News
The Rubies 2018: Spotlight on Wayne Gooding
For the first time in its 18-year history, the 2018 Rubies is honouring one of its own. Fittingly it’s Wayne Gooding, the recently retired editor of Opera Canada. Wayne joined OC in 1992 as a volunteer board member. Soon he was drafted to assume the role of Chair of...
Step into the world of Hadrian: interdisciplinary conference offers insights into new opera
Hadrian, Rufus Wainwright’s all-new operatic creation, is days away from hitting the main stage. As all eyes train on Toronto for its highly anticipated world premiere, the Canadian Opera Company is hosting a conference called “Hearing Hadrian,” aimed at exploring the...
The Rubies 2018: Spotlight on Dominique Labelle
Soprano and vocal pedagogue Dominique Labelle feels honoured to receive one of this year’s Opera Canada Awards (a ‘Ruby’). “It is humbling but heart-warming to be recognised by your country and your peers.” Dominique Labelle adds with a wistful grin, “in addition the...
Live-streaming: why are Canadian opera productions missing from the worldwide phenomenon?
The availability of live-streamed and on-demand opera has exploded in the last five years. Major companies like Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), Opéra national de Paris, Grand Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona) and Vienna State Opera have cinema distribution deals...
The Rubies 2018: Spotlight on Alexander Neef
Opera Canada Awards 2018 honouree, Alexander Neef, is in a thoughtful mood as he looks back on his time with the Canadian Opera Company. “It was a pretty unique situation,” he says, recalling his arrival in Toronto in 2008, “of a company that had just built one of the...
Preview: dark comedy meets fantasy in City Opera Vancouver’s “operatic thriller” Nigredo Hotel
City Opera Vancouver opens its 2018 season this week with a new production of the classic '90s Canadian opera, Nigredo Hotel. An intriguing blend of genres, the one-act chamber opera is a “bizzare, comic and macabre” psychological thriller, simultaneously “sarcastic...
News: Musique 3 Femmes announces winners of new prize supporting emerging female opera creators
Musique 3 Femmes has announced the winners of a new prize honouring emerging Canadian women composers and librettists. The $25,000 Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes Award recognizes all-female creative teams who demonstrate “extraordinary promise in the field of opera...
Preview: Opera up close and personal at Manitoba Underground Opera
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,...
News: Opera Canada to participate in mentorship program for emerging arts critics
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...
Preview: Bizet meets Banksy in Opera Kelowna’s modern-grunge makeover of Carmen
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...
Preview: Ode to the operetta—where do things stand for light opera in Canada?
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...
The New York Times praises Dominique Labelle, 2018 Opera Canada Awards honouree
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...
Opera Canada Awards—’The Rubies’: Announcing our 2018 Honourees!
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...
Breaking boundaries at Banff: Chamber Werx brings new take on traditional music
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...