Talking with singers: Lise Lindstrom

Interview

"I sing because I couldn't NOT sing. There was nothing else I was particularly good at or interested in, so thank heaven it worked out! I am truly an artist at heart, and the joy I feel when being able to express myself through my voice is absolutely unparalleled."

Redefining the goal

Op-ed

My own obsession with technique made me terrified to sing in front of my peers. I knew that they were only judging me: a baritone singing tenor rep. Worthless technique. I hated the feeling of judgmental eyes on me and I had nothing to say with the music I was singing. For me, technique was the only thing that mattered. But it’s not.

In review: Béatrice et Bénédict at Glyndebourne

Review

In the great gag scenes with the Glyndebourne Chorus, Lionel Lhote was a big bite of extra comedy as Somarone, the music master. Lhote seemed a delightful buffo combination of the Komponist from Ariadne auf Naxos, Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Bartolo from Il barbiere di Siviglia.

In review: A Midsummer Night's Dream at Glyndebourne

Review

The royal fairy pair were delightfully complemented by David Evans as Puck, who was one part eerie, and one part utterly charming. He brought the audience to roaring applause at the finale, after an evening of chuckles and smitten murmuring from the crowd.

Adele & knowing your audience

Editorial

It must be a strange thing to know that you're an artist who's in demand enough to be on a realistic list of artists who may sing at an event like the Superbowl, but that you're not the kind of artist to give a good show in that context. Artists of all calibres, and particularly opera singers, get put in plenty of little situations where the idea of the gig is better than the reality.

In review: The Threepenny Opera

Review

Singing curse words and unromantic sex are still relatively rare on the opera stage, even if the stories themselves are full of the same amount of emotional extremes. Whether or not you're the type to point at "gratuity" or "shock value," what Norris' production achieves is a totally organic theatre experience. At times the whole thing feels like meta-theatre, and other times the action holds you rapt.

New roles: Janaka Welihinda of MYOpera

Interview

"I'm very passionate about mentoring and coaching young people; helping them grow and trying to get them to reach their full potential. I feel like it's a way to pay forward all the time my mentors have generously invested in me. I’m really looking forward to watching and supporting the artists this year throughout the process. From the auditions, to their first sing through, to their final performances and beyond, I'll feel honoured to share each step of their journey."

The Opera Olympics: it's time

Humour

But in competition, singers are judged on the big picture that comes out of countless achievements in vocal technique, foreign language skills, dramatic training and general charisma (can that be taught?). So, what if, like the Olympics, competitions were broken down into these smaller parts? Like gymnasts or track-and-field stars?

4 ways to test your memory

How-to

One of the most common pitfalls of singers in the memorizing process is to combine the words and music too soon. It's rare for a singer to have a memory lapse with the music itself (weird rhythmic entries excepted); in most cases, a singer's mind goes blank when they can't remember the upcoming words - even more so, when the text is in a non-native language.

Michael Fabiano: Classical music deserves better

Op-ed

A recent article in The Atlantic titled "The Tragedy of iTunes and Classical Music" sheds a light on just how problematic iTunes and other major digital libraries are for storing and categorizing classical music. What exactly is the problem? Professional musicians, particularly classical ones, need quick and easy access to multiple recordings and iTunes just doesn’t cut it.