San Diego Opera's 60th Anniversary La bohème sees Mimì as a ghost
In review: Don Giovanni at Nashville Opera
ReviewCommendations go to stage director John Hoomes. We were promised a "visually striking" production, and that promise was fulfilled. Mr. Hoomes, whose choice to juxtapose the classic opera with modern, minimalist (yet effective) set design, action that ebbed and flowed between pleasing camp and very human, and innovative color schemes, used exciting visual symbolism to highlight the thematic duality of the story.
Audition season, or the annual Festival of Shattered Dreams
Op-edThe business of opera is at times wonderful and at other times loathsome. It is, sadly, mostly run by the ill-informed and the ill-equipped. It is therefore oftentimes arbitrary and frivolous though it can sometimes be sublime.
"Thank you for the music..."
ReviewI would highly recommend checking out the TSO Pops series. It's a great way to stay in touch with the orchestra and their incredible versatility, but it's also nice to sit and relax and hear some of your favourite tunes from the pop side of life. I love Mahler too, but every now and again one needs a little disco in their life.
Spotlight on: Alexander Hajek
Interview"For 'good' singing, I use a few benchmarks to keep myself in check. After the curtain goes down, is my voice in good enough shape to do the whole thing again? Did I manage to make the audience laugh AND cry? Did I discover a deeper truth about the piece or myself?"
Talking with singers: Eleazar Rodríguez
Interview"It honestly began like a hobby. I started by imitation, like many singers do. In Mexico it is still a custom, at least in my hometown, that the eldest son, takes the profession of the father. In my case I was thinking of going into law, since my dad is a great lawyer, but that never happened. I've been working a lot on this career and little by little I've been going up the ladder."
Don't miss: Don Giovanni at Nashville Opera
InterviewDon Giovanni starts a curious season at Nashville Opera, which also includes Bizet's Carmen, Tom Cipullo's Glory Denied, and the world premiere of Robert Paterson's Three Way, a trio of one-acts ("Think Sex and the City meets The Twilight Zone," say Nashville Opera).
New opera & honest marketing
EditorialWithout the long histories of Tristan und Isolde or La traviata, new operas need substance within the pages of the score in order to attract listeners. It's no longer enough to rely on the internal opera fan club, who get excited when folks like Plácido Domingo move from tenor to baritone roles, or when Peter Sellars gets his hands on a Bach oratorio; the people who care about these things are already putting their bums in seats.
In review: Tosca at ENO
ReviewPerforming Tosca in English is about on par with performing Peter Grimes in Italian, when you think about it. Like with all great operas, Puccini's music leaps from the ebbs and flows of the text; simply put, if the libretto had been different, there would be different tunes for us to hum post-show.
Opera for lunch: the ROH Young Artists in concert
ReviewSafe as the programme may have been, the singers and pianists impressed; some of our highlights were the performances by tenor Thomas Atkins, sopranos Jennifer Davis and Vlada Borovko, and tenor David Junghoon Kim. The quality of singing was quite high across the board, and yet it's always a fascinating exercise to notice recurring differences between artists who are so-called "young," and those with more experience.
The kids are alright: youth-programmed music at the Southbank Centre
NewsFestival Maker Layla, aged 17, says: "We've tried to incorporate young musicians into the programme: we’ve looked for young people who are already achieving, to make the point that this isn’t about young people tomorrow, it's about them today and what they are already doing."