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), […]
One of my goals for the new season is to broaden the scope of My Theatre’s Boston division. Therefore, I was delighted to attend Boston Opera Collaborative’s (“BOC”) La Cenerentola (“Cinderella”) by Gioachino Rossini. BOC delivers nothing better than a professional performance, for the viewing and listening pleasure of an audience of all ages. Performed […]
The Canadian Opera Company’s spring productions were all about the bloodied, bed-ready ingenues this season. Dialogues des Carmelites doesn’t actually use stage blood, nor are the white gowns the nuns wear as they ready for death technically nightgowns, I suppose, but the point stands. These are all wronged and/or wronging ladies with big, fierce “bring […]
Toronto is one of the greatest theatrical cities in the world and this winter I’ve seen a smattering of productions that prove that across style, medium, budget, and venue. Here’s a sampling of some of the standout eclectic work from recent weeks: The Student Show: A friend of mine invited me this past weekend to […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2012 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. The delightful star of The Stratford Festival’s two big musicals of 2012, Amy Wallis turned in memorable performances as both Sally Brown (Charlie’s precocious sister) and Mabel, the feisty soprano of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance. […]
The Canadian Opera Company had an interesting fall with two repertory productions that had little in common beyond being of about the same quality. Both Il Trovatore and Die Fledermaus had the stunning design work and professional overall calibre that is to be expected from the COC, but they were both about average when it […]
Two weeks after the PQ was elected as Quebec’s minority government- causing concern of renewed interest in nationalist policies- the time could not be more right for a project fusing our country’s strong English playwriting tradition with the electroacoustic music Quebec is renowned for. Montreal-based composer Louis Dufort and Toronto-based writer Tom Walmsley were both […]
I haven’t seen the full season of Stratford Festival fare yet but The Pirates of Penzance is one of very few things so far that’s thrilled me. I loved it. I went in fond of but aware of the flaws in Gilbert & Sullivan’s work, and specifically the technical insanity of trying to stage Pirates. […]