Pocket Concerts: chamber music, up close

Interview

Pocket Concerts is a Toronto-based concert series, which brings chamber music to private homes, offices, and other intimate venues. Their most recent public event was their November 29th Party with Brahms at the Wharf; over post-concert pizza and wine, we spoke with the artists, hosts, and listeners about the very special experience of a Pocket Concert.

Talking with singers: Nicole Cabell

Interview

"There's a part of me, and every singer I know, that wants to settle down and have a normal job and a family, and all that. But then there's this other part, and I think if you don't have this, you're gonna have a hard time. There's this other part where you're really restless if you're not aways going, and having crazy adventures. *Wanderlust*, I guess. I have that in me."

Opera with a message: Operation Superpower

Interview

Operation Superpower was originally created by four Juilliard grads: composer Armand Ranjbaran, pianist Peter Dugan, and baritones John Brancy and and Tobias Greenhalgh. It's an interactive show for 6- to 12-year olds, where young audiences can find their own hidden superpowers; so far, they've performed for ~50,000 superheroes-in-training.

The guy who sang at the Met 2,928 times

Editorial

In what can be deemed the Great Find of the Weekend, check out this list of artists who have had the most performers at The Metropolitan Opera. I can't vouch for detail-accuracy, and since it's a Wikipedia article, go ahead and take it with a grain of salt. That said, have a look at the ten singers with the most Met stage time:

Supporting roles, and stars on deck

Op-ed

There are singers like Luciano Pavarotti, Monterrat Caballé, and Renata Scotto, whose professional debuts were as Rodolfo, Mimì, and Violetta, respectively. Clearly, this is not the usual career trajectory; even Maria Callas started off in supporting roles (much to the envy of her leading castmates). For opera singers, starting "at the bottom" is the only way to work towards title roles.

Instruments can sing, too

Op-ed

Something that young instrumentalists hear for much of their training is that they're not "singing" enough. It can be confusing, because no, they're not singing at all. They're dragging bow hairs across strings, plunking keys downwards, maybe even using their own air supply to make sound; but they're not quite singing.

Don't miss: Electric Messiah

News

These days, you can hear your beloved Messiah any way you like it. Soundstreams is trying out a brand new way to hear Handel's ubiquitous, beloved work. On December 7 and 8, as part of their Ear Candy series, Soundstreams presents Electric Messiah, or, "Handel goes Underground: A stripped down, surround-sound electro-improv Messiah for today’s Toronto."

Aria guides: "Deh vieni alla finestra"

How-To

For good reason, Don Giovanni is one of the most coveted baritone roles in opera. His aria, "Deh vieni alla finestra," is an incredible scene, a picture of Don Juan in action, unencumbered by angry exes or jealous fiancés. He's serenading a nameless woman (Elvira's maid, technically), in that truly Spanish style, with a guitar outside her window.

Paid summer programs: is it time for a revolution?

Op-ed

Summer programs, and their expensive nature, have been under scrutiny during this 2015/16 audition season. It's not a new conversation; the advent of bloggers has meant conversations about not-cheap aspects to the opera training industry, including famed bass-baritone Alan Held's strong words for YAPs (conversely, there's this controversial article about why audition fees are necessary).

In review: Elektra

Review

L'Opéra de Montréal is in the middle of a four-show run of Strauss' Elektra, the opera that I'm still waiting to see as a double bill on steroids with Salome, for a full night entitled, Women Who Behave Horrendously. It was a thrill to watch Yannick Nézet-Séguin conduct Strauss' delicious score with the huge amounts of energy he brings. He became somewhat of a meta-principal character in the show; it seems appriopriate, since the music speaks so much detail in this story of revenge.