Reviews
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...
UBC OPERA RUSALKA “a youthful cast bursting at the seams with talent”
Opening on June 23 for a four-night run, this was the third production of Rusalka in UBC Opera’s almost six-decade history.The first—a lot more significant in retrospect than it ever seemed at the time—was just over 45 years ago in March, 1977, when it was staged by...
Toronto Operetta Theatre A Waltz Dream: “hugely entertaining staging”
Toronto Operetta Theatre (TOT) billed its season-closing production of Oscar Straus’s A Waltz Dream as a Canadian premiere, though that needs a little qualification. The book, lyrics and music in TOT General Director Guillermo Silva-Marin’s hugely entertaining staging...
Opera Lafayette’s Silvain Artistic Director Ryan Brown “came through big-time in the pit”
I’d very much missed Opera Lafayette, whose annual visits to New York from its homebase in Washington DC had been highlights of my pre-Covid decade of opera-going. The company had its ups and its downs, but one thing was utterly consistent: its commitment to...
Concours Musical International de Montreal Part 7 Aria finals, dessert
Eleven days of absurd artistic competition came to an end in a two hour squeeze on Thursday night. At the end of the marathon even our famously grateful Canadian audiences could not find the strength for standing ovations. I can’t imagine how the singers felt. I’ve...
Concours Musical International de Montreal Part 6 Aria semifinals, pasta course
The second semifinal started with a warning that we would first hear an overture; the previous night's unannounced one must have really freaked people out. The question going into last night’s concert was whether mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny and baritone Brian Murray,...
Concours Musical International de Montreal Part 5 Aria semifinals, first course
The competition moved to the big garish canoe, the Maison Symphonique, for the rest of the aria rounds; it’s hard on the eyes but cozier for big voices than Bourgie Hall. Most singers sounded much better than in the little room where their power can be alarming, with...
Concours Musical International de Montreal Part 4 Art Song finals, let’s call it a tie
The absurdity of comparing performers becomes the most acute in the finals. Typically, by now, token local competitors and other political choices are eliminated and your ears are left with more than they could possibly eat. This was certainly true in the Art Song...
Canadian Opera Company The Queen in Me “timely, provocatively entertaining addition to the genre”
Nikkei-Canadian Teiya Kasahara developed The Queen in Me over about five years, bringing the latest iteration with orchestra to a sold-out, three-show run at the Canadian Opera Company Theatre June 2-4. Co-produced by the COC, Nightwood Theatre, Amplified Opera (of...