Author Archives: operaramblings

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About operaramblings

Toronto based lover of opera, art song, related music and all forms of theatre.

Long weekend discounts at COC

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0640 - Cosi - Ferrando_Despina_Guglielmo - credit Michael CooperIt’s a long weekend in Ontario and COC is discounting Saturday evening’s Così fan tutte and Sunday’s matinee of Un ballo in maschera.  There are two deals.  The first allows you to buy at rush prices without queuing up at the box office. Tickets start at $25 and Orchestra seats (regularly $224) are $70. Go here and use the promo code WINTERRUSH.  The second deal is box office, in person, only.  Starting at 11 a.m. on the day of each performance, Orchestra level Rush seats are priced at $40.

More opera in cinemas

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enogrimesThe latest entrant to the live HD cinema broadcast market is ENO.  The first broadcast, on 23rd February, will be the current David Alden production of Britten’s Peter Grimes which will, current lurgy permitting, feature Stuart Skelton in the title role.  As his is a Grimes I haven’t seen and particularly want to, I am not best pleased that no cinemas in Greater Robfordia seem to be carrying this program.  You can check out the details here.  May the tidal force be with you!

A reet canny lad

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There was no doubt that the Four Seasons Centre was the place to be at noon today.  Few opera fans would willingly miss a free recital by Sir Thomas Allen and I doubt that anyone who attended was disappointed.  Perhaps the voice doesn’t have the bloom it had twenty years ago but it’s still exceptionally fine and the craftsmanship and sheer stage presence was little short of amazing.  Above all, perhaps, it’s the humanity of the man that shone through for the hour and a bit he entertained us.

Thomas Allen - credit Karen Reeves Continue reading →

MetHD line up for 2014/15

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joyceThe Metropolitan Opera has announced its 2014/15 season both in-house and the HD broadcasts.  The HD line up seems to continue this season’s approach of mainstream works with big name casts.  That said, John Adams’ Death of Klinghoffer and the double bill of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle in a production by Polish director both get a cinecast. Three of the ten productions have previously been seen in the HD series and a fourth is available on DVD.  All five new productions this season get a broadcast which is to be welcomed.

Here’s the full line up with comments.

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That passionate monosyllable

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applebyYoung American tenor Paul Appleby has been delighting audiences in the current COC production of Così fan tutte where he sings Ferrando. Today he got to show us what he could do as a lieder singer in a lunchtime concert in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre.  He started off with a stylish, if occasionally tentative, set of five Schubert songs.  It was a promising start with some very stylish and controlled singing and unhistrionic acting with the voice.  Hitting his stride, he gave us seven songs from Schumann’s Myrten cycle.  These covered a wide range of moods from tender passion to drunken ecstasy.  Again great skill and artistry and lovely accompaniment from Anne Larlee at the piano.

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Intense, if a bit weird, Onegin

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Mariusz Treliński’s Eugene Onegin originated in Warsaw but was filmed in Valencia.  It’s distinctly on the Regietheater end of the spectrum but it’s intense and oddly compelling.  The sets are spare and almost abstract.  A silent character, O***, is interpolated.  He’s a sort of Commendatore’s ghost who comments on the action and interacts with characters at key moments; with Tatiana during the letter scene and with Lensky before the duel for example.  A lot of action takes place in front of the pit, usually simultaneously with action further back on stage making for quite complex (and hard to film) visuals.

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So do they all

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Once a year the COC Ensemble Studio get to show their talents on the big stage with a fully staged performance of a current production.  This year’s choice of Atom Egoyan’s production of Così fan tutte was a good one.  It showcased the talents of the singers really well and by using a different quartet of lovers in each act they were able to provide substantive roles for all the singers of the ensemble. I won’t dwell on the production as I have already reviewed it.  The only changes I noted were a few change ups on the visual gags and that the “Albanians” kept their disguises on for quite a lot longer than with the main cast.  So, how about the performances?

0164 - Act 1 Fiordiligi, Dorabella and Don Alfonso Continue reading →

Kennedy era Un ballo in maschera works on many levels

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The Canadian Opera Company’s new production of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera is based on an intriguing concept that adds insight in many places but comes a bit unstuck in others.  Coupled to some superb performances, it makes for an enjoyable and intriguing night at the theatre that will have the more adventurous busily and happily dissecting the piece for hours and the die hards reaching for their Zeffirelli pills.

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Lunchtime with Tracy Dahl

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Dahl, Tracy (c)Kevin ClarkI’ve attended many very good concerts in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre but I’m not sure I’ve ever attended one as intense as Tracy Dahl and Liz Upchurch’s Songs from the Heart recital today.  Tracy really is a rather extraordinary artist.  She is the antithesis of the lieder singer who stands demurely by the piano and Schuberts mellifluously.  She throws every fibre of her being into the performance.  It’s not campily histrionic but voice, facial expression and gesture are all used to the full whether she’s  hiccupping a drunken Harlequin or sibilantly suggesting a slithery singing snake.

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Not the Met Live in HD

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Don GiovanniFinally a cinema in Toronto is screening opera in cinema broadcasts that are not from the Met.  Bloor Hot Docs (Bloor and Bathurst) is showing a number of Royal Opera House offerings.  They aren’t live and the line up makes even the Met seem adventurous but the theatre is said to have good sound, comfy seats and encourages food and drink.  Here’s the screening schedule so far:

SAT Feb 15, 2014 1:30 PM ROYAL OPERA HOUSE – DON GIOVANNI
SAT March 15, 2014 1:30 PM ROYAL OPERA HOUSE – TURANDOT
SAT April 19, 2014 12:30 PM ROYAL OPERA HOUSE – PARSIFAL
SAT May 17, 2014 1:00 PM ROYAL OPERA HOUSE – LES VEPRES SICILIENNES
SAT June 14, 2014 1:00 PM ROYAL OPERA HOUSE – LA BOHEME
SAT July 12, 2014 1:00 PM ROYAL OPERA HOUSE – MANON LESCAUT

Hat tip to Lydia at Definitely the Opera for the spot.