ON STAGE
What: La Vie en Rose
Where: Alix Goolden Performance Hall, 907 Pandora Ave.
When: Sunday Feb. 17, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $13.50-$55 by phone at 250-386-5311, online at ticketfly.com or in person at the Victoria Conservatory of Music box office (900 Johnson St.)
Former Victoria Symphony concertmaster Pablo Diemecke leads a cast of musicians and dancers in a unique Vancouver Island tour that stops Sunday at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall.
La Vie en Rose is a Valentine’s Day-themed event based around the violin work of Diemecke. The Grammy nominee will be joined at performances in Campbell River (Saturday, The Tidemark Theatre) and Victoria (Sunday, Alix Goolden Performance Hall) by a team that includes pianist Tony Booker, dancers Ashley Evans and Ian Szkolak, and singer Deanne Ratzlaff. Evans and Szkolak are known to audiences for their work with local company Ballet Étoile Canada, while Ratzlaff, who is from Chilliwack, will be making her Victoria debut at the event.
“She came to an audition I was doing, and I turned to my panel and said: ‘Who’s that?!’ ” said the show’s producer and creator, Tony James. “She is good. This will be special for her, because it’s her debut.”
The celebration of Parisian culture will feature works by French composer Maurice Ravel, among other composers, along with the title song from chanson icon Edith Piaf — one of France’s greatest exports.
Ratzlaff will also sing two songs from Canadian chanteuse Lara Fabian, who often sings in French. “I like collaboration,” said James, whose 30-year career in show business includes a stint — under his given name, Tony Edgington — as the general manager of Ballet Victoria.
“When I was creating this, I wanted to create something around Pablo that touched on the range of experience that I have. You can’t go wrong with these particular people. Pablo is a staple in Victoria, and you’ve got these two young dancers from Ballet Étoile. Put those ingredients together and you’ve got a great show.”
A date earlier this week in Nanaimo was a success, James said, and tickets are selling well for the Campbell River and Victoria stops.
The plan is to expand La Vie En Rose to other B.C. markets later this year, before moving the productions to London, England, and Paris in 2020.
“There’s nothing better than giving a home audience the chance to see something like this before it goes on to other things,” James said.
