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Death of Tenor Alain Nonat

By Wah Keung Chan on 4 January 2025 Arts Industry, Obituaries, Opera

La Scena is sad to learn of the passing of tenor Alain Nonat on Dec. 31, 2024 at the age of 82. Alain was a good friend of singers and La Scena Musicale. We include below his official obituary and the last article we wrote on Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques (JAL) organized by Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20 (TL20). We offer our condolences to his family. Every fall, young singers from across Canada prepare for auditions and competitions. The rewards are usually cash prizes and recognition. The set of auditions of the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques (JAL) organized by Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20 (TL20), however,…

Cast of Koerner Hall's Into the Woods. Photo: RCM/Lisa Sakulensky

Review | Stellar cast enlivens flawed Into the Woods at Koerner Hall

By Gianmarco Segato on 31 December 2024 Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Opera, Popular Music, Toronto, Vocal

The nearly 40-year-old musical Into the Woods, with music and lyrics by the legendary Stephen Sondheim and book by American playwright James Lapine, has become a staple on North American stages. Its appeal is clearly linked to an ingenious amalgamation of familiar characters from classic fairy tales like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. Their stories are utilised to deliver a universal message that boils down to “be careful what you wish for”. Koerner Hall has assembled a cast which includes the crème de la crème of Canadian musical theatre in a smartly-staged production by Richard…

Holly Chaplin in the title role of Toronto Operetta Theatre's Countess Maritza. Photo: Gary Beechey

Review | Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Marvellous Countess Maritza

By Gianmarco Segato on 30 December 2024 Concert Reviews, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

As is their tradition, Toronto Operetta Theatre livens up the in-between-Christmas-to-New Year lull with an annual production of a classic, golden age operetta. This year, it’s Hungarian composer Imre Kálmán’s Countess Maritza with its non-stop succession of great tunes and authentic czardas-infused rhythms. TOT can always be relied on to present some of the best young Canadian talent and this was certainly no exception at Dec. 29th’s opening performance. A Maritza that moves TOT’s General Director, Guillermo Silva-Marin is also the show’s stage director and he does a lot with comparatively modest means. Maritza’s country mansion is appropriately decorated with…

Rose Naggar-Tremblay, contralto soloist in ArtChoral's Messiah. Photo: TamPhotography

Review | ArtChoral’s Messiah Preserves its Original Freshness

By Heather Weinreb on 24 December 2024 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, Montreal

Every holiday season, Handel’s Messiah comes to town. Not once, not twice, but many times. With all the options, how can an audience member decide which one to choose? On Dec. 22, ArtChoral and Ensemble Caprice delivered an inspiring performance of Handel’s Messiah. It seems that Juno award-winning conductor Matthias Maute takes avid delight in showcasing how old works can always sound new, so long as they are performed with technical precision, intentionality, and a lot of joyful energy. When Messiah season comes around next year, audiences would do well to consider ArtChoral’s version. What you missed? A Baroque oratorio,…

Magali Simard-Galdès & Olivier Bergeron with OSL. Photo: Gabriel Fournier

Review | Orchestre symphonique de Laval’s Holiday Program is in Tune with the Season

By Heather Weinreb on 23 December 2024 Concert Reviews, Montreal, Orchestral, Vocal

Putting on a Christmas concert is a challenge. The concert must feature enough time-worn classics to foster the holiday spirit; at the same time, every holiday concert strives to be fresh, even innovative. We don’t want to be fed the same “Jingle Bells” year after year, but we do want to hear music we recognize. On Dec. 18, Orchestre symphonique de Laval’s holiday concert offered many Christmas classics, from Leroy Andersen’s Christmas Festival to the beloved English carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. But the concert also featured music by Georges Bizet and Gabriel Fauré that, while very melodious, is…

Chor Leoni. Photo: Emily Cooper

Review | Christmas with Chor Leoni Brings Holiday Magic to the Heart of Vancouver

By Kaitlyn Chan on 20 December 2024 Choral, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Piano, Strings, Vancouver, Violin, Vocal

Amidst the bustle of the holiday season, Chor Leoni ushered audience members into the serene atmosphere of St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church for their annual Christmas concert on Dec 19. The space was lit with reds, blues, and purples while golden lanterns hung from the ceiling. The beauty of the church was highlighted under this unique lighting, creating an almost fantasy effect within the large arches. Lighting designer Keagan Elrick had set the stage for the magical evening welcoming Chor Leoni’s largest-ever opening night audience. The first song of the evening was “The Long Night” arranged by founding member, Artistic Director,…

Orchestre classique de Montréal presents Handel's Messiah in Saint Joseph’s Oratory. Photo: Tam Photography

Review | Orchestre classique de Montréal’s Warm & Welcoming Messiah

By Amanda Wong on 15 December 2024 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Montreal, Vocal

As the holidays approach, George Frideric Handel’s Messiah begins to line concert programs around the world—and so, Orchestre classique de Montréal presents its annual performance of the great oratorio in one of the city’s most fitting venues: Saint Joseph’s Oratory. There, OCM, Filles de L’île women’s choir, Chantres Musiciens men’s choir, and four Canadian soloists presented 44 movements from the original piece under the baton of Israeli-French conductor Roï Azoulay. Though originally written for Easter, the English oratorio has become synonymous with Christmas. It details the birth and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ despite the fact the majority of…

Review | Maria is a Complex Cinematic Traversal of Callas’s Last Days

By Gianmarco Segato on 12 December 2024 Film, Opera

For fans of the legendary opera diva Maria Callas, it feels like rumours of a major film based on her life have been swirling for years. As with any heavily-invested fan base, knives were flying before anyone had even seen it and there was a hew and cry when Angelina Jolie was announced to star. Finally the wait is over, and though not perfect, Pablo Larrain’s Maria is a compelling, visually-stunning, auteur take on Callas’s final days in Paris. What immediately stands out is the care taken to replicate Callas’s late 1970s look: outrageous bejeweled capes, appliqued fur coats and…

OM Messiah. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Anna-Sophie Neher, Emily D'Angelo. Photo: François Goupil – Orchestre Métropolitain

Review | Yannick’s Messiah Vibrates Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica

By Wah Keung Chan on 10 December 2024 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Montreal, Vocal

Performances of Handel’s Messiah at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica had been an annual tradition of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra up until about 12 years ago when its artistic director Kent Nagano did away with Handel in favour of Bach. Orchestre Métropolitain (OM)’s artistic director Yannick Nézet-Séguin grew up with this tradition as he announced before the concert from the stage, and this is the second year in a row that OM has presented Messiah at the Basilica to a full house. Nézet-Séguin hinted that this will become a tradition, so hopefully, it will be an annual event. What you missed? Dec.…

Photo: Alice Pennefather/Royal Ballet and Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Royal Ballet and Opera and The Metropolitan Opera Join Forces with New Cinema Collaboration

By Newswire on 5 December 2024 Dance, Newswire, Opera

For the first time, the Royal Ballet and Opera and The Metropolitan Opera are joining forces for their cinema seasons on their respective home turfs, giving more audiences in both the UK and US the opportunity to see much loved opera and ballet productions from each world-leading company. The first-of-its kind collaboration will increase the reach of each company to hundreds more cinemas in new markets. As a result of this partnership, RBO’s cinema partner Trafalgar Releasing will broadcast The Met’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia to a larger number of screens in the UK than are currently carrying the Met, while Fathom, the Met Opera’s cinema partner in…

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