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Monthly Archives: April 2011
La Cenerentola
The current Canadian Opera Company production of La Cenerentola brings me face to face with one of the great themes, and sorry if I am about to sound like your junior high English teacher. While the opera probably can be … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
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La Clemenza di Tito
Let’s say you’re a devoted fan of a particular art form, such as Shakespeare’s plays, Fellini’s films or Gaugin’s paintings. Then imagine that suddenly someone discovers a masterpiece by your favourite. Can you imagine the joy to suddenly encounter a … Continue reading
Mozart knew what he was doing
Yes I made a joke on my facebook status about the relevance of Mozart’s opera La Clemenza di Tito to anyone in a country uneasy about their government’s authoritarian tendencies, an ironic reference to Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove; Mozart’s opera might … Continue reading
Woody & Frankie’s Bullet for Adolf
There came a moment when I discovered just how sincere and authentic Woody Harrelson & Frankie Hyman are about their new play Bullet for Adolf. Tonight was the first preview in Toronto at Hart House Theatre, and afterwards they held … Continue reading
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Fortresses and tears
Today in church we sang “A Mighty Fortress is our God,” a hymn that has powerful associations for me. I am going to speak of three incarnations of that tune. FIRST? The original version is Luther’s great hymn of the … Continue reading
Posted in Essays, Personal ruminations
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David Greig’s Cosmonaut
Chances are that when a play has a fifteen word title, neither the work nor its review will be short. David Greig’s The Cosmonaut’s Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union has been given … Continue reading
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opera-singer singing
The title must seem like a joke, strangely redundant. How could that even be a question for study, you may wonder. But singing is not just a vehicle, but also sometimes a primary concern of the opera. Some operas take … Continue reading
Posted in Essays
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La Traviata in concert
There’s no better affirmation of the power of a particular opera score than to see it performed in concert: or maybe that should be “hear” rather than “see”. The only impact a designer has on such a performance is the … Continue reading
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On a desert island…in Toronto.
There you are on a desert island, the place where what-if questions are always posited. One is asked impossible hypotheticals, such as “If you were on a desert island, and you could only take one book, one DVD, one beverage, … Continue reading
Posted in Essays, Personal ruminations
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