Don't miss: The Love Potion

Editorial

"As social beings, we depend on love and being loved," says Mitisek, explaining our fascination with love stories - even those that end in death. An opera like The Love Potion tells us about the possibilities and the limits of love, and we can experience its extremes through catharsis.

Fallis wraps 27 years with the Toronto Consort

Editorial

Readers, we're giving away two pairs of tickets to the matinee performance on May 27 (3:30pm). To be eligible for the draw, share or retweet this post (give us a tag @Schmopera, too!) and tell us why you're keen to see David Fallis' final collaboration with one of Toronto's cornerstones of Early Music.

Real Prisoners' Voices Make Heartbeat Opera's "Fidelio" Resonate

Review

Video projections reinforce the inmates' commitment to music and text, their chins raised, brows gently furrowed, and lips outstretched to form German vowels. The singing is emotionally wrenching in its delicate roughness.

And Here We Are: voice versus volume

Review

The opera is billed as a shadow puppetry opera. That sounds interesting but it is a concept that, while lending a certain artistic edge, falls short of fulfilling the promise of collaborative storytelling. The impression it leaves is more that of a crutch, which Welch's fine composition does not need.

4 singers you might not know - but should

I browsed through some boxes and found records by Caruso, Bjoerling, Pavarotti, Tozzi, and on and on. I didn't even own a record player, but I purchased about $45 worth of vinyl at about $5 per record, and so began my latest obsession.

Talking with conductors: Lidiya Yankovskaya

Interview

"Being an operatic singer is one of the most challenging jobs in the world - not only do you have to be a great musician, but you also have to be a great actor, to be able to move convincingly on stage, to sing in half a dozen languages without an accent, and to know your part to such an extent that if something goes wrong - you don't miss a beat."

Slightly unsettling: The Overcoat

Review

Sometimes they'll just lay under the bed and watch the action taking place, or curl up into a corner; it is creepy and odd, but works so well for this style.

Upcoming in Toronto: 4 reasons to mark your calendars

News

Estonia counts more from its diaspora in Toronto than anywhere else in the world, and in the 100th year of the country's independence, Estonia sends some of its finest musicians to collaborate with artists in Toronto.

"After 15 years, I felt like having a party."

Editorial

"I think we really mined [masque] to a huge extent," he says. Now, Beckwith's decision to wrap up TMT is fuelled by a desire for something new.

Grappling with daily life: WNO's Candide

Review

The production is the focal point of the Kennedy Center's programming in honor of Bernstein's 100th birthday, and amounts to the most enjoyable night of theater offered by WNO this season with its just-right combination of thrilling music, vocal gymnastics, impressive theatrical effects, belly-aching comedy, and effective storytelling.