Ottawa's Barber is brushing up his skills

News

Opera Lyra Ottawa's production of The Barber of Seville opens September 26th, and not only will baritone Joshua Hopkins sing the title role (Torontonians caught him in the COC's Barber last spring), he'll be getting a lesson in the tonsorial arts (#wordoftheday!) from House of Barons Barber Shop.

New Opera: More Singer Input Needed

Op-ed

Historical memory in opera production is very short. It is probably a shorthand that is not intended to insult, but as time passes we forget the directors, designers, singers and producers of an opera. Even the librettists can get left behind. It is a shame and creates the perception that composers are all Wagnerian control freaks whose work arrives perfectly formed.

Check out: FAWN Chamber Creative

Interview

Based in Toronto, FAWN Chamber Creative is focused on getting Canadian music heard by new people. They mash up art forms, like their Synesthesia series combining new Canadian music, design, and film, and they commission new works like Adam Scime's L'homme et le ciel, which you can hear in Toronto this December at the Music Gallery.

In review: shadow box

Review

Last night I went with conductor, pianist, and man of Against the Grain Theatre Topher Mokrzewski to hear The Bicycle Opera Project, at, well, a bike shop. Curbside Cycle on Bloor West was the first Toronto stop along Bike Opera's tour of Nova Scotia and Ontario.

Suor Angelica at Oshawa Opera

Interview

On Sunday, September 27th, Oshawa Opera presents Puccini's one-act, punch-packing tragedy, Suor Angelica. This in-concert production features Oshawa Opera's Artistic Director, Kristine Dandavino, at the piano, with a cast of Canadian talent. I spoke with Kristine, and with Ukrainian-Canadian soprano Natalya Matyusheva, singing the heartbreaking title role.

Plácido Domingo, Verdi baritones, and the ripple effect

Op-ed

The complaint is: legendary tenor Plácido Domingo has retired his notorious Don José, Cavaradossi, and Otello, and has started taking on baritone roles (Oreste in Iphigénie en Tauride, and the title roles in Simon Boccanegra and Rigoletto). The argument is that his singing these roles takes away a potential gig from a hard-working, vocally appropriate Verdi baritone.

Class Acts: Kiri Te Kanewa at the Met Centennial

If you're a singer, watching this video might give you the creepy-crawlies. It's Dame Kiri Te Kanewa singing "Dove sono i bei momenti" from Le nozze di Figaro at the Metropolitan Opera's Centennial Gala, 1983. Kiri sings this staple aria of hers as beautifully as you would expect.

Check out: Liederwölfe

Interview

I met Liederwölfe Opera Collective co-founders and delightful ladies Francesca Perez and Lindsay Michael at the Banff Opera Colloquium this summer, where they wowed Canada's opera biggies with their proposal for Opera Peep Show. The premise is delicious: a ticket gets you into a hotel bar, where you can hear a few opera samples. From there, listeners can get keys to various rooms in the hotel, each featuring previews and excerpts from various other companies.

Interviewing the Greats: Virginia Zeani

Interview

It is no wonder that opera collectors call Romanian soprano Virginia Zeani "l’Assoluta." In May 1948, Zeani made her stage début in Bologna, singing Violetta in La traviata; she went on as a last minute replacement, never having sung with orchestra and with no rehearsals. In her career, she would go on to sing 648 times.

If you could accessorize with opera...

Humour

Accessories designer Diana Broussard is introducing a new resin handbag this November. This doesn't seem like a topic worthy of an opera blog, but stay with me. The handbag comes equipped with an LCD screen, and wearers can play video and audio of their choice, whatever goes best with your outfit, I suppose.