San Diego Opera's 60th Anniversary La bohème sees Mimì as a ghost
The coughing phenomenon
HumourDoes the initial cougher do so because they really were holding it in for the last little bit? Or is it a release of tension, brought on by impressive music and then a sudden, maybe uncomfortable, silence?
Singing at #TSO1617: Fleming, Barton, & Giunta
NewsFor the patient, on June 14 an 15, the TSO welcomes back director Joel Ivany for a semi-staged production of Kurt Weill's Seven Deadly Sins. Sharing the programme with Barber's Adagio for Strings and Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, the cast of singers for Weill's "sung ballet" includes Wallis Giunta, Isaiah Bell, Owen McCausland, Stephen Hegedus, and Geoffrey Sirett, working with dancer/choreographer Jennifer Nichols. It would be a...sin...to miss this one.
Cool concerts: Esprit Orchestra's 2016/17 season
NewsOn October 23, Power On celebrates Canadian great R. Murray Schafer, featuring three of his works, plus the Canadian premiere of Andrew Norman's Switch, for percussion and orchestra. Under Music Director Alex Pauk, the Esprit Orchestra is joined by mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó, flautist Robert Aitken, and percussionist Ryan Scott.
Talking with singers: Steven Cole
Interview"I have a secret: I have taped (yes, old fashioned) every performance out of my mouth for 40 years. So I always listen to the tape before the next performance and make little notes: 'too much consonant on X...sharper rhythms at Y...Steven, enjoy more the double consonants tonight...stay more in head...E flat was flat...support more...keep the legato in that passage...that went well, you reached all your personal goals in getting the text across...'"
Talking with singers: Russell Thomas
InterviewHe considers the impetus for professional singing a simple one, through those moments of encouragement as a teenager in school. Yet when asked why he still sings, Thomas nods to the freedom he finds onstage. "I could escape my own life by trying to be somebody else. And that's the reason why I still do it now, because it's the escape from all of my own baggage."
In review: Hannigan & Gražinytė-Tyla at the BBC Proms
ReviewAbrahamsen's score is full of novel and surreal sounds, including an extraordinary moment of what feels like a heavenly choir and orchestra, shimmering with texture and treats for the ear. Throughout the score is a vocal motif, stretching words through repeated syllables, almost like a slow-motion version of a Baroque goat-trill.
Free webinar: Alexander Technique & the voice
NewsThis Saturday, September 3 at 1-2:30 PDT, Conklin will give a free webinar about Alexander Technique, and she'll share some of the work she does with performers and athletes. "Vocal, musical and performance skills are synergized in a coordinated, continual flow," she writes. "In short, I will show a simple and potent process that is an invaluable tool for performers."
Talking with singers: Christopher Purves
Interview"He knows exactly, with one look or brief conversation with a person, he knows exactly what their sexual proclivities are, and he knows exactly what they would like to do." Paired with confidence and unhindered by morals, Giovanni is free to say, "I'm gonna shag her, I'm going to screw this woman."
Don't miss: Rhiannon Giddens at Merkin Concert Hall
NewsAs the world of opera moves toward chamber-sized orchestras and intimate venues, the world of art song moves in closer. Companies like the Canadian Art Song Project and Against the Grain Theatre have wowed audiences with reimagined art song, and so it's an exciting thing to find a supportive organization like Sparks & Wiry Cries that will foster performances and new works.
New operas: Craig Bohmler's Riders of the Purple Sage
Interview"For me, it is important to make an audience comfortable before we take them on an unexpected journey. My mentor Carlisle Floyd says that if an audience has a vocabulary of 200 words, give them those words plus 200 they don't know. I have stood by that in all of my writing."