The beginning of the end of my dream

Op-ed

This time it is different. Now I'm truly allowing myself to give it up. It is without bitterness or resentment. I am discovering all the of possibilities I still have to be a creative and an artist, and I've identified the feeling in my gut that I mistook for fear to be my intuition telling me, "you can let this go now."

Cautiously aspirational: Book of Dreams

Review

GLMMR's creative team has constructed a scenario in which a Promethean ur-man (David Adam Moore) grapples with a deity-like overseer (pre-recorded narration by new-music impresario Beth Morrison), as he searches for identity in a world bereft of humankind.

Talking with singers: Clay Hilley

Interview

"Another temporary obstacle is youth. For the longest time, the toughest thing for me was evading debt collectors long enough to absorb as much as I could about style, language, and technique to eventually earn enough coins to appease them, however temporarily. Impresarios are justifiably skeptical of 30 year old self-proclaimed "Heldentenors." It takes a while to prove yourself to the casting crowd."

When opera companies protect abusers

Op-Ed

It is irresponsible and dangerous to assume that a criminal's colleagues are unaware or indifferent to such serious offenses. This attitude needs to be addressed. An entire art form is at stake.

The price of vengeance: Rigoletto at ROH

Review

A patch of barbed wire symbolised Gilda's fragility in this ruthless world. Giovanna, Gilda's nurse, meets the Duke and the two converse through the fence. A slit in the middle of it, hinting at Gilda's sexuality, becomes the medium for the Duke to bribe Giovanna, and he punches his fist through it in boorish coarseness. Gilda is clearly too pure for this world.

In review: Falstaff, man of faults

Review

Despite the sombre mis-en-scene for a comedy, the characters pull the production together with finesse and theatrical flair. The artistic decision to put the intermission in the middle of Act III makes for a long first half – and the energy in the room seemed to dwindle before they called the curtain for a much needed breather. This decision made more sense after the intermission - there is a surprise for the audience as far as staging goes, and it doesn't disappoint.

Quintus 4 "has no choice but to have a unique sound."

Interview

"A themed recital can mean many things, but the program is often not tied together by the actual music. This is a little like taking an architectural tour of houses owned by people with the same surname. It might still be interesting, but it's not what we're trying to do."

Equal parts stressful and reverent: #AtGBound

Review

Never a stranger to tackling contemporary subject matter, Against the Grain once again confirms its position as a leader of the pack in the world of underground, indie opera. BOUND is currently finishing the first stage of its multi-year workshop journey, and the direction it's heading in is both exciting and scary - in very good ways.

More than The Scream: Dear Edvard

Review

The piece hones in on Munch (Tim McDevitt) who, having admitted himself to a sanitarium, is treated by an impressionable, young nurse (Pearl Sun). Enamored of her celebrity client, she takes charge of his unconventional treatment. In lieu of shock therapy, this fictional version of Munch undergoes a series of role-playing reenactments in order to relive the traumatic events that formed his personality; a conceit no more plausible than say, time travel.

Some uncomfortable questions about the Levine business

Op-ed

When it comes to Levine's abuse of those who are younger than him and who looked up to him, I'm almost at a loss. Should he be judged for his actions in a contemporary arena, where the tolerance for is closer to zero? Should he be one who takes the fall for an industry that has turned a blind eye for too long? Should we crane our necks and look past Levine, towards the next abuser?