Digital Audio Series
Key Change is the COC’s original podcast, co-hosted by classical singer and culture critic Robyn Grant-Moran, a member of the COC’s Circle of Artists, alongside stage director, dramaturg and COC Academy graduate Julie McIsaac. Our episodes explore the operagoing experience from a variety of perspectives, offering a fresh take on today's opera issues with special guests from the opera field and beyond.
Episode 22: Roland Wood and Puccini's Tosca
What’s the best part about playing the bad guy? This week on Key Change, English baritone Roland Wood joins us to explore a thrilling classic from the master of emotional storytelling, Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca. Looking ahead to his upcoming role as Scarpia in this season’s production, Roland shares his no-nonsense approach to playing this infamous character.
Subscribe to Key Change, wherever you get your podcasts:
ROLAND WOOD
English baritone Roland Wood is an established and celebrated opera artist both at home and across the globe, singing major roles such as Ford in Falstaff (Royal Opera House), Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro (English National Opera), and the title role in the COC’s digital production of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. This season, he performs yet another iconic Puccini role as the ever-imposing Scarpia in our signature production of Tosca.
LINKS:
Royal Opera House: Roland Wood
http://www.roh.org.uk/people/roland-wood
A Scene from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi
https://youtu.be/XHfhv2-zTpE
Scottish Opera: The Two Dons
https://youtu.be/f2C9mTjAboU
Scottish Opera: Don Giovanni Trailer
https://youtu.be/ErBZVAyIRko
Overture from Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Claudio Abbado, conductor, with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Deutsche Grammophon, 1993.
Excerpt from Act III of Puccini’s Tosca. Giuseppe Sinopoli, conductor, with the Philharmonia Orchestra; Deutsche Grammophon, 1992.
“Pari siamo!” from Verdi’s Rigoletto. Piero Cappcuccilli as Rigoletto. Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor, with the Wiener Philharmoniker; Deutsche Grammophon, 1980.
“E buona la mia Tosca” from Act I of Puccini’s Tosca. Georges Prêtre, conductor, with the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire; Warner Classics, 1965.
“Te Deum” from Act I of Puccini’s Tosca. Bryn Terfel as Scarpia. Antonio Pappano, conductor, with the Royal Opera House Orchestra, 2011.
MEET OUR CO-HOSTS
ROBYN GRANT-MORAN
Robyn Grant-Moran (Métis) is a classical singer, writer, and a jack of many trades who, in 2018 met the requirements to call herself a Bachelor of the Fine Arts at York University. That same year, Robyn participated in the Performance Criticism Training Program with Generator Toronto where she learned that theatre criticism can be used to push for more inclusive spaces and champion voices less heard and often misunderstood; so of course she fell in love. Since then, she’s been published in Alt.Theatre and Intermission Magazine, won the Nathan Cohen Award for Outstanding Emerging Critic, and joined the Canadian Opera Company’s Circle of Artists, to name a few. Robyn currently resides in Tkaronto (Toronto), weathering the pandemic with her wee rat dog in a box in the sky.
JULIE McISAAC
Canadian stage director Julie McIsaac was named the COC’s first Director/Dramaturg-in-Residence in 2019 and is now Lead Curator of Opera Everywhere, the company's reimagined 20/21 season. A versatile opera and theatre artist, her projects work towards reshaping and revitalizing the stories told on stage. During her residency with the COC, she served as Assistant Director on Joel Ivany's production of Hansel and Gretel (COC) and she is the Dramaturg and Director of the upcoming COC commission Fantasma, composed by COC Composer-in-Residence Ian Cusson with libretto by Colleen Murphy. Julie earned her Master’s degree in Theatre from the University of York (UK) and is also a graduate of Carleton University (Music) and the Canadian College of Performing Arts (Theatre Performance and Playwriting). www.juliemcisaac.com
