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. […]
When Leonard Bernstein’s one-act opera about a crumbling marriage in the 1950s suburbs premiered in 1952, I imagine it was pretty subversive and revealing. The idea of something so flawed yet so seemingly perfect is a fascinating, dark and specifically suburban concept that would have played as insightful and daring back when the suburbs were […]
This has been a bit of a rough repertory period for the Canadian Opera Company- the full-length Offenbach they presented earlier this month was obnoxiously long and unforgivably dull and their double feature of Zemlinksy & Puccini one-acts contains one dreary dud and one brilliant success (the Puccini, predictably). With only 52 minutes of greatness […]
If you were to do a search of the most commonly used phrases on this website, one of the top hits would undoubtedly be “mixed bag”. I use the term constantly, mostly because I insist that a review include at least one criticism and one compliment for every production. But, really, most things lean to […]
Last week I did nothing but go to the theatre. I saw tons of stuff from operas of Wagnerian length to 90 minute farce to epic dance that brought me right back to a childhood obsession. The productions run the gamut from intolerably boring to utterly thrilling. First up was The Tales of Hoffmann […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2011 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series. Iphigenia in Tauris was the first opera I reviewed for My Entertainment World, and remains my favourite. With stunning lighting design, stirring modern visuals and an alround fantastic cast, the production was one […]