How not to write an opera

Humour

Time passed, life changed. But Mau Mau - the Opera had bitten deeper than I thought. I unburied all I'd written: the blocks of text, the scattered notes and sketches, laid them out, re-sequenced them, dropped and added and wrote a second version.

Les Délices presents Women of Genius in the Ancien Régime

Review

The star of this particular show, composer Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, was hardly left in the shadows. Having gained the support of Lous XIV, she was highly visible with frequent performance of her work. More importantly she enjoyed the rare privilege of having her work published.

Overlapping Stories Fall on the House of Usher

Review

The additions are debatable but the film stands as a considerable artistic achievement and is testament to the resilience of opera in the pandemic era. At its core it is quite a luxury in and of itself.

Big news, had to share

Editorial

In case you're curious, I'll keep writing. No, I won't write reviews of my clients' performances, nor will I try and get away with any similar sort of glaring conflict of interest. I know it's not really common for someone to do the jobs of management and criticism at the same time, but being a rare breed is alright with me.

Opera Canada magazine celebrates 60 years

Meta

Opera Canada's anniversary edition is currently being offered as a free bonus to Opera Canada subscribers, and for a limited time, will be added to any new or renewed subscriptions.

What's so special about a voice, anyway?

Op-Ed

I practiced every day. And every day I wanted to give up. I took detailed notes of what was wrong with my voice. My daily practice videos documented slumped shoulders, and a variety of hair cuts. On rare days I just stared into the camera. What was all of this for?

Confessions: Art Songs That Are Deeply Personal

Review

When contemplating the content for Confessions, soprano, Laura Strickling's recent recording of contemporary art songs by American composers, all of whom occupy the highest ranks of the genre, she was guided by a keen ear for quality and vocal suitability. She was also guided by a commitment to create, out of these fragile entities, a strong and satisfying musical program.

Catching up with Enrique Mazzola

Interview

"Our city" – It was a phrase that came up often in our conversation. It's clear Maestro Mazzola already has one foot firmly planted in his newly adopted hometown. As he confessed, he is excited to spend his first holiday season in Chicago despite health restrictions and cancellations.

Stardust a strong highlight of POC talent

Review

It is a journey that does evolve over the course of the three songs, and textually speaking it is such an interesting journey I honestly wish there were more songs devoted to it.

COT's Rimsky Rebooted features local artists & "collective grit"

Review

In a recent Zoom conversation, Yankovskaya's pride and enthusiasm in the COT administrative and artistic staff was evident from the start. She praised their collective grit, acknowledging that their upcoming digital release, Rimsky Rebooted represents not just a "Plan B" pivot from live performance, but is rather a "5th or maybe 7th reimagining" of what they hoped to originally present to Chicago audiences.