Tag Archives: hajek

A special shout out

Posted on by
2

Don Giovanni!

I wanted to give a shout out to a one off performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni coming up later this month as it’s in support of a good cause; the Redwood Women’s Shelter.  Appropriately the show is at the Redwood Theatre on Gerrard East (an interesting space with an excellent bar if you haven’t been there before.)  It’s on May 22nd at 8pm with a talk by Michael Jones of Opera Canada at 7.15pm.

It’s piano accompaniment (Brahm Goldhammer) and I suspect it’s basically arias with narration format but it’s an excellent cast headed up by Alex Hajek as the Don.  Tickets start at $50 and are available at:
https://www.theredwoodtheatre.com/event-details/don-giovanni
And there’s early bird discount code DG2026 for 20% off tickets.

The full details including casting are in the linked document

Don Giovanni PR

Risqué at the Rivoli 2026

Posted on by
Reply

The latest edition of Opera Revue’s Risqué at the Rivoli happened on Saturday night.  There was Mozart and Weill and Bizet and show tunes and lots more.  And of course there was burlesque; which was really the point.  The show featured singers Alex Hajek, Danie Friesen and Maddy Cooper (@kissthknee) with Claire Elise Harris at the keyboards. Also performing in various states of dress and undress were A’Slayna von Hunt (@aslaynavon), Jamaica (@jamaicafraser), Lacy Jane (@lacyjaneburlesque), Tuckker (@matteldracher #TUCKKER) and Magz (@magzviolet).

It is, of course, excellent fun to see Zerlina (Danie) put a collar and leash on a very willing Don G (Alex) and while it might have been amusing to see Danie tied to a bedpost and spanked, alas, she only sang about it. But really it’s a show that’s very much about the bulesque performers and that’s pretty visual.  They say that a picture is worth a thousand words so there’s thirty thousand or so’s worth below the cut. But, be aware, definitely not safe for work!

Continue reading →

Operamania

Posted on by
Reply

Wednesday evening at The Great Hall witnessed a seminal event in the history of opera; Operamania.  Our beloved art form; courtesy of the indefatigable Opera Revue, mashed up with pro-wrestling; in the persons of Junction City Wrestling.  What could possibly gio wrong you ask?  Well how about Mango Mussolini showing up during the Anthem to claim his 51st state?  No worries!  Danie Friesen despatched him with a whack over the head with a chair.

Continue reading →

Opera Revue (alcohol free edition)

Posted on by
Reply

Regular readers will know that I’ve seen my fair share of shows by Opera Revue but pretty much always in a bar or pub and as the band always says “The more you drink, the better we sound”.  Thus it was with some trepidation that I went to see them in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre on Wednesday.  It was the core gang; Danie Friesen, Alex Hajek, Claire Harris.  No ringers (except for the person who forgot to turn off their phone).

Continue reading →

Free pizza!

Posted on by
Reply

German food conglomerate Dr. Oetker are promoting their new up-market frozen pizza offering, Suprema, in a unique way. They have commissioned a 15 minute opera called, unsurprisingly, Suprema from the good people at Opera Revue.  It’s a jolly romp about a sculptor (Danie Friesen) whose creation (Alex Hajek) comes to life and gets hooked on pizza.  Accompaniment is by Claire Harris on piano and pre-recorded strings (Drew Jurecka).  It’s short, well executed and fun.

It’s free, you don’t need a ticket and there is rather good free pizza after each show.  It’s playing in the TD Music Hall (i.e upstairs at Massey Hall).  There are three shows this afternoon and a bunch next weekend.  Times and so forth here.

Photo credit: Darryl Edwards

Queen of the Night Communion

Posted on by
2

There was a time when site specific productions were very much part of the Toronto opera scene but, like much else, they seemed to disappear with the pandemic.  So it was especially pleasing to see Tapestry Opera, Luminato and Metropolitan United Church combining for just such an event.

Continue reading →

Back to Castro’s… again

Posted on by
Reply

It’s been a while since I’ve been to a regular Opera Revue show and they were playing my favourite of their regular venues; Castro’s yesterday.  Also, besides the usual gang of Alex Hajek, Dani Friesen and Claire Harris there was Alex Hetherington, so I went.  I had a great time.  It was classic Operas Revue; some arias, some music theatre, Kurt Weill and a couple of parodies.  And Alex H.  Boy does she sound loud in a small space like Castro’s!  Plus this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear her sing the Countess from Marriage of Figaro (which will surely lead to expulsion from the Mezzos Guild).

Continue reading →

Quest

Posted on by
Reply

Saturday night at the new performance space at 877 Yonge Street saw a concert inaugurating Cultureland’s residency at Tapestry Opera.  The performance consisted mainly of excerpts from Cultureland’s recent and “in progress” operas accompanied on piano by Carolyn Maule and directed by Renée Salewski.

Continue reading →