Vol. LXI, No. 3

Opera Canada

Canada's only Magazine Dedicated Exclusively to Opera

Opera Canada2 min read
Notebook
Like most North Americans, I listened with some alarm, but had little notion of the dire implications this news would have. Let’s just stick to opera for now and do a little recap. In Canada, live performances still had a few months left, but by Febr
Opera Canada1 min read
Opera Canada
Ruby Mercer Winter 2020 Vol. LXI, No. 3 Edition 246 $7.95 Opera Canada Publications operacanada.ca CHAIR: David Speers David Giles—Past Chair Indi Gopinathan Jason Howard Peter Hunt Eva Innes Robert Morassutti—Vice Chair Rev. Edward Jackman (Honourar
Opera Canada2 min read
Take Note
Acclaimed American mezzosoprano Denyce Graves will be giving masterclasses to some lucky UofT voice students covering art song, opera and intriguingly, crossover repertoire on Dec. 1, 2 and 4 respectively. The classes are free to watch for future vie
Opera Canada3 min read
Jonelle Sills
Though Jonelle Sills isn’t exactly new on the scene, the Toronto-based soprano has had quite the list of firsts this year. Most notably, she was named among the CBC’s top 30 Classical Musicians under 30 in August, the same month Vancouver Opera annou
Opera Canada1 min read
Speed Round with JONELLE SILLS
1 Dream Role? I don’t really have one… anything Puccini or Verdi 2 Favourite opera production? COC’s Rusalka 3 Favourite opera you’ve been in? Against the Grain Theatre’s La Bohème (shout out AtG!) 4 Current favourite song? “Getaway”—Mac Ayres 5 Admi
Opera Canada5 min read
Denise Wendel-Poray
STROLLING AROUND PARIS under lockdown during a late afternoon in mid-November, the only opera that comes to mind is Erich Korngold’s Die tote Stadt (The Dead City). My calendar is full of ghosts: at the Paris Opera, September—Marina Abromovic’s 7 Dea
Opera Canada4 min read
Erin Wall
NOVEMBER 4, 1975 ——— OCTOBER 8, 2020 Sincerity. Simplicity. Authenticity. Honesty. All precious qualities to have in a performer. And when these are combined with a luminous voice, uncommon musicality, strong dramatic instinct, and a lovely stage per
Opera Canada10 min read
Judith Yan
When Opera Canada put out a call for stories from artists of colour in Canada’s opera scene, Judith Yan was among the first to respond. Yan, who was born in Hong Kong, and who was nine when she immigrated to Canada with her family, had things she wan
Opera Canada3 min read
Voice Leading
…is an in-joke totemic of #singerlife. It is the first phrase uttered in auditions the world over, giving singers an opportunity to elegantly and efficiently communicate who they are as artists. So here, in the inaugural instalment of this column, I’
Opera Canada13 min read
Alexander Neef & THE COC
When Richard Bradshaw died suddenly in 2007, he left a giant-sized hole in the landscape of opera in Canada. During his tenure as Artistic, and then General Director, of the Canadian Opera Company from 1994 to 2007, he raised the company to a height
Opera Canada3 min read
“Asians should Be Seen In All Roles, In All Operas”
From my experiences working as an opera singer in Canada, the United States, and now Germany, I can attest that Canada’s classical music world is no exception to the rule of institutional racism. Much of this racism is invisible because it’s not obvi
Opera Canada8 min read
CANADA’S YAPs WEATHER THE COVID-19 STORM
In April 2009, Dana Fradkin—stage director, actor and stunt performer—made her opera debut as a clown in Canadian Opera Company’s La bohème. Coming from a theatre background, Fradkin said she fell in love with the music with an intensity she could no
Opera Canada5 min read
‘The Rubies’ 2020 GOES DIGITAL
On Nov. 23rd, for the first time ever, the Opera Canada Awards—‘The Rubies’ was presented as an all-digital event. Opera lovers from across the world tuned in to celebrate this year’s four honourees…and you can still join the party and watch the fest
Opera Canada32 min read
Opera In Review
CANADA OPÉRA DE MONTRÉAL After being postponed twice due to COVID-19, L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi finally had its world premiere online on Nov. 5th. Opera de Montreal had originally planned to present Laurence Jobidon’s new one-act opera, with a l
Opera Canada2 min read
Photo Credits
P. 3 photo by Chris Hutcheson P. 4: Erin Wall as Pamina in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s The Magic Flute, 2005/06, photo by Dan Rest. P5: Judith Yan photo by Edward Kowal; Alexander Neef photo by Bo Huang; La voix humaine photo courtesy of Vancouver Opera
Opera Canada3 min read
Final Word
YOU’RE NOT ACRITIC if you can’t afford to make enemies—you’re a publicist. No offence, publicists do useful work and are also great suppliers of free drinks. That it feels pedantic or naive to say this today is a sign of how messed up the ecosystem i

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