The Queen in Me: yaassss kweeeeeeen

Review

The Queen in Me at the Canadian Opera Company is the culmination of years of work by Kasahara and their creative team to create this monolith of a one-person show. A true one-person show -- not a recital, not a cabaret or salon, but a dramatically driven show that would need to be seen to be believed.

EDEN stuns and the astonishing Joyce DiDonato is out to save the world

Review

Joyce DiDonato has made a stunning recording. Since we've become accustomed to her perfect technique, rich characterizations and commitment to the message as well as the music, this is not unusual. But with Eden, her new recording on Erato, this masterful mezzo-soprano quite simply astonishes.

Vaness directs electric Tosca in Kansas City

Review

I could see Ms. Vaness' artistry in every move of the performers. While there was no groundbreaking staging, I felt a special electricity from the cast, like there was a connection to the greats, which of course Ms. Vaness provides.

Review: the COC's "prima la musica" La traviata

Review

Legato in spades and a magnetic presence on the stage that was at times hypnotizing, her "Sempre libera" (an aria that holds a particularly special place in the hearts of Queers in my generation) brought the house down.

Les Délices streams opera pastiche The White Cat

Review

Julie Andrijeski and Shelby Yamin (violins), Kathryn Montoya and Nagy (oboes and recorders), Rebecca Reed (viola da gamba) and Mark Edwards (harpsichord) all wear cat masks, a simple and delightfully conspiratorial gesture. These cats know how to work it.

Talking with drag queens: Rosé

Interview

“When you think of the voice as having, like, the sound of an emotion instead of just sounding pretty, that's a really exciting thing to do. It makes it more like a mime performance than just lip syncing.”

Homegrown gems: TOT presents A Northern Lights Dream

Editorial

"Representation matters. New works matter. Canadian works matter. We are proud to have the honour and privilege to give space to these characters and voices - and relish the opportunity to do more in the future."

Magic everywhere in SDO's Aging Magician

Interview

"After years of creating work after work, it becomes your life," he says about why he is an artist. "Initially, I was drawn to things just because I was fascinated by ideas. The traditional world was not where I belonged. I knew I wanted to be in the arts and I had an impulse to perform."

The ensemble from heaven sends Don Giovanni to hell

Review

The standout of the evening was Justin Welsh as Leporello. With comedic timing second to none, Welsh’s Leporello was long-suffering, but wily, and every scene he was in was hilarious with so much physical comedy it brought the house down.

Boston Baroque's Louisa Muller on Amadigi di Gaula

Interview

"I think the way that I've approached it has been a little bit more of thinking about time expanding and thinking about the things that happen, not happening in real time, so that we take and use da capo arias, we just take a real dive into people's emotional states."