In review: Sex Workers' Opera

Review

In the context of the show, these stories were dragged from the abstract, and into the specific. Stereotypes like The Average John (always with a mustache), the CEO who likes to be slapped around, and the "moral person" who broadcasts loudly his own preferences in his judgement of which forms of sex work toe the line of "appropriate", and which are downright lewd and dangerous.

5 important roles who don't get an aria

Editorial

There's no leading lady without a maid, right? No star tenor without his best friend? Not all operatic roles get their moment in the spotlight: just ask any comprimario. But there's even a grey area, between title role and character tenor, where there are important characters hanging out onstage saying important lines, but they're not granted a full-blown aria by the composer.

In review: Madam Butterfly at ENO

Review

A silent, stunning tableau, featuring dancer Ayano Honda in silhouette against a wash of saturated red, began the story; it gave way to a stage full of puppeteers, who spent the evening moving sets, providing ambient lighting, and playing a flock of birds. They smoothed the lines between the story's characters and the "unseen" bodies onstage, who also included three puppeteers bringing Cio-Cio San's son, Sorrow, to heartbreaking life.

Freedom of press & journalistic integrity

Editorial

In a story that was apparently about freedom of press, it's frustrating to read Lebrecht's posting of incomplete stories, full of opinions and phrases like "suppressed review," "protest," and "sniffing glue," all of which are clearly biased against the Canadian Opera Company. We're really glad to see how the COC was quick to be transparent, and to clarify the errors and omissions by Lebrecht.

One more reason we don't envy singers

Editorial

The story of Bartoli's Bernstein, plus Netrebko's evaded Norma, combine in an example of one big plight of opera singers today: they're damned if they do, and they're damned if they don't. Bartoli did; she took a role that seemed an odd choice, and plenty of unfavourable reviews of McKinley's West Side Story seemed to have an undercurrent of "I told you so". She should have shown more self-awareness, more respect for the demands of Bernstein's score, right?

SFO: tickets for tweets

News

Any time this is tried out, we get excited about following along during a production we can't catch live. Of course, the pool of sources is usually limited to a small group, so anyone hoping to piece together a full picture of what happened onstage may be out of luck. It's also a risk, since it can make these companies, not to mention the artists onstage, vulnerable to the kind of garbage that people feel brave enough to post; the level of anonymity, or at least avoiding face-to-face criticism, can bring out the worst in an audience.

5 pop(ish) songs & their operatic equivalents

Humour

That's why it's fairly easy, and even ridiculously hilarious, to find some modern-day equivalents to some of opera's best characters, in the form of pop songs. It's endlessly amusing to imagine Cherubino singing the Beastie Boys' "Girls", or to draw a clear line between Carmen and the Pussycat Dolls song, "Dont' Cha".

Why we all love Florence Foster Jenkins

Editorial

Even the legend of Jenkins is almost enough to bring tears to our eyes. She went through a lot of tough stuff, and it's poignant for us, as writers of reviews, that even she, with all her well-placed ignorance and unashamed love for music, was deeply hurt by the negativity hurled at her from critics. Aren't we all searching for Jenkins' mix of unapologetic joy, and transparent vulnerability?

Updating operas: why stop at the libretto?

Editorial

Does this point to a subtle, non-malicious, yet inherent slight towards libretti, and by extension, librettists? If opera is the spectacular melding of music and text, why does the former seem more sacred than the latter? And finally, is an updated libretto to the tune of un-updated music a fundamentally incomplete idea?

Roxanna Walitzki: Exquisite Corpse

News

"I only recently began down this path, but have received mostly positive feedback about my approach. What I do isn't what most people expect when picturing electronic-meets-classical (it's a far cry from things like The Fifth Element aria and other techno-driven reinterpretations), but the layering of textures can be helpful to those less accustomed to listening to art songs. It adds another emotive dimension to tune into, and I try to stay attuned to, and respectful of, what made the compositions great in the first place."