+++
author = ["authors/jenna.md"]
categories = "Review"
date = "2017-07-28T09:19:00-04:00"
lastmod = "2017-07-28T13:34:00-04:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1501262715249/TSMF%20Opera.jpg.jpg"
primary_image_credit = "Clockwise from top left: Roger Honeywell, Julie Nesrallah, Gary Relyea, and Danika Lorèn."
publishDate = "2017-07-28T13:00:00-04:00"
related_articles = ["articles/i-love-a-gala.md","articles/in-review-an-evening-with-the-ensemble-studio.md"]
related_people = ["scene/people/danika-lorn.md","scene/people/julie-nesrallah.md","scene/people/roger-honeywell.md"]
short_description = "There were some serious highlights of the evening; Lorèn earned some well-deserved &quot;bravas&quot; after her stunning &quot;Caro nome&quot; from Rigoletto, and Honeywell made an impactful entrance with his first aria, &quot;Ah, la paterna mano&quot; from Verdi&#039;s Macbeth. Relyea made us lean in with his &quot;Il lacerato spirito&quot; (Don Carlo), and Nesrallah broke the ice with her lovely starter, &quot;Mon coeur s&#039;ouvre à ta voix&quot; (Samson et Dalila). Plus, honourary singer of the evening Nikki Chooi broke hearts with the Méditation from Massenet&#039;s Thaïs."
slug = "in-review-tsmfs-night-at-the-opera"
title = "In review: TSMF&#039;s Night at the Opera"
+++

There are certainly the Puritans out there, who prefer their opera delivered in an uncut, strictly contextual manner; but for plenty of us the gala-type concert is a perfect offering of treats. Opera fans who admit to a bit of indecision - and maybe moments of short attention spans - love a night of hit after hit, sung by a small group of singers that get to show off some stylistic variety.

Part of the 2017 [Toronto Summer Music Festival](http://www.torontosummermusic.com/2017-festival/2017-calendar/) line-up, *A Night at the Opera* lay somewhere between a gowns-and-glamour opera gala and a pops concert. The programme boasted everything from Mozart to Offenbach; the first half was littered with hits (big, fat arias and the quartet from *Rigoletto*), and the second half was a highlights reel of Bizet's *Carmen*. Onstage were soprano [Danika Lorèn](/scene/people/danika-loren/), tenor [Roger Honeywell](/scene/people/roger-honeywell/), bass-baritone [Gary Relyea](http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/gary-relyea-emc/), pianist Robert Kortgaard, violinist Nikki Chooi, and mezzo-soprano and host of the evening, [Julie Nesrallah](/scene/people/julie-nesrallah/).

There were some serious show-stealers of the evening; Lorèn earned some well-deserved "bravas" after her stunning "Caro nome" from *Rigoletto*, and Honeywell made an impactful entrance with his first aria, "Ah, la paterna mano" from Verdi's *Macbeth*. Relyea made us lean in with his "Il lacerato spirito" (*Don Carlo*), and Nesrallah broke the ice with her lovely starter, "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" (*Samson et Dalila*). Plus, honourary singer of the evening Nikki Chooi broke hearts with the "Méditation" from Massenet's *Thaïs*.

In her role as host, Nesrallah took a cue of sorts from her work at [the CBC](http://www.cbcmusic.ca/programs/tempo) as she offered up some backstory and context for the operatic numbers. Though well-written and delivered unpretentiously, the chatter seemed to break up the flow; then again, those might be the whinings of a hardcore opera fan.

TSMF runs through **August 5**, so check out the [full calendar of events](http://www.torontosummermusic.com/2017-festival/2017-calendar/) to make sure you don't miss a thing.
