Based in Toronto, Ali Kashani caught the opera bug as a young teen and has progressively and obsessively grown his love of the art form through recordings, magazines and participation in on-line groups. He proudly tries to insert opera into the lives of all he touches. He has been reading parterre.com for over a decade and began contributing reviews in 2015.
Ali has given opera talks and moderated discussion panels for the Canadian Opera Company and used to be regular panelist on the now-defunct CBC Opera Quiz with Stuart Hamilton. Though he has musical training, his goal of taking vocal lessons is still, regrettably, on the to-do list.
Ali Kashani
The saying goes that no one hits a home run with their first opera. Rufus Wainwright seemed determined to prove this point and then some with Prima Donna, with its risibly clichéd libretto and music that was a pale imitation of Adriana Lecouvreur. Read more »
“The sets and costumes do the trick without causing any concern of reckless spending.”
When the Canadian Opera Company announced a new (to the COC, anyway) production of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena staring soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role, I admit that I wasn’t as excited as I had been by the announcement of her previous COC roles—Aida, Elisabetta (in Robert Devereux) and Norma. Read more »
This riotous opera transports the Oedipus tale to an apocalyptic 1980s London, plagued by police violence, racism, and socioeconomic decay. Intrepid composer Mark-Anthony Turnage’s (Anna Nicole) 1988 breakthrough brilliantly combines cockney-accented profanity and irreverent drama with an audacious score and outstanding four-person cast. Eddy (tenor Alex Otterburn), our modern-day Oedipus, dreams of a better life. After hearing a fortune teller’s disturbing prediction, he resolves at all costs to avoid shagging his own mum (soprano Susan Bullock) and inadvertently killing his father (tenor Andrew Shore). But he is unable to outrun fate, landing in the prophetically maternal arms of an East End café manager (mezzo soprano Allison Cook). Thirty years later, Greek still resonates, offering an incisive, brash contemporary statement on accountability and family. Read more »
Robert Carsen has given Peter Gelb two of the greatest successes of his tenure. Yet despite being one of the most in-demand opera directors in the world (does any other director have as many productions on the world’s opera stages?), his route to the Met has been as a runner-up. Read more »
By virtue of its subject matter and the auspicious occasion of its commissioning, Louis Riel was destined to be iconic.
In her debut solo album, Jamie Barton surrounds Gustav Mahler’s staples of the song repertoire, Rückert Lieder, with the less familiar Gypsy Songs of Antonin Dvorák and select songs by Jean Sibelius.
The Canadian Opera Company scored a coup when they secured Christine Goerke for the revival of their Ring productions over the last three seasons
Revive is a manifesto of sorts, declaring Elina Garanca’s intentions for the new direction in her career.
Cher Public