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Jaap Nico Hamburger

Jaap Nico Hamburger: Ariella – Worth the Wait

By Bridget Esler on 6 October 2023 Montreal, Opera, Toronto

When Montreal-based composer Jaap Nico Hamburger first read Dutch author Ariëlla Kornmehl’s debut novel De Familie Goldwasser (The Goldwasser Family) in the early aughts, he thought to himself, “this is opera.” Now, many years after that initial inspiration and over a decade since he began composing, he is finally seeing his vision come to life. On Oct. 22 (Koerner Hall), Oct. 28 (Maison symphonique), and Oct. 29 (Salle Raoul-Jobin), GFN Productions will present excerpts from Hamburger’s first opera Ariella, paired with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The tour will be conducted by Francis Choinière and features the Ensemble Classico-Moderne and…

Ian Sabourin

Ian Sabourin (countertenor) – Stingray Star Prize, Atelier Lyrique

By Kristen Whittle on 6 October 2023 Music Competition, Opera

If you asked a younger Ian Sabourin what he wanted to be when he grew up, the countertenor and 2023 Atelier Lyrique Stingray Star Prize winner would not have answered “famous opera singer,” but rather “rock star.” Indeed, Sabourin’s love for music was ignited in two places: the Ottawa Choir of Men and Boys rehearsal hall, and at a Green Day concert he attended at age 8. These opposite genres remained a part of Sabourin’s life until university, at which point he made the decision to focus solely on classical singing. His choice to enter the Atelier competition was somewhat…

Carole-Anne Roussel (soprano) Queen Elisabeth Competition Laureate

By Kristen Whittle on 6 October 2023 Music Competition, Opera

Soprano Carole-Anne Roussel is forging a path that diverges from the mainstream model. She notes that perhaps it was this kind of “bold move,” here in the context of repertoire choices, that made her stand out in the Queen Elisabeth Competition. One of two Canadian laureates, Roussel says she was “proud of the choice to go against the grain” and sing a less popular soprano repertoire, including works by Menotti, Beach, Poulenc, and an aria from Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. Outside of her unique repertoire selections, Roussel aspires to be a relevant, useful musician. She believes strongly in the power…

On his Own Terms: Davóne Tines at Bourgie Hall

By Eva Stone-Barney on 6 October 2023 Art Song, Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Opera, Vocal

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…

Clay Hilley as Florestan and Miina-Liisa Värelä as Leonore in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Fidelio (Photo: Michael Cooper)

Concert Review | Canadian Opera Company opens 2023-24 season with Beethoven’s Fidelio

By Denise Lai on 2 October 2023 Concert Reviews, Opera, Toronto

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…

Ian Cusson (left) and Cherie Dimaline (right)

Newswire | Canadian Opera Company and National Arts Centre commission Empire of Wild from Ian Cusson and Cherie Dimaline

By Newswire on 29 September 2023 Arts Industry, Newswire, Opera, Toronto

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…

New Releases (September 2023)

By Wah Keung Chan on 1 September 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Opera, Piano, World Music

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.,…

Andrea Núñez

Fall Highlights: Opera & Vocal

By Justin Bernard on 1 September 2023 Montreal, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

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…

Pentaèdre (Photo by Martin Girard)

Pentaèdre back for its 38th season

By Justin Bernard on 1 September 2023 Montreal, Opera, Orchestral, Strings

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.…

2023 Glimmerglass Festival production of Candide: (L to R) Bradley Dean, Jonathan Pierce Rhodes, Brian Vu, Katrina Gulka, and Meredith Arwady with members of the Ensemble. Photo credit: Evan Zimmerman/The Glimmerglass Festival.

Fated Couples Face the Music at Glimmerglass 2023

By Charles Geyer on 16 August 2023 Baroque and Early, Classical, Classical Music, Musical Theatre, Opera, Theatre, Vocal

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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