On 27th June 1918, the Canadian hospital ship, HMHS Llandovery Castle, laden with doctors, nurses and medical supplies, was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Ireland by German submarine U86. 234 people, including 14 Canadian nursing sisters died. There were only 24...
June 26th, 2018: The recipients of the 39th annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards were announced last night in Toronto at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre, with the collaborative production of Orphée dominating the opera division with an impressive five-award win....
Opera 5’s new production of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (seen Jun. 13) proves that a small, intimate space is all that’s really needed to stage the romantic comedy. Directed by Jessica Derventzis, its few set pieces and simple costuming allow the performances...
The Little Opera Company wrapped up its 2017/18 season with British theatre director Peter Brook’s radical adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen. His distilled version, La Tragédie de Carmen, pierces the heart of Prosper Mérimée’s original novella with the rapier acuity of a...
Fourteen years after its first run at the Palais Garnier in 2004, French director Laurent Pelly's double bill: L'heure espagnole and Gianni Schicchi, has been unpacked, moved across town to the immense Bastille venue, and re-staged without a crease (seen May 30). It...
Last night at Montreal’s Maison symphonique, the six finalists in the 2018 Concours Musical International de Montréal’s (CMIM) Aria competition presented their final programs. As in the previous two semi-final rounds, they were accompanied by British conductor Graeme...
Last night at Montreal’s Maison symphonique, the second group of six singers who advanced through the first round of the 2018 Concours Musical International de Montréal’s (CMIM) Aria competition got their turn. They were accompanied by British conductor Graeme Jenkins...
Last night at Montreal’s Maison symphonique, six of the singers who advanced through the first round of the 2018 Concours Musical International de Montréal’s (CMIM) Aria competition each presented a selection of arias. They were accompanied by British conductor Graeme...
Today at 3 p.m. in Montreal’s Bourgie Hall, the four singers and pianists who advanced through the first two rounds of the 2018 Concours Musical International de Montréal’s (CMIM) Art Song competition each presented a mini recital for the section’s finale. Having beat...
Vancouver Opera’s production of Eugene Onegin, the mainstay of the 2018 Vancouver Opera Festival, is nothing if not a surfeit of vocal riches. Three of the four lead singers are Russian and making their VO debuts. All are perfectly cast—consummate actors and...
There are operas whose musical and dramatic brilliance does not show signs of ever running out, hundreds of years into their production history. Then there are operas which make you wonder if the art form is deader than a museum piece.
Toronto Operetta Theatre ends its 17/18 season with the popular French operetta, La belle Hélène (The Beautiful Helen) by Jacques Offenbach. Now in its 33rd season, TOT shows are typically drawn from the standard repertoire, but with a surprise or two thrown in every...