Modern Opera We’d See Again And AgainI cannot imagine a better season closer for Tapestry Opera than Rocking Horse Winner. This haunting production, based on a short story by D.H. Lawrence, will stay with you all summer, and have you waiting with bated breath for more indy and modern opera this fall. Continue reading Review: Rocking Horse Winner (Tapestry Opera)
Cosí Fan Tutte, the basis for A Little Too Cozy, is one of Mozart’s best-loved operas: a gay romp filled with questionable alliances, twisted gags, and bizarre psychological games. If this formula sounds familiar, it should. Against the Grain Theatre, under the artist direction of Joel Ivany, astutely recognized that this is the formula of every reality TV show since the turn of the millennium. The venue for this innovative production, based on a time-honoured classic, was studio 42 in the CBC building. We were the live studio audience. Continue reading Review: A Little Too Cozy (Against the Grain Theatre)
The Canadian Opera Company debuts Gioachino Rossini’s Maometto II in TorontoMaometto II by Gioachino Rossini has all of the ingredients you need to create melodrama: political intrigue, conspiracies, rape, murder, and violence. This is the Canadian Opera Company’s first time mounting this rarity. Placed in the deft hands of seasoned opera director David Alden, and conductor Harry Bickett, the result was a near-flawless, world-class production. Continue reading Review: Maometto II (Canadian Opera Company)
The COC presents a stunning and innovative Carmen, now on stage in TorontoThe Canadian Opera Company’s 1994 production of Carmen was the first opera I ever saw. The breathtaking lyricism and emotional complexity of George Bizet’s 1875 masterpiece played a key role in inspiring a life-long love of opera. The Canadian Opera Company’s current production lived up to my high expectations for this beloved work. The staging and interpretation of the text also revealed that a lot has changed in the opera world in the last 22 years, and included some choices that probably would not have been considered in 1994. Continue reading Review: Carmen (Canadian Opera Company)
I had never heard of Lucio Silla by W.A. Mozart before going to see Opera Atelier’s 2016 production. The opera was written when the prodigy was only 16 years old. Mozart’s unparalleled genius, blended with the freshness of youth and idealism, made for a night of very charming, light, yet sumptuously intricate lyrical singing.