When the people who tried to shut down SDO got paid $1M

Editorial

Thanks to Slipped Disc, I read the ugly story of Ian Campbell and his ex-wife Ann Spira Campbell, and how they were paid roughly $1M on their way out of the San Diego Opera board.

Google's very specific opera offerings

Editorial

A couple of quick finds for the online opera fans, who consistently bemoan the state of opera on the Internet. If you use Google Play Music, you'll be pleased to notice that there's a radio station that plays Metropolitan Opera broadcasts from their 2011-12 season.

Francois Racine on Bluebeard's Castle/ Erwartung

Interview

François Racine is the revival director of Robert Lepage's production of Bluebeard's Castle/Erwartung, and he has seen the double bill performed across the globe over the last 20 years. He took a few moments out of a tech rehearsal in the Four Seasons Centre to talk about these two "very dark" operas, and this production by Lepage that seems so timelessly compelling.

Love of opera, and getting perspective

Op-ed

I got into writing about opera because I wanted to tell people about this very cool industry of mine. The art is enormous and stunning, and the people who created opera are extraordinary folks. I knew that most people my age didn't have much exposure to opera, and it seemed like an obvious way to bridge the gap, to show just how fascinating it really is.

Love opera? Love stats? Look at this.

Editorial

I made a pretty neat find over at Wolf Trap Opera's website, which has a great section on audition resources. WTO has [collected stats(http://opera.wolftrap.org/for-artists/audition-resources/) on the auditions they've heard over the last four seasons, and which arias are sung the most.

Talking with singers: Krisztina Szabó

Interview

Hungarian-Canadian mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó is no strangers to the Four Seasons Centre stage. This time, she'll sing The Woman in Schoenberg's Erwartung, which, with Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle, makes up the iconic double-bill by Robert Lepage.

Stu&Jess Productions, on L'heure espagnole

Interview

Stu&Jess Productions are gearing up to present Ravel's delightfully bizarre L'heure espagnole on May 7, 8 & 9th at the Techno-Lith paper company in Montréal. I asked a few questions of conductor Stuart Martin and director Jessica Derventzis, about Ravel's really neat opera, and setting it in a paper warehouse. "It's a magical chamber of sound."

In review: Earnest, the Importance of Being

Review

Last night I went to opening night of Earnest, the Importance of Being at Toronto Operetta Theatre. The piece, by Victor Davies and Eugene Benson, had its premiere in 2008. It's a rare thing to find an original Canadian operetta, and this one is a hilarious and charming take on Oscar Wilde's *The Importance of Being Earnest*.

A preview of The Barber of Seville, from the COC Ensemble Studio

Interview

Yesterday in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, the COC Ensemble Studio gave us a preview of The Barber of Seville, in anticipation of their mainstage performance on May 15th. I was so glad I brought my camera; it was a completely fun concert of highlights from Rossini's infamous opera, and it made me pretty excited to see the Ensemble Studio on the big stage.

On the recording of opera singers

Humour

Canadian tenors Isaiah Bell and Christopher Mayell are thoughtful guys. Here, they chat about the tricky task of recording by opera singers; they talk about why it's difficult, why it's not the same as performing live, and why they should have to do it in the first place.