Tweaking the Brothers Grimm in Oper Frankfurt's Hänsel und Gretel

Review

The schtick tightened up during the second half and the story leavened. The actors seemed to relax into their characters' inner lives once their outer circumstances had a discernible logic. Liberated from conceptual mumbo jumbo, the score and libretto timed better with the on-stage action. Finally, things made sense.

Chemistry sizzles onstage in Paride ed Elena

Review

Their voices pulled and pushed at Gluck’s music and Calzabigi's text, stretching and pulling and coloring every last note that made practically their entire run through the opera feel important.

Don't miss: The Monstrous Child

Interview

Though still young, Higgins is a seasoned composer; and though there are learning curves to writing for the voice, he wisely keeps his eyes on the final product: an opera for families.

Talking with conductors: Michael Christie

Interview

"You know, thank goodness that we're beginning to deal more and more with questions and issues of diversity. But Young Artist Programs can't deal with the diversity questions if there isn't a pipeline beforehand."

A moving spectacle: Akhnaten

Review

Every bit of this production was beautifully and intricately crafted; from the dazzling, elaborate costumes, to the evocative colour palette, it was a fully immersive experience that was moving in the most unexpected ways.

Uncluttered magic in Carsen's Midsummer

Review

For those looking to escape into a Shakespearean fantasy world filled with fairies, comical misunderstandings, and top-notch singing, this production of Midsummer is not to be missed.

Talking with singers: Nina Stemme

Interview

She cautions that even in a prestigious YAP or ensemble studio, the opera directors are juggling many priorities and they simply want "to get the most out of your voice right now."

Talking with singers: Pumeza Matshikiza

Interview

When the legendary Jessye Norman receives the prestigious Glenn Gould Prize - Canada's most significant award for artistic achievement - soprano Pumeza Matshikiza will be among the impressive line-up of singers set to pay homage.

Majeski makes sensitive, subtle ROH debut in Kát'a Kabanova

Review

It is a piece that is so clearly a microcosm of a very specific place and time. Director Richard Jones has chosen to set it in the mid-60s in a repressive, religious Russian community where a life of domesticity, is a woman's only option.

Challenging opera's "male swagger" in (La) Voix humaine

Interview

"In the operatic canon, there's a whole lot of male swagger, seduction, anger, and violence but a notable lack of vulnerability. Dramatically, I'm interested in shame and vulnerability, particularly in the lives of men."