Throw away your monocles and leave the altar boys tucked in bed. Classical music does not have to be for the privileged few or for church pews. Classical music is sexy. It's passionate. It’s about pain and suffering, passion and envy, curses and evil!

Soprano Noosa Al-Sarraj (photo by Allison Staton)

The budding performance collective Opera Undressed wishes to pelvic thrust this take on classical music into the faces of all willing participants—and even those not wearing pants. Upcoming performances at Le Hibou in Wakefield on August 3 and at Tabaret Hall (UOttawa campus) on August 5 will showcase the virtuoso skills of pianist Roland Graham, soprano Noosa Al-Sarraj, and the art projections of Ariane Beauchamp. Significantly, there will also be a cash bar.

Initially staged as a modest performance of art songs, Opera Undressed is growing in size and ambition. It began when I was attending Al-Sarraj’s voice recitals (we are old acquaintances from our days in Peterborough) and noted her affinity for rock and roll and other incongruous genres. We set out to blur the boundaries and infiltrate the stuffy world of classical musicianship with a bit of spice from the real world.

Pianist Roland Graham (photo by Bill Blackstone)

Fast forward to not-too-long ago, when Al-Sarraj met Graham, a highly trained pianist, passionate choirmaster and director of the Verdun Classical Music Society. Next I was introduced to Ariane Beauchamp, a multidisciplinary artist whose varied works include ink drawings and light projections using everything including her body as a canvas.

Music in the August shows will be a mélange of styles and time periods: the idea is for listeners to feel the thematic connection between songs across time. Al-Sarraj will begin with a trio of German songs that evoke despair with minor keys and slow deliberate melodies. Anyone can relate to the mood of these heart-wrenching tunes regardless of musical background or knowledge of composers.

Visual artist Ariane Beauchamp



After performing some French art songs by Gabriel Faure, vocalist Al-Sarraj will conclude with three Italian opera arias that explore the theme of false appearances and masquerades. Overall, the musical selections reveal the heart of the Opera Undressed objective: to explore the full range of the human psyche through classical music and art projections. (Alternative objective: to enable people to get a little tipsy while listening to some kick-ass classical music.)

In preparation for the performance, Opera Undressed has put out a call for poster designs to all artists in the Ottawa area who would like to join the collective.

The posters will be displayed physically and digitally for the month of July as a public art display. For information or submissions, please visit www.operaundressed.info.­