The COC's Alexander Neef on #UncleJohn

Interview

Last week, the #UncleJohn team was joined by Alexander Neef, General Director of the Canadian Opera Company. The COC has provided mentorship and support throughout the Open Space program, and while he was here at The Banff Centre, the singers had a chance to sing for Mr. Neef and ask him some of their questions about the operatic industry.

Highlands Opera Studio: Meet the cast of Tosca

Interview

I took a trip up to Haliburton, ON, to hang out with the folks at Highlands Opera Studio. The summer opera program is putting up Tosca, beginning August 22nd, and I had the chance to speak with the singers. In the first of two videos about HOS’ Tosca, you’ll meet the lead characters (your Toscas, your Cavaradossis, your Scarpias). You even get to hear some singing.

Tara, Tamara, and Jamie: on body stereotypes in opera

Interview

Remember the old(ish) story about Irish mezzo Tara Erraught getting fat-shamed as Octavian at Glyndebourne this summer? They called her “dumpy” and “chubby”, and the lovely Alexander Chancellor at The Spectator added, “it is time that opera singers stopped rejoicing in their fatness and joined with the rest of mankind in the great battle against obesity.”

Highlands Opera Studio: Meet the rest of the cast of Tosca

Interview

In the second of two videos covering the Highlands Opera Studio‘s current production of Tosca, we meet four of the supporting cast (your Angelotti, your Sacristan, your goons). They were kind enough to chat about the trick to learning smaller roles, and how the community in Haliburton, ON, has responded to this summer’s Opera Studio.

Please Judge Me! (dot com)

Interview

Mark Joelson Daboll is a Toronto-based voice teacher, and he just innovated The Voice Lesson. Mark is the creator of PleaseJudgeMe.com, which offers professional feedback on video submissions from aspiring singers. The PJM team advises submitters on everything from picking out repertoire to vocal warm-ups, and it’s an anonymous, low-pressure way to try out audition repertoire.

Patrick Lange: Conducting Madama Butterfly

Interview

I had the chance to sit down with maestro Patrick Lange, currently in town to conduct Madama Butterfly at the Canadian Opera Company. The Berlin-based conductor is in the middle of the twelve-show run featuring two different casts, and he still found time to do things like run in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and answer some of my questions.

Johannes Debus: Falstaff, comedy, and teamwork

Interview

I caught up with Johannes Debus, Music Director of the Canadian Opera Company, between performances of the current (and spectacular!) production of Verdi’s Falstaff. He was kind enough to talk about what it’s like to conduct a piece like Falstaff, and how teamwork can amount to fantastic comedy. Maestro Debus even gives us a taste of fun things to come in the COC’s 2014/15,like the famed Robert LePage double-bill of Schoenberg’s Erwartung and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle in May.

Talking with Singers: Simone Osborne

Interview

Vancouver-born soprano Simone Osborne is no stranger to the stage at the Four Seasons Centre. She’s sung Oscar in Un ballo in maschera (2014), Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi (2012), Gilda in Rigoletto (2011), Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (2011), and she’s mid-run as Nannetta in the Canadian Opera Company’s current production of Falstaff.

Schmopera on tour: The Bremen Town Musicians

Interview

I spent the month of November on tour with the COC’s Glencore Ensemble Studio School Tour production of Dean Burry’s The Bremen Town Musicians. We went as far as Manitoulin Island and performed almost 30 shows. While we were way up north, I had the cast sit down for an interview. They even let me put my camera backstage during a show. Below you’ll find the backstage footage, plus a look at an average day on the road with the COC Ensemble Studio.

Talking with Singers: Robert Pomakov

Interview

Canadian bass Robert Pomakov has built himself a pretty enviable career. He’s currently in the middle of a Metropolitan Opera-heavy season, returning in January for productions of Les contes d’Hoffmann, Manon and Don Carlo. He has sung for conductors like James Levine, James Conlon, Riccardo Muti, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Nicola Luisotti.