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Browsing: Vocal

Quartom: The Magic Ingredients

By Caroline Rodgers on 1 December 2016 Interviews, Quebec Music, Vocal

It’s hard not to like Quartom. How could you not like these four convivial pals, who crack jokes in between melodious harmonies? Wherever they go, they leave smiling listeners behind them. La Scena Musicale met with Quartom at the Rialto Theatre for an interview and photo session, punctuated by silly antics and contagious laughter. A cappella quartet Quartom, formed by baritones Benoit Le Blanc and Julien Patenaude, tenor Gaétan Sauvageau, and bass Philippe Martel, is on a hot roll with the release of their third album, Acte III, on ATMA Classique, as well as a series of shows that will…

Paula Berry (Alcina), Opera McGill 2016

Opera McGill at 60

By Kiersten van Vliet on 1 December 2016 Education, Interviews, Musical Theatre, Opera

If you peel back the layers of any opera company in Canada, you are likely to find Opera McGill graduates at every level: on the stage, beneath the stage, and behind the stage. Take Opéra de Montréal’s recent production of Don Giovanni, for example. While bass-baritone Gordon Bintner, who played his first Don Giovanni at McGill four years ago, reprised the title role, rising star Jordan De Souza led from the pit. Soprano Emily Dorn (Donna Anna) is an alumna, and the show’s stage director, American David Lefkowich also has connections to the program, having directed The Rake’s Progress at…

Simone McIntosh

Wirth Vocal Prize 2016–17

By Kiersten van Vliet on 1 December 2016 Art Song, Arts Industry, La Scena Spotlight, Opera, Vocal

The second annual Wirth Vocal Prize at McGill’s Schulich School of Music culminated in an evening of superior music-making by the three finalists: bass-baritone Jean-Philippe McClish, mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh, and baritone Igor Mostovoi. Made up of past and present McGill graduates, the jury of Michael McMahon (pianist), Joan Patenaude-Yarnell (soprano), Patrick Corrigan (Director General of the Opéra de Montréal), and chair Stéphane Lemelin (pianist and head of the Department of Performance) selected McIntosh for the top prize, which includes $25,000, artistic mentorship, and several performance opportunities, including a recital with the COC. McIntosh, also the recent winner of the COC’s…

Pauline Oliveros

Industry News: December 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 1 December 2016 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Education, La Scena Spotlight, Popular Music, Strings, Vocal

Awards and Honours In November, the Schwarz-Bournaki Duo won first prize at the annual Boulder International Chamber Music Competition’s “Art of the Duo” in Boulder, Colorado. The competition celebrates the duo with piano, an intimate chamber genre that is often overshadowed by the string quartet and piano trio. This year, the competition received over 150 applications from 25 countries, with 22 ensembles making the semi-finals. The Schwarz-Bournaki Duo is American cellist Julian Schwarz and Canadian pianist – and native Montrealer – Marika Bournaki, who made her professional debut at age 11 with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The…

Austin Opera Welcomes Back Wagner’s Flying Dutchman

By Paul E. Robinson on 22 November 2016 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Opera

WAGNER: The Flying Dutchman. Wayne Tigges (Dutchman); Peter Volpe (Daland); Melody Moore (Senta); Clay Hilley (Erik). Eric Einhorn (stage director). Michael Baumgarten (lighting and video designer). Austin Opera Chorus and Orchestra/Richard Buckley. Long Center for the Performing Arts. Austin, Texas. November 12, 2016 Austin Opera opened its 2016-2017 season with a Wagner opera, an ambitious undertaking for a regional company of modest means. That said, any opera company anywhere that avoids presenting Wagner operas, either because they require too much effort or too much money, is not properly serving its community. Austin in 2016 is large enough and wealthy enough not only…

French Institute Alliance Française and Opera Lafayette – Menu: Plaisirs with Jean-Paul Fouchécourt

By Xenia Hanusiak on 21 November 2016 Art Song, Concert Reviews, Opera

Menu: Plaisirs with Jean-Paul Fouchécourt French Institute Alliance Française and Opera Lafayette Where: FIAF Florence Gould Hall, New York When November 16, 2016 The phrase “from the sublime to the ridiculous” is one of those idiomatic expressions that you associate with happenstances of all kinds, so to use that choice of words to describe a performance of high art French chanson, cabaret of Yvette Guilbert, and eighteenth-century Comédie lyrique may seem odd. But not when you consider that the performance Menu-Plaisirs co-created by its tenor soloist Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, director Jean Lacornerie, and magician Thierry Collet was conceived not simply as…

La Scena Musicale 20th Anniversary – Gala LA RELÈVE / RISING STARS

By La Scena Events on 18 November 2016 Arts Industry, Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Classical, Classical Music, La Scena Online, Piano, Quebec Music, Scena Jazz, Violin, Vocal

La Scena Musicale celebrates its 20th anniversary with the first edition of Gala LA RELÈVE/RISING STARS, a benefit concert on Thursday, November 24, 2016 at 7:30 PM at Salle Pierre-Mercure of the Centre Pierre-Péladeau featuring some of Canada’s future star musicians, many of whom have won recent national competitions. Soprano Chelsea Rus, baritone Hugo Laporte, clarinetist David Dias da Silva, violinist Joshua Peters, pianist Emily Oulousian and Piano Caméléons will perform; pianist Michael McMahon will accompany the singers. “I’m very excited with our line-up of six young musicians and duo,” said Wah Keung Chan, founder of La Scena Musicale. “Each…

Gordon Bintner as Don Giovanni, Photo: Yves Renaud

Opéra de Montréal’s Don Giovanni a Showcase for Canadian Talent

By Kiersten van Vliet on 15 November 2016 Classical, Concert Reviews, Opera

With an all-Canadian cast, Opéra de Montréal’s Don Giovanni opened Saturday night to an enthusiastic crowd at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. Full disclosure: I don’t really like Don Giovanni. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mozart generally, and his operas in particular. But Don Giovanni’s antics always leave a sour taste in my mouth – and that’s a difficult thing to get past. That said, we do not experience works as scores and libretti, but as performances. This is especially true for opera. Each staging of an opera has a life of its own, an inner cohesiveness that can challenge hermeneutic…

Daily News Roundup: 15 November 2016

By Nicole Yeba on 15 November 2016 Daily News Roundup, Opera, Orchestral, Strings, Violin

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) announced yesterday a surprise tour of Israel and Europe from May 7 to 22, 2017 to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary. The TSO will be visiting Israel for the first time, stopping in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Musical Toronto has more information on the tour, the participating musicians and the repertoire, which will be performed. The Montclair Orchestra selected David Chan as its first Music Director for its 2017-2018 inaugural season. Chan is the concertmaster of the MET Orchestra in New York. New Zealand-born 26-year-old violinist Benjamin Baker and American 22-year-old double bassist Xavier…

Daily News Roundup: 14 November 2016

By Nicole Yeba on 14 November 2016 Daily News Roundup, Education, Opera, Orchestral

Opéra de Montréal presented Don Giovanni on November 12, 2016, which satisfied most audiences. The opera is playing again on the 15, 17 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. Christophe Rodriguez of Journal de Montréal talks about the success of the opera. Arthur Kaptainis of Montreal Gazette believes the balance between the comic and tragic elements is right. Christophe Huss of Le Devoir doesn’t like David Lefkowich’s adapation of Don Giovanni. Caroline Rodgers of La Presse enjoys the simplicity of the opera and believes it’s a success. Sophie Jama of Huffington Post Québec admires the all-Canadian cast with beautiful and strong voices. Our writer Robert Kilborn enjoyed the…

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