Category Archives: Opera

Quilico and Pavarotti in Rigoletto

The Metropolitan Opera’s free feed gave us a lovely trip down memory lane last week, with a 1981 Rigoletto starring Louis Quilico, Luciano Pavarotti and Christiane Eda-Pierre. I can’t be the only one who watched, remembering the times Quilico sang … Continue reading

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SFO Rheingold

As I ponder the future of streaming performances & concerts, I’m checking out Wagner’s Ring Cycle as produced by the San Francisco Opera in 2018 in their co-production with the Washington Opera. If you go to https://sfopera.com/opera-is-on/ you choose between … Continue reading

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Techno-salvation, or a real Canadian Opera Company / National Ballet of Canada

The pandemic has offered a measure of clarity to the world of performing arts. Artists have been knocked for a loop by the lost pay due to gigs that couldn’t happen. Businesses are badly messed up by lost revenues, wondering … Continue reading

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We Interrupt This Program: A Conversation with Amplified Opera

The co-founders of Amplified Opera invite you to join them in conversation as they discuss their organization, their new appointment as Disruptor-in-Residence at the Canadian Opera Company, the complexities of the opera industry, and their views on the role the … Continue reading

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Canadian Opera Company and National Ballet of Canada to receive government support for digital infrastructure

Toronto – In an announcement made this morning by the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Opera Company will receive $644,372 in crucial funding provided through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund toward the Digital Infrastructure Enhancements Project at the Four … Continue reading

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Shore’s new leitmotiv

Erika & I watched A Dangerous Method (2011) tonight. Have you seen it? It’s a fascinating film directed by David Cronenberg starring Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender & Keira Knightley, all three in fine form portraying, respectively, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung … Continue reading

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Two Voices juxtaposed by Opera in Concert

The one act play La Voix Humaine was written by Jean Cocteau in 1928. The one act opera La Voix Humaine based on that play was composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. Each one is a monodrama, presented by a … Continue reading

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Jussi 2021

I’m reading Jussi, a biography of Swedish tenor Jussi Björling from his widow Anna-Lisa Björling, and a surprisingly honest look at the life of a famous singer. It’s an appropriate week to think about Jussi. He used to celebrate his … Continue reading

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François Girard’s Flying Dutchman

François Girard’s production of Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman is tonight’s free opera on the Metropolitan Opera website, available also tomorrow until the early evening when Rigoletto takes over. It’s new as in, having premiered in 2020. I heard & … Continue reading

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A tale of the stub, or Pollyanna Interrupted

As I was choosing my wardrobe for a trip to my mom’s place for lunch, I opted as usual to try to look a bit nicer for her, pulling out a pair of dress-pants that I realized haven’t been touched … Continue reading

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