Vancouver Opera Offstage

In this very special "Coaches in Conversation" episode, available in both video and audio, Les is joined by members of the wonderful music staff at Vancouver Opera: Kinza Tyrrell, Principle Répétiteur and Associate Chorus Director and Tina Chang, Pianist and Répétiteur. Les, Kinza, and Tina discuss the role of the répétiteur in opera and de-mystify this rather exotic-sounding title. This episode is available on Vancouver Op...

In this episode, Les catches up with Matthew White, Executive and Artistic Director of Early Music Vancouver. Matthew has served at the helm of Early Music Vancouver for eight years, and previously was Executive Director of Pacific MusicWorks in Seattle. Prior to that, he had already gained international acclaim as one of Canada’s leading countertenors and as the founding director of the Quebec-based ensemble Les Voix Baroques. Mat...

In this episode, originally recorded on May 8th, 2020, Les speaks with soprano and pianist Rachel Fenlon. Raised in Victoria, BC and currently based in Berlin, Rachel began her professional career at Vancouver Opera as part of the inaugural year of the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program. Her roles with VO have included Pamina in The Magic Flute, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and most recently, Susan...

In this episode, Les speaks with Vancouver-born lyric soprano Simone Osborne. Simone was one of the youngest-ever winners of the Met Competition in New York at age 21, and most recently headlined Vancouver Opera's 2019 production of Faust in the role of Marguerite. Simone is currently based in Frankfurt, Germany and shares some delightful stories of inspiring mentorship, finding balance as a busy soprano, and her formative expe...

In this episode, Les speaks with Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch, who most recently starred as Joseph De Rocher in Vancouver Opera's 2017 production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. Daniel has been involved in the creation of several world premiere operas, including Brokeback Mountain, The Fly, JFK, and Marnie, among others. In addition to his accomplished career in opera, Daniel has also appeared on Broadway in th...

In this episode Les takes a stroll down memory lane with legendary Canadian mezzo-soprano Judith Forst. Judi has an association with Vancouver Opera dating back to the 1960s, when she was a member of the first training program for young singers. Since that time she has had a prestigious international career with appearances at some of the most important opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, and San ...

In this podcast, Les speaks with Stage Director Rachel Peake, who last directed La Cenerentola for Vancouver Opera in 2019 and is the Associate Artistic Director of the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta. Rachel was also director of 2014's Stickboy and will return to direct Vancouver Opera's 60th Anniversary Season production of George Bizet's masterpiece Carmen. Rachel gives us a fascinating look into her process as ...

In this podcast, Les chats with Vancouver Opera Music Director Emeritus Jonathan Darlington. We explore Jonathan's musical journey and how he got involved in the world of opera, and Maestro Darlington also shares his thoughts on Mozart, Verdi and Strauss, composers whose operas have figured prominently in his tenure at Vancouver Opera. Plus, we get a peek at what Jonathan is doing to keep busy during this quarantine period.

Chec...

In our first podcast, Les chats with Tom Wright, Vancouver Opera’s newly appointed general director. Tom previously held the position of director of artistic planning at VO for 13 seasons. Les and Tom discuss leadership during a pandemic and his vision for the future of Vancouver Opera.

Check out our special features for the episode, including Tom's Spotify playlist, Les' listening recommendation of the week, and more at www...