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Editorial

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Native speakers & their operatic advantage

Editorial

I can't vouch for native speakers of German, Italian, French, Russian, etc., but for singers whose first language is English, the idea of "singing in one's native tongue" is a frightful one. English can be a tricky language to sing, especially if you're born in North America.

3 things to learn from Joni

Editorial

With the scary news that Joni Mitchell is currently recovering from a brain aneurysm, I went on a mini rediscovery of her music. No one doubts that Joni is one of the best songwriters of the 20th century, and I think the way she delivers her songs is a universal lesson in storytelling. Here are a few things that singers, operatic or otherwise, can learn from Joni.

Opera for first-timers & thinking outside the box

Editorial

We're talking about newbies, here; if everything is new, everything is on the table. I say then, let's first present opera in its most progressive form. Not to create a bias, but precisely because preconceptions about opera exist; the simplest way to break them down is to show them something, called opera, that doesn't fit the stereotypes.

Bring back opera on late-night TV

Editorial

In an earlier post, I was hunting for operatic tributes to David Letterman as his retirement quickly approaches. Few and far between as they may be, there seems to have been a definite "Golden Age" of opera on late-night television. From the 1950s to the 80s, folks like Plácido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, Maria Callas, Leontyne Price, Richard Tucker, Martina Arroyo, and Beverly Sills made appearances on late-night shows with Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan, and Merv Griffin.

Hat trick in the Amphitheatre

Editorial

The Free Concert Series in the Four Seasons Centre's Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre is winding down for the summer, and this week marks the end of the Vocal Series performances. At noon this Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, you can catch some stellar singing, for free.

Living Opera at the COC

Editorial

I'm a huge advocate of music education for young people, including the programs set up by the Canadian Opera Company's Education & Outreach department. One of their programs is Living Opera, which gives a class of secondary school students a chance to hear voice and drama workshops, tour the Four Seasons Centre, and see one of the mainstage shows.

When the people who tried to shut down SDO got paid $1M

Editorial

Thanks to Slipped Disc, I read the ugly story of Ian Campbell and his ex-wife Ann Spira Campbell, and how they were paid roughly $1M on their way out of the San Diego Opera board.

Google's very specific opera offerings

Editorial

A couple of quick finds for the online opera fans, who consistently bemoan the state of opera on the Internet. If you use Google Play Music, you'll be pleased to notice that there's a radio station that plays Metropolitan Opera broadcasts from their 2011-12 season.