Opera by Request will be presenting Delibes opera LAKME this August...check it out!
Delibes' Lakme, Friday, August 10, 2012, 7:30 pm, College St. United Church, 452 College St. All tickets $20. Phone 416 455-2365 for reservations and information.
Lakme.......Allison Arends
Gerald.......Christopher Mayell
Mallika.......Catherine Carew
Nilakantha..Michael York
Frederic.....Matt Cassils
Miss Benson...Leigh-Anne Martin
Ellen.........Julie Ludwig
Rose.........Danielle MacMillan
Pre-performance chat hosted by Iain Scott
Showing posts with label Toronto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toronto. Show all posts
Monday, July 23, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Music Convocation Flash Mob
The Honourable David R. Peterson, the outgoing Chancellor of the University of Toronto resided over his final Convocation last week. He was taken by surprise when the students graduating from the Faculty of Music surprised him with a flash mob tribute to the tune "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and moved him to tears....the power of music never fails to bring awe and wonder to out lives!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
A Fresh New Singer-Voice in the Blog World
PS - I stole this image from her most recent post...it so perfectly depicts the complexity of our choices and lives as musicians!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Alcina is ESSENTIAL Opera!
Not an opera I am overly familiar with Alcina (despite it being essential) however I have heard my fair share of the coloratura aria "Tornami a vagheggiar" sung by the sorceress Morgana and of course the knight Ruggiero's "Verdi prati, selve amene" at various undergrad recitals!
Here is their press release:
Essential Opera mounts long-absent favourite, Alcina
TORONTO, Ontario - May 16, 2012- Thriving new Toronto opera company, Essential Opera, wraps up its second season this May with the elegant and evocative Alcina by Handel. The Toronto performance will take place on one night only: May 25, 7:30 p.m. at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre. Tickets are available in advance at www.essentialopera.com and at the door.
"In just one year, we've gone from a couple of singers with an idea for one show, to selling out and performing with a chamber orchestra," said Erin Bardua and Maureen Batt, Co-Artistic Directors and Co-Founders, Essential Opera. "Our cast for Alcina is made up of passionate singers, many of whom are favourites of Toronto audiences."
Essential Opera keeps all its high-quality productions accessible to a wider audience by providing an on-screen English translation and offering affordable ticket prices. A focus on storytelling and character relationships brings the “concert” formula to life.
Essential Opera was founded in Toronto in the fall of 2010 by sopranos Erin Bardua and Maureen Batt. Debuting in February 2011 with one of the most essential operas, Le nozze di Figaro, their goal is to provide audiences and singers with the chance to experience opera at its most essential.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Three Operas, Two Companies, One Amazing Trend!
It would seem that despite the efforts of Toronto's mayor to continue to cut funding to the arts, Opera in many forms in alive and well! I have blogged about a number of new, small companies and here are two more!
Opera Five believes that opera is an art form that has unlimited potential, that has inspired artists for centuries, an art form we love and most importantly one that can move any audience, period.
When opera was developed it was meant to combine all art forms and we intend to push that to the limit by combining opera with any and every distinct art form such as dance, photography, visual art, performance art, creative writing, and even culinary arts by showcasing new talent in each medium.
Check out their upcoming double production of La voix humaine & Bluebeard's Castle
Arts and Lettters Club
May 15, 16 & 18
Click here for ticket information
Against the Grain Theatre (AtG) is a hip newcomer to the scene who says they are a band of rogue arts makers. We're a director, a pianist, a few opera singers, actors, dancers, writers, some arts professionals and a couple of visual artists...oh, and a photographer. We perform, we make stuff, and we drink beer. A lot of beer.
Their upcoming production of The Turn of the Screw (my favourite, creepy opera ever!) promises to have some serious young artist star power!
For tickets, go here and scroll to the bottom of the page.
Opera Five believes that opera is an art form that has unlimited potential, that has inspired artists for centuries, an art form we love and most importantly one that can move any audience, period.
When opera was developed it was meant to combine all art forms and we intend to push that to the limit by combining opera with any and every distinct art form such as dance, photography, visual art, performance art, creative writing, and even culinary arts by showcasing new talent in each medium.
Check out their upcoming double production of La voix humaine & Bluebeard's Castle
Arts and Lettters Club
May 15, 16 & 18
Click here for ticket information
Against the Grain Theatre (AtG) is a hip newcomer to the scene who says they are a band of rogue arts makers. We're a director, a pianist, a few opera singers, actors, dancers, writers, some arts professionals and a couple of visual artists...oh, and a photographer. We perform, we make stuff, and we drink beer. A lot of beer.
Their upcoming production of The Turn of the Screw (my favourite, creepy opera ever!) promises to have some serious young artist star power!
Check them out on May 24, 25, 26 & 27 2012 @ 7:30 PM
Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse
90 St. George St. TO For tickets, go here and scroll to the bottom of the page.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Susan Graham....back in Toronto
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| American mezzo Susan Graham (Globe and Mail photo) |
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Canadian Opera Company announces the 2012-13 Season
CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY’S 2012/2013 SEASON FEATURES STELLAR OPERATIC AND ARTISTIC LINE-UP
Toronto – The Canadian Opera Company unveiled a stellar artistic line-up for its 2012/2013 season today at a press conference at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. The company’s 63rd season is a celebration of opera’s greatest masterpieces and features the return of works both long absent and familiar to the COC stage. The COC presents Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus in a new COC production, Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Richard Strauss’s Salome and Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites.
A dazzling array of the opera world’s leading artists will appear with the COC in 12/13. No less than 33 singers, conductors, directors and designers make their company debuts, including singers Anna Christy, Stephen Costello, Melanie Diener, Elza van den Heever, Isabel Leonard, Brian Mulligan, Franz-Josef Selig and Erika Sunnegårdh; conductor Jiří Bělohlávek; director Peter Sellars; and visual artists Jean-Noël Lavesvre and Bill Viola. Returning artists include singers Isabel Bayrakdarian, Russell Braun, Judith Forst, Alan Held, Ben Heppner, Richard Margison, Adrianne Pieczonka, Michael Schade, Ramón Vargas and Tamara Wilson; conductor Stephen Lord; directors Christopher Alden, David Alden, Robert Carsen and Atom Egoyan; and designer Michael Levine. All performances take place in the company’s home, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, and feature the renowned COC Orchestra and Chorus.
For more details visit coc.ca
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Aradia Ensemble does Dublin
I had the pleasure of working with conductor Kevin Mallon this summer on a production of Don Giovanni. A fantastic musician and a very funny Irish man, Kevin FB'd me this week and reminded me that his "band", the Aradia Ensemble would be doing the Dublin Messiah this year...back by popular demand!
You can read a bit more about what the Dublin Messiah is all about at Kevin's blog but here is the original advert in the day of Handel:
“The Ladies who honour this Performance with their Presence would be pleased to come without hoops, as it will greatly encrease the Charity by making room for more company. The Gentlemen are desired to come without their Swords.” (The Dublin Journal 10 April 1742).
Check out the Aradia Ensemble and their special Dublin Messiah on Saturday, December 17 at 8pm at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. Tickets are $35, $20 seniors, $15 students.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
I want my MTV...or iPad?
The NYTimes published a review this morning called "Classical Conducting? There's an app for that!" A headline to grab our attention for sure! But what they reported was:
Jeffrey Kahane offered glimpses of both the past and a possible future in his performance with theNew York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall on Tuesday evening.....He played the Beethoven from memory, but for the Mozart, he used an iPad instead of a conventional score.
And on Monday, The Globe and Mail reported "Classical Music without the tuxes and pricey tickets? Its a revolution!"
...there’s live music at Dave’s, a local bar, and the place is packed. There’s nothing strange about this picture – until you step in the door and hear what kind of music has drawn a crowd on an off night. In the centre of the room, a young clarinetist and an ad hoc string quartet are working their way through Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet.....Welcome to the revolution – the Classical Revolution, that is. Across North America, classical players are returning chamber music to its origins: informal performances among friends in intimate settings.
It would seem that the more we try to change, the more we stay the same.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Atelier S: Auditions for Werther
Last week I blogged about Opera Lyra in Ottawa shutting down productions for the remainder of this season and while it was unfortunate, so many other programs have popped up during this time of cutbacks. One such program that has been slowly building momentum is Atelier S. Check out their upcoming program to present Massenet's Werther straight from their website:
Opera Workshop 2012: Massenet's WERTHER
MARCH 12 - MAY 13, 2012
Toronto, Canada
FACULTY:
Friday, November 12, 2010
Musical Theatre Degree Program in Canada?
A parent of one of my students sent this article by Richard Ouzounian of The Toronto Star to me....since we all have so many students wanting to pursue the Music Theatre genre and with the RCM and Conservatory Canada providing examinations in this repertoire, it would seem like the natural progression would be to offer a university degree in the subject - something the Americans have been doing for years (think Oklahoma where the likes of Kristen Chenoweth and Kelly O'Hara got their training).
UPDATE January 11, 2011: A year ago CBC announced that "Theatre 20, an artist-run collective that includes stars such as Louise Pitre (Mamma Mia!), Colm Wilkinson (Les Misérables) and Ma-Anne Dionisio (Miss Saigon), aims to increase opportunities for Canadian talent close to home so artists don't have to always head to the U.S. to continue working." They are launching their Inaugural Season on January 23, 2012! Check out their website for more information at www.theatre20.com.
A new musical theatre company will be launched in Toronto in 2011, founded by 20 of the brightest lights in the country and modelled along the lines of Soulpepper Theatre, the Star has learned.
Adam Brazier, Louise Pitre and Dan Chameroy are just some of the members of the group, although a wide assortment of other stellar names are supposed to be involved, including Canadian Tony Award winners and nominees who’ve appeared on London and New York stages.
This would be the first artist-run company in North America, if not the world, run on a large scale and devoted exclusively to the art of musical theatre.
...There will be a strong educational element, with the new collective working closely with one of the GTA’s major universities toward providing a musical theatre degree program.
Read the whole article on The Star website and let me know if you have heard any details yet!
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