Ice Time (Chan Ka Nin & Mark Brownell): Emma Pennell, Alexia Frankian / The Good Match (Anthony Younger & Krista Dalby): Yanik Gosselin, Simon Gidora / The Laurels (Jeffrey Ryan & Michael Lewis MacLennan): Emma MacNeil, Colin Mackey / The Good Screw (Abigail Richardson & Alexis Diamond): Olivia Morton, Christian Masucci Facchini, Yanik Gosselin, Simon Gidora) Mazzoleni Live performance Corridor, Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, November 3, 2023.

Glenn Gould College, named after the legendary Canadian pianist, is the skilled arm of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Through the years, it has skilled many singers who’ve gone on to vital careers. To make sure, GGS college students are at various levels of their inventive improvement, so their performances are actually works in progress. One factor is for certain – they’re uniformly blessed with innate expertise and estimable potential.

I attended the primary of two evenings of GGS Chamber.  A complete of 4 quick items showcasing eight singers altogether, some showing in a couple of work, all commissioned by Tapestry Opera between 2002 and 2009.  The operas happen in such uncommon settings “as an ice rink, a sock drawer, a park, and a ironmongery store.” Three amusing items plus one frighteningly darkish piece, a little bit of an incongruous pairing, to be trustworthy. These quick, quite unconventional items enable the scholars to discover the dramatic potentialities inside every mini-drama.

The stage of the 250-seat Mazzoleni Live performance Corridor isn’t designed for opera, and definitely not for elaborate units. Frankly ample creativeness on the a part of the viewers is required.  The performing space is additional diminished on stage proper by the presence of a chamber orchestra, expertly carried out by the retiring Peter Tiefenbach.  That stated, some video projections would have been useful.  Kudos to director Dana Fradkin for the ingenious use of the area, each onstage and off.

A extra severe subject is the shortage of surtitles. Whereas the sung textual content is in English and the singers all have good to superb diction, surtitles would have been useful, given these are new works unfamiliar to the viewers. Operatic singing emphasizes vowels and suppresses consonants, and the upper the voice, the tougher it’s to grasp the phrases – that’s merely the physics of vocal manufacturing.

Of the 4 works, Ice Time was essentially the most pleasurable. The music by composer Chan Ka Nin — of Iron Highway and Dragon’s Story fame — is tonal and accessible. It additionally featured two of one of the best voices of the night, with high vocal honours to soprano Emma Pennell because the reluctant determine skater. Additionally very effective was soprano Alexa Frankian because the Coach and Mom. Whereas billed as a comedy, I discover the piece fairly thought-provoking.

It was adopted by a genuinely light-hearted piece, Good Match, about two socks that discover one another. Mildly amusing and unpretentious, nicely sung and acted by Yanik Gosselin and Simon Gidora.  It didn’t put together me for the third piece, The Laurels – speak about a change of tempo! It’s a frighteningly darkish story of a lady (Emma MacNeil) who has killed her lover (Colin Mackey) however is haunted by his spirits. To be trustworthy, the abrupt change from the comedian to the macabre was extra disconcerting than pleasurable.

Fortunately with the ultimate piece, The Good Screw, we have been again to frivolity. The longest of the 4, it lasts maybe half-hour, however someway, the inventive crew of Abigail Richardson-Schulte and Alexis Diamond managed to squeeze in a number of threads that embody competing Robertson and Phillips screwdrivers, plus a liberal dose of Canada/US politics — with snippets of the Star-Spangled Banner. Even Henry Ford (wickedly performed by countertenor Christian Masucci Facchini) and Detroit Motor Works bought in there someway! I confess I used to be extra confused than entertained by the storyline. It’s additionally the raunchiest of the 4, with an over-the-top dose of double-entendres. Maybe this was one piece that surtitles would have helped poor humourless me to higher recognize the jokes. Total, I give the singers full credit score for his or her vitality, enthusiasm, and dedication to the fabric. Whereas I can’t say I liked each second, it was a quite enjoyable approach to spend a night.

Are you trying to promote an occasion? Have a information tip? Must know one of the best occasions occurring this weekend? Ship us a notice.

#LUDWIGVAN

Get the every day arts information straight to your inbox.

Join the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — native classical music and opera information straight to your inbox HERE.

Joseph So is Professor Emeritus at Trent College and Affiliate Editor of Opera Canada.He’s additionally a long-time contributor to La Scena Musicale and Opera (London, UK). His curiosity in music journalism focuses on voice, opera in addition to symphonic and piano repertoires. He seems usually as a panel member of the Massive COC Podcast.He has co-edited a guide, Opera in a Multicultural World: Coloniality, Tradition, Efficiency, revealed by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).

Newest posts by Joseph So (see all)