News
Bramwell Tovey Resigns as Calgary Opera Artistic Director
In an Oct. 8th news release, Calgary Opera announced that Artistic Director Bramwell Tovey will be resigning from his post to attend to the recurrence of ongoing health issues amidst a challenging season. “This health issue is not related to COVID-19,” the release...
Opera Lafayette presents The Blacksmith to live audiences at Reddert Ranch in Colorado
An Experiment in opéra comique On Oct. 9th, 10th, and 11th, Opera Lafayette will present The Blacksmith to a live audience at Reddert Ranch in Mancos, Colorado. Real livestock, mountains and bales of hay will be the set for this 18th-century French opéra comique...
COC cancelled winter and spring programming for 2020/2021 season
In a news release on Oct. 6th, the Canadian Opera Company announced that they have cancelled winter and spring programming for the 2020/2021 season. Included in the original plans--and now on the chopping block--are Bizet’s Carmen, Janáček’s Katya Kabanova, Verdi’s La...
Québec’s latest COVID closure takes the ‘live’ out of Opéra de Québec gala
The recent decision from the Government of Québec to shut performance halls as of Thursday, Oct. 1st has triggered another round of disappointing last minute changes. Included in the casualties is Opéra de Québec’s World Opera Day Gala on Oct. 25th. This plan for...
Loose Tea Music Theatre announces BIPOC Composer & Librettist Development Program
Loose Tea Music Theatre announced a two-year BIPOC Composer and Librettist Development Program to support diverse new creators in opera and music theatre in a press release on Oct. 1st. “Opera has a diversity problem. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour)...
Met cancels 20/21, announces 21/22 with a plethora of Canadian artists
Yesterday, Metropolitan Opera announced the cancellation of their already truncated 20/21 season which was supposed to have launched with a New Year’s Eve 2020 gala followed by winter and spring 2021 seasons. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, even that shortened Met...
Asitha Tennekoon’s tentative “Everything Will Be Okay”
Sri Lankan-born, Toronto-based tenor Asitha Tennekoon is the latest guest on The Everything Will Be Okay Podcast, closing its first season of conversations with artists navigating the mid-pandemic opera scene. Tennekoon talks about the precious work he's done since...
Behind the Scenes Part II: Constructing Carmen at Pacific Opera Victoria
Opera Canada continues our Behind the Scenes series, an exclusive look 'behind the curtain' with the talented people working at opera companies across the country... Set designer Olivier Landreville had just finished working on Opéra de Montréal’s 2019 production of...
Vancouver Opera announces alternate 20/21 season plans
Vancouver Opera has postponed original plans for its 60th anniversary season to 21/22 but plans to present an alternative 20/21 season online. “We are exploring digital subscription packages and single ticket options for these productions,”says Tom Wright, VO’s...
Missing In Action: Where is live opera in Canada?
We’ve all seen the pictures: Salzburg Festival defied the odds and put on two staged operatic productions this summer. The festival had a COVID-testing clinic in situ, tight protocols for testing, masking, foot traffic, as well as who could work closely with whom....
COC announces reimagined fall 2020 season of physically-distanced programming
In a Sept. 16th press release, Canadian Opera Company announced a reimagined fall 2020 season of physically-distanced programming called Opera Everywhere. According to the COC release, this slate of digital and physical events will include live concerts, interactive...
Samuel Chan–What’s next?
As Canada’s artists ready themselves for far-reaching cancellations in the 2020-21 opera season, Opera Canada is checking in. What is the ripple effect of an opera-free season? How many Canadians will call themselves professional artists in a year’s time? How bad has...