Tapestry Opera stages new opera M’Dea Undone at Toronto’s Evergreen Brickworks
Despite several trips to Brickworks for attractions such as the Farmer’s Market and the Children’s Garden, I had never been in the space that sets the scene for Tapestry Opera’s 2015 production of M’Dea Undone by composer John Harris and librettist Marjorie Chan. While the narrative has its roots in classical Greek mythology, this opera was completed this year and is a modern story about timeless themes – betrayal, desperation, vengeance, love, and above all the ambiguities of good versus evil. Continue reading Review: M’dea Undone (Tapestry Opera)→
Opera’s “over-the-top sense of whimsy” shines at The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto!
In classical Greek mythology, the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of courage, self-doubt, loss and mortality. Opera Atelier’s 2015 production of the Hector Berlioz version of Christophe Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice offers a fresh and playful take on this timeless tragedy. Continue reading Review: Orpheus and Eurydice (Opera Atelier)→
Awe-inspiring performances in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Wagner’s Die Walküre
Richard Wagner changed opera when he fathered the concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk – the Total Work of Art. In his vision, beautiful music and singing were not enough. All aspects of the production, story, set, costumes, lights and score, needed to fit together as equal components of a harmonious spectacle. The Canadian Opera Company’s 2015 production of Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), the second installment of the renowned Ring Cycle, paid homage to Wagner’s vision with a modern spin on this larger-than-life mythological epic. Continue reading Review: Die Walküre (Canadian Opera Company)→
Canadian Opera Company’s New Staging of Don Giovanni Misses the Mark
The curtain on the Canadian Opera Company’s current production of Don Giovanni by W. A. Mozart came up to stark silence at a somber family meeting. The audience had just been informed via projected text that we could expect a different performance of this tried and true classic. In the opera’s usual plot, three narrative strands about three objects of Don Giovanni’s prodigious desire converge into a perfect storm at the opera’s close. In this production, the principal characters were all members of a very wealthy, contemporary extended family. The action took place in a single set – the sitting room of the patriarch’s mansion. Continue reading Review: Don Giovanni (Canadian Opera Company)→
