In review: LPO presents St. Luke Passion

Review

What struck us most about this performance was how clear these characters appeared to this modern audience. The passion is truly a timeless story, and to see these thousand-year-old character’s come to life in an extremely relatable way is why we yearn to keep seeing passions performed.

Flipside Opera throws a "Greeriad"

Interview

"I am more grateful than I can say for opportunities such as the Flipside Greeriad, to see my songs performed by artists who understand them from the inside out and who can pass their full message on to an empathetic audience. I am on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Art Song Project, a nation-wide organization dedicated to the promotion of new Canadian vocal music. I realize from this central standpoint how regionalized artistic expression is or can be."

4 things you shouldn't expect from summer programs

Editorial

If you decide that you're not going to get hired based on your work at a summer program, you'll ironically have a better time doing what you're meant to be doing at said program. You'll focus on the work in front of you, and not with building up forced face time with the conductor or bothering the agent over break with banal conversation meant to "impress" them. You'll be a better artist, and you'll have that air of confidence - as false as it may be - that makes people want to work with you.

Cross-Canada opera: The Overcoat comes to Toronto & Vancouver

Editorial

The Overcoat: An Opera has its roots in the 1998 Canadian play by Morris Panych and Wendy Gorling. Rolfe's operatic adaptation is a co-commission with Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera, and a co-production between Tapestry, VO, and Canadian Stage.

Sexy operas: The Tale of Januarie

Review

It has all the stuff of classic storytelling: an old man marries a young blonde girl, a young man is lovesick over that same blonde girl, and the whole story is fuelled by sex. In fact, Priapus himself (played by Carl Stone) sets quite the tone indeed, introducing the story with a penile hat atop his head, a wheelbarrow in front of him to carry the weight of his four-foot-long penis.

Don't miss: Soundstreams presents Odditorium

News

Amente-Nufe, Crown of Ariadne, Tantrika, and La testa d'Adriana are the four selections from R. Murray Schafer's 12-piece musical/theatrical cycle, Patria, which will be presented in a newly-realized performance directed by Chris Abraham, with music direction by the contemporary musical guru himself, Dr. John Hess.

Wanted: your opera schwag wish-list

Editorial

You probably already love our t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and doggie gear - but what else do your operaphilic hearts desire? Tote bags? Baseball caps? Phone cases? Posters? Maybe you want more colours to choose from, or you've got a great idea for a new design. Do you want to see your favourite opera reference, immortalized in material goods?

Schoenberg/Bach & other unlikely pairs: AtG Theatre heads to TIFF

Interview

"This past week, we were able to have an open, pop-up rehearsal in the atrium of TIFF Bell Lightbox. To see a new and engaged audience stop by and listen to both pianist Topher Mokrzewski and soprano Adanya Dunn rehearse is what makes this collaboration so special. It's been really great to work with a partner that is open to creating intersectional performances like this, who wants to activate their building into a site for film, art, and music."

Opera Philadelphia puts the Met's 2017/18 season to shame

Editorial

It's a little bit like looking for a place to grab dinner when you're a tourist in a new city. The Met's season is like eating in Times Square, or along the Ramblas in Barcelona, or in Leicester Square in London, where the wait staff stand outside their restaurants, shoving their photo-laden menus in your face as you walk by; Opera Philadelphia's season is like the better food, better prices, and better atmosphere in the restaurants found along the quiet streets adjacent to the tourist traps.

6 new works presented at Various Stages 2017

Editorial

What was fascinating was hearing the questions that the creators of the works posed to the listeners. They offered their own inspiration for artistic choices, wondering if their intended affect made its way to the audience. Perhaps it's a good test to run works-in-process by an audience of industry folks and critics; if an opera can impress them, they're likely in good shape for general audiences.