News
Calgary Opera announces appointment of new resident conductor Kimberley-Ann Bartczak
Calgary Opera has announced the appointment of a new Resident Conductor and Repetiteur, Kimberley-Ann Bartczak*. A native of Montreal, Quebec, Kimberley-Ann Bartczak is a conductor, pianist and vocal coach. She is on staff at Opera on the Avalon, an alumni of...
Singing Stars: The Next Generation—IRCPA
Ten young professional singers have been selected to perform in Singing Stars: The Next Generation, Nov. 6 at Zoomer Hall, Toronto, presented by the International Resource Centre for Performing Artists, a service organisation for Canada’s musicians. The 10 singers are...
Charles Osborne obituary
By Barry Millington for the Guardian (UK) As literature director of the Arts Council of Great Britain during one of its most turbulent periods, Charles Osborne, who has died aged 89, will be remembered by many for his coruscatingly witty memoranda and public responses...
Kicked out for being gay then rescued by opera: writer Garth Greenwell’s extraordinary awakening
By Garth Greenwell for the Guardian (UK) I became an opera singer because I failed ninth-grade English. I was a terrible student, lazy and without any apparent gifts, and my mark fell further because shortly before semester’s end my father discovered I was gay and...
The need for more diversity in opera
Equity insists that a diverse range of performers should be auditioned for every production, writes Hilary Hadley. The Golden Dragon was a poor choice of target for criticism, say Professor Sue Clegg and Derek Howl We were interested to read your editorial (A...
National Capital Opera Society announces winners of its Brian Law Opera Competition
NCOS is delighted to announce that the first prize of $5,000 was awarded to soprano Jennifer Olenic. Second prize ($3,000) went to bass-baritone Joel Allison and third prize ($1,000) to soprano Jeanine Williams. The three remaining finalists, soprano Carolyn Beaudoin, baritone Ryan Hofman and mezzo-soprano Danielle Vaillancourt were each awarded $500.
Canadian Opera Company Announces Contract Extension of General Director Alexander Neef at Annual General Meeting
Canadian Opera Company General Director Alexander Neef has signed a new contract with the COC that extends his tenure as General Director through the 2025/2026 season. The extension of Neef’s contract was announced today at the COC’s Annual General Meeting by COC...
Canadian Emily D’Angelo Wins Second Prize at 2017 NEUE STIMMEN Competition
By: Wah Keung Chan for MyScena.org 26-year-old mezzo-soprano Svetlina Stoyanova from Bulgaria and 24-year-old bass Cho ChanHee from South Korea are the winners of the NEUE STIMMEN competition in its anniversary year. The two singers will receive a cash award of...
Philippe Jordan: the low-key maestro who’s taking French opera to new heights
By Martin Kettle for the Guardian (UK) It is a lifetime since the Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan was dubbed “the general music director of Europe” as he piloted his private jet between engagements in Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, Milan and London in the 1950s and...
Tapestry Opera’s 2017-18 season kicks off with donated Bösendorfer piano
Tapestry Opera's 2017-2018 season has taken an unexpected, yet welcome, turn. The company has just received a donated Bösendorfer piano, but aside from the new addition to their company, Tapestry is also preparing for a busy season. The 2017-18 season started on a...
Classical Opera/The Mozartists celebrate 20 years of music-making
Haydn’s ‘Representation of Chaos’ from The Creation was a fitting opener, presenting as it does both mysterious obscurity - what Charles Burney described as ‘organised confusion’ - and the explosive brilliance of the birth of Light. Here, sharply defined woodwind...
Gregory Dahl from Scarpia to Rigoletto
Thank heaven for seniority. As a 28-year-old teacher of choral music in Winnipeg, Gregory Dahl did not have any. Which meant he was among the first to be laid off when the high school at which he worked decided to downsize. “I had this epiphany,” the baritone said...