Art Song - my/maSCENA

Michael McMahon, piano. Photo: TamPhotography

Michael McMahon: The Singer’s Pianist

By Emma Yee on 3 September 2025 Art Song, Interviews, Piano, Romantic

By Emma Yee; interview by Wah Keung Chan Not many pianists, no matter how accomplished, can say they learned lieder from Elly Ameling and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; taught alongside famed language and diction pedagogue Nico Castel; and accompanied Maureen Forrester, Gerald Finley, Richard Margison, and Catherine Robbin. Or have been passed the torch by the founders of McGill University’s famous opera and song interpretation programs. But as Michael McMahon says, he’s “worked really hard, not because [I have] to, but because [I love] it so much.” The pianist and professor who, on April 17, 2025, was awarded the Order of Canada.…

Brenna McFarland and cast in Opera 5's Elegies. Photo: Emily Ding Photography

Review | A Very New York Elegies at Toronto Opera Festival

By John Gilks on 16 June 2025 Art Song, Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

Elegies: A Song Cycle, by William Finn, is a series of songs in a musical theatre idiom dealing with bereavement and mourning. It’s a 2003 piece and firmly rooted in the trauma of the AIDS epidemic and 9/11. It’s very New York. Opera 5’s production (seen June 15) at Factory Theatre is fully staged (by Jessica Derventzis) and performed by artists from Opera 5’s Portfolio Artist Internship Program who mostly hail from McGill University. The extensive musical theatre training they have received is very evident in both their command of the required vocal style and their easy and energetic movement…

Spotlight | CMIM Voice 2025

By La Scena Musicale Team on 7 June 2025 Art Song, Classical Music, Montreal, Music Competition, Opera, Vocal

La Scena Musicale is covering CMIM Voice 2025 (May 25 to June 6). Here are links to the articles, predictions, reports and videos. ReWatch Finals (June 6, 2025, 7:30 pm) Articles CMIM: Big Changes for 2025 Vocal Edition CMIM 2025: Our Predictions Reports/News Report | CMIM 2025 Aria Final: A Last Evening Full of Surprises News | Australian Mezzo-soprano Fleuranne Brockway Wins CMIM 2025 CMIM Aria Finals: La Scena Predictions Report | CMIM Aria Semi-Final II: A Momentum for Fleuranne Brockway? Report | CMIM Art Song Final: Laureano Quant, Pure Talent News | CMIM 2025: Colombian Baritone Laureano Quant Wins…

Laureano Quant, baryton, reçoit son prix des mains de la présidente du jury, Adrianne Pieczonka. Photo: TamPhotography

Report | CMIM Art Song Final: Laureano Quant, Pure Talent

By Justin Bernard on 1 June 2025 Art Song, Concert Reviews, Music Competition, Vocal

When Laureano Quant’s victory was announced last night, Saturday, May 31, at around 10:15 p.m., a great cheer echoed through Bourgie Hall, packed for this grand finale of Art Song. The Colombian baritone’s fans came out in force to support him, proudly displaying their country’s flag, just as they would during a World Cup victory for the national team. Yet, Quant wasn’t the favourite to win. He faced two candidates, Russian soprano Julia Muzychenko-Greenhalgh and UK baritone Theodore Platt, who already seemed to possess all the attributes of experienced singers, confidence in their talents, and a great artistic sense. The…

Yewon Han, soprano. © Tam Photography

Report | CMIM Day 3: Excitement before the Semifinals

By Justin Bernard on 28 May 2025 Art Song, Concert Reviews, Music Competition, Opera

The last session of the CMIM Aria category before the semifinals sees a final push from the remaining competitors! On the evening of May 27, four candidates closed the first round, including singers we had counted among the competition’s favorites. Chinese mezzo Jingjing Xu received warm applause as she entered the Bourgie Hall stage. In a short pre-recorded presentation video projected on a big screen, Xu, who completed part of her studies at McGill University, showcased the masculine posture she would have the pleasure of adopting in Handel’s “Dopo Notte.” However, once she reached this aria from Ariodante, the singer…

Chanhee Cho, baryton-basse; Esther Gonthier, piano. Capture d'écran sur le site web du CMIM.

Report | CMIM Day 2: Are the Evening Session More Favourable to the Candidates?

By Justin Bernard on 27 May 2025 Art Song, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Music Competition, Opera

The sessions at the CMIM that follow one another are all different. So far, the one constant is that we hear the most remarkable voices in the evening. Could this be a coincidence, or does the timing of the performance have something to do with it? Aria I – Afternoon This second day started rather well with Katerina Burton. The American soprano was generous in her interpretation and legato, but her repertoire choice was very cautious. Later in the evening, other competitors in her voice category took real vocal risks that were rewarded in the end. Given his vocal qualities…

Julia Muzychenko-Greenhalgh, soprano; Ian Tindale, piano. Capture d'écran sur le site web du CMIM.

Report | CMIM Day 1: The Competition Begins

By Justin Bernard on 26 May 2025 Art Song, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Music Competition, Opera

The Montreal International Musical Competition (CMIM) is officially launched! May 25 marked the beginning of the first rounds in the Voice – Aria category. Ten candidates entered the competition out of the 24 selected. They included Hedvig Haugerud, Ruby Dibble, Karoline Podolak, and Ihor Mostovoi, whom we had already identified in our predictions. Afternoon Session The verdict? Many of these singers gave it their all, instead of letting their enthusiasm cool. This was the case for Mexican bass Daniel Noyola. The first to take the stage, the performer occupied the space well, both with his body and his voice, but…

Asitha Tennekoon. Photo: Simon Karmal

Review | Asitha Tennekoon Interrogates the Immigrant Experience at WMCT

By John Gilks on 9 May 2025 Art Song, Concert Reviews, Piano, Strings, Toronto, Vocal

Tenor Asitha Tennekoon’s May 8th recital at the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto explored the idea of Belonging. The first set, Vaughan Williams’ setting of six poems from Housman’s On Wenlock Edge explored a geographically settled but psychologically unsettled sense of self. The accompaniment of piano quintet (Steven Philcox, piano; Yolanda Bruno and Aysel Taghi-Zada, violins; Laurence Schaufele, viola and Amahl Arulanandam, cello) provided lots of colour for these sometimes lyrical, sometimes dramatic, but always death-obsessed poems. Tennekoon sang them with perfect diction and great expressiveness, navigating the tricky dialogue in “Is my team ploughing?” very effectively. Ian Cusson’s Where…

Midori Marsh. Photo: Sam Gaetz.

Review | Midori Marsh Travels Through Generations of Sisterhood

By John Gilks on 4 April 2025 Art Song, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Opera, Piano, Toronto, Vocal

The Women’s Musical Club of Toronto’s Music in the Afternoon series continued at Walter Hall on April 3rd with a song recital by soprano Midori Marsh and pianist Frances Armstrong. The theme was “sisters,” with each set designed to explore a particular aspect of sisterhood. The first set dealt with religious sisterhood. It began with the duet, Bone Jesu, fons amoris, by the Benedictine nun Chiara Margarita Cozzollani for which Midori was joined by mezzo-soprano Alex Hetherington. It’s a very lovely piece which sounds more polyphonic than two voices should. The blend was excellent too, with just the right difference…

Thomas Hampson. Photo: Chris Singer

Thomas Hampson: A Song of Freedom

By Justin Bernard on 31 March 2025 Art Song, Interviews, Opera, Quebec City

Thomas Hampson needs no introduction. At nearly 70 years old, the American lyric baritone continues to travel the world, not only as a singer and recitalist, but also as a singing teacher. He studied with teachers who themselves had learned from the great masters. Today, he passes on his passion for vocal arts to young artists, notably at the Lied Academy in Heidelberg. On April 26, he will present a recital at the Club musical de Québec and, a few days before that, will sing Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte at the Maison symphonique. La Scena Musicale spoke to…

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