Can something be called ‘new’ 170 years after it was written? In the case of Franz Liszt’s unfinished opera Sardanapalo, the answer is an emphatic yes. The first act of the work was given its world premiere this past weekend in Weimar, Germany thanks to David...
The Emerging Arts Critics programme (EAC) is an initiative aimed at supporting and fostering the next generation of arts critics and writers, helping them develop the tools needed to authoritatively write about and review ballet, music and opera performances. This...
Opera Kelowna is bringing the “unbridled heat and dangerous passions” of Bizet’s beloved opera to the stage this week with a new main-stage production of Carmen at the Kelowna Community Theatre from August 16-19. Shunning the traditional red dress and 19th-century...
When the late John Crosby created an opera house in the middle of the New Mexican desert, just north of Santa Fe, one of the operas in its inaugural season (1957) was Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos. As much as possible, Crosby featured a Strauss opera every...
The blockbuster show at this summer’s Festival d’Opéra de Québec is Robert Lepage’s new production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute (seen Aug. 2). It marks the continuation of a long, fruitful collaboration between the Québecois mega-director’s production company, Ex...
Enjoy a snippet from writer Catherine Kustanczy’s feature in our upcoming issue exploring ‘light opera’ and where things stand at home for the unjustly maligned genre: Operetta has enjoyed a resurgence of sorts at various European companies, particularly at Komische...
Our 2018 Opera Canada Awards: The Rubies honoree Dominique Labelle was recognized in a New York Times article last week for her vocal artistry and depth of character portrayal (with a nice shout-out to Opera Canada!) Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, a classical music...
Back in the days before we expected Handel’s oratorios to be staged as operas, the smart comment was always that they were essentially the same thing; because the Church decreed that operas could not be staged during Lent, Handel instead tackled biblical subjects and...
After a seven-year absence, fully staged opera returned to FirstOntario Concert Hall for one night as BrottOpera mounted Mozart’s The Magic Flute (seen July 19) in an English-language production directed by Patrick Hansen. Founded in 2014, BrottOpera’s two-week...
It’s no secret that Robert Carsen’s production of Falstaff (seen July 13), which premiered at London’s Royal Opera House in 2012, has become an absolute must for zealots of Verdi’s ultimate opera, not to mention for unconditional Carsen fans. After some highly...
Opera Canada is proud to announce the three distinguished honourees who will receive the 2018 Opera Canada Awards for their exemplary contributions to the industry: Wayne Gooding, opera educator and Editor, Opera Canada (1994-2017) Dominique Labelle, soprano and vocal...
This summer, as part of its Opera in the 21st Century program, the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity will once again present an interactive exploration of art song, chamber music and opera in its multidisciplinary series, Chamber Werx. The whimsically named...