"Little-known gems": Ariane et Bachus

Interview

"I have to admit that I am partial to demons, having portrayed a dancing fury a few times myself. After carefully embodying good taste in the noble characters, the evil characters get to break all the rules. Plus, in hell you get to play with snakes, wands, and torches."

"I think it takes a brave artist to do something like an Opera Pub."

Interview

"There's nothing that compares to a rowdy, enthusiastic crowd cheering you on when you've nailed that high note. You just don't get that in your usual recital/concert setting, and there really is nothing more gratifying. Of course, the singers involved are the biggest highlight for me. As a coach here in Toronto, I meet new singers on a daily basis, but there's something about meeting a singer on stage (literally) and performing for the first time with absolutely no rehearsal in front of a live audience that is absolutely thrilling."

Opera myths & all that jazz: an interview with Frank Pesci

Interview

In a recent interview with Anthony Garone of Make Weird Music, Pesci talks about the operatic myths that may keep potential audiences at arm's length, the influence of jazz in his music - and its value for classical musicians - and his own "heroes" of contemporary opera.

Talking with singers: Carl Tanner

Interview

"I was a truck driver just out of university in 1985. I loved it! In a way I had no boss, just me and the truck and my drops. I also loved bounty hunting until I learned it can get you killed! I worked as a bounty hunter for a little over two and half years in which I executed approximately 178 out of 190 warrants. After a few life-changing experiences I realized maybe it wasn't my calling to chase down people."

Talking with singers: Andrew Haji

Interview

After high school, Haji went not into music, but into computer science. After just two years - and a realization that he was miserable - he "quickly abandoned ship". He took a year off, during which he met with his high school music teacher, discussing the beginnings of his plan to pursue music.

Talking with singers: John Fanning

Interview

"Even geezer singers will take breaths they shouldn't," he says of the all-too-human aspect to singing live onstage. "Those things never change, we just get better at dealing with them."

Talking with singers: Simone Osborne

Interview

"For the first couple of seasons that I came back I still very much felt like I had to prove myself," says Osborne of returning to what she considers her home company. She admits to feeling pressure to bring consistently great performances to the COC, where the standard of artistry is high and the audiences are in-the-know. "It's probably the pressure I put on myself."

Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt: where opera meets science

Interview

"Composers have included scientific subjects and references, from Mozart's send-up of the real Dr. Mesmer in Così fan tutte, to John Adams' Dr. Atomic about Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb. The very act of scientific discovery is a creative one."

Adi Braun, the Moderne Frau

Interview

"Any form of art is always influenced by the socio-political climate of its time. Certainly the freedom gained by the abolishing of the strict Wilhelmine regime was one part in creating a much more liberal and fertile ground for artistic expression. Yet with the rise of the Nazis artists saw and feared what was to come and expressed this in their works of art. The courage that performers had to give these often very risqué songs life is admirable."

American Opera Projects: "You're seeing the opera in microcosm."

Interview

"You hear the work, and you hear the audience hearing the work. That's invaluable. As a theater critic, I am by nature self-critical. As an editor, I know the work can always be better. I want to see how the audience reacts. I want to hear their thoughts afterward. You won't take every suggestion to heart, but one good note can have a huge effect on the final outcome."