Browsing: Opera

Author : (Eva Stone-Barney)

Although Davóne Tines may have “tumbled his way into the opera world” somewhat accidentally, his artistic output has been deliberate ever since. As a young person, he says, he didn’t know where he would end up. Tines completed undergraduate studies in sociology at Harvard University, and worked at a series of arts organizations as an administrator, before considering the prospect of life as a professional musician. Tines grew up singing – in the Black Baptist church, growing up in Virginia; at college, in a Renaissance polyphony ensemble; in the professional choir at the National Shrine in DC; and in a…

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The Canadian Opera Company opened its 2023-24 season with a rare gem. Fidelio is the only opera Beethoven ever wrote, and it has not been performed by the COC in almost 15 years. Leonore hatches a plan to rescue her husband Florestan, who has been wrongfully incarcerated for trying to expose the wrongdoings of Don Pizzaro, governor of the prison. She disguises herself as a man by the name of Fidelio, to work at the prison where her husband is held. She saves him just in the nick of time, as Don Pizzaro is about the silence Florestan for good…

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Toronto, September 29 – The Canadian Opera Company (COC) and National Arts Centre (NAC) have officially co-commissioned Empire of Wild, an imaginative and enthralling new mainstage opera from composer Ian Cusson and librettist Cherie Dimaline that centres the Georgian Bay Métis community at the heart of its story. “I am thrilled to be partnering with the National Arts Centre in the creation of this important, contemporary opera,” says COC General Director Perryn Leech. “Empire of Wild embodies years of community-rooted work that the Canadian Opera Company has been doing through regular discourse with its Circle of Artists, and marks a tangible…

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This section is an advertising supplement. To announce here, contact [email protected]. Kevin Lau: Under a Veil of Stars Kevin Lau Rachel Mercer, cello; Scott St. John, violin; Angela Park, piano Leaf Music LM273; release date Sept. 15, 2023 Kevin Lau: Under A Veil of Stars invites you to explore the spectrum of human emotions and experiences. Across nine captivating tracks, each brimming with its own distinct mood and theme, Kevin Lau’s composition invites you to interpret their profound meaning through the prism of your own unique perspective. This album was recorded in a studio at Western University in London, Ont.,…

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Opéra de Montréal presents Mozart’s La nozze de Figaro Opera de Montréal begins its new season at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier on Sept. 23 with an eight-day run of Mozart’s masterpiece La nozze de Figaro. Drawing on the writings of Pierre Beaumarchais and composed a decade before the French Revolution, the opera was censored at first due to the scandalous depictions of the aristocracy. A cornerstone of the Mozartian canon, it exhibits both dramatic intensity and comical relief in certain scenes. Figaro, incidentally, marked the first collaboration between the composer and the talented librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte who, soon after this joint…

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No one –  on the home front or Beyond – questions the excellence of Montreal’s stellar wind quintet, Pentaèdre, recognized for their extensive repertoire of works specifically written for its instrumentation, and other pieces arranged by its members. Two years shy of its 40th anniversary, the group has unveiled the program of its new concert season of five events, beginning late this month and running through next spring. The musicians include: Ariane Brisson, flute; Martin Carpentier, clarinet; Louis-Philippe Marsolais, French horn; Mathieu Lussier, bassoon and the group’s newest member, oboist Élise Poulin. The season opener, Tous à l’opéra on Sept.…

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REVIEW: of the Glimmerglass 2023 Season, including: Roméo et Juliette, the 1867 opera composed by Charles Gounod, with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré adapting Shakespeare; viewed August 4, 2023; Candide, with a musical score by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by an assortment of heavy-hitters; viewed August 5, 2023; and Rinaldo, composed by George Frideric Handel, with a libretto by Giacomo Rossi; viewed August 6, 2023. Passing the Baton… The Glimmerglass Festival, with the arcadian charm of its lakeside setting and the surrounding splendor of its central New York “Leatherstocking Region” setting – not to mention…

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The Metropolitan Opera Guild has announced that it plans to scale back its operations fairly significantly this year, following an extended period of economic challenges. Founded in 1935 by Mrs. August Belmont, the Met Opera Guild has existed as an independent not-for-profit organization, completely separate from the Metropolitan Opera.  All 20 of the Guild’s current employees will receive severance packages, with some moving to positions at the Met. Its board members, meanwhile, will all be offered positions on the Met Board. This overhaul will see the end of the Guild’s monthly publication, Opera News, which will move under the editorial…

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In previous years, the week-long Italfest had culminated in this unique event, the only one of its kind in Montreal. This year, though, the festival is much longer than just one week, running from August 4th to 20th.  What’s more, instead of taking place on rue Saint-Laurent, between Bellechasse and Jean-Talon,  the festival’s activities are happening at Quartier des spectacles, and elsewhere in the city where there are branches of the Italian community. With ideal weather conditions, and an orchestra of about twenty musicians conducted by Maestro Jean-Michel Malouf, the open-air opera offered audiences the chance to hear beautiful…

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TORONTO (July 12, 2023) – Against the Grain Theatre (“AtG”), Canada’s award-winning experimental opera company, announces its esteemed Founder and Artistic Director, Joel Ivany, will be stepping back after thirteen (13) years of service. After a remarkable tenure of visionary leadership, Ivany has made the decision to step down from his role on the heels of a successful season for AtG, with its first live production since the COVID-19 pandemic, Bluebeard’s Castle, earning seven (7) Dora nominations and winning three (3) including Outstanding Opera Production. “This decision to leave AtG was the hardest of my career. My next chapter of life…

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