Don't miss: Dmitri Hvorostovky at Koerner Hall

News

Hvorostovsky has cancelled several February dates for Il trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera, but we all hope he's feeling well enough to sing, at Toronto's Koerner Hall, if only for the selfish pleasure of hearing his voice (and maybe catching a glimpse of that hair).

#COC1617

News

Last night, the Canadian Opera Company announced their 2016/17 season in style, with the COC Orchestra on the Four Seasons Centre Stage. Brent Bambury, of CBC Radio One, hosted the night, chatting with COC General Director Alexander Neef and Music Director Johannes Debus about the exciting season to come.

Tosca & the NYCO Renaissance

News

NYCO Renaissance's general director is Michael Capasso, who previously ran Dicapo Opera Theatre, a small New York-based company that has since "disbanded", and which was sued in 2013 by the musicians' unions for failure to pay their artists. Capasso is "thrilled" about directing the revived company, despite any questions of his ability to keep it financially afloat.

Squeezebox at Soundstreams

News

Macerollo will also play one of over 200 works composed for him by R. Murray Schafer, the "surreal" La testa d'Adriana, with fab soprano Carla Huhtanen. "Dressed in a tattered tuxedo and top hat, he luresthe audience to his side show, the bodiless head of a woman saved at the instant before her death. She is awakened by his music and sings an aria of gurgles, trills, whispers, and pops before subsiding once again into her comatose state."

Spotlight on: James Westman

Interview

Stratford-based baritone James Westman is one of Canada's leading stars, performing roles like the Conte de Luna (Il trovatore), Macbeth (Macbeth), Germont (La traviata), and Horace Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe) on the stages of the Canadian Opera Company, San Francisco Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Houston Grand Opera, English National Opera, Vancouver Opera, and many more. Busy schedule aside, James insists his work as a singer is easier than his growing up on a farm; he chats about advice for young singers, and the great roles still on his to-do list.

Spotlight on: Aidan Ferguson

Interview

"Many people have told me along the way 'If you could see yourself doing something else, then go do it!' I have always felt a bit of frustration at that statement. I know that it comes from a place of wanting to warn young singers about the crazy journey that lies ahead. It is a crazy life, but there are many different things that I could be doing, but I am choosing this career right now. I believe this is what I am suppose to be doing."

Brian Finley's The Pencil Salesman

Interview

This summer, Westben Arts Festival Theatre is presenting the premiere of Brian Finley's new opera, The Pencil Salesman. Finley is a pianist and composer, and he's also the Artistic and Managing Director of the Westben Theatre. The Pencil Salesman will be directed by Michael Mori, Artistic Director of Tapestry Opera, and the cast of singers includes John Fanning, Virginia Hatfield, Alexander Dobson, and Donna Bennett.

Aria Guides: Je veux vivre

Editorial

This is Juliette's first aria from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, and she sings it after her nurse yet again brings up the fact that she has to get married to Paris. Juliette is young, and that can either mean she's giddy and excitable, or that she's nervous and insecure about things like arranged marriages and being only 13 or so. "Je veux vivre" is a hugely popular pick for audition packages; it's not too long, it shows off some coloratura, and it's a great opportunity to show polished acting chops.

8 contemporary roles to covet

Editorial

As we creep further into the 2010s, there exists enough new opera to take stock of the 21st-century roles deserving of our attention. Who are the Anne Trueloves, the Captain Veres, the Chiang Ch'ings of today? To help answer those great questions, we offer up 8 delicious roles from operas of this generation.

Alexander Neef: listening to music

Interview

One of the best sets of ears in Toronto belongs to Alexander Neef, General Director of the Canadian Opera Company. He's an impressive source when it comes to classical music recordings, and until recently he had a wall-to-wall library of CDs collected over his lifetime. "I probably gave between 2500-3000 CDs to the COC, because I thought those recordings...I knew quite well all of them would be great for the [COC Ensemble Studio] to use."