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Canadian Art Song Project announces 2 winners of its Art Song Mentorship Programme Prize
The Canadian Art Song Project (CASP) has announced the two inaugural mentees for its Chung-Wai Chow and John Wright Art Song Mentorship Programme for Composers. Composer-organist Laurence Jobidon and composer-pianist Jesse Plessis have been selected to work closely...
Manitoba Opera announces second Digital Emerging Artists Program for August
Manitoba Opera is now accepting applications for their Digital Emerging Artists Program (DEAP) which will be held Aug. 3 to Aug. 27, 2021. Running for its second year, the four-week online program is open to emerging operatic artists between the ages of 18 to 35. Like...
Fatphobia, myths, and love: a story by Lauren Margison
"You have such a pretty face." "You carry yourself so well." "You're not fat, you're beautiful." These are "compliments" that I have received countless times, delivered to me by countless people, some of whom spoke from places of good intention. The last one, however,...
How to put opera on screen: Coffeeshop Creative’s Stephen Bell
Though stages still feel deserted, the pandemic inspired an extraordinary boom for videographers with a fondness for the classical arts. Among these is Stephen Bell, UX/UI Designer, videographer, tenor, and founder of Coffeeshop Creative. Bell and his team have been...
Dear composer… Advice from Lawrence Wiliford
From his position as Co-Artistic Director of the Canadian Art Song Project, tenor Lawrence Wiliford has spent considerable time in close quarters with composers as they write for the voice. In the latest instalment of our advice series, "Dear composer...Dear singer",...
Highlands Opera Studio launches summer concert series
Running May 2 to July 31, Highlands Opera Studio has launched an online summer concert series featuring past and current company artists, each available to stream for one week. The series of 13 concerts, titled "Reflections and Expressions", has kicked off with a...
Michael Levine designs Teatro Real’s new Peter Grimes
Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes was first performed in London at Sadler’s Wells in June 1945, just months after Victory Day in Europe marked the end of WWII. While it took only two-and-a-half years to appear at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, it would be another 75...
Announcement: Job Opportunity with Opera Canada magazine
Opera Canada magazine invites applications and referrals for a Circulation & Marketing Manager, a permanent part-time position. Opera Canada is the oldest, continuously published arts periodical in Canada and is available quarterly. Opera Canada magazine has been...
Angels & vampires: a chat with Canadian composer Andrew Ager
This weekend, catch up with Canadian composer Andrew Ager (Frankenstein, Führerbunker)! In an interview led by the National Capital Opera Society, Andrew Ager is joined by Bronx Opera General Director Ben Spierman, and Canadian singers Carmen Harris and Bradley...
In case you missed them: 6 must-see Canadian opera streams
It's extraordinary, the fast-growing body of work that has come out of the pandemic-inspired opera drought in the last 13 months. It's no substitute for live stages, but there's still enough digital creativity out there that it's easy to lose track. In case our...
Editor’s Notebook: me, recorded opera & the CBC
Opera companies’ ‘forced’ embrace of digital content during the pandemic has, I think, caused many opera lovers to reevaluate their own relationship to ‘recorded’ opera, be it audio or visual. For most of us I’d venture, our initial exposure to opera was probably via...
Royce Vavrek: Librettist-approved film picks
If you couldn’t tell by his operatic adaptations of films like Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves, and Carlos Reygadas’ Silent Light, Canadian librettist Royce Vavrek is a movie buff. So, since we’ve all got more time on our hands than usual, I figured it would be an...