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Review | ItalfestMTL 2023: An ideal evening For an Opera Buffa in Three Acts, Under a Mild Sky

By Dino Spaziani on 11 August 2023 Concert Reviews, Opera

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…

CD Review | Weyn Allah (Self-published, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Vocal, World Music

Weyn Allah Al Qahwa ensemble Self-published, 2023 Their first album explored the traditional songs of the Middle East; the second, Egypt, and the third, South Africa. Al Qahwa’s latest addition to their discography, Weyn Allah, is a much more ambitious venture: uniting humanity through original world music. No two songs are alike on this album. The titular Weyn Allah (Where is God) addresses social issues of inequity and racism to the tune of a qanun, saxophone and busy backing choral group singing in Arabic and English. Peace and Safety (Salma Ya Salama) incorporates French lyrics that promote acceptance, and Humanity…

CD Review | O Sun O Moon (True North Records, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Folk, Strings, Vocal

O Sun O Moon Bruce Cockburn, vocals and guitar True North Records, 2023 O Sun O Moon marks Bruce Cockburn’s 37th album, an incredible feat for any musician. While some of the songs on this new release serve as a reminder of why Cockburn is considered among Canadian folk-music greats, others suggest he is aiming for quantity over quality. The guitar in O Sun O Moon is naturally where his writing shines most. Cockburn turns even the simplest chord progressions and rhythms into wonderfully transfixing experiences, most noticeable in Haiku – Instrumental. He pairs his distinct lyricism with varied vocal…

Review | J’Nai Bridges Dazzles Toronto Audience with Canadian Recital Debut

By Eva Stone-Barney on 28 July 2023 Art Song, Classical, Concert Reviews

Earlier this week, Toronto Summer Music announced that Canadian Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky had been forced to cancel her performance as part of this year’s festival due to unforeseen illness. Miraculously, the festival was able to secure a replacement of the highest caliber on just short of a week’s notice: Grammy Award winning American Mezzo Soprano, J’Nai Bridges. Bridges stepped in with grace and poise, dutifully acknowledging Ms. Radvanovsky’s absence at the concert’s outset. Joined by pianist Rachael Kerr, she opened the first half of her recital with a musical setting of the Lord’s Prayer (uncredited on the program). This was…

Joel Ivany. Photo: Taylor Long

Newswire | Founder & Artistic Director Joel Ivany Stepping Back from Against the Grain Theatre

By Newswire on 13 July 2023 Newswire, Opera, Vocal

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…

Newswire | Opera San José offers FREE streaming of Alma Deutscher’s “Cinderella”

By Newswire on 10 July 2023 Classical Music, Newswire, Vocal

SAN JOSE, CA (7 July 2023) – Opera San José’s opulent staging of Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella will be made available for free viewing beginning July 22, made possible due to the generous support of the Packard Humanities Institute. The production, filmed at the magnificent California Theatre in San Jose last fall, featured the international conducting debut of prodigy composer/musician Deutscher, who led the Opera San José Orchestra in a critically acclaimed performance, staged by Brad Dalton. Based on the classic fairytale, this family-friendly work is reset at an opera company run by a scheming stepmother, in which the title character is a brilliant composer laboring…

Lebrecht Weekly | Benjamin Appl: Forbidden Fruit (Alpha Classics)

By Norman Lebrecht on 9 June 2023 Lebrecht Weekly, Opera, Vocal

Franz Schubert knew what he was doing when he wrote songs in cycles. It stopped singers from taking them pick-and-mix for recitals that showcased their own gifts rather than the composer’s. The art of creating a voice and piano recital has receded in the present century with very few – Matthias Goerne and Alice Coote spring to mind among recent, coherent exceptions – willing and able to pitch a programme in which the individual songs relate to one another and to a larger idea. Welcome, then, this new release by the German baritone Benjamin Appl and his British pianist James…

Newswire | Korean Baritone Taehan Kim Wins the 2023 Queen Elisabeth Voice Competition

By Newswire on 5 June 2023 Music Competition, Newswire, Opera, Vocal

Brussels, May 5, 2023 – The International Queen Elisabeth Grand Prize – Queen Mathilde Prize receives EUR 25.000 and numerous concerts in Belgium and abroad. The ranking of the laureates INTERNATIONAL QUEEN ELISABETH GRAND PRIZE : €25.000 First Prize – Queen Mathilde Prize Taehan Kim BELGIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PRIZE : €20.000 Second Prize, awarded by the Belgian Science Policy Jasmin White COUNT DE LAUNOIT PRIZE : €17.000 Third Prize Julia Muzychenko-Greenhalgh PRIZE OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE BELGIAN COMMUNITIES : €12.500 Fourth Prize, this year awarded by the Government of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels Floriane Hasler BRUSSELS-CAPITAL REGION PRIZE : €10.000…

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,…

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