Using your voice again: a plan of action

Op-ed

This can be a vulnerable process, and in sharing this writing with you, I do feel quite vulnerable. Who knows how and where I will be compelled to sing more frequently again, but I do know that my voice has power and I can likely use it to improve the situation of my friends, family, communities, fellow humans, and of the earth.

Keeping the thread: moment-to-moment awareness in singing

Op-ed

The body only does what the mind tells it and allows it to do. Intense, almost loving attention to every single note can help realize a tricky passage like this. When it comes to runs and coloratura in general, this approach is useful because it can help give fast singing a real clarity, accuracy and a sense that there is plenty of time to sing all the notes and for them to be heard.

Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt: where opera meets science

Interview

"Composers have included scientific subjects and references, from Mozart's send-up of the real Dr. Mesmer in Così fan tutte, to John Adams' Dr. Atomic about Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb. The very act of scientific discovery is a creative one."

Brisk & wicked: Die Zauberflöte at ROH

Review

Speaking of maniacal, the Monostatos of Peter Bronder brought the house down. This creepy and twisted creature slithered about the stage, more screaming his lines than singing, which made the actions of him and his evil band of goons thrilling to watch. Bronder is the kind of performer who we could glean meaning from only seeing his eyes peering through a black curtain - every movement is filled with intention.

The stars align for Toronto Masque Theatre's final season

News

"I'm filled with so many emotions as I introduce you to our final season," says Beckwith. "I'm humbled to present many of Canada's leading performing artists – some TMT regulars alongside some new faces. I'm heavy-hearted as I contemplate the end of a magnificent journey. But above all, I'm excited to present to you an entertaining season of music, theatre and dance that I'm sure will demonstrate the accomplishments of this unique company and its place in the performing arts in Canada."

Just in time for fall: Shoperatic!

Op-ed

It's Suzanne Vinnik and Sara Duchovnay of Shoperatic.com! We're excited to announce that after talking about our new online peer-to-peer marketplace for what seems like eons, we are LAUNCHED and open for business! When we ran into a little technical snafu in beta testing, we reached out to our friends at Schmopera who were able to help us figure out the problem and got us back on track!

The "positive impact" of Community Created Performances

Review

The stories they shared were uniquely told yet, sadly, all too familiar in today’s social and political climate. Drawn from the performers' own lived experiences, messages of solidarity and discrimination, faith and dejection, success and failure were accented against that complex mosaic of a backdrop: Chicago.

Adi Braun, the Moderne Frau

Interview

"Any form of art is always influenced by the socio-political climate of its time. Certainly the freedom gained by the abolishing of the strict Wilhelmine regime was one part in creating a much more liberal and fertile ground for artistic expression. Yet with the rise of the Nazis artists saw and feared what was to come and expressed this in their works of art. The courage that performers had to give these often very risqué songs life is admirable."

In review: Il trovatore at Oper Frankfurt

Review

"Balanced" is the emphasis here, with the infamous requirements of the four lead roles met by the quadfecta of Piero Pretti (Manrico), Elza van den Heever (Leonora), Brian Mulligan (Conte di Luna), and the very last-minute replacement for an ailing Tanja Baumgartner, mezzo-soprano Marianne Cornetti (Azucena), flown in from Pittsburgh just in time for Friday's dress rehearsal.

In review: Bandits in the Valley

Review

The short, opera-esque piece of theatre - by composer Benton Roark and librettist Julie Tepperman - happens in various locations around Toronto's Todmorden Mills, the historic location that beautifully serves the concurrent tales of George Taylor (whose paper mill celebrates its 25th anniversary), the traveling theatre troupe that specializes in Gilbert & Sullivan, and The Rift Rafters, the group of bandits.