English pianist, coach, and mentor Liz Upchurch has much to celebrate this season. 2019 marks her 20th year as Head of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio—a position that has confirmed her place as a central figure and mentor among Canada’s opera artists. It’s...
“Given in bits.” Such were the words acclaimed composer Giacomo Puccini used to describe productions of Il trittico, his anthology opera. “Brutally torn to pieces,” was his less diplomatic approximation. Indeed, Il trittico, one of Puccini’s final compositions, has...
Edmonton composer John Estacio’s immigrant Portuguese family lived on a farm north of Toronto. When John was a child his family’s budget precluded music lessons at first, but at age eleven they purchased him an accordion. In junior high a teacher he’d known since...
Following weeks of rumours, Alexander Neef, the current General Director of the Canadian Opera Company was formally announced as the new Director of the Opéra National de Paris in late July. He starts in autumn 2021, succeeding current director Stéphane Lissner, who...
“I got up at 5am, but it’s okay—I’m an early riser!” Maestro Carlo Rizzi is still adjusting to a six-hour time difference. The celebrated Italian conductor is currently in Toronto preparing to open Turandot, which marks the start of the 69th season of the Canadian...
“I think they liked it,” Anne Sofie von Otter congratulated Joel Allison after he sang his first piece, an aria from Handel’s dramatic cantata Aci, Galatea e Polifemo. And indeed they did. The audience at the Young Singer Project (YSP) Masterclass at the 2019 Salzburg...
What Is Intimacy Direction? Theatre and opera lovers alike are familiar with the feeling of sitting in an audience and uneasily watching an act of sexual violence take place on stage. “Is the performer safe?” we ask ourselves and resume watching uncertainly. For...
An operatic twist on a classic tale is making its way to the stage and it comes with a bite. The fickle fanged creature that is Dracula is set for its world premiere on Feb. 15th in Cambridge, ON before heading to Waterloo and Guelph. Composer and Artistic Director of...
The first thing to know about the 2019-2020 Canadian Opera Company season is this: Parsifal is coming to Toronto, but not quite yet. The lauded Metropolitan Opera/Opéra National de Lyon/COC co-production, which premiered in Lyon in 2012 and New York in 2013, has been...
From the stony ruins of a historic cathedral to the stately grandeur of Manitoba’s Legislative Building, Manitoba Underground Opera (MUO) brings the musical form to spaces out of the ordinary each summer. Founded in 2008 by Winnipeg-raised conductor Brendan McKeen,...