Tough to watch: Oksana G.

Review

There's much about Oksana that's maddening. Kind and trusting people make risky and uninformed decisions, and evil people lie and harm others with no remorse; everyday people ignore cries for help from sex workers, and helpless parents, left without money or police, turn to fortune-tellers in times of desperation. Maddening as it may be - and easy as it seems to say, "I'm too smart to fall for that" - the story of human trafficking is true and happening now.

Talking with singers: Nahuel Di Pierro

Interview

I decided to become an opera singer when I was 7 years old. I was singing at the children choir at the Teatro Colon of Buenos Aires, and I remember the first time I performed on stage with Menotti's Help, Help, the Globolinks! I had a big shock. I was totally amazed by the stage, the costumes, the lights, the orchestra, the soloist... I think I went a little crazy at that moment... I will never forget it... That's why I sing...

Talking with composers: Aaron Gervais

Interview

Obviously, my opera Oksana G., which is opening this week, is something I'm very proud of. It's the longest and most ambitious piece I've ever written, the story is gripping and powerful, the vocal lines are nuanced yet singerly, the orchestration is colorful and dynamic, and every moment is vital — there is no "filler" music. It really embodies what I believe makes for great opera.

Opinionated opera fans: come write for us!

News

We're looking for opera lovers with writing chops! You'll attend shows, tell us all about them, and have your subsequent reviews published on Schmopera. Specifically (but not exclusively), we're eager to catch what's onstage in Calgary, Montréal, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis.

Songbird: the debut album from Layla Claire

Interview

"Because this was our own love project we were really free to change repertoire as we went. Marie-Eve and I started with a list of songs but during the rehearsal process we let some fall away and added others organically. We were after a cohesive sound garden — songs that we loved and thought worked well together, rather than a collection built around a specific theme."

Hype for a reason: AtG's La bohème

Review

There are a few moments that always kill me in La bohème. There's the sexy "buona sera/good night" that Rodolfo says to Mimì in Act I; there's that that part in Act IV where he tells her she's as pretty as a sunrise, and she corrects his poetry, saying it should be "sunset". There's the look on Schaunard's face when their fun and games pull a sudden 180, and he's faced with the scene of a dying woman and a very sad friend.

Don't miss: Songs of the Soul Beams

Interview

"I want the audience to take away the fact that it is OK to talk about grief. It is OK to talk about loss. Most importantly, it is OK TO NOT BE OK. As the composer, I wanted to normalize the experience of grief through this musical work."

Going out in style: Sy & Kwon in the RBA

Review

It seems appropriate that the Les Adieux concerts show off a side to these singers that's rarely seen on the COC mainstage. For Sy, this was the first undertaking of Schubert's behemoth song cycle, and his performance had a beautiful balance of fresh youthfulness, and careful thought. He took enormous risks in vocal colour, nailing just about all of those choices; the detail work was impressive, and his sound has settled into something unique and warm.

4 English language habits that make a singer's life harder

How-to

There are some words that aren't actually helped by being overly literal with the pronunciation. The T's in words like "better" and "getting" have a natural tendency to sound more like D's; depending on how they're set, the sung versions of these words come out more clearly by keeping these "lazy" D sounds. An airy T sound can actually obscure the sound of the word, since it's unfamiliar to the ear.

Good first impressions: CASP's latest commission by Ana Sokolović

Review

Sokolović's work brims over with imagination of sound. In setting the human voice, she never seems to run out of ideas, and with this new cycle, she brought out audible reactions of delight from the audience.