If you’re a die-hard Toronto voice/opera fan like yours truly, you may well have heard of “Box Concerts.” It’s a 30-minute long, packaged show offered by Tapestry Opera. Simply put, it’s music on wheels—a singer performing on a travelling stage that goes to wherever...
It’s not everyday that opera fans get to experience a premiere, let alone a Yiddish opera that had been forgotten for nearly a Century. The 2022 Ashkenaz Festival (Aug 30–Sept 5) has done that, presenting the North American premiere of Bas-Sheve as its centrepiece. It...
After two seasons of cancellations and restricted offerings due to COVID-19, the Santa Fe Opera (SFO) returned to its former glory this summer, with a full offering of five operas: Barber of Seville, Carmen, Falstaff, Tristan und Isolde, plus the world premiere of M....
After a long absence of over two years, the Toronto Summer Music Festival (TSMF) returned last evening to Koerner Hall, its mainstage venue, playing a scintillating concert to an enthusiastic audience. The theme of this year’s Festival is Inspirations, an exploration...
Canadian mezzo Krisztina Szabó shares her thoughts on singing Judith, teaching and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. In a profession known for its impermanence, where even the most gifted artists can shine brightly for a while and then disappear without a...
It has been the longest silence in COC history. To opera-starved audience members like yours truly, it felt interminable. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last time the COC put opera on their mainstage was with Barber of Seville and Hansel & Gretel, way back in...
The Opera Canada Awards—‘The Rubies’ makes a return to ‘live’ on November 15, 2021. Click here for more details to secure your ticket to this wonderful celebration of Canadian opera talent. 2021 Rubies honouree, Canadian/American soprano Erin Wall (1975-2020) enjoyed...
In our upcoming Summer 2021 issue, contributor Joseph So reviews Houston Grand Opera's recording of the world premiere production of Tarik O'Reagan and John Caird's The Phoenix, released on PENTATONE Music in late 2020. Among the star cast led by Thomas Hampson and...
2020 Rubies Honouree: Yannick Nézet-Séguin Let’s begin with a bit of perspective. Back in 2003, when I first interviewed 2020 Rubies honouree Yannick Nézet-Séguin for an article in Opera Canada’s ‘Debut’ column, it was clear that at 27, he was already earmarked for a...
For pianist-vocal coach Carrie-Ann Matheson, the biblical saying that ‘a prophet is not honoured in his own land’ has a certain ring of truth, in her case musically. She’s virtually unknown in Canada, even though she’s that rare bird—a Canadian pianist/opera coach...
Opera Mariposa is one of the landmarks of the indie opera scene in Vancouver, and their 2019 mainstage production is Puccini's slapstick one-acter, Gianni Schicchi. Due to the short 50 minute run time, the company paired the comedy with a number of different opera...
The Heart’s Obsession: An Intimate Biography of Newfoundland Songstress Georgina Stirling. By Tonia Evans Cianciulli with Calvin D. Evans; 342 pp. ISBN: sc 978-1-77117-759-7, $24.95. St. John’s, Newfoundland: Flanker Press (2019) www.flankerpress.com When we think...