I’m halfway through the 7th (and final?) Global Cabaret Festival weekend down at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Here are the highlights so far: UPDATE: Read Part 2 HERE. Best Show (so far) The American Pie Songbook I know, I’m the most predictable person in the world, but the songbook show music directed […]
Boston Opera Collaborative expands its repertoire by performing Benjamin Britten’s rarely-performed three-act opera Albert Herring at Dorchester’s Strand Theatre as a part of the Free for All Concert Fund. Directed and orchestrated by 2013 My Theatre (Boston) Award-winning Stage Director Katherine Carter, and Music Director and Conductor Andrew Altenbach, the accessible production is a treat […]
Two strong but ultimately uninspiring productions are currently playing at the Four Seasons Centre as the kick off to the Canadian Opera Company’s 2014/15 season. Though they’re of comparable overall quality, Falstaff and Madama Butterfly have little in common. The former is visually grand with lots of awkwardly long breaks to change the elaborate sets […]
Don Giovanni is one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most famous operas, spurring countless productions and re-imaginings in modern culture. Boston University College of Fine Arts’ School of Music Opera Institute and School of Theatre presented their own clever twist, thanks to the inspiring direction of Stage Director Daniel Pelzig and Conductor William Lumpkin. While the […]
Odyssey Opera is coming just in time. Three years ago, there were two regional-theater-sized opera companies in town, the Boston Lyric Opera (the “BLO”), which tends to stage standard classics of the opera repertoire; and Opera Boston, which specialized in infrequently-heard, along with new and experimental works. Opera Boston’s controversial and surprise closing in 2011 […]
Upon arriving at the Zack Box Theatre at The Boston Conservatory, we were told that the house would not be opening until about 5 minutes prior to the performance time. When the doors finally did open, we were asked to remove our shoes, place them on a shoe rack, and only then enter the performance […]
It’s with Jules Massenet’s gorgeous setting of the classic story of an “errant knight” that The Canadian Opera Company closes out a truly exemplary season. This was the season when I finally learned to love The COC, when I finally felt like I had a favourite opera composer (Donizetti) and a favourite soprano (Adrianne Pieczonka), […]
Out from the looming shadow of Peter Sellars’ agonizing Hercules, The Canadian Opera Company is crawling back to the light as they close in on the end of their generally strong 2013/14 season. Said light is shone by thoughtful director Stephen Lawless onto Donizetti’s emotionally mature and structurally sound opera about the great and confounding […]
On a Saturday night, I had the pleasure to see MetroWest Opera’s production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Why do I say that I had the pleasure? Because it was good. Like sickeningly sweet with gumdrops good. MetroWest Opera was founded in 2007, and it has produced at least one opera every year since then; […]
As you likely already know (because we talk about it All The Time), earlier this month we hosted Toronto’s inaugural My Theatre Awards ceremony. The awards have been around since 2010, but this was the first party. Because it was the first party, it took a ton of planning. In the process of all said […]
Benjamin Britten’s Rape of Lucretia is a simple story of morality and virtue that is drawn out to epic proportions. While The Boston Conservatory performs each role with gusto, the opera seemed tired, expiring long before the final note. With such high quality at the school, I suspect the source material is to blame with […]
Opera and subtlety don’t often go well together. Opera comes from the greatest possible highs and lows of the human experience, from the glorious pain of love, murder, and suicide. So, it is stunning to see a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto full of subtle nuance in its direction and acting, bringing out its grandiose […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2013 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Anna Christy’s performance in the title role of David Alden’s psychologically intoxicating production of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Canadian Opera Company was memorably brilliant. Both dramatically committed and vocally thrilling, the sweet-faced American soprano’s Best Opera Performance nomination in […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2013 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Adrianne Pieczonka is one of the most important Canadian opera talents in the world. Consistently among our favourite performers at the COC, the thrilling soprano and two-time My Theatre Award nominee is always a joy to see […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2013 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. In my never-ceasing quest for an emotional connection to opera as a medium, Canadian soprano Ileana Montalbetti was a great help in 2013. Her performance as Ellen Orford in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of the contemporary […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2013 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. NOTE: If you were nominated for a 2013 Boston My Theatre Award, and you would like to participate in our Nominee Interview Series, please email Brian at brian@myentertainmentworld.ca. Thomas Middleton played the mysterious Alidoro with a rich and expressive baritone […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2013 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. One of the best weekends in Toronto’s cultural landscape is always the Global Cabaret Festival down at the Young Centre every October. It’s one of the city’s most diverse showcases for musical talent across many different genres. […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2013 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. NOTE: If you were nominated for a 2013 Boston My Theatre Award, and you would like to participate in our Nominee Interview Series, please email Brian at brian@myentertainmentworld.ca. With a surprisingly compelling and virtuoso turn in the iconic role of […]
I have been lucky enough to sporadically attend the opera since age 15. Some combination of school and interest in music made me gravitate toward such opportunities. And as much as I would love to say that I instantly fell in love with the genre, it took a while to build up my stamina for […]
In the late eighteen century, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart premiered his exhilarating and hilarious new opera, Die Zauberflöte, which continues to excite audiences today under its English name, The Magic Flute. When I taught kindergarten before law school, I taught a mini-lesson on opera, showcasing The Magic Flute. The look of delight as the children heard […]
The Canadian Opera Company is kicking off their 2013/14 season with a really smart choice. Puccini’s La Bohème is among the world’s most famous operas but it’s also one of its more entertaining. Far from the unrelenting doom and gloom of every other example I can think of (except Gianni Schicchi, that one is a Hoot), […]
Modern classical music is primarily a consort of the modern musical elite, with little to no basis in consumer demand. It is more often than not the product of a graduate thesis, or commissioned by an eccentric for equally eccentric ends. They Will Take My Island by Robert Martin is one such project. At this juncture I […]
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a sensational ensemble as a whole. Though its population (and, notably, its audience) is ageing, the vibrancy of music director Peter Oundjian’s baton keeps them at a performance level on par with their technical achievements. In the early February concert series featuring Beethovan’s Emperor Concerto and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, […]