Greg's First Thursday at the AGO

Editorial

AGO First Thursdays is a great party series thrown by the gallery on the first Thursday of every month. After the AGO closes for regular business, the place is transformed into an events venue with DJs, Drinks, Dancing, Dashing Dudes, Dreamy Dames and some Damn Fine Art. Last night was no exception.

The Art of Defining a Singer and Squashing Anomalies

Editorial

​I spotted a strange review in the Washington Post by Anne Midgette, on Ian Bostridge's performance of Winterreise at the Library of Congress. I was misled by a clickbait-esque headline (not Anne's): "'Ian Bostridge Is Not A Classical Singer' Says Anne Midgette".

Relevant Art Via the Number 2 Train

Editorial

"Between 3 and 30 instruments are playing during each segment of this song. Some instruments play softly (i.e. piano/pianissimo) and some play loudly (i.e. forte/fortissimo.) The number and type of instruments are selected based on that station's surrounding median income taken from the 2011 US Census Data Release. In general, the higher the income, the greater the dynamics and quantity of instruments."

Bad Editions and the Limits of the Notes

Editorial

When I was thinking about pursuing a Doctorate degree in Collaborative Piano, I had a germ of an idea for a thesis project: to create a piano-vocal score of a standard opera (Le nozze di Figaro, or La traviata, for example) that would be designed for pianists who didn’t necessarily have a strong operatic background. These scores would be edited so that a pianist could play everything they see, and it wouldn’t sound stupid (which is what happens if you play every note you see in, say, a Bärenreiter edition of anything).

Opera Bite: Gabrielle Herbst

Editorial

I stumbled upon a beautifully articulated answer to one of our industry’s biggest questions, in Carena Liptak’s interview for Noisey with Gabrielle Herbst. Gabrielle is a singer and composer; she’s a member of the band GABI, and her first opera, Bodiless, had its premiere last year at New York’s Roulette. The question posted was simple: “How do you deal with making an archaic form accessible?”

Proof that Music is Simply Unreasonable

Editorial

Musicians come in many kinds, and most work with a fascinating balance of pragmatism and imagination. We, like other artists, get a reputation for having our heads in the clouds, for making decisions based on emotion instead of reason. We are artsy-fartsy.

Opera in Spring

Editorial

​With the official end of winter less than a week away, it's time to mark your calendars with some spring opera-going. Here are a few of the events I'm catching over the next couple of months.

Chatting with Canada's Opera Biggies

Editorial

Exciting news, everyone! Late next week, I'll be sitting down to chat with a panel of folks who certainly know their opera. The topic? Regietheater productions, the role of the opera director, and how their innovative (and often wacky) ideas can propel opera forward.

Michelle Telford, Creating Custom Surtitles for Opera Today

Editorial

This is a guest post by Michelle Telford, custom surtitlist with Saskatoon Opera. "Seeing is for suckers, and sleep is for the weak." - Michelle.

Gibson Girls, and the Great Opera They'd Make

Editorial

I think the story, the mythology, even, of the Gibson Girl would make a great opera in itself. The story could speak about women, men, the media, the human urge to follow trends; there's even a story in the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Gibson, whose understanding of social issues seemed ahead of their time.