Immersive and imaginative: Manitoba Underground Opera's Tales of Hoffmann

Review

There's something elemental about the raw power of the human voice that can move the soul. When a singer is right behind you or a few feet in front of you, there's something magical that happens that can be hard to put into words. I felt like I was part of the show, part of the story, even in the show.

Jonathan Tunick's symphony size orchestration for Sondheim's A Little Night Music

Review

Graham captures Desiree's humor and sass and broaches the melancholy in the ever sigh-worthy Send in the Clowns.

Opera 5 turns up the spooky in Turn of the Screw

Review

The orchestra, under Music Director and conductor Evan Mitchell handled the score and the unconventional space magically. The flow of the score ameliorated the pace of the show itself and vice-versa.

Matthew Polenzani in recital: an abundant performance

Review

Pianist, Ken Noda, with whom Polenzani shares a seemingly symbiotic musical relationship, projects an all together different presence. Appearing almost motionless at the keyboard, he nonetheless captures the myriad moods and musical nuances required by the songs. Noda appeared to be holding his breath while Polenzani reveled in the music. Their interplay was mesmerizing.

A must-watch: SWEAT on-screen

Review

Before you even realize it, you know who's soft-spoken, who jokes the most, who's an activist, who's most in it for herself; you know what their desires and fantasies are -- to be a star of the fashion industry, of course -- and what they'd do with any sort of livable income they dream of making.

Chiara Isotton's 'chilling' Medea a bloody good season closer

Review

Her portrayal of the sorceress's tortured descent into madness, culminating in her murdering her own children, was nuanced and gripping. You were regularly torn between fearing her and pitying her -- and that is the key to Medea.

Feisty, frivolous Don Pasquale not quite in the patter pocket

Review

While the amount of syllables that were flying by were impressive and the pace was astounding, I felt no one was really in the pocket of the piece -- neither the pit nor the stage.

Calgary Opera caps 23-24 season with innovative run of Wagner's Das Rheingold

Review

On this night, the chemistry and blend were first-rate, setting the tone for the night's performance. Each embodied a mischievous playfulness in their encounter with Alberich that sets the action of Das Rheingold in motion.

Vancouver Opera's smoking Carmen

Review

No longer set as a racial stereotype, Carmen and her companions are, simply, smugglers. No need to give them a particular racial background and attribute that to their criminal behaviour, they just happen to be a group of people living outside the law. And not only was none of the racial elements missed, it made it a much more cohesive story, making Don José an outsider not because of his ethnicity, but because he represents the law they're trying to evade.

100 years later, Boulanger's opera gets North American premiere

Review

The opera's intended 1914 premiere at the Opéra Comique was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I during which time the original orchestrations were lost. The origins of the Boulanger-Pugno work are almost as fraught with circumstance as D'Annunzio's libretto.