News.
Vancouver's Turning Point Ensemble Presents THE MUTE CANARY This September
Turning Point Ensemble (TPE), the innovative chamber ensemble, is excited to be kicking off its season with the world premiere production of The Mute Canary, a new opera by 86-year-old Rudolf Komorous, one of the most fascinating contemporary composers of his generation. Owen Underhill conducts the one act opera featuring the stunning voices of Daniel Cabena, Alexander Dobson and Anne Grimm and expands the concert to include a retrospective of definitive Komorous compositions...
AUGUST 28th, 2018
— Broadway World
New work inspired by Bach a unique musical experiment
The Cantata Project engages a contemporary composer and a contemporary poet in a process that recreates Bach's way of doing things. The cantatas are substantial works that average 20 minutes or so in length usually based on texts created by local poets that were produced quickly, often at a rate of about one a week. It was Daniel Cabena, a Guelph-based, WLU-trained counter-tenor who performs internationally, who came up with the idea of commissioning a new work inspired by Bach and following his methods and stylistic elements...
JANUARY 12th, 2018
— The Record
Edmonton Opera's production of Lilies 'great theatre' with plenty of appeal
The theatrical qualities of the opera, premièred in Montreal in 2016 and subsequently seen in Victoria, are considerable. The spartan sets by Guillaume Lord are visually arresting. The lighting, originally designed for Montreal by Martin Labrecque and revived by Julie Basse, is atmospheric, with some wonderful and discretely used special effects. The stage direction, originally by Serge Denoncourt and revived by Jacques Lemay, is exemplary, propelling the story, especially in the handling of the chorus...
OCTOBER 23, 2017
— Edmonton Journal
Les Feluettes opera takes on tale of forbidden love
Just before its world première in Montreal last May, the creators of the opera Les Feluettes were edgy. A tale of forbidden love between two Quebec men, the two-hour work was created by librettist Michel Marc Bouchard and composer Kevin March. Although neither is a novice (Bouchard is an internationally known playwright), it was their first attempt at a full-scale opera...
APRIL 20th, 2017
— Time Colonist
Les Feluettes opera a complicated love story
About 10 years ago, Timothy Vernon saw a play in Edmonton that left a lasting impression. The beauty of the French language used in the play was close to poetry, he recalled, and the emotional plot was intriguing, with many different layers. As the founding artistic director of Pacific Opera Victoria, Vernon thought the play — Les Feluettes by Michel Marc Bouchard, would make a great opera, and he wasn’t the only one...
APRIL 13th, 2017
— Victoria News
Air india [REDACTED] comes close to magnificent but stumbles where abstract
There’s no denying that air india [REDACTED] is a sober and respectful artistic reaction to a horrific tragedy. Sobriety and respect are difficult to theatricalize, however, and this conceptually brilliant undertaking is less than overwhelming on-stage. The first clue comes early on. Talking to the Straight a week before his work’s premiere, composer Jürgen Simpson was excited about the chamber opera’s overture...
NOVEMBER 9th, 2015