Pärt's Passio closes Seraphic Fire's passionate series

Review

Pärt's trademark, soaring dissonances churning uninterrupted, punctuated by tense, expectant silences and delicate instrumental interludes. During the lecture preceding Seraphic Fire's April 14 performance, Artistic Director Patrick Dupré Quigley noted the symbolism behind this hardline continuity: a sense of predestination, advancing steadily through the traditional text toward the inevitable crucifixion.

Wendy Bryn Harmer Leads Sensitive, Inspirational Fidelio

Review

It is a great thing, then, that Boston Baroque has mostly found the right cast with which to lead this reading of the opera, especially with Wendy Bryn Harmer. By the end of it, I felt as inspired by Harmer's portrayal of Leonore as the other characters on the stage: and really, is that not the most important feeling one should have coming out of an opera where good triumphs over evil?

Confusing & creepy: Proving Up

Review

Personally, I felt like The Sodbuster was more of a symbolic spectre of death. Death must have been a powerful presence among settlers. It was an extremely perilous way of life, and people died frequently, often isolated and unknown.

Heartfelt and intimate: Manitoba Opera's La Traviata

Review

What I found really interesting and different, was that in the second act, and even more in his final duet with Violetta, Ms. Blue had to bring her powerful voice down in volume to his, to match the fact that he was crooning, not full-out blasting as you usually have to do to be heard over an orchestra. As a result, their tender final scene, as she lay dying, was amazingly touching and intimate.

Theatre company responsible for Canadian singer's death goes bankrupt

Op-ed

It's the question that crosses any touring performer's mind when the stage manager misses a stop sign or forgets to check their blind spot. You grip the armrests and wonder, "what if we crashed?" A year ago today, the members of one Canadian production found out.

Don Giovanni: "strengthened by reinterpretation."

Interview

"These classic opera scores, like any art form, are never static, and I believe they are strengthened by reinterpretation. We've all become used to hearing them in a certain way over the years, with the same orchestration, to the point that they have become museum pieces. My intention is to breathe new life into the scores, and I hope that audiences are able to gain a fresh perspective on the music as a result."

Fidelio: still political in 2018

Interview

"I hope people who know Fidelio already will be surprised and challenged to experience the opera in a new way. I hope newcomers to Fidelio will come away with admiration for Beethoven's beautiful music and appreciation of this story's powerful resonance today. I hope all audience members will take away questions and concerns that they continue to talk about and wrestle with."

Talking with singers: Nelson Ebo

Interview

"My desire for singing was within me when I was born. My father loved to sing and when I was a child I was always the loudest one (out of the 16 of us). I sang in my church choir and found a way to formalize my love of singing. When I was a bit older, I was given a cassette tape of the Three Tenors and started imitating them."

Intimate Brewery Room La Bohème A Revelatory Triumph

Review

But actually, this is the big revelation of the production: the show works better when the cast is allowed to treat the show's lighter moments like a comedy, because it only highlights how truly tragic their situation is when reality comes crashing back in.

Big Jim and the Small-time Investors: a story often told

Review

If the title sounds more like a riff on Dion and the Belmonts or Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, in a way, it is. Big Jim sings, or more precisely, croons, about getting rich by investing in his interactive "reality" fantasy goggles. His small-time investors hum along. Big Jim appears live to the audience but only on suggested video screens to his investors. They are the ultimate back-up singers.