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

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

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.

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

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

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

John Hohmann
Opera 5 turns up the spooky in Turn of the Screw

Opera 5 turns up the spooky in Turn of the Screw

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.

Greg Finney
Matthew Polenzani in recital: an abundant performance

Matthew Polenzani in recital: an abundant performance

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.

John Hohmann
A must-watch: SWEAT on-screen

A must-watch: SWEAT on-screen

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.

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

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

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.

Greg Finney
Feisty, frivolous Don Pasquale not quite in the patter pocket

Feisty, frivolous Don Pasquale not quite in the patter pocket

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.

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

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

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.

Oliver Munar
Vancouver Opera's smoking Carmen

Vancouver Opera's smoking Carmen

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.

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

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

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.

John Hohmann

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