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Pennell, bass-baritone Nicholas Murphy, soprano Chelsea Kolic, mezzo-soprano Ilanna Starr, soprano Olivia LaPointe, baritone Mikelis Rogers (All photos submitted by artists).

Seven New Opera Singers Selected as Finalists of COC’s Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition

By Newswire on 9 October 2024 Classical Music, Music Competition, Newswire, Opera

Toronto – Seven of Canada’s most talented new opera singers have been named as finalists for the Canadian Opera Company’s Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition on October 30, 2024 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. The annual fundraiser and vocal competition showcases the very best in emerging opera talent, with all proceeds supporting the COC’s prestigious artistic career development program, the Ensemble Studio. “It is an immense privilege each year to hear so many emerging singers across the country and to witness their exceptional level of artistry,” says Dorian Cox, Director of the Ensemble Studio. “Centre Stage is…

Elizabeth Polese as the Governess in Opera 5's The Turn of the Screw, 2024

Opera 5 Announces Their 2024-25 Season and First Ever Toronto Opera Festival

By Newswire on 9 October 2024 Newswire, Opera, Toronto

TORONTO, ON – Today Opera 5 announces our 2024/2025 season, including the launch of the brand new Toronto Opera Festival. This festival in June 2025 features a series of performances, including the world premiere of Come Closer by Canadian Composer Ryan Trew with a libretto by Opera 5 General Director Rachel Krehm, Opera 5’s first production of musical theatre with performances of Elegies: A Song Cycle by William Finn, and a Gala Performance featuring our Portfolio Artist Interns. Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival is Toronto’s first-ever festival of opera and musical theatre celebrating Canadian creation and performers, while creating a…

Jingjing Xu. Photo: Tam Lan Truong

Jingjing Xu (mezzo-soprano) – Mirjam Helin Competition

By Kaitlyn Chan on 8 October 2024 Classical Music, Music Competition, Opera

McGill graduate Jingjing Xu is the 2024 winner of the prestigious Mirjam Helin Competition held in Helsinki, Finland. The Montreal-based, Chinese mezzo-soprano says that competition selections such as Saariaho’s “Attente” and Ravel’s “Le paon” maximized her opportunity to demonstrate different styles and vocal colours. The first song “contains long notes that must be performed straight-tone and with long crescendi or decrescendi, (in order to) depict stillness and loneliness,” she notes. In a completely different vein, the Ravel required her to narrate the courtship of a peacock! Xu approaches singing from an imaginative standpoint, celebrating how “it creates a spiritual world…

Emily Richter. Photo: Todd Rosenburg

Emily Richter (soprano) – Met Opera Competition

By Kaitlyn Chan on 8 October 2024 Classical Music, Music Competition, Opera

“My commitment to being a full-time musician really crystallized when I was in high school in London (UK) and was a member of the London Youth Choir and the National Youth Choir,” says soprano Emily Richter. “I got a sneak peak into what life as a musician could look like, and I knew I wanted more.” Richter chased this dream, studying Vocal Performance at Lawrence University and completing a master’s in Voice and Opera Performance at McGill University. Her musical journey led to further training as an Apprentice at Santa Fe Opera and then, as a Resident Artist at Pittsburgh…

International Vocal Competition Final 2024. Photo: Sarah Hickson

Portuguese Cláudia Ribas Wins 57th International Opera Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch IVC 2024

By Newswire on 6 October 2024 Music Competition, Newswire, Opera

After a thrilling and atmospheric finale, with Philzuid conducted by David Parry on 5 October in the Casinozaal of Theater aan de Parade in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Portuguese mezzo-soprano Cláudia Ribas emerged the convincing winner of the 57th opera and oratorio edition of the International Vocal Competition‘s-Hertogenbosch 2024. She won the Grand Prix of the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, consisting of a silver medal and a cash prize of €15,000, and received this grand prize from the hands of Mayor Mikkers of ’s-Hertogenbosch. In addition, 31-year-old Cláudia Ribas won the ANED Public Prize, the Wagner Prize and the Junior Jury Prize. During the…

Simon Rivard. Photo: Tam Lan Truong.

The OCM Launches Its 85th Season Featuring Two Chamber Operas

By Newswire on 1 October 2024 Newswire, Opera, Vocal

Montreal, September 10, 2024 – The Orchestre classique de Montréal (OCM) kicks off its 85th season with the presentation of two chamber operas performed by the rising stars of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal: Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona and Menotti’s The Medium. The concert takes place on Tuesday, October 8, at 7:30 p.m., at Salle Pierre-Mercure. Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, a light, comic Baroque gem, promises to delight the audience’s senses with amusing misunderstandings and false pretenses, and will feature Jamal Al Titi (baritone), Sophie Naubert (soprano) and Angelo Moretti (tenor). The Medium, a one-act opera…

Photo: GTG / Carole Parodi

Review | Disappointing Tristan und Isolde opens Geneva opera season

By Ossama el Naggar on 25 September 2024 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

Tristan und Isolde is a colossal work, not only due to its length (five hours, including two intermissions) or for the influence of its “Tristan” chord on Western music, but also for its symbolism, as Wagner was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer’s philosophy. He was also conducting an illicit affair with Mathilde, the wife of his benefactor, Swiss businessman Otto von Wesendonck. Tristan’s plot is simple: an Irish Princess takes pity on Tantris, the knight who killed her betrothed Morold. She tends to him, nursing him back to life, even while knowing he was her fiancé’s killer. Tantris turns out to…

Winners of the 2024 Operalia Announced

By La Scena Musicale Team on 21 September 2024 Classical Music, Music Competition, Opera, Vocal

Mumbai, Sept. 21, 2024 – This year, the Operalia Competition presented by Rolex took place from September 15 to 21 at The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai, India. Here are the winners: First Prize Kathleen O’Mara, soprano, USA Le Bu, bass-baritone, China Second Prize Elmina Hasan, mezzo-soprano, Azerbaijan Angel Romero, tenor, USA Third Prize Sun-Ly Pierce, mezzo-soprano, USA Meridian Prall, mezzo-soprano, USA Polina Shabunina, soprano, Russia Vladislav Chizhov, baritone, Russia Birgit Nilsson Prize Kathleen O’Mara, soprano, USA Le Bu, bass-baritone, China The Pepita Embil Prize of Zarzuela Elmina Hasan, mezzo-soprano, Azerbaijan The Don Plácido Domingo Ferrer…

(L-R) Sara Schabas, Lucie St-Martin, Corey Arnold, Matthew Li

Review | Cultural Unity in the Chinese Gardens: A Lyrical Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration

By Amanda Wong on 16 September 2024 City, Classical Music, Montreal, Opera, Vocal

In the lunar calendar, the 15th day of the 8th month marks the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, a celebration of the harvest moon at its fullest and brightest. This significant day is a time of gratitude in many East and Southeast Asian countries for community and the season’s bountiful harvest. This occasion also symbolizes gathering, commemoration, and harmony among people — themes prominently emphasized in Rencontre Lyrique Chine-Canada (Chinese-Canadian Lyrical Gathering), a concert held in Montreal’s beautiful Botanical Gardens on Sept. 14th. Seven young Canadian and/or Chinese opera singers were featured, showcasing the power of music to unite cultures. These performers…

CD Review | George Benjamin: Picture a day like this

By Justin Bernard on 5 September 2024 CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music, Opera, Vocal

George Benjamin: Picture a day like this George Benjamin, composer and musical direction; Martin Crimp, libretto; Marianne Crebassa, mezzo-soprano; Anna Prohaska, soprano; Beate Mordal, soprano; Cameron Shahbazi, countertenor; John Brancy, baritone; Mahler Chamber Orchestra Nimbus Records, 2024 The opera Written on Skin by George Benjamin had its Canadian premiere in the winter of 2020. The orchestration proved to be of great harmonic density. The overlap between the orchestral and vocal parts demonstrated extremely delicate work, playing a lot with crescendo and decrescendo effects. Benjamin also demonstrated a pronounced taste for notes held in a style that recalled the purity and ethereal…

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