WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE ...?
What’s Your Favourite ...?
The Shaw Festival’s music director and CAA Member Paul Sportelli shares why Funny Girl has a special place in his heart, plus what album he has on repeat.
By Nicole Keen
PAUL SPORTELLI has certainly found his rhythm at the Shaw Festival. For 27 seasons, he has fully embraced his role as music director by using all of his “musical muscles” to conduct, compose and arrange for countless productions. Not surprisingly, Sportelli spends a lot of his free time attending concerts, but he also loves travelling the globe and enjoying Niagara-on-the-Lake’s natural beauty.
Fall leaves near Osaka Castle in Japan. | PHOTOS: F11PHOTO/ADOBE STOCK; DAVID COOPER
What’s your favourite pastime?
I got the travel bug pretty early on. My plan right now is to go to Japan during the off-season.
Is there a musical that is on your bucket list to produce?
I’ve loved Funny Girl for practically my whole life. My mother did a lot of community theatre, so I have very early memories of her playing the lead role in Funny Girl. And then, of course, there’s the Barbra Streisand cast recording and the movie. It’s a gorgeous score, and it’s a musical that I would love to do.
What’s the best thing about living and working in Niagara-on-the-Lake?
It’s a charming town. My favourite thing is being so close to nature — within a few minutes, you can be somewhere beautiful. I love The Commons [a historic site], which is adjacent to the Niagara River.
“I’ve loved Funny Girl for practically my whole life ... It’s a gorgeous score, and it’s a musical that I would love to do.”
La Vie en Rose at the Shaw Festival; Barbra Streisand in the 1968 film, Funny Girl. | PHOTOS: DAVID COOPER; PICTURELUX/THE HOLLYWOOD ARCHIVE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Who are some musicians you admire?
There are so many, but to single out a couple — Louis Armstrong and Sufjan Stevens. Armstrong was so instrumental in the birth of jazz, and it amazes me that he was an incredible writer, trumpet player and singer. Stevens is an inventive, wonderful writer and singer.
What’s on your playlist at the moment?
The new Bon Iver album, SABLE, fABLE, which I really love. Practically speaking, something that’s been on my playlist a lot are all the songs that we’re doing [this season] in La Vie en Rose at the Shaw Festival.
You’ve been to some pretty epic concerts. Who would you love to see live that you haven’t yet?
The [late] opera singer Maria Callas, who, of course, I can’t see. She brought a great deal of passion to everything she did. CAA
PAUL SPORTELLI has certainly found his rhythm at The Shaw Festival. For 27 seasons, he has fully embraced his role as music director by using all of his “musical muscles” to conduct, compose and arrange for countless productions. Not surprisingly, Sportelli spends a lot of his free time attending concerts, but he also loves travelling the globe and enjoying Niagara-on-the-Lake’s natural beauty.
Barbra Streisand in the 1968 film, Funny Girl. | PHOTO: ALBUM/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
La Vie en Rose at the Shaw Festival. | PHOTO: DAVID COOPER
“I’ve loved Funny Girl for practically my whole life... It’s a gorgeous score, and it’s a musical that I would love to do.”