Far too many recent adaptations of Brothers Grimm fairy tales adhere to the belief that the ideal presentation of a children’s story emphasizes adult themes and dark undertones—but Canadian Opera Company’s new production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel & Gretel...
The COC's Hansel & Gretel (seen Feb. 6th) gives Englebert Humperdinck’s classic 1893 opera a Toronto twist, with benchmark vocal performances and an uncompromisingly creative staging that only rarely misses the mark. It is difficult to imagine a fairy tale more...
Romeo and Juliet should have had Figaro the Barber helping them to escape and run away together just as Rosina and Count Almaviva do in The Barber of Seville. Clever and funny, Canadian Opera Company’s The Barber of Seville (seen Jan. 19th) is a comedy portraying two...
There is one thing a Count and a hairdresser share, something that has the power to unite them toward a singular goal. You might think that thing is love, but you would be wrong. It is, in fact, money. In Canadian Opera Company’s The Barber of Seville (seen Jan....
“The Empire holds its breath, awaiting orders.” These lines, sung early in the Canadian Opera Company’s world premiere of Hadrian (seen Oct. 17th), plunge us immediately into the opera’s primary conflict of an emperor torn between his duty to lead and the mourning for...
Canadian Opera Company’s season-opening, Eugene Onegin (seen Sept. 30th), was thrilling in its portrayal of gut-wrenching conflict and pathos as well as touching in its many sensitive and warm collaborations between orchestra and singers. Tchaikovsky’s three-act...