Check out: FAWN Chamber Creative

Interview

Based in Toronto, FAWN Chamber Creative is focused on getting Canadian music heard by new people. They mash up art forms, like their Synesthesia series combining new Canadian music, design, and film, and they commission new works like Adam Scime's L'homme et le ciel, which you can hear in Toronto this December at the Music Gallery.

Suor Angelica at Oshawa Opera

Interview

On Sunday, September 27th, Oshawa Opera presents Puccini's one-act, punch-packing tragedy, Suor Angelica. This in-concert production features Oshawa Opera's Artistic Director, Kristine Dandavino, at the piano, with a cast of Canadian talent. I spoke with Kristine, and with Ukrainian-Canadian soprano Natalya Matyusheva, singing the heartbreaking title role.

Check out: Liederwölfe

Interview

I met Liederwölfe Opera Collective co-founders and delightful ladies Francesca Perez and Lindsay Michael at the Banff Opera Colloquium this summer, where they wowed Canada's opera biggies with their proposal for Opera Peep Show. The premise is delicious: a ticket gets you into a hotel bar, where you can hear a few opera samples. From there, listeners can get keys to various rooms in the hotel, each featuring previews and excerpts from various other companies.

Interviewing the Greats: Virginia Zeani

Interview

It is no wonder that opera collectors call Romanian soprano Virginia Zeani "l’Assoluta." In May 1948, Zeani made her stage début in Bologna, singing Violetta in La traviata; she went on as a last minute replacement, never having sung with orchestra and with no rehearsals. In her career, she would go on to sing 648 times.

Mark Morris: "Clarity."

Interview

American choreographer, dancer, director and conductor Mark Morris is one of those people that's difficult to introduce. He has worked with the likes of Peter Sellars, Yo-Yo Ma, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, and has a firm hand in dance and opera today. His company, the Mark Morris Dance Group, is a tight group of dancers, designers, and musicians, and they travel across the globe, presenting an average of 90 shows a year.

Spotlight on: Keith Lam

Interview

Keith Lam and I met in the way that many, many opera-loving Canadians meet: at Opera NUOVA. The Hong Kong-born, Toronto-based baritone is a member of the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, and he has sung with the excellent Canadian Opera Company Chorus. As a soloist, Keith has lit up stages with Against the Grain Theatre, The Banff Centre, Aspen Opera Theater, and he wrote me recently mid-rehearsals for Le nozze di Figaro at Highlands Opera Studio.

Check out: Loose TEA Music Theatre

Interview

Loose TEA Music Theatre is heading into its third season, currently in rehearsals for its upcoming production, Dissociative Me, which runs August 18-22nd at RED Night Club in Toronto. The show is an adaptation of Gounod's Faust, with a new libretto by Loose TEA's Artistic Director Alaina Viau and General Manager Markus Kopp. I do like me some devilish opera.

On the road: the Bicycle Opera Project

Interview

The Bicycle Opera Project has never been busier. Currently, the group of cycling singers are finishing up a month-long run of Dean Burry's new opera, The Bells of Baddeck, and on Monday they begin their East Coast tour (August 3-11 in Nova Scotia, August 14-September 6 in Ontario, all by bike!) of shadow box, a tight collection of Canadian scenes and by people like James Rolfe, Chris Thornborrow, and Tobin Stokes.

Meet the Friends & their Seven Deadly Sins

Interview

You've met The Friends of Gravity, of Toronto's Indie Opera T.O. collective. Now, see them in action. Next weekend on September 25th and 26th, The Friends present a sexy little number.

Check out: The Friends of Gravity

Interview

The Friends of Gravity is all about "expressive immediacy," producing music theatre in intimate spaces, and combining live action and music with film and photographic media. This fall, The Friends of Gravity presents Kurt Weill's fantastic Seven Deadly Sins, complete with silent film elements.