Reviews
Tapestry Opera Box Concerts “A lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon”
If you’re a die-hard Toronto voice/opera fan like yours truly, you may well have heard of “Box Concerts.” It’s a 30-minute long, packaged show offered by Tapestry Opera. Simply put, it’s music on wheels—a singer performing on a travelling stage that goes to wherever...
Ashkenaz Festival Bas-Sheve A Curious Yet Worthy Addition to the Operatic Canon
It’s not everyday that opera fans get to experience a premiere, let alone a Yiddish opera that had been forgotten for nearly a Century. The 2022 Ashkenaz Festival (Aug 30–Sept 5) has done that, presenting the North American premiere of Bas-Sheve as its centrepiece. It...
Highlands Opera Studio Eugene Onegin “An exciting era of new talent”
Highlands Opera Studio’s return to a full season with masterclasses, concerts, community events, and operas, culminated with a fully staged version of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. In order to showcase the artists in Valerie Kuinka’s and Richard Margison’s unique...
Manitoba Underground Opera 2022 Summer Festival For Better or for Worse Thoughtful Boundary-Pushing Programming
Manitoba Underground Opera took a deep dive into the bonds of matrimony this summer with its 2022 Summer Festival titled For Better or Worse, presented repertory style between August 18-27, completing a two-year, nonetheless pandemic-interrupted series that initially...
Highlands Opera Studio / Loose Tea Music Theatre A Powerful Partnership in Haliburton, ON
One of Highlands Opera Studio’s mandates is the creation, development, and presentation of new Canadian operatic works, including telling stories of people who have been historically silenced and marginalised. This summer, Highlands Opera teamed up with Toronto’s...
Halifax Summer Opera Festival ARMIDE “a magical show”
Over the years to 2019 Halifax Summer Opera Festival evolved into an exciting annual August celebration with three double-cast fully staged operas. The global pandemic, sadly, put that tradition on hold until this year, with the production of one single rarely...
ALBUM: La Zingarella Through Romany Songland Bayrakdarian’s “musicality shines through”
Bayrakdarian handles the 27 numbers with great aplomb. Her musicality shines through all the material, and her voice has retained the silvery tone and flexibility that were hallmarks at the outset of her career…
Santa Fe Opera The Barber of Seville A Crowd-pleasing Mix of Slapstick Comedy and Superb Vocalism
After two seasons of cancellations and restricted offerings due to COVID-19, the Santa Fe Opera (SFO) returned to its former glory this summer, with a full offering of five operas: Barber of Seville, Carmen, Falstaff, Tristan und Isolde, plus the world premiere of M....
Nuova Opera and Music Theatre Festival’s The Coronation of Poppea “Especially strong was Alla Salakhova in the role of Drusilla”
Edmonton, AB—NUOVA Opera and Music Theatre Festival’s second opera was Monteverdi’s last opera, The Coronation of Poppea, first performed in 1643. The festival’s founder, Kim Mattice Wanat, directed the production. She made every effort to bring a period flavour to...
Toronto Summer Music Festival Afarin Mansouri’s Zuleykha: “good ideas and the blend of musical styles is interesting”
Afarin Mansouri’s new Farsi language opera Zuleykha was workshopped last night at Walter Hall as part of the Toronto Summer Music Festival. I knew the piece would be presented concert style but I confess I wasn’t expecting a workshop or for the work to be presented in...
Nuova Opera and Music Theatre Festival’s The Consul “Presented with a professional flair”
Edmonton’s Nuova Opera and Music Theatre Festival is back in full force, offering early-career singers and developing repetiteurs professional mentoring, and more importantly, in the singers’ case, opportunities to perform for live audiences. This summer Kim Mattice...
Toronto Summer Music Festival Opening Night: An Inspired Evening!
After a long absence of over two years, the Toronto Summer Music Festival (TSMF) returned last evening to Koerner Hall, its mainstage venue, playing a scintillating concert to an enthusiastic audience. The theme of this year’s Festival is Inspirations, an exploration...