4 steps to taking (& fixing) notes

Editorial

One mark of a professional opera singer is his or her ability to take notes. At the end of a rehearsal, a singer may have a collection of notes from music staff, diction coaches, their teacher, even an enthusiastic donor or two. Taking notes "well" isn't necessarily about being a polite professional and not taking anything personally; it's about what a singer does next.

HOS: Cocktails & a concert

News

Highlands Opera Studio is entering its 10th season, and they're ready to throw a party about it. The afternoon will feature performances by star tenor and HOS Artistic Director Richard Margison, as well as alumni singers Adam Luther, tenor, Marjorie Maltais, mezzo (and recent COC Ensemble Studio Competition finalist), baritone Michael Nyby, and soprano Lauren Margison.

Don't miss: Sondra Radvanovsky at Koerner Hall

News

Her performance of Queen Elizabeth I stayed with me a long time after seeing the Canadian Opera Company's 2014 production of Roberto Devereux, so Sondra Radvanovsky's upcoming recital at Toronto's Koerner Hall is on my absolutely-do-not-miss list.

Short list: this month with the TSO

News

November is a great month for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and I figured I'd share a couple of my picks for the coming weeks.

Gems: Millan & Faye's Top 10 Opera Deaths

Humour

Singing through tuberculosis, poisonous leaves, or death by high note? Millan & Faye are soprano and opera comedienne Kyra Millan, and pianist and straight man extraordinaire Tina Faye. In this hilarious short, they opera's ten best death scenes in under 5 minutes. I'll admit to laughing out loud at Rigoletto.

Gems: The Operatic Alphabet

Humour

Opera comedienne duo Millan & Faye are soprano Kyra Millan and Tina Faye, pianist extraordinaire. In this little short, they go right back to basics with their operatic stylings of...the alphabet. Talk about singing on your consonants.

Aptly named: The Living Spectacle

News

Tonight the Canadian Art Song Project presents The Living Spectacle, a recital of music, new and old, Canadian and otherwise. On paper, it may not look much different from other recitals; I had a chance to see the dress rehearsal of tonight's concert, and not only was it extraordinary in presentation, but it got me genuinely excited about Canadians who make music.

Tools: The Big Book of Variable Income

News

How's it going, freelancers? All going according to plan? Said plan made well in advance? In case the answer is "no", or even a hesitant "yes", Rags to Reasonable has a new tool to help: The Big Book of Variable Income.

Aria Guides: Quando m'en vo

How-To

For our next instalment of Aria Guides, we're sticking with the tried and true pick of divas around the world, "Quando me'n vo" from Puccini's La bohème. It's got everything you really want in an aria: girl tries to make her ex-boyfriend jealous, and she does it by singing sexy lines and shimmering high notes.

In review: The Telephone & The Medium

Review

The University of Toronto Opera opened a double bill last night, pairing together two of Menotti's most well-loved works, The Telephone (1946) and The Medium (1945). I saw the first of two casts in what I thought was a beautifully detailed production by director Michael Albano.