Sue Fitzsimmons joins the Edmonton Opera having recently held executive leadership roles at both Medicine Hat College and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).
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Soprano Joyce El-Khoury Wins Maria Callas Award
The Dallas Opera has named soprano Joyce El-Khoury as the 2022 "Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year" for her triumphant Dallas Opera debut as Leïla in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers. The prestigious award, named for the unofficial "godmother" of The Dallas Opera, is...
Orchestre Classique de Montréal Announces 2022/23 Season
The Orchestre Classique de Montréal (OCM) has announced the lineup for its 83rd season, and highlights include two new guest conductors Geneviève Leclair and Alain Trudel, a number of world premieres, and more.
Catching up with Philippe Sly
Philippe Sly started his career in the world of opera as something of a wunderkind. At the age of 21, while still an undergraduate at Montreal’s McGill University, he was awarded one of the Grand Prizes in the 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. The...
Concours Musical International de Montreal Part 7 Aria finals, dessert
Eleven days of absurd artistic competition came to an end in a two hour squeeze on Thursday night. At the end of the marathon even our famously grateful Canadian audiences could not find the strength for standing ovations. I can’t imagine how the singers felt. I’ve...
Concours Musical International de Montreal Part 6 Aria semifinals, pasta course
The second semifinal started with a warning that we would first hear an overture; the previous night's unannounced one must have really freaked people out. The question going into last night’s concert was whether mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny and baritone Brian Murray,...
Concours Musical International de Montreal Part 5 Aria semifinals, first course
The competition moved to the big garish canoe, the Maison Symphonique, for the rest of the aria rounds; it’s hard on the eyes but cozier for big voices than Bourgie Hall. Most singers sounded much better than in the little room where their power can be alarming, with...
Concours Musical International de Montreal Part 4 Art Song finals, let’s call it a tie
The absurdity of comparing performers becomes the most acute in the finals. Typically, by now, token local competitors and other political choices are eliminated and your ears are left with more than they could possibly eat. This was certainly true in the Art Song...
Canadian Opera Company The Queen in Me “timely, provocatively entertaining addition to the genre”
Nikkei-Canadian Teiya Kasahara developed The Queen in Me over about five years, bringing the latest iteration with orchestra to a sold-out, three-show run at the Canadian Opera Company Theatre June 2-4. Co-produced by the COC, Nightwood Theatre, Amplified Opera (of...
Concours Musical International de Montreal Part 3 Art Song Semifinals
It was harder to enjoy the singers in the Art Song semifinals, the rep orbiting late 19th century romantic poetry like a donkey tied to a grindstone. Angst is universal: don’t we all go through a phase of uncontrollable sighing and obsessions with flowers, moonlight,...
Operas & Events You Need to See in June 2022
Spring is well underway, and so is Canada's opera scene. June offers an exciting lineup of events for opera lovers, many in celebration of Pride Month. Whether you're looking to enjoy an in-person production, a virtual...
Concours Musical International de Montreal Part 2 Art Song takes the lead
(and we taste disappointment for the first time) The second eight-hour concert hits differently. Repertoire begins to repeat, Bourgie Hall’s “discount sepulchre” vibe closes in; you glare with outrage and longing at the judges’ complimentary cushions. It becomes...