Beethoven famously regarded his only opera, Fidelio, as a problem child that cost him dearly, and...
The Canadian Opera Company mounted its John Caird staging of Puccini’s La bohème for the third...
The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs by Mason Bates, with libretto by Mark Campbell, starts with Jobs’s...
Finnish soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä is in Toronto making her debut as Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio at the Canadian Opera Company with COC Music Director Johannes Debus conducting. She takes us with her to explore the Toronto area this week, marvelling at the majestic beauty of Niagara Falls, the fine acoustics of the Four Seasons Centre, tasty coffee from The Rooster and more.
What is it about Schubert song cycles that attracts the Regie gang? In recent years Christof Loy,...
Giuseppe Verdi’s Il trovatore is about a hallucinating witch and two men who do not know they are...
Egyptian soprano Amina Edris is in Toronto, preparing for the first of five role debuts in her 2023/24 season, singing Mimi in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Puccini’s La Bohème, running Oct 6 to 28. This week, she shares seminal moments in her career journey with us and reflects on the importance of investing in yourself as an artist.
Canadian soprano Kirsten MacKinnon is in her hometown of Montreal making her company debut with Opéra de Montréal kicking off their 2023/24 season with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, which runs until Oct 1. She takes us to beautiful, colourful Montreal this week to explore mural-filled city streets, cafes with snuggly rescue kittens, and so much more.
Canadian-German soprano Anna-Sophie Neher is in Toronto, preparing to return to the Canadian Opera Company’s stage as Marzelline in Beethoven’s Fidelio which opens this Friday, running Sept 29 to Oct 20. This week, we sat down with her to discuss her life and career, singers that keep her inspired, roles she’d like to be singing, and what it’s like to juggle family with a career in opera.
In Denise Wendel-Poray’s words: “Relyea‘s final entrance as the Commendatore is electrifying…his massive stature, charismatic presence, and sonorous voice, looming through the penumbra to deliver the final and fatal blow.”
