8 contemporary roles to covet

Editorial

As we creep further into the 2010s, there exists enough new opera to take stock of the 21st-century roles deserving of our attention. Who are the Anne Trueloves, the Captain Veres, the Chiang Ch'ings of today? To help answer those great questions, we offer up 8 delicious roles from operas of this generation.

Alexander Neef: listening to music

Interview

One of the best sets of ears in Toronto belongs to Alexander Neef, General Director of the Canadian Opera Company. He's an impressive source when it comes to classical music recordings, and until recently he had a wall-to-wall library of CDs collected over his lifetime. "I probably gave between 2500-3000 CDs to the COC, because I thought those recordings...I knew quite well all of them would be great for the [COC Ensemble Studio] to use."

Spotlight on: Michael Nyby

Interview

"The singer must be a master of their own unique and peculiar instrument, an adept musician with an intricate understanding of rhythm, pitch, function, gesture, etc., functionally proficient in a handful of languages, and a capable dramatic actor. To top it off, the singer must be all of these things at once."

13 more pop singers with pipes: let's hear it for the boys

Usually, male musicians (by nature of being male) have an easier time (not that it's easy for anyone in this industry), however, in terms of pop singing males, I never hear people go on about their voices the way the do the ladies. Every. Single. One. of the ladies mentioned (and more - I'm looking at you Jessie J, Ella Fitzgerald, and Brittany Howard [of Alabama Shakes]) are phenoms of the first degree - but let's talk about (and maybe ogle) some of my favourites on the boys' team.

Learning: Opera Overtures with Kyra Millan

News

Soprano and opera comedienne Kyra Millan returns to the Royal Conservatory of Music for their Opera Overtures course, each Monday night from 7-8:30pm, March 21 to April 18. Over five weeks, partipants will "learn about the history, the music, and the sublime and sublimely ridiculous elements that make opera so fabulous."

Go hear the Tafelmusik Vocal Competition

News

I always recommend opera lovers to go and hear voice competitions; it's always fascinating and the energy of the competitors is something that's quite different than seeing them in a production. The event is scheduled from 1-5:45pm, and there are two intermissions during which you can meet the singers and the jury members over some food and drink. Plus, if you stay for the full afternoon, you'll be able to vote for the Audience Choice Winner.

10 pop singers with pipes

Editorial

I'm a big old fan of opera singers and their alien skills. They can do anything at all with their voice, it seems. But of course, opera isn't the only place you'll find fantastic singing. We wanted to collect some proof of that statement, which definitely made for a fun day's work.

Talking with singers: Leah Crocetto

Interview

American soprano Leah Crocetto is a Cardiff BBC Singer of the World, a Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition Grand Finals Winner, a former Adler fellow at San Francisco Opera, and this season, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Liù in Franco Zeffirelli's iconic production of Turandot.

Why This Opera Singer Took a Non-Singing Job at an Opera Company

Op-ed

While directors and conductors often hold directorships and administrative positions within opera companies, singers themselves rarely have the opportunity to continue to perform while contributing to the other side of the footlights. There is definitely a stigma attached -- that if you have time for any kind of other job, your singing career must not be going well.

Schmopera is two!

Op-ed

It seems as though the odd thoughts knocking around my brain about this wacky world of opera weren't unique. Readers, you too were curious about how artists learn their craft, how they earn a living wage by doing it, and what those opera directors are up to. You too wanted to stop defending our beloved art form, and start making more of it without apologies.