Lieder for Lunch: the COC Ensemble Studio in Recital

Review

Review of COC Ensemble Studio members Gordon Bintner, Andrew Haji, and Jennifer Szeto, with Head of the Ensemble Studio, Liz Upchuch, in recital at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, April 9, 2015.

In review: Orpheus & Eurydice at Opera Atelier

Review

A collaborative review with contributor Greg Finney of Opera Atelier production of Orpheus & Eurydice at Opera Atelier.

The COC's Youth Opera Lab: Die Walküre

Interview

The Canadian Opera Company offers plenty of education programs for young people and adults, including their Youth Opera Lab. The YOL is designed to give young opera fans a chance to dive deeply into the shows in the COC's season, and this month, the focus was on Atom Egoyan's upcoming production of Die Walküre.

Talking with singers, Heidi Melton

Interview

American dramatic soprano Heidi Melton is currently in Toronto to sing Sieglinde in Atom Egoyan’s upcoming production of Die Walküre at the Canadian Opera Company.

Talking with singers, Kyle Ketelsen

Interview

American bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen is in Toronto to sing Leporello in Dmitri Tcherniakov's production of Don Giovanni, currently at the COC until February 21st.

Talking with Singers, Aaron Durand

Interview

Baritone Aaron Durand is new to Toronto, originally hailing from 100 Mile House, British Columbia. If you caught Against the Grain Theatre’s production of #UncleJohn, either in Banff, AB, or in Toronto, you caught his charmingly protective performance of Masetto. Aaron is a thoughtful guy, and he agreed to chat.

How to be a Coach, with Liz Upchurch

How-to

Liz Upchurch is a pianist, vocal coach, and the Head of the COC Ensemble Studio. She’s in demand as a coach across Canada, working regularly at places like the St. Andrew by-the-Sea Opera Workshop and the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, and she was a judge for the Bravo! TV show, Bathroom Divas: So You Want To Be An Opera Star?

Singing at the TSO, 2015/16

Editorial

This morning, Peter Oundjian announced the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's 2015/16 season. It looks creative and diverse, and there are more than a few items on the menu I can't wait to see. One of them is The Decades Project, a collection of six concert programmes featuring music from 1900-1909 (Oct. 21-Nov. 14, 2015), and 1910-1919 (May 25-Jun. 11, 2016).

In review: Street Scene

Review

On Sunday afternoon I went to see VOICEBOX: Opera In Concert's production of Street Scene at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. Kurt Weill's "American Opera", with text by Elmer Rice and Langston Hughes, is a fantastic piece, and I agreed with Artistic Director Guillermo Silva-Marin when he said that the show doesn't get done enough.

In review: Tcherniakov's Don Giovanni

Review

After much anticipation (and averting my eyes from the opening night reviews), I had the chance to see the COC's current production of Don Giovanni, directed and designed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, and conducted by Michael Hofstetter. The production was new to me, and my curiosity was piqued by some press photos and a few rumoured details.