Dr. Colin Eatock, composer
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Opera Atelier's Abduction

10/31/2013

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PictureCurtis Sullivan and Ambur Braid in OA's Abduction.
I wrote this review for Classical Voice North America, which features reviews and commentary about music from across the continent. I’m reposting it here for the benefit of anyone who didn’t see it on the CVNA website.

For three decades, opera lovers here have been feasting on Opera Atelier’s period-based productions of Baroque and Classical opera. The latest OA offering – a remount of the company’s 2008 production of Mozart’s The Abduction From the Seraglio – drew a near-capacity audience to Toronto’s Elgin Theatre on opening night, Oct. 26. But beyond Canada’s borders, OA isn’t nearly as well known as it ought to be. And there are good reasons why the opera world should know about this unique little company.



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Esprit Does What It Does (and It's Good)

10/26/2013

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PictureAlfred Schnittke isn't exactly a fun guy.
There were three Canadians and a European on the Esprit Orchestra’s concert in Toronto’s Koerner Hall last night. And Alex Pauk – music director of the contemporary music ensemble – conveniently programmed theses works in a way that invited comparison.

The first of the Canadians was R. Murray Schafer. Now in his eighties, he was coaxed from his rural retreat to the big city for a performance of his No Longer Than (10) Ten Minutes.
The origins of this piece are the stuff of new-music lore in Canada: it was composed in 1970 on a commission by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, on the stipulation that the piece should not exceed 10 minutes. As a protest against this limitation, Schafer made the time-restriction the work’s title.


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La Bohème at the COC

10/19/2013

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PictureTenor Michael Fabiano: secure and supple. .
La Bohème occupies a deceptively complicated position in the world of opera.

For people who are new to the art form, Puccini’s tear-jerker of 1896 is everything an opera is supposed to be. The music is lyrical, the story is pure emotion – and it’s even in Italian. They love it.

Veteran opera-goers seem to fall into two categories. There are who have seen Bohème quite often enough, and are in no hurry to see it again. And those who confess (with a touch of embarrassment) that, after all these years, the piece still works its magic on them.



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Peter Grimes at the COC

10/11/2013

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PictureAnthony Dean Griffey in the COC's Peter Grimes.
After withdrawing from the first night of the COC’s Peter Grimes, Ben Heppner is now back on stage. I wrote the the following review (which originally appeared on the new Classical Voice North America website) after the production’s opening, in which Anthony Dean Griffey sang the title role.

For a couple of days, word on the street was that Ben Heppner probably wouldn’t be appearing on the opening night of the Canadian Opera Company’s Peter Grimes. So the official announcement that the 57-year old singer “remains indisposed” came as no great surprise to the audience at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre on Oct. 5. Nevertheless, the statement was greeted with a collective sigh from an audience eager to hear Toronto’s star heldentenor in a rare hometown appearance.



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The Mariinsky Plays Stravinsky

10/8/2013

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PictureValery Gergiev, entitled to have his way.
The Mariinsky Orchestra, led by conductor Valery Gergiev, playing Igor Stravinsky’s three great ballets – does it get any better than that? After attending Sunday afternoon’s performance at Roy Thomson Hall, I’d have to say no, it doesn’t.

The Russian orchestra is currently in the midst of a North American tour, and the program they brought to Toronto was demanding, to say the least. There were no slimmed-down ballet suites performed – rather, the near-capacity audience was treated to every note of The Firebird, Petrouchka and The Rite of Spring.



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    Eatock Daily

    I'm a composer based in Toronto – and this is my classical music blog, Eatock Daily.

    When I first started blogging, Eatock Daily was a place to re-post the articles I wrote for Toronto’s Globe and Mail and National Post newspapers, the Houston Chronicle, the Kansas City Star and other publications.

    But now I have stepped back from professional music journalism, and I'm spending more time composing.

    These days, my blog posts are infrequent, and are mostly concerned with my own music. However, I do still occasionally post comments on musical topics, including works I've discovered, enjoyed, and wish to share with others.


    – CE

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