Music

Theatre/Opera Review – VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert/La Voix Humaine

Clever programming combines Jean Cocteau’s play with Francis Poulenc’s opera for two different portraits of the same woman. Review is posted on Ludwig van Toronto. ludwig-van.com.

Tapestry Opera/Jacqueline

A stunning contemporary take on the life of cellist Jacqueline du Pré. Not to be missed.

Canadian Opera Company/Hansel and Gretel

A contemporary setting for a 19th century fairytale.

Opera Review – Opera Atelier/Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

A baroque feast for the eyes and the ears. Another gorgeous production from Opera Atelier.

Opera Review – Canadian Opera Company/Rusalka by Antonin Dvorak

This COC production of Dvorak’s dark fairytale is perfection. Everything comes together to evoke magic.

Opera Review – Canadian Opera Company/Turandot by Giacomo Puccini

Posted on October 10, 2019, updated on October 16, 2019 by pcitron

A production by the legendary stage director Robert Wilson that is magnificent, bewildering and aggravating, all at the same time.

Opera Review – Canadian Opera Company/Verdi’s Otello

Posted on May 4, 2019, updated on May 9, 2019 by pcitron

It is starting to get embarrassing. At best I sound like the president of the Johannes Debus fan club, at worst like a stalking groupie, but once again I’m in the thrall of his conducting prowess. The maestro’s musical direction of Verdi’s Otello is simply magnificent. Otello (1887)is Verdi’s penultimate opera, and arguably his greatest. […]

Opera Review – Canadian Opera Company/La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini

Posted on April 29, 2019, updated on April 29, 2019 by pcitron

This COC production of La Bohème first saw the light of day in 2013. While original stage director John Caird’s vision has its problems, musically, both the singing and conducting in this revival are glorious. Puccini operas need the big voices that produce goosebumps, and there are several of note in this production. Italian maestro […]

Opera Review – The Glenn Gould School Opera/The Magic Flute by W.A. Mozart

Posted on March 21, 2019, updated on March 26, 2019 by pcitron

There are student performances, and then there are student performances. At the Glenn Gould School, the students are mostly in their twenties and are on a career track. One expects both the singers and the orchestra to be at near professional level, and musically, the performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute did not disappoint. It […]

Opera Review: Canadian Opera Company, Eugene Onegin

Posted on October 11, 2018, updated on October 19, 2018 by pcitron

Review – Canadian Opera Company, Eugene Onegin by P.I. Tchaikovsky, conducted by Johannes Debus, directed by Robert Carsen, designed by Michael Levine, Four Seasons Centre, Sept. 30 to Nov. 3, 2018. I actually saw this production when it debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1997, and I thought it was brilliant – a magical blend […]