La finta giardiniera, coming to a garden near you

Interview

"Even though he wrote this opera at 18 years old, Mozart (it is no surprise) paints incredibly rich pictures of love and relationships with the perfect balance of humor and pathos. The opera doesn't try to pass judgement on any one couple or their actions. Instead, by presenting these many difference faces of love, we are able to find pieces of ourselves and our own relationships across all of the characters."

Discomfort: Louis Riel at the COC

Review

Perhaps without Hinton's supernumeraries, Louis Riel might have been more "comfortable" for Toronto audiences. With the faces of the affected placed right amid a piece of theatre that comes out of a Western European tradition, the production seems to mirror the slow, significant steps being taken by Canada as a whole, beginning with the acknowledgement of injustice within our country's short history.

Don't miss: The Chocolate Soldier

Review

If the central love story doesn't entice you, go for the brilliant performances in the supporting cast. Mezzo-soprano Eugenia Dermentzis is a scene-stealer as Aurelia, her face an exaggerated picture of uppity, bewildered, and scheming; even with her polished mezzo, her presence onstage is something delightfully out of a Pixar film. Plus, The Chocolate Soldier is a beautiful chance to catch Schmopera's own Gregory Finney onstage as the patriarch Popoff.

Vittorio Grigòlo, impromptu voice teacher

Humour

Is it just us, or do strapping tenors always seem to waver on the line between charming enthusiasm and invasion of personal space? Now, this woman is being a great sport as a stranger (for all intents and purposes) touches her face. She's likely one of the many women and men who would indulge Mr. Grigòlo in an impromptu - and tactile - voice lesson.

Lovely lunches: the COC Ensemble Studio in recital

Review

Eberwein and Kwon gave us the eight songs of Schumann's cycle Frauenliebe und -leben, Op. 42, a set which often seems like a feminine response to his Dichterliebe. Eberwein seemed to waver between delivering something personal, and embodying an every-woman of sorts, shining light upon what's universal about the woman in the poems by Adelbert von Chamisso.

In review: The Exterminating Angel at ROH

Review

The guests arrive on stage, dressed in retro evening wear that reminded us of Jonathan Lynn’s Clue. We are prepared for a drawing room comedy to start, but are immediately informed that something is not right by the servants' departure from the grand mansion. We also know something's up when, in a genius expository tool, the guests arrive together a second time: they repeat the formal introductions from character to character, as if they are all trapped in a loop.

New companies to discover: Gramercy Opera

Interview

"There are so many amazingly talented artists in New York City, our goal is to embrace them, creating beautiful art and entertaining performances. We are extremely inspired by what LoftOpera is doing in Brooklyn. We hope to follow in their footsteps on a smaller scale in Manhattan: producing exciting performances at affordable prices and encouraging younger people to make opera part of their lives."

The Italian Girl in Algiers: Rossini's "feminist celebration"

Interview

"I think when The Italian Girl in Algiers was written it was really ahead of its time. Composed in 1813 and based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli written in 1808, the opera has really progressive views on women at a time when they had very little rights or independence. It's a feminist celebration written by two 19th-century men that easily translates into the 21st-century. The heroine Isabella is a brave and adventurous woman who cannot be outwitted."

Thousands of Miles: "It's raw."

Interview

Listening to Thousands of Miles is a complete treat. Lindsey's clear, warm mezzo is certainly versatile, but she has also chosen her repertoire wisely. It's the sound of the Weill songs that seems to inform the rest of the music on this album; though the songs by Zemlinsky, Korngold, and Alma Mahler can easily fall in the world of late-Romantic German Lieder, there's a delicious flavour in the way Lindsey and Trotignon perform them.

Album review: Nights Not Spent Alone

Review

For two English artists performing music by an English composer, Whately and Lepper seem to create something almost North American in style; those sounds are in Dove's scores, but the two performers keep an immediacy that feels like an American revue show or even a cabaret. Whately is polished and real, and Lepper is flexible and soloistic.