"A truly otherworldly space": Heartbeat Opera's Drag Extravaganza

Interview

"Opera has been a home for drag for centuries! Think: pants roles like Cherubino. Moreover, opera is about big emotion expressed in grand, often over-the-top ways. The Queen of the Night's famous aria from The Magic Flute embodies rage and power with delightful virtuosity. Drag performers channel big emotions in grand ways too. Plus, opera and drag both demand fabulous costumes and wigs!"

Overdue for the stage: Haymarket Opera Company's Ariane et Bachus

Review

A highlight of the performance was the chorus of the furies in Act IV, as summoned by the sorcerer Géralde. Snakes were an effective unifying visual element here: not only were the demons themselves swaying like charmed snakes and brandishing faux snakes, but their Medusa-like wigs and skirts fashioned from wide strips of flowing fabric brought great movement to the scene. The music's regular flowing triple meter was often unexpectedly interrupted by hemiola hiccups so typical of baroque dance rhythms.

Tim Albery: flawed operas & falling empires

Interview

"It depends where you are, and what the culture of the place you're working in is," says Albery. He points to obvious hurdles, like companies with large overhead costs ("The people with buildings are the people with commitments to paying salaries") and a tradition - even a perceived dependecy - on patrons buying season-long subscriptions, a trend he says is "dying".

Stellar singing & curious costumes in ENO's Aida

Review

This production was very beautiful from a visual perspective. The sets were colossal, drawing the audience into a strange fantasy world. It was full of stunning tableaus, especially those that included the whole cast, the chorus and the wonderful acrobatic ensemble, Improbable. The lighting design was particularly clever, illuminating the production in a way which seemed almost symbolistc. For me, the most stunning moment of the whole production was the strange ending.

Larmore leads "Sinful" success

Review

The laziness that the characters feel in having to get ready when the star diva hasn't arrived (sloth), the pride that Mr. Dunham's self-named character feels towards Ms. Holdsworth, Ms. Larmore's cameo can be seen as anger and covetousness towards Holdsworth's envy, Mr. Munson's alcoholism is addressed as gluttony, Ms. Holdsworth's lust towards Mr. Dunham, Mr. Munson, and Mr. Stolz, all is masterfully and subtly woven into the script by director Brian Clowdus, helping tie in his cabaret to the front-billed one-act.

Tick tock, singers! 3 spots to ditch the rubato (for now)

How-to

What would opera singers be without their stretchy, malleable tempos? More specifically, where would they be without the unwritten rules - "performance practice", they're often called - about when you simply must take some extra time? Opera is no place for heartless clockwork; but when it comes to mastering operatic skills, sometimes being a cold metronome is a clarifying experiment.

The Invictus Games come to the RBA

Review

When packed together into a single recital, it's always interesting to hear how different composers write the sounds of war. Kurt Weill writes the literal sounds of drums in his "Beat! Beat! Drums!", and Charles Ives capitalizes on the sounds of grossly happy Americana (propaganda, really) in "He is there!" Dominic Argento's "War (June, 1940)" gives a disorienting, broken image of combat that sounds in stark contrast to the more familiar sounds of war-themed songs, the nostalgia and longing of Gerald Finzi and George Butterworth.

Review: a Triple Concerto & a German Requiem with the TSO

Review

The three violin parts seem to babble, talk over each other, like a gaggle of enthusiastic talkers whose conversation borders on an argument. They echo each other in a three-fold cascade of gesture, single pitches splicing themselves into harmonies; there are moments of Strauss-like vocal writing, and what feels like an exciting nod towards the Toccata movement from John Adam's Violin Concerto.

Talking with singers: Jennifer Rowley

Interview

"There is always something to learn every time you do a role – from the very first time and all the times after. I find something new in the character and music every time I sing Tosca, and it astonishes me that I can add a layer to her character each and every time."

Meeting for lunch: the COC Ensemble Studio in recital

Review

With the help of pianists Stéphane Mayer and Rachael Kerr, the seven singers of the 2017/18 Ensemble Studio broke the ice with a single aria each, showing off their start-of-season stuff. It was a collection of picks from the standard operatic canon for this concert entitled, Meet the Ensemble Studio; safe as their choices may have been, the young singers each made strong statements about what they were offering the rapt audience.