Category: Vocal | my/maSCENA

Browsing: Vocal

CD Review | Nuages (KNS Classical, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 29 May 2023 Art Song, CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music, Piano

Nuages Duo Cavatine: Noémie Raymond-Friset, cello; Michel-Alexandre Broekaert, piano KNS Classical, 2023 Like a rolling cloud, the 2019 recording for Nuages drifted for years along the ever-changing winds of the pandemic. Now, its thunderous sound is here to shock listeners. The album’s 2023 release makes it Duo Cavatine’s second published album, after 2022’s CellOpéra. But the choice of compositions still reflects its earlier recording date—it feels like the musicians are establishing themselves as a duo for the first time. Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, Fp. 143 features a call-and-response motif and a tense, fragmented tune that both urges…

CD Review | How Like a Golden Dream (Leaf music, 2023)

By Andrea Rush on 29 May 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music, Vocal

How Like a Golden Dream Duo Oriana: Sinéad White, soprano; Jonathan Stuchbery, lute and theorbo; Louise Hung, organ Leaf Music, 2023 The selection comprises 13 songs performed on lute and voice. This combination of instruments, though particularly well suited for spiritual, traditional, folk and original compositions by Jonathan Stuchbery, is not frequently heard. Expressive modal lines support Sinéad White’s gorgeous subtle vocal palette, as the duo journeys collaboratively through a selection of songs spanning centuries. They masterfully evoke the feelings of “darkness, mystery, grief, rest and quiet.” White’s focused articulation facilitates an appreciation of those songs that are in English,…

CD Review | Ave Maria (Decca Classics, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 29 May 2023 Classical Music, Opera, Vocal

Ave Maria Joseph Calleja, tenor; Étienne Dupuis, baritone; Daniel Hope, violin; Malta Philharmonic Orchestra; Sergey Smbatyan, conductor Decca Classics, 2023 To celebrate his 20th year with Decca Records, Joseph Calleja has undertaken his first sacred music album: Ave Maria. It offers four beautiful renditions of this classic piece, originally composed by Schubert for the third canto of “The Lady of the Lake,” now arranged for orchestra and tenor. They’re also accompanied by various works by Rossini, Verdi, Bizet and Wagner. The first half of the album displays the controlled beauty of these adaptations; the melodies of the violin and Malta…

Mary-Jane Puiu (1950 – 2023)

By Wah Keung Chan on 27 May 2023 Choral, Education, Montreal, Obituaries

My first choral conductor Mary-Jane Puiu (b. March 8, 1950) passed away on May 16, 2023 at the age of 73. According to tenor Eduardo Aparicio, “despite battling a long devastating disease, she heroically managed to keep conducting her choir till the last minute of her life.” We pay tribute to Puiu by republishing a profile/interview I conducted of her in La Scena Musicale in 2010 for her 60th birthday. According to the McGill Choral Society’s Facebook page, here are the details of the service on June 12, 2023: An Orthodox service for close friends and family will be held…

Isidore String Quartet

Festival Picks

By Eva Stone-Barney on 26 May 2023 Baroque and Early, Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Choral, Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Opera, Orchestral, Piano, Strings, Vocal

Author : (Eva Stone-Barney)

MONTREAL/QUEBEC Centre Culturel de Pointe-Claire In an effort to make cultural programming accessible to its residents, and breathe life into public park spaces, the Centre Culturel de Pointe-Claire will present a series of free concerts as part of their Summer Evenings in the Parks / Summer Beats in the Parks Festival. Running from June 28 to Aug. 16, the festival will consist of 10 concerts in parks across the city. Starting at Stewart Park on June 28, audiences are invited to a concert of world music titled Paul Kunigis: Yallah. Performances of blues, Latin jazz, world jazz, and Brazilian percussion…

Highlands Opera Studio: Finding New Ears in Haliburton, Ont.

By Eva Stone-Barney on 26 May 2023 Education, Opera

Author : (Eva Stone-Barney)

For the last 17 summers, Canada’s promising opera singers have flocked to Haliburton, Ont., to participate in the Highlands Opera Studio (HOS) which, this year, takes place July 27 to Aug. 28. The professional training academy and festival was brought to life by internationally renowned tenor Richard Margison and former Metropolitan Opera stage director Valerie Kuinka who, as Kuinka put it, “recognized a disconnect between high-level training programs and the professional world.” The pair identified the need to assist early career singers by offering high-level musical opportunities, as well as exposure to industry professionals. They have been filling that gap…

Newswire | 2023 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Voice Announce 12 Finalists Including Two Canadians

By Newswire on 25 May 2023 Art Song, Newswire, Opera, Vocal

Brussels, Belgium (May 25, 2023) – The final of the 2023 Voice Competition will be held at the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts on Thursday 1 to Saturday 3 June, 8.15pm. Presenting the twelve finalists : Fleuranne Brockway, mezzo-soprano Daniel Gwon, baritono Floriane Hasler, mezzo-soprano Inho Jeong, basso Taehan Kim, baritono Juliette Mey, mezzo-soprano Julia Muzychenko-Greenhalgh, soprano Anna-Sophie Neher, soprano Carole-Anne Roussel, soprano Sílvia Sequeira, soprano Maria Warenberg, mezzo-soprano Jasmin White, contralto Via this link you can read more about the finalists and download their photos on their personal pages. The biographies of the finalists will be available on the press…

Photo: Michael Cooper

Review | COC’s Tosca

By Denise Lai on 8 May 2023 City, Concert Reviews, Toronto, Vocal

Tosca is a riveting drama of love, lust and betrayal. Add in Puccini’s impossibly lush score and a few show-stopper arias, this opera is the whole package. Directed by Paul Curran, this COC revival of the 2017 production features brand new leads in their COC debuts: Irish soprano Sinéad Campbell-Wallace as Tosca and Italian tenor Stefano La Colla as Cavaradossi, and expectations are high. What you missed La Colla is a fine, smitten Cavaradossi. His warm, creamy sound carried the high notes beautifully. Tosca is a temperamental character – loving and charming one moment, jealous and angry the next. Campbell-Wallace,…

Photo: Michael Cooper

Review | Canadian Opera Company’s Macbeth a Hit with some Misses

By Denise Lai on 8 May 2023 City, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

Emboldened by witches’ prophesies and with strong encouragement from his wife, Macbeth turns into a power-thirsty man who uses violence to annihilate everything in his way to seize Scotland’s throne. Verdi’s ominous score is enhanced by dramatic stage effects: dark sets punctuated by thunder and lightning; ghostly appearances of witches and three demonic children; bloodied bodies rising from the dead. Although the murders are all swiftly carried out, David McVicar‘s COC/Chicago co-production delivers a longing sense of foreboding and some genuinely frightening moments. What you missed There was all-round good singing from the male leads. American baritone Quinn Kelsey’s debut…

Newswire | Sherrill Milnes Voice Programs Announce Baritone Seungchan Hong As Winner Of 2023 Opera Idol Competition

By Newswire on 2 May 2023 Classical Music, Music Competition, Newswire, Vocal

New York City, New York – May 2, 2023 – The Sherrill Milnes VOICE Programs kicked off a week in New York City by welcoming young contestants from around the country to compete in the 17th annual Opera Idol competition. This sponsor exclusive event continued the tradition of a Chicago based scholarship program and was enjoyed in a private salon by patrons of the Gala. The 2023 Opera Idol winner, Seungchan Hong, a South Korean baritone, was awarded this prestigious scholarship. Hong has performed Gianni Schicchi at the Canto Vocal Program in Louisville, Kentucky. He is currently pursuing an Artist…