Category Archives: Toronto opera news and views

Alexander’s big gay Canadian opera

Posted on by
10

hadrian_antinousSo today’s Globe and Mail carries the news that the Canadian Opera Company has commissioned its first new work since 1999.  A piece based on the life of the emperor Hadrian will headline the company’s 2018 season.  Now Hadrian may be best known for a chunk of masonry in the north of England but he’s also almost as well known for deifying his lover Antinous.  Since the music and book for the new work are to be by Rufus Wainwright and Daniel McIvor I think we can safely say that that side of things will feature more prominently than fortification construction.  Continue reading →

Ensemble Studio candidates announced

Posted on by
Reply

rufus_goingtoatownThe competitors for the Ensemble Studio competition to be held on November 26th have been announced.  They are: soprano Karine Boucher (Quebec City, QC); mezzo-soprano Emma Char (Kitchener, Ont.); mezzo-soprano Francesca Corrado (Vancouver, B.C.); tenor Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure (Kitchener, Ont.); bass-baritone Nathan Keoughan (Charlottetown, P.E.I.); bass-baritone Iain MacNeil (Brockville, Ont.); tenor Jean-Michel Richer (Montreal, QC); soprano Lara Secord-Haid (Winnipeg, Man.); and mezzo-soprano Rachel Wood (London, Ont.).

As previously announced this year’s competition will be a glitzy gala affair and apparently Rufus Wainwright will MC.

Rejoice greatly

Posted on by
2

singalongThe line up for the annual Messiah fest is becoming clearer.  Traditional heavyweights, the Toronto Symphony and Tafelmusik go head to head.  The Symphony’s line up of soloists is Klara Ek, soprano; Lawrence Zazzo, countertenor (which may not please the traditionalists or the mezzo fanatics); John Tessier, tenor and John Relyea, bass-baritone.  The chorus is the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Christopher Warren-Green conducts.  Dates are the 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st and 22nd December at Roy Thomson Hall.  Tafelmusik field Dame Emma Kirkby, soprano (buy now while stocks last?); Laura Pudwell, mezzo-soprano; Colin Balzer, tenor and Tyler Duncan, baritone.  Ivars Taurin conducts.  Performances are 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st December at Koerner Hall.  On the 22nd Tafelmusik also have their traditional singalong Messiah at Massey Hall.
Continue reading →

More upcoming shows; old and new

Posted on by
Reply

The Ontario Philharmonic and Richard Margison are doing a show of Italian opera “greatest hits”.  There are two shows; December 10th at Koerner Hall and the Regent Theatre, Oshawa on December 7th.  Full details.

Up in Montreal a new outfit, Stu and Jess Productions, are doing Menotti’s The Medium with a cast drawn from current McGill graduate students.  That runs from November 7th to 9th in a converted church in Verdun.  Full details

Last, but not least, the Glenn Gould School annual production at Koerner Hall has been announced.  It’s The Cunning Little Vixen by Janáček and it plays at Koerner Hall on March 19th and 21st.  I’m interested to see how they handle the dance elements.  More details.

Upcoming events

Posted on by
Reply

amiciNext Sunday the Amici Ensemble have an interesting looking concert of works all transcribed for forces not originally intended by the composer.  It’s called, appropriately enough, Transfigured Transcribed.  The highlight for me is Verklärte Nacht transcribed for piano trio but there’s also some Berg, some Brahms and some Bartok.  The concert is at 3pm at Mazzoleni Hall.  More details and tickets.

This weekend also sees the opening of Opera Atelier’s Abduction from the Seraglio and Opera 5’s Poe themed show Requiescat in Pace.  If that wasn’t enough, this afternoon the MetHD broadcast is Shostakovich’s The Nose in William Kentridge’s well reviewed production.  It’s surely the highlight of this season’s line up and the only one I will be bothering with.

Ensemble Studio competition goes upmarket

Posted on by
1

Ensemble2The COC’s Ensemble Studio competition; effectively the final auditions for potential new members of the program, gets a makeover this season.  Previously it was held in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre with each member performing two arias with piano accompaniment.  Now it becomes a gala event styled Centre Stage and held on the main stage of the Four Seasons Centre with accompaniment from the COC orchestra.  There’s also a cocktail reception and black tie dinner.

I understand that the format will be that each singer performs an aria of their choice for the judges behind closed doors and a second, of the judges’ choice, for the gala audience.  In any event, it’s on November 26th with doors open at 5.30pm.  Tickets for the reception and competition are $100 and for the dinner $1500.  More details here.

Simone Osborne on tour

Posted on by
Reply

simone_osborneThe schedule and programme for the first part of Simone Osborne and Anne Larlee’s Jeunesse Musicale tour have been released.  They will perform in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre on November 12th at noon.  The other venues are mostly smaller centres in Ontario and Quebec.  The programme includes some Richard Strauss and two works by Brian Current including a new commission.  Full details are contained in the linked PDF below.

Simone Osborne JMC Tour Release – October 2013

New departure

Posted on by
Reply

The COC is usually tighter than a duck’s arse when it comes to revealing information about future seasons so it was really quite surprising to find the leaflet illustrated below in last night’s programme.  It’s not exactly a secret of course.  I actually expected Falstaff to be in this season’s line up with the Verdi bicentennial and all.  It’s pretty well known that Gerry Finley will star and I have a pretty good guess on the Nanetta.

It’s an interesting ploy to piggy back on the Met HD season this way.

falstaff