Another weekend, more shows

Editorial

Tonight (it's quasi-weekend) I'm going to Koerner Hall to hear Isabel Bayrakdarian sing with Tafelmusik. The programme is titled Rival Queens, and I'm pretty excited about it. It's inspired by that famous 18th-century operatic feud between superstars Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni.

Simon Cowell, stop it: An Update

Editorial

Yesterday I posted a link to a ridiculous track from 10-year-old Amira Willighagen's new album, produced by Simon Cowell's label, Syco Entertainment. The track was a duet version of Puccini's "Nessun dorma," which featured the dubbed and transposed voice of Luciano Pavarotti, taken without permission from one of his studio recordings of the aria.

Simon Cowell, stop it.

Editorial

Well, it's happened. Child opera singer (and human oxymoron) Amira Willighagen will release her first album, and it's going to be on Simon Cowell's label, Syco Entertainment. It features the poor little thing singing things like "O mio babbino caro" and dub-over duets with Luciano Pavarotti. Wait, what? Yup.

Three Big Things We Can All Learn From Singers

Editorial

You know, after sitting at the piano through many, _many_ voice lessons, I've never felt an urge to attempt to do what singers do. It's too difficult; and too many people have an opinion on how to do the difficult thing, and I honestly don't know how professional singers do it.

Wanna Write for Schmopera?

Editorial

We want to keep a two-way conversation with the people making opera happen today, and that means hearing from more voices. If you're eager to write, and have your apostrophes in order, we want to hear from you.

Hercules? Yes please!

Editorial

You know you're writing about opera in North America when you start to drool over a show that doesn't open until April 5th. But hey, I like hype. I'm talking about the COC's production of Handel's Hercules, directed by the infamous Peter Sellars. I just can't imagine what won't be to love.

Schmopera makes it to the big leagues

Editorial

Great news! I'll be making an appearance on behalf of Schmopera on the Big COC Podcast! With host Gianmarco Segato, I'll be joined by maestro Stephen Lord, who's in town conducting A Masked Ball at the Canadian Opera Company, and by Paula Citron, arts journalist, critic and broadcaster, and a past guest of the podcast.

Generally Awesome Mezzo Joyce DiDonato Saves My Writer's Block

Editorial

My hunt for blog-worthy tidbits had begun, and just as I felt the beginnings of a good old writer's block, I found myself on Joyce DiDonato's blog. That lady is just great. I'm not sure if everyone will remember this, but I spotted that letter to the editor that Joyce wrote for a publication by online magazine Opera21.

Neuroserialist music: a term I may have just coined

Editorial

Professor Eduardo Miranda at the University of Plymouth is conducting a really neat experiment. It involves having a subject wear a cap that measures brain waves, and those measurements are sent to a computer. The computer program then assigns various types of brainwave activity to a set musical phrase.

Go to this: Tapestry Songbook

Editorial

In the evening of February 1st, I'll be working on the west end. I wish I could be in the Distillery District, however, to catch Tapestry Opera's presentation of their Tapestry Songbook Concert. Featuring Canadian mezzo Krisztina Szabó and pianist Dr. Chris Foley, the concert will be a showcase of operatic scenes and arias from Tapestry's impressive collection of new Canadian works.