“They’re definitely Roman-inspired,” says award-winning Canadian designer Gillian Gallow of the costumes she has conceived for Hadrian, the new opera by Rufus Wainwright. “But there is also an extremely theatrical and modern perspective to it.”

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The artistic collaboration between director Robert Carsen and designer Michael Levine has led to some of the most important opera productions of the last 30 years. Yet one of their most universally celebrated projects has never been seen live in their hometown of Toronto.

That will change on September 30, when the curtain rises on Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece.

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You probably don’t think of tennis and opera as natural doubles partners. But worlds are colliding on August 11, when Canadian tenor and COC Ensemble Studio graduate Andrew Haji sings the national anthem at the 2018 Rogers Cup semifinals.

We were curious just how similar these two cultural spheres might actually be. So we caught up with Tennis Canada National Coach Nicolas Perrotte and Ensemble Studio Head Vocal Consultant Wendy Nielsen, to see how the best of the best get to the top of their game. One thing is clear: singing opera and playing tennis are both high-performance acts that call for creativity and coordination, require a demanding training schedule, and take some serious mental and physical chops.

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