Don't miss: Rocking Horse Winner

Interview

This month, Tapestry Opera presents the world premiere of Rocking Horse Winner, a co-commission with Scottish Opera by composer Gareth Williams and librettist Anna Chatterton. The new opera is an adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's short story of the same name, a tale of skewed ideas of love and luck, about a family's constant struggles with money, and their son Paul, who has a curious knack for predicting winning horses at the betting tracks.

Great ideas: Devoted & Disgruntled

Interview

As opera fans, we can't help but dream about attending similar forums hosted specifically by opera companies, large and small. There's an inevitable default to trial-and-error with programming seasons, casting singers, and developing relationships with audiences; with an equalizing environment similar to Devoted and Disgruntled, perhaps what audiences want out of opera can become less nebulous.

Don't miss: Shoestring Opera's Hansel & Gretel

Interview

On Sunday, June 5 North York's Solar Stage Children's Theatre, Shoestring Opera presents two performances of their very own adaptation of Humperdinck's Hänsel and Gretel, with a libretto by Mark Brownell. In their tale, Hansel and Gretel have an odd neighbour, who "might be a witch, with an awful twitch, who rides the air with a broomstick switch!" At 11am and 2pm, audiences can enjoy gorgeous music, learn some new dance moves, and hear a new take on a classic story.

Meet the contestants of A Little Too Cozy!

Interview

"Can you fall in love with someone you’ve never met?" That's the big question on the minds of the four hopeful, love-seeking contestants on A Little Too Cozy. Felicity and Dora have been getting to know Elmo and Fernando in that classically romantic way, texting. Soon, they'll join host Donald Alfonso and talent relations guru Despina for the finale episode of A Little Too Cozy, where they'll finally be able to go on a face-to-face date with the objects of their text-affections.

Brian Mulligan: singing Jack Torrance

Interview

"What makes Jack Torrance different from other villains is that he’s fun. He has a ball terrorizing his helpless little family... and he is absolutely remorseless! His wife and son are merely failed extensions of himself, and there's a joy in him once he decides to destroy them. He's empowered and in control, with a purpose. It's a lot of fun to be that sadistic."

Talking with Renaissance men: Matthew Sharp, part 3

Interview

We're rounding out our trilogy of chats with cellist, baritone, and actor Matthew Sharp with some musings on the state of classical music concerts. The role of the performer, the wants and needs of the rehearsal process, and the futility of the "definitive recording".

Talking with singers: Corinne Winters

Interview

We had the chance to speak with Winters about the "intense and subtle" Mélisande, her offstage creative outlets, and how she stays happy and healthy on the road. Frankly, we'll take wellness tips from any soprano who can run a half-marathon.

Dean Burry on "The Highwayman"

Interview

On May 3 and 4 at Toronto's Trinity-St. Paul's Centre, the Talisker Players present Cross'd by the Stars, a concert filled with music about "soulmates who are fated to be torn apart." Mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó, baritone Aaron Durand, and reader Stewart Arnott join the Talisker Players for works by Purcell, Gluck, Bernstein, Mahler, and the premiere of Dean Burry's The Highwayman, based on the poem by Alfred Noyes.

Talking with Renaissance men: Matthew Sharp, part 2

Interview

In the second of our series of chats with cellist, baritone, and actor Matthew Sharp, we get into the nitty-gritty of what it means to be an interdisciplinary artist. Sharp chats about learning to sing and play simultaneously, and how he has developed the skills to create something greater than the sum of its parts, like his "one-man, interactive musical epic for 7-year-olds and their adults", Tommy Foggo - Superhero.

Tales from stage management

Interview

Stage managers are an organized bunch, a team who knows everything about you, and what you'll need next. They help directors, singers, schedulers, wardrobe and make-up departments; they're the glue that holds the show together, and they stay humbly obscured, dressed in black and standing just out of the audience's sight.