Talking with singers: Elza van den Heever

Interview

"'Casta Diva' alone is of course that one moment of magic that craves to be sung to absolute precision - problem is, at least for me, that the aria is truly very low in the soprano tessitura and makes it just incredibly difficult and uncomfortable if you're nervous. It’s at the top of the show where you are most vulnerable and scared and nerves often get in the way."

...and then it was November

Op-ed

You may be the title-holder of a thousand singing prizes. You still didn't fit the bill. You may have been the toast of the town at the end of last season - but you still didn't fit the bill. You may be the most delightful person to work with - but you still didn't fit the bill. You may have received nothing but glowing reviews - but you still didn't fit the bill.

6 operas to creep you out

Humour

The obvious choice, really. There's the creepy castle; the weird, cold relationship between Bluebeard and his new bride; the secret rooms; the clear intimacy issues; the dead ex-wives. The music, though, is the scariest thing about Bartòk's opera; the score sounds like something Bernard Herrmann would have written for a Hitchcock film, and it seems to waver unnaturally between uncomfortably soft and impossibly loud. Kind of like a scary, abusive husband.

In review: Danielle de Niese and Julius Drake

Review

The pair gave us songs by Wolf, Bizet, and Grieg. A personal favourite of ours, the Wolf songs were where Drake sang the most. His playing guided us through these densely packed songs, noting every subtle detail in Wolf's writing without belabouring. De Niese was funny, touching, and real, and Drake pulled off the "bad violin" gag in "Wie lange schon war immer mein Verlangen" from the Italienisches Liederbuch.

In review: And London Burned

Review

It was the stories of the Londoners, represented by Gwilym Bowen, Aoife O'Sullivan, and Andrew Rupp (who also sang the Duke of York and Dryden), that earned even more fear than the tale of the fire itself; they were the horrifying story of *people* during a disaster. There were the carters who inflated their prices to evil proportions; there were those who wasted time blaming the fire on sin or the Dutch or the year 1666; there were looters, racists, and useless officials. It's terrifying to consider, in a disaster, how a city is at the mercy of its citizens.

Why our artistic roots matter

Op-ed

It's no secret that many professionals in the arts struggle to make ends meet. There is little to no job security, financial stability, or benefits that people in other fields often take for granted. Artistic professionals are often self employed or freelancers. It is an unfortunate reality of our field that artists are sometimes asked to provide their services for free, in exchange for "great exposure". What a steaming pile of horse shit.

Strength in numbers: Indie Opera T.O.

Op-ed

The launch of Indie Opera Toronto includes profiles of each company's history and creative teams, brand new photography by Dahlia Katz, integrated social media for the Indie Opera platforms and each company's own social media outlets, an integrated calendar for all upcoming productions and short films by Darren Bryant.

Josephine and The Artizans: "We call it hip-hopera."

Interview

The band is headed by Josephine Permaul, a classically-trained singer with a love for songwriting and genre fusion; her Artizans are rappers Jermaine Davidson and Michael Wordley, violinist Tanya Cracknell, cellist Marianne Hardisty, electric cellist Laura Dodds, keyboardist Thom Rowlands, and bassist/producer Debs Spanton.

Opera shorthand: how to speak like an insider

Humour

Often, opera titles get whittled down to one indicative word in the full title. Instead of The Magic Flute, it's just Flute, the same way it's just Ballo, not Un ballo in maschera. Così rarely needs the fan tutte in general conversation, Fanciulla will do without the del West, and The Turn of the is redundant when we're talking about Screw. It's Dialogues, but no Carmélites, Elixir with an assumption of Love, and one can just say Rake, with the Progress implied.

Artists to watch: 2 new singing stars of tomorrow

News

At the end of the evening, we learned that after their intensive work with Radvanovsky, "La Wowza" couldn't decide which singer should be awarded the Career Blueprint - so they decided to send TWO singers. The winners of the evening were Marjorie Maltais and Natalya Gennadi.