Opera Atelier takes on The Marriage of Figaro on the Toronto stageLe nozze di Figaro is one of the most known works in the operatic canon. Opera Atelier’s 2017 remount of their Dora award-winning production made me realize that while everyone knows of Figaro, I will never truly “know” Figaro. Continue reading Review: The Marriage of Figaro (Opera Atelier)
Canadian Opera Company’s Elixir of Love, now on stage in Toronto, is “good, simple fun”The backdrop for the Canadian Opera Company’s new production of L’elisir d’amore (Gaetano Donizetti, 1832) glides us into a small, unspoiled pastoral village. It seems impossible that war could ever disturb such a place, but it is 1914 in small town Ontario… Continue reading Review: L’elisir d’amore/Elixir of Love (Canadian Opera Company)
This festival celebrates Pan-American, Indigenous, and Latinx voices on stage in TorontoThe 2017 Caminos festival, produced by Aluna Theatre and Native Earth Performing Arts is a week-long festival of new performances centering on Pan-American, Indigenous, and Latinx voices. The festival offers diverse performances in a variety of media, including theatre, dance and music. Continue reading Review: Caminos 2017 (Aluna Theatre/Native Earth Performing Arts)
The Apology Project is a nomadic, multimedia installation that evolves and shape-shifts based on performance context and current events. The 2017 Toronto production was mounted by interdisciplinary creative arts company lbs/sq” (pounds per square inch). Continue reading Review: The Apology Project (lbs/sq”)
A large, translucent golden sphere lashed between two trees was visible well away from the seating area for Shakespeare in the Ruff’s 2017 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I am always amazed by the level of spectacle this small company is able to produce with minimal props and set. I have been a patron of Withrow Park Shakespeare in both its incarnations. In the late 90s, I attended productions of the original “Shakespeare in the Ruff”, which became defunct in the early 2000s after a 25-year run. Inspired by the original company’s efforts to create a community centred, accessible outdoor theatrical culture in Toronto, Shakespeare in the Ruff re-emerged in 2012. Continue reading Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare in the Ruff)