Talking Louise with Leslie Ann Bradley

Interview

Canadian soprano Leslie Ann Bradley is currently in Toronto to sing the title role in Charpentier's Louise, for VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert's upcoming performance on March 29th. Leslie Ann had some great things to say about the opera, singing the role of Louise, and what kind of story it tells about women at the turn of the 20th century. Photo: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco.

The Case for Nomadic Opera

Op-ed

I'm always an advocate of up-close theatre, but the need for large-scale, overwhelming productions of Verdi, Wagner, and the likes, is legitimate. But what would happen if Canada's larger opera companies took a portion of their productions out of their main stage?

Less Really Is More

Op-ed

Yesterday I was listening to a journalist speak about her work. A journalist is meant to tell a story, and although it's impossible for any writer to be entirely unbiased, too much emotional involvement doesn't really help to get the job done. She learned quickly, she said, that she's much better at telling these true stories if she steps back from her own personal feelings on the topic.

Ma su Facebook, son già mille e tre!

Humour

We hit a milestone this weekend: Schmopera cleared 1000 likes on Facebook!

Gibson Girls, and the Great Opera They'd Make

Editorial

I think the story, the mythology, even, of the Gibson Girl would make a great opera in itself. The story could speak about women, men, the media, the human urge to follow trends; there's even a story in the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Gibson, whose understanding of social issues seemed ahead of their time.

Orpheus and Eurydice, designed by Frank Gehry

Editorial

Canadian architect Frank Gehry will design a production of Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice, to be directed by Jürgen Flimm, the Staatsoper's Intendant. At the podium will be Daniel Barenboim, in case the idea wasn’t impressive enough.

"The Mother of All Demos," Onstage Again

Editorial

This week at Stanford University, composers and performers Mikel Rouse and Ben Neill present the world premiere of their music theatre piece, The Demo. The piece is based on the true story of Douglas Engelbart's demonstration of new technology in 1968, in which he introduced the idea of hypertext and even the very first mouse.

4 weird rehearsal moments from the piano bench

Humour

Rehearsals are a lot of things; they're stressful, fun, boring, inspiring, and weird. The last one is probably the most true, and opera folk tend to get de-sensitized to the weird stuff pretty quickly. Obvious examples are hilariously pouffy rehearsal skirts, sopranos who mark with bass-like chest voices, and the generally weird shorthand between the artists ("are we going from vrum-da-DUM or from tinklytinkly?"). I thought I'd share some of these odd moments that I've experienced from my seat at the piano.

5 Questions for Mireille Asselin & the Amici Chamber Ensemble

Interview

An interview with soprano Mireille Asselin and the Amici Chamber Ensemble, as they prepare to collaborate in concert on April 12th.

R/Opera and Elephant's Ears

Humour

I was perusing the opera corner of Reddit and came across a fantastic post by a user who needed help in naming that opera tune that he/she had just heard.