Orpheus and Eurydice, designed by Frank Gehry

Editorial

Canadian architect Frank Gehry will design a production of Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice, to be directed by Jürgen Flimm, the Staatsoper's Intendant. At the podium will be Daniel Barenboim, in case the idea wasn’t impressive enough.

"The Mother of All Demos," Onstage Again

Editorial

This week at Stanford University, composers and performers Mikel Rouse and Ben Neill present the world premiere of their music theatre piece, The Demo. The piece is based on the true story of Douglas Engelbart's demonstration of new technology in 1968, in which he introduced the idea of hypertext and even the very first mouse.

Building Suspense with The Regietheater Panel

Editorial

A quick preview of our upcoming panel discussion on Regietheater. We brought together heads of opera companies, singers, and arts journalists to discuss the flaws and merits of "director's theatre," and its role in the ongoing evolution of opera.

Singing at the TSO, 2015/16

Editorial

This morning, Peter Oundjian announced the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's 2015/16 season. It looks creative and diverse, and there are more than a few items on the menu I can't wait to see. One of them is The Decades Project, a collection of six concert programmes featuring music from 1900-1909 (Oct. 21-Nov. 14, 2015), and 1910-1919 (May 25-Jun. 11, 2016).

Schmopera on the radio

Editorial

Readers, listen up! This coming Wednesday, January 21st, I get to join arts writer Catherine Kustanczy (Hyperallergic, xoJane, Opera News) on her brand new radio show, Hydra. The topic? Don Giovanni: we love to hate the Don, and opera companies love to put up Mozart’s “perfect” tale of history’s most ubiquitous womanizer.

#COC1516

Editorial

Alright, it's official! The Canadian Opera Company has announced their line-up for the 2015/16 season. This year the event was grand in scale, taking place in the theatre at the Four Seasons Centre, with the full COC Orchestra downstage of the looming set for the upcoming Die Walküre.

In Toronto: David Lang's The Whisper Opera

Editorial

Soundstreams welcomes the Canadian premiere of David Lang‘s The Whisper Opera at The Theatre Centre from February 26-March 1st. Performing the work are soprano Tony Arnold and New York’s International Contemporary Ensemble, also giving their Canadian debuts. The Whisper Opera grew out of the question, “What if a piece were so quiet and intimate and so personal to the performers that you needed to be right next to them or you would hear almost nothing?”

Help Get Diana to the Opera

Editorial

A Chicago-based non-profit organization is trying to help 92-year-old Diana see her first opera in about 8 years. One Dream has set up a crowdfunding campaign, hoping to raise $1400 to pay for Diana’s ticket for a Lyric Opera of Chicago production, as well as handicap accessible transportation, and a videographer to capture her night out.

Podcast IV

Editorial

This week, I join host extraordinaire Gianmarco Segato for the latest instalment of The Big COC Podcast. With arts critics Joseph So (La Scena Musicale) and Catherine Kustanczy (Opera News, Bachtrack, Hyperallergic), we chat about the current-est of current opera events: New York City Opera and its renaissance, adaptable opera companies, and the silencing of critics.

Stuff to see in January

Editorial

My January concert-going schedule is filling up nicely. I offer up a quick list of stuff I’m seeing this month in Toronto, in the hopes that I’ll see you guys there.