Constantly new: the Kronos Quartet

Review

Though not surprising, based on the Quartet's history, their concert was one that reminded us that there still exist new sounds, new ways of playing these very old instruments. That included the "show" aspect of a string quartet performance; now a staple element of the music they perform, theirs is an organic use of amplification, helped by sound designer Scott Fraser, and effective lighting design, by Brian H. Scott.

The opera pianist's list o' priorities

How-to

Firstly, they can get hung up in all the notes, and start to drag the tempo as a result; the bigger trap actually precedes this first one, and that's spending too much time on all the notes. We're not suggesting you trade in fluttering scales for mashing the keys like a gorilla, but it's about picking your battles.

The score: how to see what a composer sees

Op-ed

What if, like the composer, you could look at the score as an output instead of an input? That is, instead of taking the score and making it sound, you take sound and make it into a score. And what if you could get a glimpse into the composer's relationship with the score, even as someone who has no inclination to compose?

Problems we didn't know we had: surtitles

Humour

Sustained sound is different from regular speech, and there's a reason why composers take an opera libretto and divide it into recitatives, arias, ensembles, etc. This text is different than that text, and the music delivers this message loudly. But with those blasé slides popping up in the surtitle box, it's like the the titles themselves are bored, and contemptuous of any textual subtleties woven by a composer into their opera.

In review: Carmen at the COC

Review

Ivany's setting of the story lends itself well to the given circumstances already laid out in the play and the score. I particularly liked several of the choices Ivany has made. I felt like he directed José to be less of a jilted lover, and more a young man who completely misreads the intentions of a worldly young woman. This man's inability to deal with the idea that Carmen's feelings have changed lead to disastrous consequences.

Don't miss: Rocking Horse Winner

Interview

This month, Tapestry Opera presents the world premiere of Rocking Horse Winner, a co-commission with Scottish Opera by composer Gareth Williams and librettist Anna Chatterton. The new opera is an adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's short story of the same name, a tale of skewed ideas of love and luck, about a family's constant struggles with money, and their son Paul, who has a curious knack for predicting winning horses at the betting tracks.

Great ideas: Devoted & Disgruntled

Interview

As opera fans, we can't help but dream about attending similar forums hosted specifically by opera companies, large and small. There's an inevitable default to trial-and-error with programming seasons, casting singers, and developing relationships with audiences; with an equalizing environment similar to Devoted and Disgruntled, perhaps what audiences want out of opera can become less nebulous.

In review: Maometto II

Review

David Alden's production of Maometto, a work that until the revival in Santa Fe in 2012 hadn't been performed in it's entirety since Naples in 1820, was exactly what I think the COC needed in its season at this point. A simple, easy to digest set and staging, with a thrilling orchestra and incomparable vocals. I can't... I just can't get over the voices I heard last night.

Don't miss: Shoestring Opera's Hansel & Gretel

Interview

On Sunday, June 5 North York's Solar Stage Children's Theatre, Shoestring Opera presents two performances of their very own adaptation of Humperdinck's Hänsel and Gretel, with a libretto by Mark Brownell. In their tale, Hansel and Gretel have an odd neighbour, who "might be a witch, with an awful twitch, who rides the air with a broomstick switch!" At 11am and 2pm, audiences can enjoy gorgeous music, learn some new dance moves, and hear a new take on a classic story.

Performers: unwilling players of mind games

Humour

Performing in public is about imaginary stats: there are sayings that go something like how it's 10% preparation, 89% inspiration, and the final 1% a combination of panic and validation seeking. Whatever the proportions, the above factors are all in the artistic mix, balancing in a way that's at best symbiotic, and at worst a mental food chain.