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.

Hearing the Seldom Seen

Review

The singers playfully (or angrily) splash about, shoot each other with squirt guns and finally land dead in the (unheated) water for the violent finale.

Alkema a world-class Tosca at WNO

Review

To me, Tosca is just about a perfect piece of theater. I think it's funny that it often gets dismissed as absurdly over-the-top melodrama, especially in this moment in time when Game of Thrones is so wildly popular, and the latest Avengers instalment is the highest grossing movie in theaters.

Oper Frankfurt announces gutsy 2019-20 season

Op-Ed

As far as I'm concerned, the more Shostakovich the better. The composer belongs to a group of masters – including Scriabin and Chopin – whose work reaches vocal music devotee's ears far less than it should. Lady Macbeth's explosive score teems with a pathos that lives up to its fascinating offstage history of censorship under Stalin.

A very Canadian La bohème: the latest in Opera for Toronto

Review

The preparation for this single show can stretch over an entire season, with input from the multiple teachers and coaches who come to work with the young artists throughout the year.

Installation Handmaid's Tale a dramatic, chilling staging

Review

There is so much to like musically because Ruders stays true to Atwood's novel while finding time to let the music tell the drama on its own that it is indeed a good thing that it has finally found its cultural moment.

A lesbian chamber opera to span centuries: Pomegranate

Interview

"It shows how lovers can be so deeply bonded that they remain loyal to each other across huge time spans and are once again drawn together, even without recognizing why, just acting on instinct."

Sanitized tragedy: La traviata in Minnesota

Review

Violetta's most vulnerable moments were during the overtures behind a scrim. In the initial overture Violetta was seen revving herself up for the party between coughing fits, and before the final act Violetta dreams that Alfredo is still with her.

Talking with singers: Stephen Costello

Interview

"In my off time, I come home. My wife Yoon and I live in NY. She plays violin in the orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera. I don't get enough of a chance to see her and I'm hardly ever at home."

Pomakov a dominating devil in Vancouver Opera's Faust

Review

The austere, dark sets and costuming were paired with relatively austere stage direction from François Racine. While the intention may have been to let the music speak for itself, in this case it seemed to slow the pace of the show, and gave the performers little to do on stage.