TWO SHOWS, TWO THEATRES

Opera calls
both son
and mother

THE FLINTSTONES cartoon show is over for the after-
noon and three-year-old Brant Hughes is getting ready to
leave for his first rehearsal of Madame Butterfly.

“We're going to go to the
opera,’’ Brant shyly tells the North
Shore News. ‘‘We’re going to
Madame Butterfly...about a
wouan...and she dies,’’ the
showbiz kid says after much
prompting. ‘Oh, 1 don’t know,”
he sighs in resignation.

But while Brant will be appear-
ing in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
production of Madame Butterfly,
mom Vivian will be singing in a
show at North Vancouver’s Cen-
tennial Theatre.

“I can’t even go see his show,”’
laments Hughes, who is to sing the
lead role in the North Shore Light
Opera Society show The Grand
Duchess of Gerolstein.

Classed a high soprano, the 34-
year-old Hughes has been ‘‘singing
for a long time’? and her wide

. range allows her to sing both high
and low parts alike.

_ At Hillside Secondary, a teenag-
ed: Hughes sang in the school’s
productions of Oklahoma! and
Guys and Dolls, ‘‘We decided to

do.a spring concert and all-of a.

sudden it ended up being a full-
blown musical and they’ve had one
a year since.’

_In'.The. Grand Duchess of
Gerolstein operetta, Hughes’ char-
acter is pressured to wed the weak,
ineffectual Prince Paul so that her
tutor may rule the kingdom."

But the duchess falls for Fritz, a
dashing and“ handsome young
fusilier, and shows her affection by
promoting him post-haste to the

By STEPHEN BARRINGTON
News Reporter {

high rank of general.

And so Fritz’s fortunes alter-
nately wax and wane as he first
woos, but then scorns the duchess,
quickly returning to the waiting
arms of. Wanda, his peasant love.

Last season, Hughes appeared in
the society’s production Waltzes of
Vienna and has worked with just
about every amateur theatre com-
pany on the North Shore.

As a character actress, Hughes
says her red hair makes her a
perfect choice to play a tart.

Preparing for her role as the
duchess means about 16 hours of
practice a week for Hughes, who
puts in many extra hours limbering
up her voice for the part.

Taking after his actress/singer
mom, Brant appeared in a movie
at the age of two and a recent tele-
vision commercial broadcasts him
into numerous homes.

Chosen by audition for his part
as Trouble in Madame Butterfly,
Brant will be in three scenes.

The Duchess of Gerolstein oper-
etta runs from March 5 to 7 and 12
to 14 at the Centenniai Theatre.
Tickets are sold at VTC/CBO or
the North Van Rec Centre.

Brant will do his stuff as
Madame Butterfly’s son at the
Queen Elizabeth Theatre on March
7, 10, 12 and 14. Tickets are being
sold through VTC/CBO.

25 - Friday, February 27, 1987 —2 goth Shore News

NEWS photo Tom Burley

Madame Butterfly at ripe age of three

VIVIAN HUGHES and three-year-old son Brant rehearse a song for Brant’s upcoming performance as
Madame Butterfly’s son in the Vancouver Opera’s production of Madame Butterfly. Vivian will be unable to
see Brant’s performance because she will be performing in the North Shore Light Opera Society’s production of
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein at the same time. .

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Roast of the day carved in the Restaurant
Sinfully delicious desserts

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On weekends indulge in our sinfully delicious Chocolate Bar
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VANCOUVER

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