When Tchaikovsky based his lushly Romantic, quite personal, opera on Alexander Pushkin's then already classic novel in verse, he bravely cut both against the grain of its iconic author's scintillating, ironic manner (inspired by the English poet Lord Byron) and...
Our Artist of the Week is acclaimed, award-winning Canadian bass baritone John Relyea. Relyea has appeared on many of the world’s celebrated opera stages including The Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Convent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Canadian Opera Company,...
Celebrated conductor, violinist and music education activist One of the world’s foremost conductors, renowned for his dynamic presence on the podium and his unwavering belief that music has the power to transform lives and change the world, Venezuelan-born conductor,...
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...
Our Artist of the Week is seasoned-veteran Canadian baritone Brett Polegato. Soon to celebrate three decades in the business, he has appeared on major international stages including at The Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, the Concertgebouw, Opéra National de Paris,...
Our Artist of the Week is Spencer Britten: a tenor, an actor and a dancer—a triple threat. Britten has been busy performing on international stages, most recently with Berlin's Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Royal Opera Versailles, Bregenzer Festspiele, The...
The 2022-23 winners for the third edition of the $50,000 Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes announced today in Montreal will create four new contemporary Canadian operas to be premiered in 2024. Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes 2022-23 is awarded to teams of emerging Canadian...
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...
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...
Australian Soprano Nicole Car is one of the leading singers on today's opera stages. Her voice has been heard at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, The Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera Australia and Opéra national de Paris (to name a few)—and on...
Manitoba Underground Opera took a deep dive into the bonds of matrimony this summer with its 2022 Summer Festival titled For Better or Worse, presented repertory style between August 18-27, completing a two-year, nonetheless pandemic-interrupted series that initially...
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...