Monthly Archives: January 2018

Rigoletto reboot

Posted on January 28, 2018 by

I like the Canadian Opera Company’s Rigoletto, directed by Christopher Alden, starring Roland Wood, Anna Christy and Stephen Costello. Everyone I’ve talked to enthuses about the singing. Ah but I like the production, and I say this, aware (via social … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | 8 Comments

Planets via Storgårds and TSO

Posted on January 27, 2018 by

There are many possible ways to interpret great pieces of music.  I was struck tonight, listening to the Toronto Symphony led by John Storgårds at Roy Thomson Hall, that sometimes there are more important considerations than the interpretation. I say that … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Leave a comment

Questions for Sara Schabas: Canadian premieres of two Jake Heggie operas

Posted on January 26, 2018 by

Canadian soprano Sara Schabas is the founder of the Electric Bond Opera Ensemble, a group that aims to present classical and operatic works that tell untold stories, reminding audiences and performers of the “electric bond of being” (Thomas Huxley) by … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | 1 Comment

Opera by Request—Salome

Posted on January 21, 2018 by

The concept is exactly as it sounds.  If you’re a singer wanting to do a role, Opera by Request is the place for you.  William Shookhoff is a busy man, the pianist & music director responsible for making those requests … Continue reading →

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Safe Haven Mackay’s best yet

Posted on January 20, 2018 by

The headline is meant to convey an enthusiastic response to something I’ll attempt to analyze.  I liked it. Alison Mackay has grown from her role playing violone & double bass with Tafelmusik into their programmer extraordinaire, creating a series of … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 1 Comment

Extra Questions for John Allemang

Posted on January 16, 2018 by

I went to a small school where hero-worship was natural, given that we were all boys (that changed as they admitted girls for the first time in the very year I left, and yes I wish it had been sooner).  … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | 3 Comments

Nine in Concert

Posted on January 13, 2018 by

The musical Nine is a bit of a virtuoso vehicle, putting thirteen women, a man and a boy onstage together.  The music & lyrics by Maury Yeston are never easy but quite rewarding, particularly if you have an actual orchestra, … Continue reading →

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H̶a̶m̶l̶e̶t̶ at Tarragon

Posted on January 11, 2018 by

On the program it’s Hamlet but the font is struck through like this: H̶a̶m̶l̶e̶t̶. I wondered, was this to be a musical? The advance description said “Shakespeare’s best-known tragedy is reimagined on the Tarragon stage through the powerful lens of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | 1 Comment

Who is Guido? I ask the women of NINE

Posted on January 8, 2018 by

Podium Concert Productions, who will be presenting Nine in Concert January 12-13 describe the show this way: Based on Italian director Federico Fellini’s comic masterpiece of biographical filmmaking, 8 1/2, Maury Yeston’s sultry and enchanting musical Nine follows the life … Continue reading →

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Wild and crazy Wedding Party

Posted on January 6, 2018 by

My second visit to the Guloien Theatre at Streetcar Crowsnest was very different from my last one, entranced by Musik für das Ende, the world and work of Claude Vivier last fall. While it’s a different sort of magic, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals | 4 Comments