Tee-oh, eh?

Editorial

It's been a year and change of fantastic musical experiences here in London. The companies have been generous and welcoming, the shows have been full of ear- and eye-candy, and the sheer quantity of operatic offerings have been a total treat.

She said, they said: crossed wires in Buenos Aires

Editorial

She continues, "Due to pre-contractual breaches and the failure of Teatro Colon to fulfil my contractual terms, which are unquestionably respected wherever I sing, in opera houses and concert halls all over the world, I find myself in the impossibility to perform for the Argentinian audiences, which I love and highly adore."

Star opera singers: time-efficient, or just late to rehearsal?

Editorial

With the few exceptions of singers who are stepping back into a production they've already rehearsed, with the same cast and conductor, it seems as though companies are willing to offer their audiences a lesser production in favour of having a famous name onstage. And maybe it's a profitable trade-off. It just feels...not right.

4 things you shouldn't expect from summer programs

Editorial

If you decide that you're not going to get hired based on your work at a summer program, you'll ironically have a better time doing what you're meant to be doing at said program. You'll focus on the work in front of you, and not with building up forced face time with the conductor or bothering the agent over break with banal conversation meant to "impress" them. You'll be a better artist, and you'll have that air of confidence - as false as it may be - that makes people want to work with you.

Cross-Canada opera: The Overcoat comes to Toronto & Vancouver

Editorial

The Overcoat: An Opera has its roots in the 1998 Canadian play by Morris Panych and Wendy Gorling. Rolfe's operatic adaptation is a co-commission with Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera, and a co-production between Tapestry, VO, and Canadian Stage.

Wanted: your opera schwag wish-list

Editorial

You probably already love our t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and doggie gear - but what else do your operaphilic hearts desire? Tote bags? Baseball caps? Phone cases? Posters? Maybe you want more colours to choose from, or you've got a great idea for a new design. Do you want to see your favourite opera reference, immortalized in material goods?

Opera Philadelphia puts the Met's 2017/18 season to shame

Editorial

It's a little bit like looking for a place to grab dinner when you're a tourist in a new city. The Met's season is like eating in Times Square, or along the Ramblas in Barcelona, or in Leicester Square in London, where the wait staff stand outside their restaurants, shoving their photo-laden menus in your face as you walk by; Opera Philadelphia's season is like the better food, better prices, and better atmosphere in the restaurants found along the quiet streets adjacent to the tourist traps.

6 new works presented at Various Stages 2017

Editorial

What was fascinating was hearing the questions that the creators of the works posed to the listeners. They offered their own inspiration for artistic choices, wondering if their intended affect made its way to the audience. Perhaps it's a good test to run works-in-process by an audience of industry folks and critics; if an opera can impress them, they're likely in good shape for general audiences.

Aria guides: "O! du mein holder Abendstern"

Editorial

Wolfram's aria is a pretty magical moment in Wagner's Tannhäuser. It's almost a stand-alone song within the opera, the minstrel having a musical soliloquy, and it feels much gentler, much more intimate than everything that has come before. Wolfram is singing to the evening star, thinking of Elizabeth and her sad love for Tannhäuser.

The weird mystery of the Met's "diva directors"

Editorial

This paragraph seems dangerously presumptuous, and more than a little insulting to Meyers. It's quite a thing to say, that a director was entirely uninvolved in a singer's performance, and to credit a singer with being the saving grace of a production. It's a simple case of problematic journalism: how does Jorden know that Damrau's performance wasn't guided by Meyers?