Kidon Choi
At arm's length: Goerne & Hinterhäuser in recital
ReviewNot only did Hinterhäuser make for an uncomfortable start to a recital, but he seemed to behave it poor, selfish taste. Goerne seemed prepared to continue singing, even if Hinterhäuser needed to scramble to save the missed page-turn; yet this pianist decided to stop the whole thing entirely, draw attention to the human error that may have happened beside him, and force Goerne to restart.
In review: An Evening with the Ensemble Studio
ReviewWith the incredible COC Orchestra on stage surrounded by the set of their current production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, the night opened with the overture and first five scenes of Mozart's La finta giardiniera, then the stunning Norma/Adalgisa duet scene from Norma. After intermission they closed out the night with the final string of scenes from Handel's Ariodante.
Don't miss: Lieder, Leaders, and Lovers
NewsSunday’s program will feature a broad range of music from from Tchaikovsky to Madeleine Dring, and it's not often one is treated to traditional Maori hunting music in the same setting as songs by Kurt Weill. Leo Doulton, who organizes the event, recognizes that unconventional nature of this program. "Absolutely, Kurt Weill almost certainly never heard Maori music, but that doesn't matter - they’re both dead."
Riders of the Purple Sage: meet Lassiter
Interview"It's a rare thing to get to see a world premiere opera inspired by our local culture and history, and featuring a gorgeous set by Ed Mell that celebrates the Southwest landscape. I think audiences will find the story accessible, the scenes familiar, and the music incredibly expressive and moving."
An open letter to a rude bunch of operagoers
HumourMaybe you were dragged to the opera against your will. Maybe you were guilted into seeing the show, because you knew someone in it. Maybe you were hangry, or maybe your ass fell asleep. Or maybe Occam's Razor applies to you and your disruptive crew, and you're rude, phone-addicted people who can't read the room.
In review: Snow
Review"The absence of the narrative episode in which Snow White is bewitched into suspended animation by her jealous stepmother leaves a tantalizing question about how our heroine comes to be interred in a casket," writes Hurley in his director's notes. "Snow White's implied death became the conceptual starting point for approaching the three operas as a through-drama; a young woman at the end of her life searches her past for clues to her tragedy."
Riders of the Purple Sage: meet Jane
Interview"Lassiter enters Jane's life and turns everything upside down. She is intrigued by and attracted to him, but also knows that he is outside her faith and his anger and hatred for the church is unsettling for her. However, he is the only man in the opera who affirms and admires her strength, while lovingly pushing back against her long-held beliefs."
Diegetic music in opera: 3 ways to use it
HumourOne of the most moving examples of this diegetic music technique is in that shattering finale of Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites. The nuns sing the "Salve regina" as they are led hopelessly to the guillotine; one by one, the voices peter out, and Poulenc even adds the horrific sound of a guillotine, as though he wants to make you wince and weep.
Aria guides: "O! du mein holder Abendstern"
EditorialWolfram's aria is a pretty magical moment in Wagner's Tannhäuser. It's almost a stand-alone song within the opera, the minstrel having a musical soliloquy, and it feels much gentler, much more intimate than everything that has come before. Wolfram is singing to the evening star, thinking of Elizabeth and her sad love for Tannhäuser.
Don't miss: The Man Who Married Himself
NewsThe Man Who Married Himself is based in an Indian folk tale, about a man who is unwilling to marry a woman, and who instead creates a lover for himself out of his own left side. "He finds himself enraptured by his creation's perfect beauty – a mirror of his own – until he discovers that this new woman longs for another."