Opera laid bare, for better or for worse in the Met's Fanciulla

Review

It's funny how similar the opera-going experience is, be it at an opera house or the movies. Older audience members still kvetch about the venue - "They should have it at TIFF," et cetera - and there's the usual mixture of apologies and harumphing as latecomers squeeze past their neighbours' knees to find their mid-row seats.

Old meets new: Modularias & podcast operas

News

A modular synth opera is about a hipster as you can get: "Modular synthesizers have been around since the early 1960s but they fell out of favor in the 1980s," say Cady and EiO founders Matthew Welch and Aaron Siegel. "In the last 10 years, there has been a resurgence of interest in modular synthesizers as they have gotten cheaper, smaller and generally more accessible for enthusiasts and musicians."

Spectacle & art: Dragus Maximus

Review

The show, a revue of Baroque arias and a world premiere by music director Daniel Schlosberg, incorporated masterful singing, a costumed 6-piece band, gender bending, lip syncing, imaginative costumes and dazzling makeup in the intimate venue of Roulette Theatre in Brooklyn.

Talking with singers: Vlada Borovko

Interview

"Of course, school education does not give you large amounts of stage experience, in the same way as is provided by some young artist programs. During two seasons as a young artist in London, I was singing supporting roles on the main stage and making unexpected debuts in the leading roles. Of course, in extreme situations you learn much faster."

Varied Opera Bites delivers interesting & delectable morsels

Review

Of course no wife would be spurred to murder her husband based on fortune cookie fortunes, but here it happens, and in exactly the kind of over-the-top manner that only opera can pull off. It was a joyous way to end the first half of the program.

Talking with singers: Thomas Hampson

Interview

"As a singer, as a professional, experienced singer, older colleague," Hampson advises young singers entering the profession, "I can only say that the industry you're in is not the industry I started in."

Bel Canto: creating a diva

Editorial

The term diva has been somewhat hijacked in 21st-century North America; "Mostly now, it means bad behaviour," Fleming admits. Still, the character of Roxane has qualities that are charmingly familiar to those in the opera industry. Her ease in high-profile social situations, her ability to articulate what she does and does not want, her general fearlessness - these are the qualities of people like Sondra Radvanovsky, Anna Netrebko, and of course, Fleming.

Feminism & confetti: Atelier's triple-bill

Review

Thank goodness for one-act operas. They're like a shot of great espresso, or a single chocolate truffle - the kind of indulgence that's short-lived, but immediate and totally satisfying. Among all the lengthy, luxuriating opera we see - all the da capo arias and all the Wagner - compact one-acts like Actéon and Pygmalion allow even the most hardcore of opera fans to admit that their attention spans don't always like to be stretched so thin.

Summer Nights at the Opera: an observation

Op-ed

With no lines or a prescribed opening time the Summer HD Festival has been a welcoming presence since its inception. Entering off Broadway, people first encounter a table with volunteers from the Metropolitan Opera Guild, providing information about the Guild's programs and benefits of membership as well as complementary issues of its publication, Opera News.

5 classical voice podcasts to try

How-to

I'll fess up: I'm a podcast addict. They're the morphine drip that gets me through the day. But I've only dabbled in shows that focus on classical voice, and that's a problem. As an antidote, I've found five series, with different focuses, that are worth checking out.