Canadians abroad: the quarterly report

Editorial

It's been invigorating to hear such exciting voices that are new to our ears. Perhaps it's our bias showing, but the conclusion we draw is that Canadian singers are pretty fantastic. It's not a better-than situation, and we don't waste our time comparing the voices onstage over versus back home; but really, for a country that can struggle with niggling inferiority complexes, it's a neat thing to see that Canadian singers hold their own among the great voices working in one of the world's most established artistic centres.

Talking opera & mythology with the TFCO

Op-ed

Day led us through a survey of the similarities between the two subjects. He explained the idea of the sword as mystical icon, how the sword embedded in stone had its roots in Norse mythology, as Odin stuck his sword in the family tree and said only he who could remove it would rule. The dragon slaying, the underdog being worthy, etc., they are all related to the same source material.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, musicals, and great timing

Editorial

With a few years of unsettled music direction, and a real need to try something actually new (perhaps veering towards what many opera fans would call "pandering"), it seems like a perfect opportunity for the Met to take a serious try at adding musicals to their heavy roster of over 20 productions per season. There's perhaps an untapped, enthusiastic potential audience that would love to pair the grandeur and the chandeliers with the kind of onstage action that is less foreign to their eyes and ears.

4 ways to give notes & still be liked

How-to

Part of the job of the music staff working on an opera is to deliver notes to the singers. Notes, in this context, are basically "things the singer is doing wrong". If you're a music staff member with compassion, this process can leave you feeling at best like Toby from The Office, or at worst, Estelle Costanza from Seinfeld.

Taking a bow: curtain calls for your voice type

Humour

Bosom first, she glides across the stage like Morticia from The Addams Family. At centre stage, one hand presses in between her breasts, the other gracefully clutching at her skirts in preparation. One foot invisibly steps upstage under metres of fabric, and the leading lady descends into a curtsy so deep it could convince you that she's actually only a bust, perched upon a hydraulic office chair hidden beneath her tulle.

Great ideas: Snappy Operas

Editorial

This week at Pembroke House, Wake-Walker and composer Emily Hall worked with a group of young opera enthusiasts on Snappy Opera I, called The Itch Witch, an opera about head lice. The young singers were split into groups, collectively representing characters like nits, strands of hair, and a comb. With the help of Snappy Operas Music Director Timothy Redmond, the kids spent a full day learning music by rote, and staging the short opera with Wake-Walker himself.

Gems: the mega mashup

Humour

Grant Woolard has created what's probably the greatest mashup yet of classical music tunes. He combined 57 melodies, by 33 composers from J.S. Bach to Satie, into 6 minutes of genius that we can't stop watching. Also, we now feel strongly that there should exist gag editions of these scores, notated entirely of little pictures of the composers' heads.

Child-free opera singers & happiness

Editorial

Basically, when the work isn't going well, it can be quite devastating when it truly is the most important thing in an artist's life. It seems a lame excuse for moping, though, and it's easy to compound the guilt of being a "bad artist" with the guilt of "not having anything else going for you"; after all, compared to singers with "real" responsibilities outside of their work, a child-free singer should remember that they're among the lucky ones, right?

TFCO: Opera Trek, The Next Generation

Interview

I got to chat with a few of the next generation involved in Burry's The Sword in the Schoolyard: Viva Egoyan-Rokeby (young Morgan), David Grace (young Arthur), Emma Thornton-Ockrant (young Gwen), and Henry Kemeny-Wodlinger (young Mordred).

In review: Rocking Horse Winner

Review

As the autistic son, Paul, Asitha Tennekoon is a revelation. His beautiful leggiero tenor was perfect for playing the delicate Paul. It bridged the gap between full Mozart opera and contemporary musical theatre. But to be honest, his acting is the reason to see this show. I've been watching Asitha grow as a performer over the last couple of years and I have to say that this could literally be a breakout role for this young man. It was endearing, truthful, and raw.