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La Scena Online is the digital magazine of La Scene Musicale.Contents: News, Concert reviews, CD reviews, Interviews, Obituaries, etc; Editor: Wah Keung Chan; Assistant Editor: Andreanne Venne
ISSN: 1206-9973

Photo: TamPhotography

Report | CMIM Aria Semi-Final I: Junho Hwang Emerges Victorious

By Justin Bernard on 4 June 2025 Concert Reviews, Music Competition, Opera, Vocal

For the two semi-finals of the Aria section, the CMIM moved to the Maison symphonique. The first took place on June 3, with a lineup of five candidates. The hall’s different acoustics and the presence of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra behind them shed new light on their vocal qualities. South Korean bass-baritone Chanhee Cho didn’t appear as forceful and dominant this time. While his voice carried well in Bourgie Hall, Cho now had to compete not with a piano, but with an entire orchestra. In “Why Do the Nations,” from Handel’s Messiah, his ornamentations were carefully executed, but they also…

The finalists of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Photo: Ralph Lauer

Report | Cliburn Finalists: A Sausage Fest

By Viktor Lazarov on 4 June 2025 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Music Competition, Piano

The six finalists of the Van Cliburn International Competition have been named. Given the low number of female contestants from the start, it’s not surprising the list did not include a single woman. Out of the six pianists, three are American – Angel Stanislav Wang, Evren Ozel, and Carter Johnson (also a Canadian); two are Russian – Philipp Lynov and Vitaly Starikov (also an Israeli); and one is from Hong Kong, China – Aristo Sham. Three of these finalists were on my list too, not a bad statistic. After submitting my original list for publication, I felt compelled to do…

Elena Howard-Scott (Adult Sophia) in City Opera Vancouver's production of Sophia's Forest. Photo: Michelle Diamond

Review | City Opera Vancouver’s Immersive Sophia’s Forest

By Kaitlyn Chan on 3 June 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vancouver, Vocal, West

On May 29, opera goers wandered from the spring evening streets of Vancouver’s Gastown into the SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. Ushered toward the second floor of the building, we entered Studio T, which seemed to seat less than 150 people. This venue—by far the smallest in which I have seen an opera—seemed ideal for setting up maximum closeness and involvement with the production. Production designer Wladimiro A. Woyno R. ensured the little stage was filled. On the left there were cardboard boxes and a shelf with trinkets and childhood toys. To the right was a living room set-up…

Laura Topolánszky (Elettra) in HSO's Idomeneo. Photo Attila Nagy

Review | A rare tenor Idamante in Hungarian State Opera’s striking Idomeneo

By Gianmarco Segato on 3 June 2025 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Opera, Vocal

Hungarian State Opera is presenting the first revival of its 2023 production of Mozart’s Idomeneo in András Almási-Tóth’s pandemic-inspired conception. Having seen the premiere two years ago, the execution now feels even stronger, including some significant cast changes. In 2023, the company opted for the more ‘usual’ mezzo-soprano as Idamante, but this time we were treated to a tenor, following Mozart’s own version written for the opera’s 1786 Vienna iteration. Casting a male tenor in a male role creates a very different dynamic dramatically, and in no way do I mean to slight the many mezzos who have successfully embodied…

Juan Duarte and Kyra Soo in Endless Summer. Photo: Jack Tupper

Review | MOVETHECOMPANY’s Gala is All About the Dancers

By Kaija Pepper on 2 June 2025 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Dance, Scena Arts, Vancouver, West

It was great to see a well-filled Vancouver Playhouse on the May 29th opening night of MOVETHECOMPANY’s 20th Anniversary Gala, with another crowd booked in for the second, closing show. Artistic director Joshua Beamish brought in a few leading dancers from major international ballet companies to up the glamour and give Vancouverites a welcome dose of pointe shoes and elegance—ballet is a hard sell in this city, and companies have stopped touring here, leaving many bereft. The earthiness and quirks of contemporary dance were also much in evidence—all five pieces were choreographed by Beamish, who straddles both worlds. The highlight…

Melinda Heiter (Anna), Klára Kolonits (Maria) & István Kovács (Talbot) in HSO's Maria Stuarda. Photo Attila Nagy

Review | Prime donne Shine in Unfocused Maria Stuarda at Hungarian State Opera

By Gianmarco Segato on 2 June 2025 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Opera, Vocal

Hungarian State Opera’s new production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda marks the opera’s first staging in this country (seen May 31). As conductor Martin Rajna mentions in the program book, Maria Stuarda isn’t staged all that often even in other countries. Of Donizetti’s three ‘Tudor queen’ operas, Anna Bolena is more popular. What prompted the company to take on Maria Stuarda was having two superb singers on hand who could master the huge demands of the female leads. They certainly found them in Klára Kolonits as Maria and Gabriella Balga as Elisabetta (with Orsolya Sáfár as Maria in some of the…

Stewart Goodyear. Photo: Allan Cabral/Courtesy of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Review | Stewart Goodyear’s Exuberant Caribbean Callaloo with TSO

By Andrea Rush on 2 June 2025 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Piano, Strings, Toronto

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra continues to thrive, playing to a packed Roy Thomson Hall on May 28, each part of the program receiving multiple standing ovations. Wednesday evening ticket holders could also enjoy a pre-concert offering with TSO Chamber Soloists Eri Kosaka, violin; Theresa Rudolph, viola; and Emmanuelle Beaulieu Bergeron, cello. They were joined by the main concert’s soloist and Toronto native, pianist Stewart Goodyear to perform two of his own compositions, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and Piano Quartet. Goodyear’s trademark versatility and musicality opened the evening and shone throughout the rest of the night. As a whole, the program…

Laureano Quant, baryton, reçoit son prix des mains de la présidente du jury, Adrianne Pieczonka. Photo: TamPhotography

Report | CMIM Art Song Final: Laureano Quant, Pure Talent

By Justin Bernard on 1 June 2025 Art Song, Concert Reviews, Music Competition, Vocal

When Laureano Quant’s victory was announced last night, Saturday, May 31, at around 10:15 p.m., a great cheer echoed through Bourgie Hall, packed for this grand finale of Art Song. The Colombian baritone’s fans came out in force to support him, proudly displaying their country’s flag, just as they would during a World Cup victory for the national team. Yet, Quant wasn’t the favourite to win. He faced two candidates, Russian soprano Julia Muzychenko-Greenhalgh and UK baritone Theodore Platt, who already seemed to possess all the attributes of experienced singers, confidence in their talents, and a great artistic sense. The…

Zsolt Haja (Rodrigo) & Boldizsár László in the title role of HSO's Don Carlos. Photo Valter Berecz

Review | Stunning Trio of Men Ignite Don Carlos at Hungarian State Opera

By Gianmarco Segato on 31 May 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

Hungarian State Opera has launched a thrilling revival of its 2021 production of Verdi’s Don Carlos staged by the German director, Frank Hilbrich. Back then, it was a pandemic digital premiere but now thankfully, all flesh-and-blood, with a superb trio of male principals (seen May 29). Hilbrich’s concept is minimalist yet not inscrutable, while the contributions of the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus under Péter Halász elevated the music-making to a sublime level. Whenever confronting Don Carlos, a company is faced with a plethora of versions: original French in five acts; the Italian version thereof; all manner of arias…

Left Photo: Sarah Marshall/QSO. Right Photo: Elsa Barraine. Agence Rol. Agence photographique (commanditaire) Date d'édition : 1929, via Gallica, BNF

Lebrecht Weekly | Elsa Barraine’s 2 symphonies Under Elena Schwarz

By Norman Lebrecht on 31 May 2025 Lebrecht Weekly

The second symphony by this unsung French composer has been included in this summer’s BBC Proms and I wanted to get familiar with it before deciding whether to go. Barraine (1910-1999) had an eventful life. Daughter of the principal cello of the Paris Opéra, she attended the same Conservatoire class as Olivier Messiaen and won the prestigious Prix de Rome. Her first symphony is dated 1931, the second 1938. She joined the Communist Party in the late 1930s and the Résistance during the German Occupation. Post-War she taught at the Conservatoire, was an inspector at the Ministry of Culture and…

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