Highlands Opera Studio | Mishaabooz’s Realm| Opera Canada
Dawn Martens
Highlands Opera Studio
BrottOpera
The Barber of Seville “Played with a youthful exuberance that would have delighted the composer”
Brott Opera The Barber of Seville Review
Canadian Children’s Opera Company
The Hobbit “As long as imagination and creativity are alive, The Hobbit will continue to entertain and inspire the child in all of us for generations to come.”
From May 31st to June 2nd, The Canadian Children’s Opera Company (CCOC) presented four performances of Dean Burry’s The Hobbit at Harbourfront Centre Theatre in Toronto. Twenty years ago, the former Artistic Director of the CCOC, Ann Cooper-Gay, commissioned this...
Southern Ontario Lyric Opera
Carmen “Breathing new life into opera warhorses”
On March 2, Southern Ontario Lyric Opera (SOLO) presented Carmen at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC). The compelling characters, the beautiful music, and the emotionally charged story line have meant that Carmen – which had a disastrous premier in...
Toronto Operetta Theatre
The Merry Widow “Everything I needed from Léhar’s beloved creation was right here in Toronto”
When I was a young child, I was fascinated with my parents' 1960 Reader’s Digest Treasury of Great Operettas boxed LP set. I would faithfully listen to the 9 records, while pouring over the accompanying book, The Golden Age of Operetta, with its synopses and beautiful...
Southern Ontario Lyric Opera (SOLO)
Madama Butterfly “With productions like this, Madama Butterfly will continue to remain a fan favourite.”
On October 15, Southern Ontario Lyric Opera (SOLO) opened their 2023/24 season with Madama Butterfly at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. I am not surprised that this particular masterpiece by Puccini is one of the most performed operas worldwide. The sold-out...
Highlands Opera Studio
Regeneration “stunning example of what collaboration between artists of different ethnicities, ages, and styles can produce”
On August 17 and 19, at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion in Haliburton, Ontario, patrons of Highlands Opera Studio witnessed a remarkable artistic creation. Regeneration, a multi-textured work designed and directed by Valerie Kuinka, was inspired by the...
Brott Opera
La traviata Anne-Marie “MacIntosh is ready to unleash her Violetta on the world”
On July 13 and 14, Brott Opera presented La traviata in the 470 seat Peller Hall at Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre. Director of Development for Brott music, Jacqui Templeton Muir, mentioned in her opening remarks that it was the Peller Hall’s “baptism by opera”, the...
Brott Opera La Flambeau “a fascinating world”
I wondered what I was in for when I read the front of the opera program: “A Modern opera about social equity, Vodou, and Zombies.” But as soon as the first act began, I knew that I had entered a fascinating world created by a gifted composer, an eloquent librettist,...
Highlands Opera Studio Eugene Onegin “An exciting era of new talent”
Highlands Opera Studio’s return to a full season with masterclasses, concerts, community events, and operas, culminated with a fully staged version of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. In order to showcase the artists in Valerie Kuinka’s and Richard Margison’s unique...
Highlands Opera Studio / Loose Tea Music Theatre A Powerful Partnership in Haliburton, ON
One of Highlands Opera Studio’s mandates is the creation, development, and presentation of new Canadian operatic works, including telling stories of people who have been historically silenced and marginalised. This summer, Highlands Opera teamed up with Toronto’s...
Best in Show: Canada’s Opera Pets featuring John Fanning, Maria Vetere & Alexandra Lennox
In our next instalment of Dawn Marten's series "Best in Show", we meet a baritone’s long lineup of feathers and fur and two opera-loving dogs that drop everything to listen—they even like to sing along. If you have missed previous chapters of the series, you can read...