This is the continuation of a new series of Q&As with the artists of Canada's opera scene. After our "Quarantine Questions" from the spring/summer of 2020, we're checking in once again with these artists as they share new perspectives on mid-pandemic opera. Next...
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Stratagem Artists Management makes Canadian expansion
In a bit of operatic optimism, Canada just added a bit of competition to its management scene. Stratagem Artists, a boutique agency based in New York, has expanded into Canadian territory, and announced the addition of seven new Canadian artists to its roster. Soprano...
Post-pandemic shows: 5 Canadian operas poised for a revival
As opera contemplates a post-pandemic return to the live stage, we wonder what part Canadian operas might play in that "return to normal". We reached out to Wayne Strongman, conductor and founding Artistic Director of Tapestry Opera, who during his three decades at...
UBC Opera Ensemble takes on Mansfield Park
10 years after it was first commissioned by Heritage Opera in 2008, Mansfield Park finds itself at the University of British Columbia where the UBC Opera Ensemble is set to give virtual performances on Feb. 6 and 7, 2021. David Agler conducts performances that will...
Amplified Opera announced as the Canadian Opera Company’s first Disruptor-in-Residence
Announcing their first edition of a new program, Amplified Opera has been named the Disruptor-in-Residence for the January 2021 Canadian Opera Company (COC) Academy. The new program is a two-year residency that offers resources and support for emerging opera companies...
L’orangeraie interpretation takes racist turn at Chants Libres
I can't believe that it's 2021, one week after the U.S. swore in its first woman and first person of colour Vice-President, and yet here I am reviewing an opera where a white director sees no problem with putting an all-white cast of singers in brownface makeup and...
Opera’s big week in history: Cinderella, Puritans, & love triangles, oh my!
It's a big week for opera birthdays, readers! On January 25, 1817, Rossini's La Cenerentola premiered in Rome - and mezzos have been drilling their coloratura ever since. If you're a Canadian opera fan, you might remember back in 2018, when the Canadian Opera Company...
Women in Musical Leadership Program Chooses Inaugural Conductors
Canadians Juliane Gallant and Jennifer Tung have been announced as the first conductors to join the new Women in Musical Leadership fellowship program led by Toronto's Tapestry Opera. Designed as a professional opportunity meant to expand the talent pool of musical...
Brett Polegato: “The arts will have lost far more than it gains…”
This is the first in a new series of Q&As with the artists of Canada's opera scene. After our "Quarantine Questions" from the spring/summer of 2020, we're checking in once again with these artists as they share new perspectives on mid-pandemic opera. First up:...
Taking a bow: curtain calls for your voice type
Note: this article was originally published on Schmopera.com, and is being reprinted here with permission by the author. There was a funny little anecdotal post on r/opera, about the habits of basses during curtain calls. "I have noticed this in many performances,...
An open letter to a rude bunch of operagoers
This article was originally published on Schmopera.com in 2017. It is being reposted here with the author's permission. Dear "listeners", Though you indeed are whispering, everyone around you can still hear the conversation you insist on having during the show. You...
The play’s the thing: Opera in Concert’s new Cocteau-Poulenc double-bill
VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert is making an exciting debut into the digital world, with its upcoming double-bill of La voix humaine (The Human Voice), presented online from February 5-19, 2021. Poulenc's chamber opera is a popular choice in pandemic-era opera-making. It's...












