55 years of Minnesota Opera: a gala celebration

Review

A company well-known for their journeys into new music and non standard repertoire, this concert was a refreshing take on the typical opera company showcase. The spirit of bringing new works to life was certainly felt at this performance, and I hope The Minnesota Opera will continue to grow in their mission for years to come!

Overdue for the stage: Haymarket Opera Company's Ariane et Bachus

Review

A highlight of the performance was the chorus of the furies in Act IV, as summoned by the sorcerer Géralde. Snakes were an effective unifying visual element here: not only were the demons themselves swaying like charmed snakes and brandishing faux snakes, but their Medusa-like wigs and skirts fashioned from wide strips of flowing fabric brought great movement to the scene. The music's regular flowing triple meter was often unexpectedly interrupted by hemiola hiccups so typical of baroque dance rhythms.

Stellar singing & curious costumes in ENO's Aida

Review

This production was very beautiful from a visual perspective. The sets were colossal, drawing the audience into a strange fantasy world. It was full of stunning tableaus, especially those that included the whole cast, the chorus and the wonderful acrobatic ensemble, Improbable. The lighting design was particularly clever, illuminating the production in a way which seemed almost symbolistc. For me, the most stunning moment of the whole production was the strange ending.

Larmore leads "Sinful" success

Review

The laziness that the characters feel in having to get ready when the star diva hasn't arrived (sloth), the pride that Mr. Dunham's self-named character feels towards Ms. Holdsworth, Ms. Larmore's cameo can be seen as anger and covetousness towards Holdsworth's envy, Mr. Munson's alcoholism is addressed as gluttony, Ms. Holdsworth's lust towards Mr. Dunham, Mr. Munson, and Mr. Stolz, all is masterfully and subtly woven into the script by director Brian Clowdus, helping tie in his cabaret to the front-billed one-act.

The Invictus Games come to the RBA

Review

When packed together into a single recital, it's always interesting to hear how different composers write the sounds of war. Kurt Weill writes the literal sounds of drums in his "Beat! Beat! Drums!", and Charles Ives capitalizes on the sounds of grossly happy Americana (propaganda, really) in "He is there!" Dominic Argento's "War (June, 1940)" gives a disorienting, broken image of combat that sounds in stark contrast to the more familiar sounds of war-themed songs, the nostalgia and longing of Gerald Finzi and George Butterworth.

Review: a Triple Concerto & a German Requiem with the TSO

Review

The three violin parts seem to babble, talk over each other, like a gaggle of enthusiastic talkers whose conversation borders on an argument. They echo each other in a three-fold cascade of gesture, single pitches splicing themselves into harmonies; there are moments of Strauss-like vocal writing, and what feels like an exciting nod towards the Toccata movement from John Adam's Violin Concerto.

Meeting for lunch: the COC Ensemble Studio in recital

Review

With the help of pianists Stéphane Mayer and Rachael Kerr, the seven singers of the 2017/18 Ensemble Studio broke the ice with a single aria each, showing off their start-of-season stuff. It was a collection of picks from the standard operatic canon for this concert entitled, Meet the Ensemble Studio; safe as their choices may have been, the young singers each made strong statements about what they were offering the rapt audience.

What's the deal with Canadian music?

Review

Wiliford joked that it "took an American" to found the Canadian Art Song Project, which focuses on getting new Canadian song repertoire written, performed, and recorded. Coming from the more fostering environment in the United States, Wiliford was surprised that Canadian performers weren't as quick to step into the role of champion for their own new music. Similarly, Alex Pauk admits that founding the Esprit Orchestra came out of his and other composers' frustration with the dearth of groups willing to program Canadian material.

Organic elegance: Orphée et Eurydice in Chicago

Review

Tacking happy endings onto tellings of traditionally tragic myths in this way was very much en vogue in the eighteenth-century. But for Neumeier's concept-driven production, while the musical substance remains the same, the story's denouement is rendered far more devastating than even the myth's usual tragic end.

Memorable nights: the TSO's tribute Glenn Gould

Review

Lisiecki had me stunned not over the deftness of his hands, but over his sense of breath, space, and chamber music. He left room for humanity in even the trickiest of passages, and he was constantly conscious of who his current duet partner was. He challenged the orchestra to play unbearably soft, and ferociously attacked the piano to achieve enormous volume, without ever leaving an ugly edge.