What's your opera dress code?

Editorial

The opera world is often full of rich-looking theatres, expensive concessions, and wealthy patrons; but in truth, the vast majority of the artists making it all happen are not in the wealthy camp. They spend staggering proportions of their income on a great pair of shoes, a well-tailored suit, and a few great dresses that they hope will carry them through seasons of donor dinners, after-show cocktail parties, and other events where the starving artists need to look anything but broke.

Great love affairs: singers and pianists

Editorial

So, perhaps we've dubbed this Friday "Hug a Singer Day" for the pianists out there, and "Hug a Pianist Day" for the owners of lovely voices. Together, singers and pianists are our favourite example of something that's greater than the sum of its parts.

New opera & honest marketing

Editorial

Without the long histories of Tristan und Isolde or La traviata, new operas need substance within the pages of the score in order to attract listeners. It's no longer enough to rely on the internal opera fan club, who get excited when folks like Plácido Domingo move from tenor to baritone roles, or when Peter Sellars gets his hands on a Bach oratorio; the people who care about these things are already putting their bums in seats.

Fans unite: Opera Box Score

Editorial

So, for those well-balanced fans of opera and sports, there's Opera Box Score, the podcast that asks, "what if opera – its performances, personnel and programming – could be demystified, discussed and promoted in such a way as to become as much a part of the public consciousness as sports?"

Women in the arts: is it our turn, yet?

Editorial

And what if they remain ignored? What if women never make up 50% of our conductor, choreographers, and General Directors? Does that mean that our artistic experiences have been, and will always be, limited? Are we missing out on masterpieces without more women calling the artistic shots? Are there certain avenues of the arts that women are simply less interested in pursuing, like technical direction or stage direction?

AtG's Opera Pubs: "It can all get a bit wild."

Editorial

Opera Pubs accommodate the kind of listeners who simply enjoy the sound of operatic singing, and who aren't necessarily itching to know the details of the story. Even better, the common ground of a pub environment allows listeners to feel as though they're among the group of singers, rather than watching from afar.

Music, religion, & irony

Editorial

Perhaps this happens because music is one of those things that can truly offer the exhilarating joy and sense of belonging that many religious seek. It's perhaps not the same thing, but in my work with music, I have experienced moments of happiness, awe, and admiration so great my whole self vibrates.

Teaching in the Arctic: 5 things that one singer learned

Editorial

My work up north has made me a better singer and artist, without question. At the most basic level it's one of the ways I remind myself why art is so, so important, even though trying to be a singer is so difficult. So here are five epiphanies I've had because of my time teaching in some of the most beautiful places on earth.

3 ways to fight boredom at the opera

Editorial

Of course, when boredom sets in, one of the worst places to be is stuck in a dark theatre, made to keep quiet, without the opportunity to hover a mouse over the proscenium to see for how much longer this thing will go on.

Opera in concert: uncluttered or uninteresting?

Editorial

If an opera truly is a great work of drama and music, does that mean it's less likely to translate well without sets or costumes? If the drama and music are wonderfully combined, does an in-concert performance mess up a composer's delicate balance? If a great opera feels like it's going on for days, how much fault lies in our dwindling contemporary attention spans?