Reaching across centuries: Seraphic Fire's the little match girl passion

Review

In his introduction, Quigley explained, "We understand ‘passion' to mean an exploration and a meditation on human suffering." The four works on the program shared this theme of suffering and loss, but Seraphic Fire transformed this superficial thematic similarity into a compelling and heartfelt story, building an innovative, accessible, and deeply moving experience far beyond delineation into categories of time period or genre.

Lighter fare: Vancouver Opera's The Elixir of Love

Review

"Hegedus was brilliant in his comic interplay between the fake face he gives to the other characters and the interjections with his assistant, or his interludes to himself. When he believes his elixir is actually working in Act II, his reactions are incredibly funny, without taking anything away from his beautiful vocal performance."

On a mental precipice: HGO's Elektra

Review

If Strauss had not given Elektra so much deceptively tender waltz music of her own, then Chrysothemis's tender accompaniments (waltzes about mammaries) would come across as a moment of respite; however, by the time Chrysothemis is introduced, we know Elektra so well that nobody comes across as anything else other than a foil to her.

An operatic horror story: Proving Up

Review

This story also asks questions about the very nature of the American Dream. In the clutches of the Sodbuster, Miles is driven to question his entire mission. He asks "Does a window make a home? Does a deed make the land yours?" While these questions might have been better left implied rather than sung out loud, they lead to another question: Who really benefited from America's Manifest Destiny?

"Sex is one of the perks of conducting."

Op-ed

I pose a theory, though: things are changing. I'm a woman in the industry who has worked with a number of conductors; I'm either extremely lucky, wholly unattractive, or it's true that conductors in the 21st century are, like men in all industries, getting on board with the idea of respecting their colleagues (and keeping their sex lives outside of the rehearsal room).

Talking with singers: Clare Tunney

Interview

"Mozart writes for the voice, so it feels totally open and liberating to sing. As a performer, because all the emotion is already in his music, you just need to a vessel that delivers it, which is amazingly freeing!"

The start of something powerful: The Echo Drift

Review

The moth, appealingly mesmerizing, could have a spin-off opera all to itself. Created by individual acrylic paintings set in stop-motion animation, it moves like an insect shadow ricocheting off a porch light on a chilly autumn night in the country.

Don't miss it: SongFest's fast-approaching 2018 deadlines

News

I'm an alumna of SongFest, and I can vouch for the program's extraordinarily dense and empowering training environment. It's a special chance to work, often one-on-one, with figures who represent the contemporary industry. It can be a career-making encounter, no doubt.

#COC1819

News

"Opera transforms how we perceive the world and, in our 18/19 season, we're challenging ourselves and our audience to look at a fundamental human experience — love — through an unexpected array of works that has the capacity to reshape how we understand our hearts and minds," said Canadian Opera Company General Director Alexander Neef via press release.

An opera's evolving relevance: Turandot

Review

Ultimately, the vision of "China" that Puccini articulated with his Turandot is pure fantasy. While his scrupulousness in incorporating elements of Chinese music-making into his score is self-evident, there is little to suggest the other trappings of Turandot are anything other than an over-eagerness on the part of Puccini and his librettists to produce a spectacle that no one had seen before.