Party on the stage with Gustavo Dudamel

Humour

This video has made the rounds, both in its full form and in GIF-sized bites, since Gustavo Dudamel gave a New Year's Eve concert with the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra and the Venezuelan Brass Ensemble in Caracas, Venezuela in 2007.

Talking with singers: Christian Van Horn

Interview

Carmen will mark Van Horn's third contract with the Canadian Opera Company, and it's a place he likes to be. "It's a world-class company," he says. "It always has been, but especially in the last five years, specifically since Alexander [Neef] got here, he's really turned this into a place to be. There's not a singer in the world that doesn't want to sing at COC."

Lucia Cesaroni: Isis and Osiris, the value of new opera, & "bad b*tches in charge"

Interview

"I don't want to keep comparing to the States, but we're behind. We hate to admit it, but we are behind - and that's okay. We're a younger country, we're a younger industry. We may be behind here, but look at all the other places where we're ahead. It's very important to me that we find a way to secure a creative, successful, tenable way to secure a future for opera in Canada."

Undergrad degrees & why you'll use that theory class after all

Editorial

It's true that "school", whatever that means to you, isn't for everyone. No formalized system of learning will fit all, and musicians perhaps have an advantage when it comes to examples of successful rebels of the education system. That's different than deeming a university course "not practical" or "pointless". It's a funny, bold thing to decide that you know that much about the topic, before finishing the course. Simply put, you don't know what you don't know.

Still stunning: Written on Skin

Review

As one hopes, there were new layers uncovered with our second hearing of Written on Skin. Martin Crimp's libretto juxtaposes a story set in the 12th century, where a woman feels stifled in her marriage, and a man responds with a tightened grip on his wife, with images of the 21st century. Car-parks, airports, and concrete buildings pull against everything we know about Agnès: a woman married at 14, never taught to read or write, with a husband that confidently and explicitly declares her his property.

In review: Boris Godunov

Review

Richard Jones makes much of this incessant guilt, exaggerating the unjustness of Boris' actions with childish images of colourful spinning tops and a cherub-like mask on the silent Dmitry. Jones carries the image through the final tableau, driving home the sacrifices of the young and innocent, when men seek political power.

True stories: the critic who loves opera even more now

Op-ed

Maybe it's the concept of the critic, or maybe it's the notebook itself, that can evoke suspicion. The notebook is open to record all the mistakes, and while the critic is scribbling in the dark, magic is happening onstage and they're missing it. It's not just a myth; these things happen, and critics can be relentlessly harsh, to the point where one wonders why they keep going to the opera, if they dislike everything they see.

Delightfully creepy: Mahogany Opera Group's The Rattler

Editorial

The Rattler is terrifying, in a way that would make the Brothers Grimm proud. The Rattler himself is a puppet, a confusing and repulsive thing that calls to mind Egyptian mummies, Disney's The Skeleton Dance, and the big hyena scene from The Lion King. Singers double as puppeteers, their Rattler-work resulting in hysterical shrieks from the young audience. Martin Riley adapts the story into a libretto, and Stephen Deazley's music covers everything from plaintive folk songs to familiar jigs; as any good show should be, the music is catchy yet smart, singer-friendly yet arguably not easy.

Opera's survival: tightened belts & callous questions

Op-ed

All of this is nearing an uncomfortable suggestion. We ask, honestly and without further insinuations: when was the last time that the chorus, or the orchestra, was the most memorable element of an opera?

Boys who are girls who love girls that are boys, or, Handel's Alcina

Review

The stage was filled with some amazing talent to watch. All the singers did a remarkable job keeping up with Taurins's spritely, yet well-informed tempi, while there were some hallmarks of the "student production" it's definitely one of the better ones I've seen - not just at GGS, but overall.