Opera for all: The Magic Victrola

Review

The Magic Victrola features opera's top-shelf tunes: the Lakmé Flower Duet, Carmen's "Habanera", the infamous "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi; perhaps less well-known are the picks that stand for larger operatic truths, like the textbook bel canto of "Quanto è bella" (L'elisir d'amore), the delicious coloratura of the "Doll Song" (Les contes d'Hoffmann), and timeless scenes from The Magic Flute.

Enticing teasers: Winter Shorts

Review

The night consisted of eleven selections from LIBLAB, touching on subjects ranging from the barista's crush on the handsome regular (as a former barista myself, this one rang very true) to a piece inspired by the world-famous photo of the poor Syrian boy found dead in the sand on the beach. It was a range of topics only Tapestry could tackle and pull off successfully.

Talking with singers: Aigul Akhmetshina

Interview

"But I like to spend my free time with my close friends who've become like family to me. I love walking in a park and my favourite place in London at present is Greenwich Park. It is a magical place! The more I get to know London, the deeper I fall in love with it!"

Left wanting more: ENO's Marnie

Review

I wasn't convinced this particular story was served well by becoming an opera. The sense of suspense and unease which characterises the film didn't transfer onto the stage at all. Particularly, the climactic scene of the novel, a hunt on horseback, seemed somewhat stunted. It was very creative and clever staging, with projected horses running and action on stage from dancers.

Don't miss: SongFest alumni in recital

News

The programme is a fantastic mix of top-shelf art song by Poulenc, Schubert, Zemlinsky, Marx, Turina, and Berg, alongside works by SongFest featured composers Tom Cipullo and Jake Heggie. Plus, there are a few tastes of the artists' operatic work, including the delicious final trio from Der Rosenkavalier.

How your voice type determines your on-the-job social life

Editorial

It's something to ponder: have the great composers of history inadvertently laid out a predetermined social life for generations of operatic artists? Have they added to the stereotype of rival divas by keeping them isolated to their own operas? Have they given credulity to the inevitable cross-disciplinary romances between soprano and baritone, between répétiteur and tenor?

A visceral, nightmarish tour-de-force: Der Mieter

Review

Every scene change had us on the edge of our seats, hearts pounding, craning our necks to catch a glimpse of what was next. And just when the tension couldn't possibly mount any higher, it kept rising for what seemed like another agonizing half-hour. It was completely draining and very, very good.

Don't miss: Voice of a Nation

News

Stravinsky's L'histoire du soldat is re-imagined by First Nations choreographer Aria Evans "through a truly Canadian lens"; and mezzo-soprano Rebecca Cuddy sings the new orchestral song cycle by Ian Cusson, Five Orchestra Songs, based on Métis poet Marilyn Dumont's A Really Good Brown Girl. The song cycle is directed by Tapestry Opera Artistic Director Michael Mori.

A dreamy indulgence: The Pearl Fishers in Chicago

Review

The plot may be banal, the title confusing, and the libretto outrageous, but the fine singers of the Lyric wrought every possible nuance from the story and embraced The Pearl Fishers for what it is. Sure, it's no Carmen, but why should it be? The Pearl Fishers is something else: an unapologetic bit of hazy escapist fantasy — a rumination on passion and friendship set against an alluring, (if problematically ill-defined), "oriental" backdrop.

A great loss: Hvorostovsky passes at 55

News

Hvorostovsky was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2015 and retired from the opera world in 2016. The world will miss him.