Fans unite: Opera Box Score

Fans unite: Opera Box Score

So, for those well-balanced fans of opera and sports, there's Opera Box Score, the podcast that asks, "what if opera – its performances, personnel and programming – could be demystified, discussed and promoted in such a way as to become as much a part of the public consciousness as sports?"

Jenna Simeonov - Oct 3, 2016
In review: Don Giovanni at ENO

In review: Don Giovanni at ENO

So, it was a real moment of excitement to settle into the first minutes of Richard Jones's new production at English National Opera. His is a production that ingeniously straddles the line between the symbolic and the real; the characters are at once archetypes - the virgin, the scorned, the doting boyfriend - and specific people.

Jenna Simeonov - Oct 1, 2016
Don't miss: "Feet" at the Horniman Museum

Don't miss: "Feet" at the Horniman Museum

"It was this juxtaposition, and the indignity of an animal losing its feet for a reason we would now consider to be quite minor, which formed the basis of the idea. Our main character, the pigeon (sorry, rock dove) just wants to tell her story and get a bit of attention for once."

Jenna Simeonov - Sep 30, 2016
In review: Jamie Barton leaves you wanting more

In review: Jamie Barton leaves you wanting more

I know I often talk about the immense amount of amazingly talented singers, but I want to go on record and say it applies to all musicians - and last night was proof positive of that. That being said, this was Mahler, so the night belonged to the brass.

Greg Finney - Sep 30, 2016
Rehearsing trauma: How working on an opera helped me heal

Rehearsing trauma: How working on an opera helped me heal

It is not enough to re-experience our own pain on stage; we must externalize it so the audience can join us through empathy.

RC Woodmass - Sep 29, 2016
Nick Fletcher: reps at the ROH

Nick Fletcher: reps at the ROH

"It's taken me a long time to realise that as a rep you're not just a piano player meekly sitting in the corner, but instead a wide-ranging and versatile musician whose ideas, even if ultimately rejected, should still be part of the creative process that happens in the rehearsal room."

Jenna Simeonov - Sep 28, 2016
3 ways your English is showing

3 ways your English is showing

There are idioms in every language, and that's what we hear when someone speaks with a foreign accent. It's handy for singers to identify some of these habits and idioms that keep them from sounding comfortable in a non-native language. So, we've identified three big linguistic tells for North American English speakers, and how to keep them from foreign language mastery.

Jenna Simeonov - Sep 28, 2016
In review: Alek Shrader at Wigmore Hall

In review: Alek Shrader at Wigmore Hall

There seemed to be two versions of Alek Shrader, one who was invested in singing well and communicating deeply, and another who was humble, perhaps a bit shy, and who relished the chance to move the spotlight onto Vignoles for the fun piano part in Rossini's tarantella.

Jenna Simeonov - Sep 27, 2016
Talking with singers: Craig Irvin

Talking with singers: Craig Irvin

Perhaps not surprisingly, Irvin learned some big truths about his singing life from being an amateur comic. "If it was about the applause, I wouldn't have gotten up and done it again," he explains. "It was about the performance. That's what I'm drawn to most of all."

Jenna Simeonov - Sep 25, 2016
One mezzo's Met debut: "I just can't wait."

One mezzo's Met debut: "I just can't wait."

We carry a flag, the Metropolitan Opera flag, but also the opera flag in a general sense. We are ambassadors of this art form and everyone really knows this, and they are so helpful and supporting of our jobs and of the fact that we are here to learn from them. They always get so happy and excited when I tell them I'm one of the Lindemann singers!

Jenna Simeonov - Sep 25, 2016

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