Don't miss: Two Sopranos, One Friendship (and our editor at the keys)

Editorial

Plus! At the piano is Jenna Simeonov (me), founder and editor of Schmopera. Out and about and likely wearing lipstick.

Talking with conductors: Joseph Mechavich

Interview

"It is essential that both the director and conductor celebrate the singer-actor and love the act of storytelling. The awesome feat of the singer producing their sound and getting that sound into the house should be respected."

Talking with singers: Leonardo Capalbo

Interview

"I will not play Carlo as a wounded bird. He may lament the many things which he has lost in life, but his cries are not in vain."

Clumsy Silla victim of inept direction

Review

If the themes are supposed to be timeless (and, indeed, as clear and obviously sketched out as they are in the opera's text), then should it not stand to reason that those themes would still ring true regardless of whether or not it was set in Ancient Rome or in America in 2019?

Youthful & collaborative Dido at the Unicorn Theatre

Review

The sense of companionship the chorus seemed to share extended to their singing which was some of my favourite of the afternoon. Together with the 7-piece ensemble led by conductor Valentina Peleggi they created some absolutely sublime, stylistically considered music.

Pandora, Lucretia & Chunky: upcoming must-sees

Editorial

“Although this piece isn't directly about the myth," says stage director Amanda Smith, "I imagine that in Pandora we see what happens when the jar, or box, is opened a second time."

Talking with singers: Robert Hayward

Interview

"I get a thrill working in opera, a physical and mental high to unravel the personality of different characters and to earn a living from it is an honour. The UK is blessed with great opportunities for singers young and not so young."

There's a place for us at LOC's West Side Story

Review

Even though, of course, I knew of this story's roots in Romeo and Juliet, I was nonetheless shocked and heartbroken by these characters' deaths in the Rumble scene and then watching the rapid unraveling of Maria and Tony's lives in Act II.

Fascinating insight: rough for opera #17

Review

We are talking about an indeterminate and ever-changing tradition that has been developing for over four hundred years. Perhaps it is time to cast form aside entirely and explore where it is headed for the future.

Two different servings from the Opera Fest menu

Review

Brooklyn-based Regina Opera has taken on Verdi's Il Trovatore and though they clearly have limited resources, they have staged a first-rate, fully-realized production.