SCHMOPERA | #UncleJohn: the Toronto Story

By Jenna Douglas on December 13, 2014

THE CLASSICAL TRAVELER | Great Music (and Poutine) Deep in the Heart of Texas

By Paul E. Robinson on December 4, 2014

THE VOICE | Gianandrea Noseda Tells All

By Neil Crory on December 3, 2014

The dynamic Italian conductor, Gianandrea Noseda, needs little introduction to Torontonians. Since his local debut in April 2002, he has conducted nearly a dozen programmes with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. For his upcoming appearance, however, Noseda is bringing his own orchestra and chorus from the Teatro Regio Torino in Italy, together with twelve soloists for a single, not-to-be-missed performance of Rossini's epic William Tell (or, more appropriately, Guglielmo Tell).

LINES OF ENQUIRY | Indie-Classical, For All its Boundary-Shifting, Is Another Boys Club

By Curtis Perry on December 2, 2014

Let’s presume this ‘indie-classical’ moniker isn’t going away. We have a cast of certain regular suspects: Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, Richard Reed Parry, Max Richter, Hauschka, and Jonny Greenwood. I enjoy these folks’ work as much as anyone, but unfortunately they represent, in aggregate, a systemic issue that listeners ought to leave behind in the classical world. This isn’t anyone’s fault in particular. Dismantling a patriarchal system that took hundreds of years to build is simply going to take some time. It’s why we hear about “women composers” in the papers, but never hear about “men composers.” It’s why there is a lopsided gender ratio among members at the Canadian Music Centre. It’s why we don’t ask men how their gender and maleness informs their music. And this all needs to be reconsidered.

SCHMOPERA | Can Opera Make Money?

By Jenna Douglas on December 1, 2014

Opera doesn't make money, it never has, and we all know it. I was recently asked about opera's economy and why opera companies have never functioned as a for-profit theatre company. The theoretical comparison was between the Canadian Opera Company and Mirvish Productions. My initial response to the question of a business model was that there was simply not enough money. Opera is expensive to put up, and expensive to maintain; Mirvish Productions was funded with Ed Mirvish's wealth, and designed to make money from its theatres and productions. As with most opera and theatre companies worldwide, the COC receives government grants, and both corporate and individual donations to supplement their revenue from ticket sales. Without that kind of support, the math simply wouldn't add up. We know this in the theatre industry; it's nothing new. So, with all the generous donors keeping opera afloat, why hasn't there been a notable attempt to invest in starting an opera company that will eventually self-sustain?

SCHMOPERA | Opera for Kids

By Jenna Douglas on November 12, 2014

THE CLASSICAL TRAVELER | Anne Akiko Meyers Celebrates the American Masters

By Paul E. Robinson on November 11, 2014

Anne Akiko Meyers made news last year when an anonymous donor gifted her the lifetime use of one of the world’s great violins, the ‘Ex-Vieuxtemps’ Guarneri del Gesu, crafted in 1741. This year she’s in the news again for putting her Guarneri to excellent use in the service of exceptional works by American composers in an album called The American Masters. This album features world premiere recordings of the Violin Concerto by Mason Bates and Lullaby for Natalie by John Corigliano. Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto (1939), an established classic, rounds out the disc. For the record, Anne made his first recording of the Barber 26 years ago, in 1988.

THE MORNING AFTER | Vancouver Opera's Stickboy: Does an opera have to be great, to be great for opera?

By Lev Bratishenko on November 3, 2014

Seven seasons of Opéra de Montreal have trained me to read a season brochure cynically and only with chemical support. I must find satisfaction in the absence of disaster rather than the chance of a triumph. Objectively, of course, this is awful; I love opera but have to travel for interesting productions. But I am much calmer now.

CD REVIEW | Soprano Suzie LeBlanc launches CD inspired by Acadian Christmas songs

By Michael Vincent on October 17, 2014

You’ll want to dance when you hear these tunes! Suzie LeBlanc says of her new CD of Christmas music titled, La Veillée de Noël (Christmas Eve) out this past Tuesday, October 14. Fiddle or voice, music is an inseparable part of the Acadian cultural tradition. In the Maritimes, old French songs ring out like heirlooms moving across generations as seamlessly as the Nova Scotia fog belt.

LINES OF ENQUIRY | Ten Pieces of Advice for Prospective Graduate Students in Musicology

By Curtis Perry on October 16, 2014

I recently started an MA program in Music and Culture further north, at Carleton University, Ottawa. I feel it could be useful to give a few points of advice based on my brief experience to far, for those who may be beginning to consider something similar, as the Fall marches on and the next year's plans come to view. Granted, this is only one graduate student's perspective one month in, but I'll do my best...