s inner self. Cohen’s songs are about interior dramas of the heart and soul instead of exteriorized grand Romantic themes, so there is a huge difference in scale here in a genre that could also be named opera intime. But it mostly worked, as Okulitch’s rich bass-baritone – that sounded at times like black velvet melting – carried the show. And perhaps naming its kind is less important than enjoying the ride. Indeed, it was both a visual and musical pleasure to watch the kinetic interaction between dancer and singer who matched each other in their rich articulations of body and voice. They were accompanied on stage by live chamber music, well played by Taras Luka on accordion, Llowyn Ball on violin and Doug Gorkoff on cello with a spare yet evocative spirit. Although there were suggestions of storylines, most of the interpretations of Cohen’s work arrived at a kind of universality, exploring the themes of love and death. The props and set design (by Amir Ofek) were simple but effective: a table, a chair, a suitcase, a bottle of wine and two glasses (revealed during “Treaty”), and later doctor’s and patient’s gowns donned in “One of Us Cannot be Wrong” (“I showed my heart to the doctor / He said I’d just have to quit”) and the x-rayed image of a heart. Lighting design by Itai Erdal and the suggestion of whiteface makeup on the mute Littlemore lent the feel of a silent film. Musical arrangement by Adrian Dolan and the work of dramaturg Raïna von Waldenburg helped transform the evening into one of Cohenesque metatheatre. Please note that after 4:30 PM on the day of the concert, online ticket sales will close. Tickets will still be available for purchase at the door.

Bulkley Valley Concert Association

Take This Waltz

4400 3 Ave

Add a donation

Adult Ticket

$32

Senior Ticket (60+)

$26

Youth/Student (under 18)

$16