“This summer, in its 17th season, Halifax Summer Opera Festival brought enthusiastic young singers to town again to produce two double-cast fully staged operas: Serse (1738) by G.F. Handel and La Jolie Parfumeuse (1873) by Jacques Offenbach, the latter apparently a Canadian premiere. This provided eight performances of welcome entertainment to a COVID, fire and storm-weary audience. The choice of operas was inspired, with uplifting music and plots completely outside contemporary reality: La Jolie Parfumeuse is a comic operetta, and Serse, may have been intended as Opera Seria, but it exudes comic buffo.” — Daphna Levit, Opera Canada
Article on intimacy coordinators in opera by Michael Zarathus-Cook published in the Globe and Mail, featuring interview with Nina Scott-Stoddart of HSOF
From on-stage sex scenes to believable kisses, intimacy coaches are helping opera performers navigate tricky territory Published August 12, 2023
