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.

Vote for a note: crowdsourced songwriting?

Editorial

What do you get when you ask a crowd what a song should sound like? CrowdSound.net is currently completing a melody, generated one note at a time by people on the Internet. Users can vote for each subsequent note in a melody, choosing from a list of diatonic pitches.

Back to school opera: a practical glossary

Editorial

The summer winds down, and school and other seasonal activities (like opera!) are soon back in session. In anticipation of a brand new season of opera-going, I figured a practical crash-course was in order.

4 Opera scenes that should have happened

Humour

Above: Suzuki gets real with Cio-Cio San, just like we all wished she would (Not actually.) Ever watch an opera and think, "I wonder if those two characters would be friends"? Seems odd, maybe; I've always done it with TV and film characters, and when I got into opera, the trend continued. Like, I used to think about whether or not the Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow would all be friends if Dorothy weren't in the picture. Or in The Little Mermaid, what it would be like for Eric to hang out with Sebastian.

In review: Dissociative Me

Review

I walked into RED Nightclub to catch LooseTea Music Theatre's latest offering, "Dissociative Me". A new transladaptation of Gounod's Faust, in which we find the devious relationship with the malevolent spirit Mephistopheles has evolved into a dissociative personality disorder, where he inhabits the other part of John Faustus's psyche.

Mark Morris: "Clarity."

Interview

American choreographer, dancer, director and conductor Mark Morris is one of those people that's difficult to introduce. He has worked with the likes of Peter Sellars, Yo-Yo Ma, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, and has a firm hand in dance and opera today. His company, the Mark Morris Dance Group, is a tight group of dancers, designers, and musicians, and they travel across the globe, presenting an average of 90 shows a year.

In review: Obeah Opera

Review

Friday, August 7th, 2015. This is the day I finally understood why the human race began singing and dancing in the first place. I don't know how or why it started, but I was reminded of how blessed we are by its presence in our lives.

Schmopera takes a breather

News

A quick heads-up, readers: for the month of August, Schmopera will be changing pace. We'll go from our usual peppy allegro to more of an larghetto, as we take, #waitforit, a vacation!

Spotlight on: Keith Lam

Interview

Keith Lam and I met in the way that many, many opera-loving Canadians meet: at Opera NUOVA. The Hong Kong-born, Toronto-based baritone is a member of the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, and he has sung with the excellent Canadian Opera Company Chorus. As a soloist, Keith has lit up stages with Against the Grain Theatre, The Banff Centre, Aspen Opera Theater, and he wrote me recently mid-rehearsals for Le nozze di Figaro at Highlands Opera Studio.

Check out: Loose TEA Music Theatre

Interview

Loose TEA Music Theatre is heading into its third season, currently in rehearsals for its upcoming production, Dissociative Me, which runs August 18-22nd at RED Night Club in Toronto. The show is an adaptation of Gounod's Faust, with a new libretto by Loose TEA's Artistic Director Alaina Viau and General Manager Markus Kopp. I do like me some devilish opera.