Talking with singers: Maria Mudryak

Interview

"Since I was ten I have been regularly checked by a phoniatrist; I was aware of the characteristics and features of my voice, and so, after graduating from the Conservatory at 18, I convinced my teacher Carlo Gaifa to let me try Violetta's aria; he did not agree at first but after hearing me he decided to teach me the aria and at twenty-two I was able to sing the whole role of Violetta Valéry."

Spotlight on: Lyndsay Promane

Interview

"Much like Oprah Winfrey, I'm not a fan of surprises. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong career and the wrong planet since my favourite performances came my way when I was not expecting them at all. Saying "yes" is powerful, and it's something I'm learning to do more often."

The one must-pack item for any summer program

Editorial

Spontaneity counts for a lot, especially in an environment that seems like it's all about first impressions. So singers, as you pack your bags and board your flights for your summer program(s) of choice, don't forget to add to your repertoire binder some Gerswhin or some Sondheim or even some inappropriate Puccini.

Spotlight on: Rihab Chaieb

Interview

"I have so much love for music, opera, and singing, but I am also open to many other things. I will sing until I think it's either time to stop, or because I feel I have been fulfilled by it and had enough of it, and that my brain naturally craves something else. But right now, I am insatiable!"

Ron Howard to direct new Pavarotti documentary

News

The documentary will include interview footage, clips of him singing, and Howard and his team will have full access to the Pavarotti family archives. "He has been vastly documented and recorded," says Howard, "enough that even though he's not with us, we’re going to be able to allow Pavarotti to tell his own story."

Spotlight on: Hannah De Priest

Interview

"I think what does all of us — especially those of us just breaking onto the scene — a disservice is making jealousy into this mystical, insurmountable monster. Hey, it's not because you're a soprano, it's because you're human. Everyone experiences that self-defeating twinge and everyone has to sort out how to deal with it so it doesn't morph into something all-consuming."

Spotlight on: Sarah Vautour

Interview

"It's important to find the perfect balance between being professional, and not taking yourself too seriously. We are all human. What this means in the professional world is that its okay to make a mistake, but important to learn from it. On the same token, I have learned to take more seriously the role of servant to my art."

What are your irrational stage fears?

Humour

One singer admitted an irrational fear of finding himself standing downstage centre, unable to do anything but open and close his mouth silently and dumbly, like a carp. A conductor told me that he rarely uses a baton, for fear of letting it slip out of his hands and fly into the eyeball of his concertmaster. A certain director is afraid of accidentally preparing the wrong opera.

Self-Doubt: The Accidental Manual

Op-ed

I can a) quit doing this thing I love and just sit in a corner, or, b) do a diffident, guarded, joyless job of it because I'm hyper-aware of their negative opinions, and making room for their big important opinions is more important to me than my own fulfilment and mental health. (The latter is my default — that's where I'm most likely to go when the self-doubt gets to me.)

#Doras2017: "yes, and..."

Editorial

None of this is to minimize the work and merit of the 2017 Dora Award nominees. Yet it's a list that's desperately incomplete. Perhaps the juror qualifications exclude too many people with knowledgeable and unbiased connections to the Toronto industry. More importantly, maybe the TAPA membership qualifications are prohibitive to what much of Toronto's opera and theatre scenes can manage.