Elza van den Heever and the MET Orchestra: A stunning all-Strauss program
Talking with Singers, Aaron Durand
InterviewBaritone 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-toLiz 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
EditorialThis 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
ReviewOn 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
ReviewAfter 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.
Mozart's Birthday Doozy
HumourAs someone who has his own laundry list of embarrassing things done in the throes of Wild Birthday Celebration (I now celebrate an 8 day festival, commonly called 'greggyfest'), I want to share this doozy.
A Tale of Big Hair at the Met
Op-edWho else saw that piece on Jezebel by Collier Meyerson, about her trip to the Metropolitan Opera? It's not really an article about opera or the Met, but I'm inclined to weigh in on it on behalf of opera-goers, because this story edges towards the elitism amongst opera fans.
He said/she said: Songbook V
ReviewMarking the end of my weekend hat-trick of stuff to see, was Tapestry’s Songbook V. It’s the fifth year of Tapestry’s New Opera 101 Program, which gives singers and pianists a chance to work on contemporary opera with some of the best in the business; the rep is chosen from within Tapestry’s impressive library of commissions.
In review: Modern (Family) Opera
ReviewLast night Opera 5 opened their double bill, Modern (Family) Opera, which was made up of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s Il segreto di Susanna and the world première of Darren Russo’s new opera, Storybook. Stage directors Grace Smith (Wolf-Ferrari) and Opera 5 Artistic Director Aria Umezawa shared the double bill, bringing their unique styles to two pieces that couldn’t have been more different.
Regietheater? Ja oder nein?
Op-edThis past weekend, I attended The Opera Exchange, an event presented semi-regularly by the Canadian Opera Company to discuss relevant opera topics, structured around the COC’s current season. With Dmitri Tcherniakov’s production of Don Giovanni set to open on January 24th at the Four Seasons Centre, it was a good opportunity to chat about that polarizing topic, Regietheater, or director’s theatre.