Table of contents for Vol. LX, No. 2 in Opera Canada

For too long, composers like Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, Lili and Nadia Boulanger, Florence Price, Cecile Chaminade, and Pauline Viardot were more likely to be encountered in textbooks rather than on concert playbills. As perceptions in the classical music world begin to shift, their works have increasingly been programmed. Such an embrace of a long-neglected history rebalances the so-called canon, a process now gradually being extended to contemporary creation with composers like Missy Mazzoli, Laura Kaminsky, and Jennifer Higdon gaining a more regular presence on classical, opera and dance stages. Change, however, comes slowly. For instance, when Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de loin was presented at Metropolitan Opera in 2016, it was the first female-penned opera presented there since Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald in 1903. Various initiatives have been organized to…

CANADA CALGARY Calgary Opera’s 40th season opened in much the same way as its very first: with a fine performance of Puccini’s beloved hit La bohème (seen Nov. 9th). Everything about this choice, including its down-to-earth production and straightforward characterizations, had the makings of a real crowd pleaser. Director Brenna Corner, returning to her childhood home after a successful stint in Atlanta Opera’s Studio Artist Program, played it safe with this production by shying away from more modernized staging. We all bought tickets to see vintage Puccini and that is what we got, showcasing the best of what Calgary Opera has to offer. The all-male Roommate Quartet was well cast and entirely suited to their roles: Colline (Neil Craighead) and Schaunard (Peter McGillivray) especially were deftly inhabited and had the…

In Lucia Cervoni’s own words—and she apologises if it sounds corny—life sent her a message in 2017: ‘Why don’t you go freelance?’ She had enjoyed nearly a decade as a Fest (resident) singer at Theater Magdeburg in Germany, whose director, Karen Stone, had given her “every sort of dream role I could ever have imagined.” Indeed, when this magazine last caught up with her in 2011, it was clear that the Ontario-born mezzo felt her future would be in Germany; perhaps moving to other houses, but remaining within the Fest system. But when that ‘message from life’ came through, her fiance, now her husband, was living in Norway and a decision had to be made. In the end she bid farewell to the land of Strauss and Beethoven, joining him…

It is not only what happens on Munich’s stages that makes the Bavarian capital a must-visit stop for opera lovers, but also the rich offerings found beyond the city’s operatic walls. During my visit to Munich for the 2019 Bavarian State Opera (BSO) summer festival I saw daring opera productions that resonated with the rich history, art, and culture of this European hub. The conversations sparked between these works and their city will likely continue for years to come, but it was crucial to head to Munich this year in particular to celebrate master-conductor Kirill Petrenko’s last season in full control as BSO’s General Music Director (for the final year of his contract, he is scheduled to appear as a guest conductor) When writing about the best places to visit…

When Opéra de Québec staged Bizet’s Carmen in May 2018, most of the cast was French-Canadian, except for the three leads, who hailed from Brazil, Mexico and the country Georgia. Critics reviewing the premiere took the non-Francophones to task for what they felt was an inadequate grasp of the French language. “Carmen is a French opera, with a French style, a text in French,” wrote Le Devoir’s critic. “When the main protagonists have no understanding, no idea of this style and colours [of the language], many things collapse.” One singer in the cast displayed a “recurring problem of colours and vowels” while another was “terrifyingly nonchalant” in his French pronunciation. A reviewer for the website Bachtrack similarly complained about a “questionable mastery of French,” reflected in poor diction, differentiation of…

On Nov. 4th, Opera Canada celebrated three indi-viduals who have dedicated their careers to forwarding the art of opera in Canada. Attracting fervent supporters from across the country, 2019’s Opera Canada Awards—‘The Rubies,’ were awarded to Liz Upchurch, coach, pianist, and Head of Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio; John Estacio, composer of such large-scale operas as Filumena and Lillian Alling, and Benjamin Butterfield, accomplished tenor and professor at University of Victoria School of Music. Congratulations to the honourees, who we are sure will wear their golden ruby musical note-pins with pride. Thank you to all our sponsors and patrons, including Marjorie and Roy Linden for their sponsorship of Liz Upchurch (with additional support from Stephen and Jane Smith), Pacific Opera Victoria for their sponsorship of Benjamin Butterfield, and Pamela Austin…

The George Enescu Festival in Bucharest, Romania is one of the largest and most ambitious festivals of its kind. Enescu, born in 1881 in what was then Moldava (now Botoşani County, Romania), was a noted violinist, pianist, and composer, who for decades was mainly known in the West for his Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 and 2 (1901). The biennial, three-week festival named in his honour was founded in 1958 and alternates with an international music competition for young artists. It has become a showcase for classical talent from both the international and local spheres, and in addition to performances, features roundtable discussions, lectures, and exhibitions. In 2019, the Festival ran from Aug. 31st to Sep. 22nd, boasting an array of starry classical names, including singers Joyce DiDonato and Diana Damrau,…

In Oct. 2015, I was trying to reach conductor and musicologist Alberto Zedda, one of the architects of the ‘Rossini Renaissance,’ for an interview. To my surprise, I found him in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Maestro Zedda had come to Canada at the invitation of Burt Wathen, Artistic Director of the newly-minted Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (LAMP), where the annual Rossini Opera Academy, a late-summer performance workshop centred on Rossini’s music, was underway. With contagious enthusiasm the 87-year-old Zedda told me he was helping orchestrate “Rossini’s conquest of the Americas.” Sadly Zedda died in 2017, but in Sept. 2019 a sixth Rossini Opera Academy nevertheless opened at LAMP, keeping Nova Scotia as a beachhead for his Rossini conquest. Lunenburg, located one hour south of Halifax, is a charming seaside town…

DECEMBER 15 AGAINST THE GRAIN THEATRE, Toronto. AtG’s ‘transladaptation’ of Mozart’s classic, re-named Figaro’s Wedding, continues its run in which audience members are the wedding guests! 28 TORONTO OPERETTA THEATRE. Ring in the New Year with waltz king Johann Strauss’s The Gypsy Baron with a starry Canadian cast including Meghan Lindsay, Beste Kalender and Michael Barrett. JANUARY 19 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY, Toronto. A revival of Spanish theatre troupe Els Comediants’ cartoonish, primary colour Barber of Seville starring young Canadian phenomenon Emily D’Angelo. 25 OPÉRA DE MONTRÉAL.. A new production of one of the 21st century’s most lauded operas, George Benjamin’s Written on Skin starring Magali Simard-Galdes (see profile p. 8) and Daniel Okulitch. 31 OPERA MCGILL, Montreal. Kurt Weill’s curious amalgam of Broadway and European opera, Street Scene, is staged…