Category Archives: Opera

The great Canadian opera

It’s such a funky headline, almost an oxymoron.  The book of Canadian operas is a slim volume indeed, but the list of great Canadian operas?  Hm, are there any? Even one? I have two names bouncing in my head right … Continue reading

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | 14 Comments

10 Questions for Joel Ivany

Joel Ivany’s career seems to be taking off.  His work with Against the Grain Theatre here in Toronto is impressive enough, but in addition he directed the recent World premiere of Gavin Bryars chamber opera Marilyn Forever with the Aventa … Continue reading

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Centre Stage: COC Ensemble Studio Competition Gala

Two years ago the Canadian Opera Company began experimenting with a public singing competition as the final part of the selection process for membership in the Ensemble Studio.  In 2011 & 2012 the contests were held in the Richard Bradshaw … Continue reading

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Gloriana

It’s such a privilege to see a rare work.  Whatever else I might say about the Voicebox/Opera in Concert presentation of Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana on the occasion of the composer’s centennial, I’m thankful for this encounter with the score. This … Continue reading

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Tcherniakov’s Serendipitous Trovatore

Having seen a small local production of Verdi’s Il trovatore in Richmond Hill Saturday night, the tunes & situations were very fresh in my head tonight for a broadcast of a 2012 production of the very same opera with big … Continue reading

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Opera York: True to Verdi

It’s exciting when you get a chance to test an offbeat theory, and even more exciting when you prove it. Giuseppe Verdi’s Il trovatore was at one time –perhaps at the end of the 19th century—the most popular opera in … Continue reading

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R.I.P.

“Requiescat in Pace” is the last line in the third of three operas presented by Opera 5, namely Cecilia Livingston’s The Masque of the Red Death, whereby we had the name for the evening’s program. I wonder if Poe’s story … Continue reading

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The Italian Lesson

Yesterday I was on the University of Western Ontario campus, attending a special performance of Lee Hoiby’s The Italian Lesson in a production from Diva Lounge Productions.  UWO welcomed back alumnae Sonja Gustafson (soprano & Diva Lounge founder) and Tanya … Continue reading

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Opera Atelier Abduction from the Seraglio

I had a wonderful time at the dress rehearsal for Opera Atelier’s new Abduction from the Seraglio.  It’s a remount but as usual they probed more deeply this time, accentuating the comic elements of the work.  Anyone who’s seen this … Continue reading

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Ten Questions for Mark Shulgasser

Mark Shulgasser is a librettist especially known for his collaborations with composer Lee Hoiby.  They created several operas together, until Hoiby’s passing in 2011.  One might call Shulgasser a champion for Hoiby’s work, except that I believe Shulgasser is still … Continue reading

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