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Meta
Tag Archives: Handel
BOUND v. 2: power struggles
Against the Grain Theatre premiered version two of BOUND at The Great Hall on Queen St W or as Joel Ivany called it “an ongoing process”. I didn’t see version 1, and perhaps this summer or next year there will … Continue reading
Alcina preview at RBA
The season of Thanksgiving continues, as I feel extraordinarily blessed for the wonderful day I am having. Not only did I have my three best nights in the theatre since the beginning of October (two performances of Falstaff and one … Continue reading
Posted in Opera, Reviews
Tagged Allyson McHardy, Bradamante, Christopher Bagan, David Fallis, Handel, Janet Baker, Meghan Lindsay, Mireille Asselin, Morgana, Olivier LaQuerre, Ruggeiro, Wallis Giunta
1 Comment
AtG Messiah: without a net
We were promised something different, and they delivered. Against the Grain Theatre’s Messiah took a familiar piece and added something without disturbing the essential gold. Handel, Isaiah, Revelation (etc) are well served, in a piece entirely true to the name … Continue reading
Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews
Tagged Geoffrey Sirett, Handel, Isaiah Bell, Jacqueline Woodley, Jennifer Nichols, Joel Ivany, Krisztina Szabo, Messiah
5 Comments
10 Questions for Rufus Müller
Rufus Müller was acclaimed by The New York Times following a performance in Carnegie Hall as “…easily the best tenor I have heard in a live Messiah.” The British/German tenor is celebrated as the Evangelist in Bach’s Passions, and his … Continue reading
Posted in Interviews
Tagged Beethoven, Handel, Ivars Taurins, Mark Morris Dance Group, Rufus Müller, Sophie Daneman, Tafelmusik
4 Comments
Body Language
I was having a crabby episode this Friday morning. I was running late. It’s ridiculous to admit. I didn’t have any appointments, but I just had hoped to be downtown already, and everything about the morning seemed to add to … Continue reading
Posted in Personal ruminations & essays
Tagged Handel, Ivars Taurins, Messiah, Resolution and Independence, Wordsworth
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Apocalypso
What music accompanies the end of the world? I suppose it depends whether you’re cowering or celebrating, sitting, dancing or running for cover. I ask ironically, of course, because the whole Mayan thing is silly. It’s a finite calendar, limited … Continue reading
Posted in Personal ruminations & essays
Tagged Beethoven, Handel, Prince, REM, Wagner
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10 Questions for Allyson McHardy
Mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy has a voice that invites sensuous adjectives. Radiant? Dusky? Sumptuous? You be the judge. In the past year I wrote about her participation in two very different productions by the same composer, namely Händel: Hercules semi-staged by … Continue reading
Semele in my nose
I had another chance to see & hear and even smell Zhang Huan’s production of Semele at the Canadian Opera Company. Yes, Semele also smells good (and I’m not just saying that to make a feeble joke). Before the curtain … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged Allyson McHardy, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Handel, Jane Archibald, Maclean's, pina bausch, Semele, Steven Humes, William Burden, Zhang Huan
1 Comment
Jane Archibald as Semele
You never can tell. I would never have predicted which opera would be my favourite of the seven operas programmed this season by the Canadian Opera Company. Both the adventurous staging and the consistently brilliant singing make Handel’s Semele by … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged Allyson McHardy, Canadian Opera Company, Four Seasons Centre, Handel, Jane Archibald, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Semele, Zhang Huan
4 Comments
Handel and Zhang: great minds thinking alike
I’m writing about two men who made some odd choices, showing a parallel brilliance even though separated by centuries. George Frederic Handel was simply trying to make a living, a composer whose works were sometimes welcomed, sometimes not. Semele, with … Continue reading
Posted in Essays
Tagged Allyson McHardy, Canadian Opera Company, Handel, Jane Archibald, Semele, Zhang Huan
2 Comments