Christmas, of course

Editorial

It’s Christmas, guys. The Messiahs, the Christmas carols, the Hänsels and Gretels, they’re all fair game for this season of nostalgia. I was deciding on my pick for this year’s Christmas-ful opera, assuming I’d end up in the direction of Amahl and the Night Visitors, or going for an exception to the opera theme (it’s Christmas, after all) and voting for A Charlie Brown Christmas instead.

I sang along at Tafelmusik's Messiah

Review

Sunday, December 21st was 2014’s Winter Soltice, and it was an apt day to head over to Massey Hall and hear Tafelmusik’s 28th annual Sing-Along Messiah. I had actually never been to a Sing-Along Messiah, save for the obligatory singing-along of the Hallelujah Chorus at all the other Messiahs I’ve seen.

The COC's unexpected collaboration

Editorial

"Mark down 2014 as the year the Canadian Opera Company put out an album with Broken Social Scene and Fucked Up. No, really." That's right. With The Globe and Mail and recording label Arts & Crafts, the COC is a presenting partner of Broadsheet Music: A Year in Review, a new (and free!) album full of songs about the stories and issues of 2014 that affected Canadians.

The Mikado and Champagne

Editorial

Looking for something to tide you over between the annual stretch of Christmas-New Year's-Regular Life? Want a way to get some catchy songs in your head that aren't Christmas carols? Me too.

#UncleJohn: the Toronto story

I went to see opening night of Against the Grain Theatre's production of #UncleJohn, the re-imagination of Mozart's Don Giovanni by Joel Ivany. It was fantastic, but I'm hardly the unbiased media figure I should be in order to offer up a true review.

Cecilia Bartoli: "atonal music creates a barrier between composer and singer"

Did anyone catch Cecilia Bartoli's comments earlier this year, in an interview promoting her new album, St Petersburg? Cecilia is known for her singing of Mozart, Vivaldi, and plenty of long-lost songs from the 18th-century and earlier. Early Music folks are notoriously eccentric, and at their worst, annoyingly closed-minded about "modern music".

Tales from the score: Violetta

Editorial

Verdi's La traviata is one of those operas, like Il barbiere di Siviglia or Die Walküre, that's so full of famous stories and tunes that the real significance of these moments is almost forgotten. But because it's Verdi, let's not dock him points for being obvious.

#UncleJohn in Toronto

Editorial

Against the Grain Theatre's production of #UncleJohn opens this Thursday, to the delight of indie opera lovers in Canada. After its initial premiere this summer at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site in Banff, AB, #UncleJohn has sparked much anticipation from audiences here in Toronto.

Can Opera Make Money?

Op-ed

Opera doesn't make money, it never has, and we all know it. I was recently asked about opera's economy and why opera companies have never functioned as a for-profit theatre company. The theoretical comparison was between the Canadian Opera Company and Mirvish Productions.

Tales from the score: Bohemians in love

Humour

Without fail, in almost tedious constancy, watching La bohème brings out all the feels. Before an upcoming production, I'm more objective, and I can inwardly roll my eyes at the thought of getting swept away by a piece like La bohème. It's so obvious, I tell myself, You're falling for low-bar emotional jabs like doomed lovers and friendship despite hardship.