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2017–2018 Opera Diary Dates

By Patricia Weber on 1 September 2017 Art Song, Choral, La Scena Spotlight, Opera

With an impressive roster of seasoned performers and many more in training, opera is a major component of classical music in Canada. Our homegrown talent is gaining recognition abroad, and many of our singers appear regularly in the world’s great opera houses. Here’s a look at some of their diaries for 2017–2018. Soprano Layla Claire, whose Donna Elvira was warmly received by audiences at Opéra de Montréal last November, recently made a debut solo album with ATMA Classique, entitled Songbird. High point of the year for this British Columbian will be her title role in Alcina at the Bolshoi Theatre…

The Five Commandments of Vocal Health

By Adrian Rodriguez on 1 September 2017 Education, La Scena Spotlight

Pop-superstar Adele was recently forced to cancel the remainder of her tour due to voice damage for the second time in five years. Her latest voice setback has prompted a vigorous debate on social media about vocal health. Voice doctors, teachers and gurus are trying to explain why so many stars are currently having voice problems. The list of voice to do’s and don’ts is extensive: from famed Soprano Shirley Verret becoming a loner on show days to preserve silence, to stories of legendary tenor Franco Corelli having his wife hold a cross to his larynx in order to obtain…

Gilles Tremblay (1932-2017): A School of Music

By Vincent Ranallo on 1 September 2017 Contemporary, La Scena Spotlight, Quebec Music

“One day, as I was playing a very simple tune, (…) my teacher wanted to make me feel the fluctuation of tempos, so he began playing the drums behind my back. To my surprise, I naturally followed the rhythm. I played and was being played. Just then, a group of musicians arrived (…) and played a constellation of contrapuntal rhythms. It was one of the most intense musical experiences of my life. I became almost weightless, lifted by so much beauty and also by the human communication that’s beyond speech. Being a musician among other musicians.” — Gilles Tremblay, travel…

A Few Great Canadian Tenors

By Pierre Chénier on 1 September 2017 150/375, La Scena Spotlight

On the 150th anniversary of Confederation, it is fitting to pay tribute to the great artists Canada has promoted throughout history. This text will focus on some of Canada’s greatest tenors. We should remember that their talents and distinguished careers, and those of other Canadian artists, have been overshadowed by major entities such as CBC/Radio-Canada. Programming dedicated to promoting Canadian talent has been constantly downsized, and this problem must be solved. Raoul Jobin, Léopold Simoneau, Jon Vickers, and Ben Heppner have been selected for this article. I chose these four tenors because each has left their mark on classical music…

Marc Blitzstein (center) with the original 1937 cast of The Cradle Will Rock

At Opera Saratoga, New Hands Rock Blitzstein’s Cradle

By Charles Geyer on 9 July 2017 Contemporary, La Scena Spotlight, Opera

PREVIEW: Opera Saratoga’s new, full-out production of Marc Blitzstein’s 1937 musical masterpiece, The Cradle Will Rock; and INTERVIEWS: with director Lawrence Edelson and musical director John Mauceri. Though it’s remembered as a work of social protest and impassioned ideals, “nobody has experienced The Cradle Will Rock the way it was intended,” says celebrated musical director, educator and historian John Mauceri of composer/librettist Marc Blitzstein’s landmark 1937 opera. “It’s a piece that everybody knows, but nobody’s ever heard!” Point well taken. Ever since its famously unorthodox premiere, when an extraordinary concatenation of adversities forced a last-minute decision to present the work…

Photo: Graham McDowell

Ideas of North Concert Confronts Climate Change with Sound

By Orphée Russell on 7 June 2017 Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Contemporary, La Scena Spotlight

On Saturday, July 10 at 8:30 pm, the Centre des Arts Actuels Skol and Pronto Musica Chamber Orchestra will present the free concert Ideas of North. The multidisciplinary event brings together artists and researchers in a collaboration that celebrates the North and questions Canadian attitudes towards climate adaptation. With the arctic warming, what will the Canadian North look like in the coming years? How does our perspective of this issue change, when viewed from the lens of an Inuit, ecological, or Southern Canadian viewpoint? Ideas of North will use music to engage audience members on these questions. Vancouver-based environmental change…

Satoko Fujii

Summer Jazz Fest Picks

By Marc Chénard on 1 June 2017 Experimental Jazz, La Scena Spotlight, Mainstream Jazz

With its roster of some 20 member events, Jazz Festival Canada is an umbrella organization that enables national and international artists to coordinate tours from coast to coast in the early summer. Canadian jazz festivals showcase a veritable cornucopia of styles for just about every taste. Here then are a few picks from the pack of shows scheduled during the upcoming festival blitz. Donny McCaslin – Now Beyond A year ago, saxophonist Kamasi Washington was pretty well the toast of the international jazz festival circuit. This time it’s Donny McCaslin’s turn to make the rounds. His appearance on David Bowie’s…

Escher Quartet

Canadian Classical Summer Music Festivals 2017: Quebec

By La Scena Musicale Team on 1 June 2017 150/375, Classical Music, La Scena Spotlight

Festival de musique de chambre de Montréal Until June 18 The Festival de musique de chambre de Montréal continues its Beethoven quartet “marathon” in June with four concerts by Dover Quartet (June 2, 4, 9, and 11 at Pollack Hall, McGill University). A discussion by musicologist Richard Turp before the concert will encourage the public to explore new format features. On June 3, saxophonist Rémi Bolduc will pay tribute to George Shearing, a great pianist and conductor, at Bourgie Hall. The French-Canadian premiere of a Rolston String Quartet and Dover Quartet collaboration is not to be missed. Both ensembles were…

Michel Buruiana

Michel Buruiana (February 17, 1953–February 13, 2017)

By La Scena Musicale Team on 1 June 2017 Arts Industry, Classical Music, La Scena Spotlight

On 13 February 2017, Michel Buruiana died suddenly at the age of sixty-three. He was a journalist, writer, businessman, producer, impresario and artistic advisor. Born in Romania, Michel Buruiana was the son of an ophthalmologist and a violinist. His parents got him interested in the arts at an early age. At age nine, he appeared in Les Saisons, a film by Romanian director Savel Stiopul, which was presented in Cannes and received a prize at the Teheran Film Festival where Norman McLaren presided over the jury. A few years later, McLaren had fond memories of Stiopul’s film and agreed to…

Bernard Labadie

News: June 2017

By Orphée Russell on 1 June 2017 Classical Music, La Scena Spotlight

Competitions The CMIM (Concours musical international de Montréal), one of the most prestigious of its kind in the world, is held every year featuring piano, violin, and voice on a rotating basis. Piano took center stage in the 2017 edition. Hungarian pianist Zoltán Fejévári took the $30,000 first prize and the $50,000 Joseph Rouleau Career Development Grant. Giuseppe Guarrera of Italy took the second prize, and Stefano Andreatta, also of Italy, finished third. Except for the Best Canadian Artist Award, given to Teo Gheorghiu, all the other special prizes, including the People’s Choice Award, were awarded to Guarrera. CMIM grants…