Lighting #UncleJohn: Jason Hand

Interview

Lighting designer Jason Hand is no stranger to AtG. His lighting design was nominated for a Dora Award for Figaro's Wedding. With _Pelléas et Mélisande_ freshly closed, #UncleJohn will be the second al fresco performance in a row for Jason. I asked him about his work; he spoke eloquently about joining forces with Joel Ivany, hiking in Banff, and working with the sunset.

In review: When the Sun Comes Out

Review

Thursday, June 25th, I made my way to the healthily air-conditioned Ernest Balmer Studio, home of Tapestry New Opera to see the Toronto Concert Premiere of Leslie Uyeda's opera When the Sun Comes Out. #WorldPride2014. Originally produced in Vancouver on August 5, 2013 and commissioned by the Queer Arts Festival, _When the Sun Comes Out_ tells the heart-wrenching story of what happens to those unfortunate enough to live where they can't love freely.

Desdemona Down

Op-ed

After an impressive media tempest, soprano Tamar Iveri will not be appearing as Desdemona in Opera Australia's upcoming production of Otello. OA made the decision to replace Tamar after the singer's homophobic remarks were made public.

In review: Pelléas et Mélisande

Review

Do you like Debussy? Go see this show. Do you like art? Go see this show. Do you like a coherent plotline that's easy to follow and sticks to a linear timeline? Maybe, prepare yourself before seeing this show.

May She Never Work Again

Op-ed

Georgian soprano and disgusting homophobe Tamar Iveri just got outed. In May of 2013, she posted an open letter (translated into English here) to Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, who had condemned the violence that erupted during an LGBT activist rally in Tbilisi, Georgia. Tamar wrote to President Saakashvili, "yesterday, I was quite proud of the fact how Georgian society spat at the parade, organized by your (and not just your) team."

From Don Juan to #UncleJohn

Editorial

Don Juan. Love him or hate him, he's been around for at least 400 years. Why? Because he's a juicy character with which we've all got something in common. Everyone struggles with moderation in their lives; food, drink, and sex have forever played a role in our personal conflicts with desire and will-power. If you're mysteriously immune to the temptations of the Big Three, you're bound to be lured by something else. Or, you're a robot.

The pianist's tech week plight

Op-ed

I'm working on an opera right now, and this week, we go into tech week. It's a week where the role of the pianist becomes humbling. The tech rehearsals are so not about the music.

The COC's Summer Youth Intensive: Opera really is fun!

Interview

Each summer, the Canadian Opera Company presents the Summer Youth Intensive program, which is designed for young opera lovers, from grades 9 to 12. At the SYI, the participants bring their existing interests and skills, and refine them with the help of professionals in the operatic industry.

The language of snobs?

Op-ed

Remember that ridiculous clip from Glenn Beck's radio show about his trip to the Metropolitan Opera? That Neanderthal-like rant about how opera is full of "leftist" snobs that eat brie and say words like "lilt"?

Vania Chan on Airline Icarus

Interview

Canadian lyric coloratura soprano Vania Chan splits her time between Early Music like Mozart and Rameau, and New Music, like the upcoming Airline Icarus, opening in Toronto on June 3rd. Brian Current's opera, set to Anton Piatigorsky's libretto, tells the stories of several passengers on a Cleveland-bound flight.