Browsing: Vocal

On November 22, 2014, baritone Hugo Laporte received the highest honours at the prestigious OSM Standard Life Competition. Since then, his engagements have multiplied to ever-increasing critical acclaim. In this article, we encounter a young musician of exceptional promise. Originally from Quebec, Hugo Laporte was introduced to music at an early age. At four years old, he and his parents attended the youth concert series at the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. “They quickly noticed that I had a strong interest in music. So we went to the open house of the music school around the corner. I was six years…

Share:
Author : (Rebecca Anne Clark)

Poet. Trailblazer. Canadian luminary. These descriptors apply as much to Margaret Atwood as they do to the subject of her first libretto, E. Pauline Johnson. While many will instantly recognize Atwood as the contemporary First Lady of CanLit, it is only in the last few decades that Johnson’s life and work have experienced a renaissance on the Canadian cultural scene. Pauline Johnson has become more relevant than ever in an era in which the subjects of her writing – First Nations issues, biculturalism and multiculturalism, women and sexuality, and Canadian identity – are hotly discussed. Born in 1861 to a…

Share:

By Wah Keung ChanPhoto: Antoine SaitoThe second night of the Finals of the 2015 Montreal International Musical Competition began with the anticipated Canadian soprano France Bellemare, whose semifinal performance of Dvorak’s Song to the Moon reminded me of 2007 MIMC winner, Canadian soprano Marianne Fiset’s simple regal stature.Unfortunately, Bellemare was plagued by strained high notes as she has a tendency of lifting her head and tilting it to the right to sing anything above a high F as she did in “Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante” from Bizet’s Carmen and “Porgi amor” from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. It…

Share:

By Wah Keung ChanPhoto: Antoine SaitoLet’s get the suspense out of the way. South Korean soprano Hyesang Park took the Day 1 Finals of the 2015 Montreal International Musical Competition (MIMC). From the first notes of her opening aria “Je veux vire dans ce reve” from Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette, we knew her voice would soar above the orchestra, and it unfolded as expected, with a spontaneous final standing ovation after her last aria.Park’s programme was perfectly planned, concluding with the mad scene from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. The repertoire in between, a Mozart concert aria, Dupac’s Chanson triste and…

Share:

TAPESTRY OPERA RECEIVES GRANT FROM OPERA AMERICA TO FUND 12 INDEPENDENT COMPANIESIndie Opera T.O to use funds for innovative digital awareness campaign Toronto, ON — Tapestry Opera is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a grant of $35,000 USD in the third year of OPERA America’s Building Opera Audiences grant program. This program, made possible by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, supports the efforts of North American opera companies to build informed, enthusiastic audiences for opera through innovative marketing projects. Tapestry Opera was granted funds to support 12 independent opera companies in Toronto through the budding Indie Opera T.O movement.Tapestry Opera is one of nine organizations in…

Share:

Philip Glass Announced asEleventh Glenn Gould Prize LaureateA fearlessly innovative, collaborative and prolific composer“I am very pleased to be the winner of the Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize. It is for me a special honor as I am one of the many musicians who have been inspired by him. Glenn Gould’s name is associated with a lifetime of excellence in music interpretation and performance. Also I am aware that this award places me in the company of some of the most celebrated names in the broad spectrum of the music of our time. It is, therefore, with great pleasure that I accept this award.” – Philip…

Share:

Italian tenor Carlo Bergonzi was 90 years old when he died this past week. He had a long and illustrious career. His made his debut at La Scala in 1953 and at the Met 3 years later. Thereafter, he was a regular at the Met for 30 years. He was not the most exciting tenor of his generation. But he was widely admired for his beautiful tone and good taste.Like too many artists Bergonzi didn’t know when to quit and left a major blemish on his career. In 2000 he attempted to sing the leading role in Verdi’s Otello in…

Share:

It was recently announced that Quebec conductor Bernard Labadie would step down from his post as music director of Les Violons du Roy. He will become founding director, presumably a title which suggests far less conducting than in the past. Now comes an announcement this past week that Labadie has cancelled all conducting engagements through the rest of 2014 “for health reasons.”In the past few seasons Labadie has become incredibly busy as a guest conductor with orchestras around the world. He is an authority of historical performance practice and a very welcome guest conductor wherever he goes. We understand that…

Share:

by Paul E. RobinsonMaestro Peter BayCopland: Two Mexican PiecesCopland: El Salón MéxicoChavez: Chapultepec (Three Famous Mexican Pieces)Revueltas: Redes (complete with film)Joseph Horowitz, scriptwriter and producerAustin Symphony/Peter BayLong Center for the Performing ArtsAustin, TexasSaturday, March 22, 2014Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas (a student at St. Edward’s College in Austin [1917-18]) and American composer Aaron Copland were born within months of each other – in December (1899) and November (1900), respectively. Both enjoyed considerable success in the 1930s, but while Copland went on to become one of the iconic figures in American music, Revueltas died of pneumonia, alcoholism, poverty and heartbreak, at the…

Share:

by Paul E. RobinsonCLASSICAL TRAVELSRiver Cruise along the Main, the Rhine and the DanubeAugust 2013This past August, Marita and I thoroughly enjoyed the “European Jewels” Uniworld River Cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. We were not expecting a concentration of musical events on this excursion; rather, we thought it would give us a view of Europe from a new perspective (i.e., docking within walking distance of towns and cities) – and it did, but to our delight, there was glorious music on this cruise as well, often in unexpected places. Up until about 20 years ago, this particular river cruise would not…

Share:
1 91 92 93 94 95 98