Opera Canada magazine celebrates 60 years
Editorials

Holiday recap: forbiddens & traditions
EditorialThere's little wrong, though, with heading into a new year with good tunes in one's head, and an acute anticipation of good things to come.

2018 in review: a confession
EditorialI guess that's my 2018 year-in-review: finding my way back to opera. It certainly helped to have, always bubbling in the background like happy reminders, the insatiable enthusiasm for opera of our writers and readers. So, thanks.

Ayre Live launches AtG's new record label
Editorial"That time is imprinted in my brain, and I think it will be forever," says Khalil of singing Ayre at Toronto's Ismaili Centre, a cultural symbol of the city's fostering of Islam. She gave three performances between November 10-12, 2016, less than a week after Trump's election win. "This piece felt like it was so needed at that time."

Off-Centre Stage: the COC Ensemble Studio Competition
EditorialIt's a lot of hype for one night, and only part of it is open to the public. The competitors sing one closed round before the crowd files in for the second, and after the competition is done, the singers are whisked away for a gala dinner with their colleagues - and most notably, the evening's donors.

Live-streamed in recital: Brancy & Dugan
EditorialThe Journey Home is inspired by the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, and features traditional picks (Schubert, Vaughan Williams), as well as popular and art songs by composers who were killed in the war.

Don't miss: the drama & devotion of Agostino Steffani
Editorial"He spins a beautiful melody," says mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó, who joins the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir on this programme of Steffani's music. The composer's style, "for me, it falls between Cavalli and Handel."

Bel Canto: creating a diva
EditorialThe term diva has been somewhat hijacked in 21st-century North America; "Mostly now, it means bad behaviour," Fleming admits. Still, the character of Roxane has qualities that are charmingly familiar to those in the opera industry. Her ease in high-profile social situations, her ability to articulate what she does and does not want, her general fearlessness - these are the qualities of people like Sondra Radvanovsky, Anna Netrebko, and of course, Fleming.

A daring & desirous double-bill at Opera Atelier
EditorialSuch longevity puts it among the upper echelon of Canadian opera companies in Canada - a feat more impressive when we consider that Atelier performs exclusively 17th- and 18th-century baroque opera. It's almost impossible to resist saying it: "If it ain't baroque, don't fix it."

Check it out: The Linden Project
EditorialArt song - a broad classical music term to describe a piece written for solo singer and accompaniment, usually by a piano - can feel equal parts vague and exclusive. A song by Schubert and a song by Bernstein are both considered art songs, despite enormous differences in style; conversely, art song carries with it some special qualities, like the conversational relationship between the voice and piano.

CMIM Finals: one out of three ain't bad?
EditorialEven for me, I was quite errant in my guesses for the winners of this year's Concours musical international de Montréal.