My only wish is that the event grows in size - as in, more singing, please.

Popera! has a chic air of exclusivity to it Mozart, as it turns out, pairs well with steak frites. They both offer opera singing over beverages, in an environment that’s more relaxed than the average full-sized opera house.

Torontonians might compare an event like Popera! to the monthly Opera Pubs held at Amsterdam Bicycle Club, hosted by Against the Grain Theatre. Soprano Samantha Pickett, baritone Bruno Roy, and pianist Stéphane Mayer were personable and easygoing in their brief introductions, a refreshing opener for their great artistry. So, we heard snippets from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin (a teaser for when the Pushkin-based opera comes to the COC this September), Camelot and The Phantom of the Opera, plus lovey songs like Poulenc’s Chemins de l’amour ( Pathways of love) and Bizet’s Ouvre ton coeur ( Open your heart). Opera is often either about love or death, the artists told us on Saturday, and in the spirit of not spoiling one’s appetite, they decided to opt for love as the theme of the night. My Nightingale, courtesy of the lovely folks at Drake One Fifty. The cocktails and their evocative names - the Love Elixir, the Nightingale - evoke some of the operas on the main stage of the COC’s current season. The space was set up for Popera!, an event which since 2015 has recurred a handful of times annually, featuring the young singers and pianists of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio.Įssentially, Popera! - part of the Drake’s own cultural programming - is a prix fixe menu with a side of opera, a themed mini-concert of music over pre-dinner drinks. Appetizers & arias: Popera! at the Drake One Fifty Editorial Jenna Simeonov Mar 1, 2018Ī welcome addition to the cool decor at the Drake One Fifty - a mix of classy, organic, and even diner-chic - was the bar-adjacent grand piano.

Phantom of the opera cake decorations