Schmopera
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Networking for introverted performers
Levine's ugly exit, & the disposable Met
Spotlight on: Amanda Majeski
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Lyric Opera kicks off a starry season at Millennium Park
The night's theme, (and requisite hashtag) #LongLivePassion was on-point — we were treated to some of opera's most impassioned moments from Puccini's beloved "O mio babbino caro" to the seductive "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" from Saint-Saën's Samson et Dalila. It was a glamorous, fun-filled night that featured the headliners of the Lyric's upcoming production of La Bohéme as well as four young artists from the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center.
Read MoreDon't miss: Odyssey Opera's season opener
"This year marks the bicentennial of the birth of French composer Charles Gounod, and it felt like the perfect time to explore his lesser-known works. We are thrilled to be opening our season with the U.S. premiere of Gounod's La reine de Saba, composed in the years between Gounod's acclaimed grand operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette."
Read MoreA summer Mozart menu
After such a substantial appetizer there was a reasonable interval before the entrée. It is at this point appropriate to mention the reconfiguration that Mostly Mozart brings to David Geffen Hall. The stage extends beyond the proscenium into the auditorium. Seating is placed at either side of the extended portions of the stage and, when a chorus isn't performing, behind it.
Read MoreRelentlessly sinister: Rigoletto at Wolf Trap Opera
The production, directed by Crystal Manich, is pretty standard as *Rigolettos* go, the Italian renaissance evoked in the costumes and scenery, and all the characters do what they always do - the Duke rapes, Rigoletto rages, Gilda falls foolishly in love, Sparafucile murders. There is an added element of surreal projections on the architectural set which proved more a distraction than an enhancement.
Read MoreDon Giovanni in 2018: in search of a "concept"
And, let's be honest, we've all seen these productions, in which even basic narrative details of a piece are obscured, confused, ignored or senselessly "deconstructed" with sometimes baffling outcomes.
Read MoreDarren Sigesmund on the Mosaïque Project
"Although the piece is written for a classical ensemble, I composed using my own sensibility as a writer. Classical music is very much a part of my sound world, and there are similar compositional concepts that cross over into jazz and vice versa. It merely comes down to articulating those ideas on paper."
Read MoreSarah Slean on the Mosaïque Project
"It's always a treat writing music for master musicians and I'm thrilled to be in the company of such great composers, but I'm especially honoured to be part of this project, I think it's ambitious and timely and a beautiful tribute to Canada."
Read MoreNicole Lizée on the Mosaïque Project
"For the past few years I've been thinking a lot about Canadian culture - or Canadiana - and, more specifically, Saskatchewan culture and identity. I've written two large-scale works in addition to this one that explores this as a premise. I feel I've just started this exploration."
Read MoreSwept away: Roméo et Juliette
The contemporary setting didn't feel like a gimmick but a way to make the characters that much more relatable, and the overall effect was that of a John Hughes movie. Muller's approach gets teenagers and how they feel emotion so intensely that it can turn fatal in an instant.
Read MoreCanada sounds like: Mosaïque Project
"We dreamed of going on a nation-wide tour for our 10th anniversary, and realised that it was not going to be easy to pull off. So we came up with the idea of commissioning a piece that takes us across the country musically. One thing let to another, and we now have a nation-wide tour, and a great added visual dimension, including listeners from all across Canada."
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