San Diego Opera's 60th Anniversary La bohème sees Mimì as a ghost
Shh! Confidential Opera Project is back!
NewsAfter an incredibly successful first show in June, we are #stokedissimo to bring you another one of the opera world's most beloved works, sung by some of the best up-and-coming talent here in Toronto.
Music, religion, & irony
EditorialPerhaps this happens because music is one of those things that can truly offer the exhilarating joy and sense of belonging that many religious seek. It's perhaps not the same thing, but in my work with music, I have experienced moments of happiness, awe, and admiration so great my whole self vibrates.
In review: Norma at ROH
ReviewOllé's production slowly revealed itself to be much more than a collection of provocative symbols, yet it still left us with questions. There were unnecessary distractions: he let swing a giant, swinging thurible just before Norma's infamous "Casta diva" aria; and when Norma's kids fall asleep watching television, the flat-screen TV blared (silent) cartoons throughout her entire act II scene with Adalgisa.
Talking with singers: Audrey Luna
Interview"I can be left depleted after something as intense as premiering Exterminating Angel," says Luna. She relishes the chance to return home to Hawaii, which grounds her between high-paced singing gigs. "In some way, it just fills my cup back up, and then I'm ready to go out again."
In review: Pretty Yende's debut album, A Journey
ReviewIt's easy to feel as though you're standing beside Yende in the studio, watching her bright smile and thoughtful musicianship at work. Yende has clear love for communicating with her audience, and with these recordings, she's also letting listeners into something that's quite personal.
Teaching in the Arctic: 5 things that one singer learned
EditorialMy work up north has made me a better singer and artist, without question. At the most basic level it's one of the ways I remind myself why art is so, so important, even though trying to be a singer is so difficult. So here are five epiphanies I've had because of my time teaching in some of the most beautiful places on earth.
New recordings: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
ReviewThe Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat is not a technically a tragedy, though; deaths do not a tragedy make. The opera is based on Oliver Sacks's case study (1985), with a libretto by Sacks, Christopher Rawlence, and Michael Morris, and tells of a neurologist's study of his patient, Dr. P.
Just in: the crowdsourced melody is complete
NewsListening to the voted-upon melody is a pretty fascinating exercise for anyone with an interest in music and in people. It sounds like something you've definitely heard before, and the lyrics are just on the tip of your tongue (something likely by Coldplay).
3 ways to fight boredom at the opera
EditorialOf course, when boredom sets in, one of the worst places to be is stuck in a dark theatre, made to keep quiet, without the opportunity to hover a mouse over the proscenium to see for how much longer this thing will go on.
In review: The Barber of Seville at ROH
ReviewIn theory, having a cast of big, hall-filling voices can seem like a pointless exercise (a futile precaution?), when the whole opera is designed to clear the way for easy, flexible, and funny singing. Yet this cast was a complete win from top to bottom; as they each sang their first notes of the evening, we were struck (and satisfied) with how these rich, go-big-or-go-home voices managed everything from dizzying coloratura to cackling comedy.