On Pianists, Those Vicarious Opera Singers

Op-ed

I remember working with a class of first year voice students a few years ago; I saw them all individually (totally a bad idea, switched to masterclass format the next year), and I got the sense that for a majority of these students, they were working with a vocal coach for the first time. One particularly outspoken singer asked an unexpected question during our first coaching session together: "But, you're a pianist. Why are you telling me what to do?"

The Microphone Question

Op-ed

The other day I was presented with one of those artistic conundrums that's so simple it rarely occurs to me: the question of using microphones in live opera. If you're an opera lover, your nose probably just scrunched up a little bit at the thought of Violetta sporting a headset mic.

Opera: the Inside Job

Op-ed

When I started Schmopera, I started checking out how the "pros" do this blogging thing. What were they saying, and how? Were they talking about artists, concerts, recordings? Were they spreading the word about shows to see? Were they publishing profiles and reviews of artists? Were they vouching for the arts and bringing awareness to the current events that concern artists and art-lovers?

The Klinghoffer Example

Op-ed

I came across an article today that prompted me to weigh in on all the talk about The Death of Klinghoffer. Andrea Peyser at the New York Post just published this piece, stating, "The Met is to present an obscene opera titled 'The Death of Klinghoffer' — a musical celebration of the senseless murder by Palestinian monsters of a defenseless, elderly Jewish New Yorker." Sigh.

Substance abuse in the opera industry, yup. But why?

Op-ed

A few articles popped up recently about the problem of anxiety and depression amongst classical musicians. A survey done by Help Musicians UK sampled after 500 working musicians (about 20% of them singers), and found that 60% claimed to have suffered from a psychological concern such as depression and/or debilitating anxiety.

Forgiving Racism Onstage

Op-ed

Are we a forgiving bunch, us opera-lovers? There's a curious phenomenon of forgiving outdated social mores (racism, for example) in works of theatre and opera that we really like. It seems like fans of opera and musical theatre will look at plenty of bad onstage behaviour in their favourite show, and chalk it up to metaphor or "the way it was back then". It's oddly forgiving in a world which feeds largely upon criticism.

Does opera depend on its snobs?

Op-ed

On that old topic of opera's social relevance, I came across an article by Robert Thicknesse of The Guardian, entitled "How I fell out of love with opera". The long-time arts critic argues that the social snobbery that clouds opera will never be shed, since those social snobs are the ones funding it all to begin with. "

Opera in Summer

Op-ed

We're nearing the end of Summer Program Season, people. As a veteran of SPs myself, I always wonder about the young folks that went to OperaNUOVA or COSI or COAA/AEDO or the Halifax Summer Opera Festival or St. Andrews-by-the-Sea or any of those Canadian summer staples.

Curiosity and the Met

Op-ed

Human curiosity should be to opera companies what human insecurity is to the beauty product industry. We all want to snoop, take behind-the-scenes tours, figure out how that magician created that cool illusion. Hell, even I often prefer to watch a show from backstage. It's special, and unique.

Mutiny at the Met?

Op-ed

If you're reading this, you're probably already aware that the Metropolitan Opera is in trouble. This Thursday, the contracts of 15 unions are set to expire, and the negotiations between the unions and the Met's general manager, Peter Gelb, seem to be going nowhere good.