Opera - my/maSCENA

2023 Singing Valentines: Spreading the Love!

By La Scena Musicale Team on 6 February 2023 Art Song, Classical Music, Opera, Popular Music, Vocal

“Over the last year and a half, I lost both my 86-year-old father-in-law and my 99-year-old father, and I want to do something special for seniors.” – Wah Keung Chan La Scena Musicale’s Singing Valentines Fundraiser is back for its 13th edition, and we are here to spread the love. We have 20-plus amazing professional singers involved in this year’s project. Previously, we have used this incredible service as a fundraiser for La Scena Musicale. This year we have a new objective: to show love to our community by offering 100 FREE serenades for seniors 65+. “Over the last year…

Microphones in the Opera House!?

By Karim Blondy on 6 February 2023 Audio, Opera, Technology

by Karim Blondy and Adrian Rodriguez The use of microphones in opera productions is a topic that has long been a source of debate among opera enthusiasts and professionals alike. While some argue that the use of microphones detracts from the authenticity of the performance, others argue that they are necessary to enhance the audience’s experience and the performers’ ability to hear and stay in tune with the orchestra. Traditionally, operas were not performed with microphones, but these days many performances take place in large theatres which were built for a multiple array of musical productions, mostly electrified music types,…

Photo: J. Bertrand

Pauline Vaillancourt – Prix Opus Hommage

By Réjean Beaucage on 3 February 2023 Contemporary, Opera

It has been a while since we last heard soprano Pauline Vaillancourt singing in Montreal. In fact, it was back in 2000 when she shared the stage with actor Jean Maheux in L’Enfant des glaces, an “electr’opera” that she designed and staged (music by Zack Settel, libretto by Quevedo and de Nerval). It was the ninth production of Chants Libres, the lyric-creation company of which the singer is artistic director. To get a chance to hear Vaillancourt sing, you’d have to go to Europe, since it is there that she has been working with the Italian composer Maurizio Squillante. She…

La Scena Tête-à-tête Interview: John Brancy

By Adrian Rodriguez on 26 November 2022 Interviews, Opera

In this Tête à tête segment, Don Adriano interviews American baritone John Brancy for La Scena Musicale during his performance in Montreal with Opera de Montreal’s La Beauté du Monde! On YouTube: Interview with John Brancy: About John Brancy Grammy Award-winning baritone John Brancy is known for his intense musicality and communicative power. Hailed by the New York Times as “a vibrant, resonant presence,” Mr. Brancy is equally at home in staged opera, concert performance, and recital, with a wide-ranging repertoire that includes classical, contemporary world premieres, and musical theater. www.johnbrancy.com MORE Opera de Montreal’s La Beauté du Monde concludes…

Job Posting: Director of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal

By Newswire on 26 November 2022 Employment, Opera

TITLE : Director of the Atelier lyrique LOCATION : Montreal, Quebec DATE LIMITE : 9 janvier 2023 The Company A leading artist residency for Canadian opera singers and pianist opera coaches, the Atelier lyrique is a collaborative professional development springboard at the heart of the Opéra de Montréal. The Atelier lyrique’s mandate is to provide professional internships for emerging Canadian opera artists, combining training and stage experience, with the aim of ensuring a future for the opera world. Unique in Québec, the Atelier lyrique is the only program in Canada to train its artists in both French and English, a…

Photo: Caroline Barbier de Reulle

Review | New Perspectives Through Familiar Sounds: Echo Chamber Ensemble Presents A World Transformed

By Eva Stone-Barney on 7 November 2022 Art Song, Dance, Opera

On October 28 and 29, Toronto audiences had the privilege of seeing performances of Echo Chamber Ensemble’s latest work, “A World Transformed.” The piece is a seamless combination of dance, piano repertoire, spoken narration, and classical vocal music, assembled to tell the story of the murder of Matthew Shepard, who was killed for his sexuality when he was a university student in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998. Programmed by tenor Marcel d’Entremont, and choreographed by William Yong and Laurence Lemieux, A World Transformed featured dancers Evan Webb, Zachary Cardwell, Brayden Cairns, and Johanna Bergfelt; violinist Aaron Schwebel; pianists Dakota Scott-Digout and…

0139 - First Prize winner Karoline Podolak performing at Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition, 2022. Conductor Jacques Lacombe, assistant lighting designer Sarah Mansikka. Photo: Michael Cooper

Review | Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio Competition Showcases Bright Young Talents

By Denise Lai on 5 November 2022 Concert Reviews, Opera

After a two-year hiatus, COC’s Ensemble Studio Competition made a comeback last night. The competition is the feature event of the COC gala fundraiser Centre Stage, an annual celebration of Canada’s best young opera artists. From a pool of over 100 applicants from across the country, seven finalists—three sopranos, two tenors, one baritone and one bass– were chosen to perform in front of a live audience, accompanied by the full force of the COC orchestra. The competition jury comprised COC General Director Perryn Leech and Director of Artistic Planning Roberto Mauro; renowned Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka; and mezzo J’Nai Bridges,…

Ann Summers: Dossena and IRCPA: A Fond Farewell

By Joseph So on 4 November 2022 Art Song, Opera, Vocal

On Oct. 19, Eleanor Friedland, president of the venerable International Resource Centre for Performing Artists (IRCPA), announced in a press release that it will bid farewell to the music world in a month’s time: “After 40 years as a charitable service organization for Canada’s musicians, the IRCPA will cease operation on Nov. 30.” For many Canadian artists—a number totalling close to 600—the IRCPA has played an invaluable role in helping them establish their careers, especially during the transition from being an aspiring young artist to that of a full-fledged professional. The driving force behind this organization from the very beginning…

Joyce DiDonato. Photo: Sergi Jasanada

Joyce DiDonato: The Musical Messenger

By Joseph So on 3 November 2022 Art Song, Opera

There are recitalists, and then there is Joyce DiDonato. While there are many singers with equally beautiful voices, exemplary musicality, communicative power, and charismatic stage presence, very few have her desire—and ability—to give to her audience something extra-musical, a vital and timely message that we all need to hear. Such is her current recital project, Eden, which the American mezzo is bringing to her audiences on a global tour of 45 cities on five continents. It started in the fall of 2021 and continues until 2024. Through music, song text and evocative staging, her show celebrates the power and beauty…

Review | CellOpéra! (October 2022)

By Justin Bernard on 6 October 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Opera, Piano

CellOpéra! Duo Cavatine : Noémie Raymond-Friset, cello; Michel-Alexandre Broekaert, piano. Label: unknown (October 2022) Duo Cavatine’s name could never have been better suited than for this recording. Cellist Noémie Raymond-Friset and pianist Michel-Alexandre Broekaert have issued a sparkling collection of operatic arias all rearranged for this album. Given the cello’s range and timbral overlap with the human voice, it only seems natural to entrust it with the vocal parts. Such effects as vibrato and glissando translate well to stringed instruments like the cello. Whereas everything is dependent on interpretation, lyricism and repertoire choices, some pieces in this collection are bound…

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