Meet the director: Liza Balkan

Interview

"Why do I do it? I love telling stories." Balkan agrees that the process can be different from theatre to opera, from workshop to finished product, but it's always inspiring. "The collective minds in a room, what can be created that way is just so delicious."

Meet the new Atelier lyrique: Kevin Geddes

Interview

Tenor Kevin Geddes, is originally from Québec City, QC, and this is his first season with the Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal. Videographer Anne Kostalas followed Kevin to Montréal's Poutinefest, where he chats about his roots in AC/DC, Pink Floyd, and high school musicals.

Talking with singers: Joyce El-Khoury

Interview

Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury is the perfect person to ask about Violetta Valéry, the heroine of Verdi's beloved La traviata. She has sung the role in over twelve productions, including at Welsh National Opera, Palm Beach Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, and currently with the Royal Opera House.

Reconstructing a lost opera: Amleto

Interview

There's Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Thomas Adès' The Tempest, and of course, Verdi's Otello and Falstaff. There's also Hamlet, the opera by Ambroise Thomas, but did you know there's an Italian Amleto (#essereononessere), composed by one of Verdi's contemporaries with text by Shakespeare-friendly librettist Arrigo Boito?

Meet the folks: Pocket Concerts

Interview

The concept of going to someone's house for some live chamber music might seem strange to anyone who isn't a big concert goer. But musicians know that house concerts are a common occurrence, that they're often under-advertised and often private, and that they're a fantastic way to experience music. The folks from Pocket Concerts are taking the in-home concert model, and making it an experience that anyone can have.

Talking with singers: Elizabeth Caballero

Interview

Cuban-American soprano Elizabeth Cabellero has built herself a busy life on the road, singing some of opera's most coveted roles in houses across the United States. She just finished singing Donna Elvira in Lyric Opera of Kansas City's Don Giovanni, and when we spoke over Skype, she was in Miami, FL, preparing for a recital in honour of legendary Romanian soprano, Virginia Zeani.

Fidelio at Oshawa Opera

Interview

Oshawa Opera continues its season with Fidelio on November 15th. The in-concert performance features mezzo-soprano Brigitte Bogar as Leonora and tenor Jason Lamont as her husband, Florestan. Pianist Kate Carver plays Beethoven's score, and Oshawa Opera Artistic Director Kristine Dandavino narrates.

Music Matters at Mini Mozarts Summer Music Camp

Interview

Most artists want to touch the lives of others with their work, and I spoke recently with a few Canada-based singers who have found a very tangible way to do some good with their talent. Tenor Paul Williamson and soprano Allison Cecilia Arends travelled last summer to Kingston, Jamaica, where they held their inaugural Mini Mozarts Summer Camp with the St. Andrew Parish Foundation.

Canadian Children's Opera Company's Lullabies: from kids, for kids

Interview

The Canadian Children's Opera Company is in its 48th season, and the first under new Artistic Director, Dean Burry. After 15 years, Ann Cooper Gay retired from her leadership of the CCOC, which consists of 6 choruses for young singers aged 3 to 19. Cooper Gay has left an extraordinary parting gift, entitled Lullabies, a CD of lullabies in 12 different languages, recorded by the CCOC. The CD will be given, free of cost, to new parents and their babies at Toronto-based hospitals, shelters, and care centres.

Don't miss: The Living Spectacle

Interview

On November 7th, the Canadian Art Song Project presents a concert of new music, featuring some of my favourite artists. Sopranos Ambur Braid and Carla Huhtanen join pianist Steven Philcox and dancer Jennifer Nichols in a showcase of a brand new song cycle by Erik Ross The Living Spectacle, and music by Brian Harman (Sewing the Earthworm), Libby Larsen, and Richard Strauss.