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Browsing: Vocal

Opéra de Montréal Launches 2025-26 Season

By Newswire on 26 February 2025 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Montreal, Newswire, Opera

February 26, 2025 – Opéra de Montréal presents with great enthusiasm a bold and thought-provoking 2025-2026 season, exploring the profound impact of choices and their consequences through four operatic masterpieces. In its 46th season, the company remains dedicated to blending timeless repertoire with contemporary works, offering audiences an unforgettable lineup featuring Don Giovanni, Jenůfa, Clown(s), and Carmen. In a landmark moment for the organization, Opéra de Montréal is also proud to announce a transformative $5 million gift dedicated to artistic creation, generously contributed by visionary young philanthropists Vickie Zhao and Alex Ionescu. This extraordinary investment will provide critical support for…

(L to R) Roseline Blain, Léa Moisan-Perrier, François Ouimet, and Josée Fortin

Alliance Chorale de Québec: Round-Table Discussion on Choir Conducting

By Heather Weinreb on 25 February 2025 Arts Industry, Choral, Employment, Montreal, Vocal

On February 19, Alliance Chorale de Québec hosted a round-table discussion on choir conducting. Marc-Antoine d’Aragon moderated the discussion between choir conductors Roseline Blain, François Ouimet, Josée Fortin and Léa Moisan-Perrier. The ins and outs of the life of a choir conductor—from negotiating proper salaries to finding work-life balance—were touched upon. Here are the key points of the discussion: A Role with Many Hats The discussion on the role of a choir conductor quickly turned into a discussion on the role of an artistic director. While a choir conductor is responsible for studying scores and communicating musical ideas in a…

The Valkyries in Teatro alla Scala's Die Walküre. Photo: Brescia & Amisano

Review | La Scala’s Ring Continues with Triumphant David McVicar Die Walkure

By Ossama el Naggar on 21 February 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

This past fall, La Scala embarked upon a new Ring cycle with high expectations. Its previous one took place a decade ago, under the baton of the great Daniel Barenboim. At Das Rheingold’s premiere in October, there was disappointment in the air, as this cycle was supposed to be helmed by leading Wagner conductor Christian Thielemann, who withdrew for health reasons. It could be he felt he was on uncertain grounds after the venerable opera house forced its director Dominique Meyer’s retirement, following an age regulation passed by the Italian government. There was also curiosity about Scotsman David McVicar’s staging,…

Photo: Ben Ealovega, 2024

Lebrecht Weekly | The King’s Singers’ Latest Album: Such Stuff as Dreams are Made on (Signum)

By Norman Lebrecht on 21 February 2025 Classical Music, Vocal

In a world of mounting uncertainty, it’s a relief to find the King’s Singers are still around. The novelty of their act might have worn off since that inaugural London concert in 1968 but polished a capella singing by six male voices remains a miraculous thing and their latest album is a joy to spin. The title is Shakespeare – The Tempest Act 4 (but you knew that, surely) – and the underlying theme is the hope we cling to in times of mortal terror. Three Vaughan Williams songs from 1951 capture that dichotomy to the depths of its poignancy.…

Cast of Pacific Opera Victoria's The Little Prince (2025). Photo: Timothy Matheson Photography

Review | Pacific Opera Victoria Renews Childlike Wonder with The Little Prince

By Kaitlyn Chan on 21 February 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

The reach of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novella The Little Prince is undeniable. First published in 1943, The Little Prince has seen numerous adaptations from films to tabletop games. Its story features profound life lessons about loneliness, friendship, and sacrifice through a child’s eyes which has made it popular among young and old audiences alike. On Feb. 19, Pacific Opera Victoria (POV) unveiled a new production by company Artistic Director Brenna Corner of Rachel Portman and Nicholas Wright’s The Little Prince at the historic Royal Theatre in downtown Victoria. Though The Little Prince has been a popular choice for opera companies…

COC’s 2025/2026 Season Blends Iconic Operas With Bold New Visions

By Newswire on 20 February 2025 Music Competition, Newswire, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

Toronto – The Canadian Opera Company has announced its 2025/2026 season today featuring bold new productions, blockbuster audience favourites, and landmark works from two of Canada’s leading creative visionaries. The exciting mainstage season, to be presented at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, includes a new-to-Toronto staging of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, an all-new co-production of Massenet’s Werther, Verdi’s always popular Rigoletto, Rossini’s family-friendly The Barber of Seville, as well as Robert Carsen’s haunting adaptation of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and Robert Lepage’s captivating take on Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Schoenberg’s Erwartung. “The Canadian Opera Company has long established itself as a global leader in artistic excellence,” says COC General Director David C. Ferguson.…

Introducing the New Artists of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal!

By Newswire on 18 February 2025 Montreal, Music Competition, Opera, Piano, Vocal

Montreal, February 18, 2025 – The Opéra de Montréal is proud to announce the newest members of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, selected following the National Auditions finals at the annual Talent Gala on November 20. This year marks a significant milestone for the internationally renowned professional development residency with the introduction of a specialized training program for stage directors. The 2024 cohort will welcome five singers, one pianist, and one stage director for an intensive one- to two-year training program. – Tessa Fackelmann (mezzo-soprano – ON) – Ellita Gagner (mezzo-soprano – ON) – Colin Mackey (baritone -…

Benjamin Appl and Eric Lu. Photo 1: David Ruano

Review | Benjamin Appl & Eric Lu’s Schwanengesang at Bourgie Hall

By Amanda Wong on 17 February 2025 Art Song, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Piano, Vocal

A German-born baritone like Benjamin Appl is certainly no stranger to Schubert’s work. I can only assume that the Austrian composer’s impressive list of over 600 songs offer much to Appl’s repertoire, who himself is largely a Lieder singer. Accompanied by American pianist Eric Lu, Appl presented Schubert’s Schwanengesang—his ‘swan songs’—as well as Beethoven’s song collection, An die ferne Geliebte (To the Distant Beloved), at Montreal’s Bourgie Hall on Feb. 13. What you missed Though one’s swan song is typically a final piece or performance before retirement or death, Schubert’s Schwanengesang is a collection of Lieder compiled and shared by…

Opéra national de Paris’ Castor et Pollux. Photo: Vincent Pontet

Review | Peter Sellars’ Unhip Castor et Pollux in Paris

By Ossama el Naggar on 14 February 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

Nothing is less hip than a strenuous attempt to be hip. This is how polite society would describe Paul Sellars’ take on Rameau’s Castor et Pollux (seen Feb. 7). I’ll leave it to your imagination how less charitable souls would describe it, or you might prefer to check your social media. The story of Castor and Pollux is somewhat reminiscent of Orpheus and Eurydice but with fraternal love instead of marital love as the motivation. Castor and Pollux are twin half-brothers born to Leda. Castor was her son from Tyndareus, King of Sparta. Pollux, an immortal demi-god, was her son…

Lila Dufy (Dircé) and Joyce El-Khoury (Médée). Photo: DR Stefan Brion.

Review | Joyce El-Khoury Triumphs as Médée in Paris

By Ossama el Naggar on 13 February 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

Premiered in Paris in 1797, Cherubini’s Médée was originally presented with a French libretto, based on Euripides’ play from Greek antiquity. It’s this version that is currently onstage at Paris’s Opéra Comique (seen Feb. 8). The opera was tepidly received at its premiere and mostly forgotten for over a century, until Maria Callas revived it in the 1950s with an Italian libretto conceived especially for her. The original French version is in the style of Gluck, the great reformer who believed opera should be a perfect blending of music and text. It is also an opéra comique in which spoken dialogue alternates with…

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