Energy boost: 5 perky patter songs

Humour

Equal in hilarity to the image of a monotone group of Catholics speeding through holy texts out of sheer rote/boredom are all the "patter songs" that steal the show in opera and music theatre. Here are some of our favourites:

Cool concerts: MELD

News

With multiple cameras placed around Royal Albert Hall, The Space has captured a concert experience where "the end result places the audience at the heart of the experience, giving a vivid sense of the movements and interactions of the musicians and singers with the space."

The brief history of made-for-TV opera

Editorial

Do television networks, publicly funded or otherwise, have a responsibility to foster underdog-like forms of art by keeping them visible to the public? Are commercial networks like NBC or CBS or HBO free from the responsibility of exposing viewers to what they may enjoy - may learn from, even - and not just whats been statistically proven to get high ratings?

Nude musicians: less hot than it sounds

Humour

Judge if you must, but the whole image of a naked cellist playing a wedding gig had us thinking about the realities of nude music-making. Upon further consideration, the idea may be better in fantasy than in reality.

Why we're in love with Morgan James

Editorial

Want to hear something nuts? Check out the video above, where she covers Aqua's "Barbie Girl" (remember Aqua??) with Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox. For the truly impatient, skip to the "human theramin" bit at 2:07. Like, come on.

Networking for introverted performers

Op-ed

While it may seem to many people that "introverted performers" is an oxymoron, I assure you that this is not the case. Being an introvert in an extroverted field can pose its own challenges though. Perhaps the biggest challenge it poses is networking.

How much to tell your students about the voice

Op-ed

Our style of learning may not suit our student, so sometimes we over explain technical concepts not because we're wrong, but because it loses our student. If you ever find yourself wondering why one student seems to understand an explanation perfectly well and another doesn't, this might be why.

The anxious singer: 10 tips to help with anxiety

Op-ed

This is why I have written down my Top 10 Tips for dealing with an anxiety disorder as a singer: to give a little bit of help to those who, like me, deal with anxiety on a daily basis, and also their colleagues/family/support system who wish to understand them a little better.

6 opera houses, Google-reviewed

Editorial

It seems that $7 sausage/beer deal is appealing, if a distant goal: "Only complaint is that the concession stands are too far away to make it there and back comfortably during intermission." The only other complaint? The length of Les Troyens: "It was much too long at 5 hours with two 30-minute intermission breaks."

Talking with singers: Layla Claire

Interview

Claire makes her debut at the Salzburg Festival this summer, singing Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and she's part of a stellar cast, including Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (Giovanni) and Luca Pisaroni (Leporello). We were able to chat with Claire about the dream of singing Mozart in his birth-city, and how a cast of Italians helps her raise the bar with all those recits.