La Cenerentola is running from April 23rd to May 25th at the Four Seasons Centre for Performing Arts. For people running on a student budget, rush tickets are $20 and are available starting at 11 AM the day of the performance.  If you are under the age of 30, you are eligible for Opera for a New Age tickets for $22.

After a short hiatus in March, the Canadian Opera Company returns with three new productions: La Cenerentola (Cinderella), Ariadne auf Naxos and Orfeo ed Eurydice. I will be reviewing all three of them over the course of the next few weeks. The first of the operas to start its run is Gioachino Rossini’s La Cenerentola, which is an operatic version of the classic fairy tale, Cinderella.

Overall, the COC presents a whimsical production that is sure to draw out a few laughs during the entire performance. The libretto (or lyrics) is clever and humourous and the music, lively and energetic. A special mention goes to the orchestra who played a captivating overture – a delightful piece of music to listen to but I felt that the energy of the piece would have been better conveyed if there was some sort of action on stage. Another special mention belongs to the leading lady, Elizabeth DeShong, who played a vocally enchanting Angelina (Cinderella). There were many times where I felt that her arias were much too short and I wished that they could go on forever.

Clorinda and Tisbe, played by Ileana Montabetti and Rihab Chaieb respectively were well cast as the comical and yet snotty evil stepsisters. Lawrence Brownlee played Prince Ramiro and although he was absolutely enchanting in arias that involved wooing and love, I felt that he was a little weak when playing the role of an authoritative monarch. In one part when he sings on how he is absolutely furious and determined to find the mysterious girl with whom he is in love with, my friend commented, “He was probably the least threatening prince I’ve ever seen.” Perhaps the power behind Brownlee’s voice will reveal itself eventually but in the meantime, I would really like to see him sing in a role with more lyrical arias. Sadly, I also felt that the other male cast members – Cinderella’s stepfather, Don Magnifico, the prince’s valet, Dandini and the prince’s tutor, Alidoro – sounded similar and were a bit forgettable once their songs were over.

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A screenshot from Young People F*cking.

We all know that U of T’s a good place to go if you want to learn things like History and Math, but what about the IMPORTANT things? … like Biology, if you get my drift.

Have you gotten bored with your routine sex life? Do you find yourself wondering ‘how the heck does anybody use that as a sex toy?!’ whenever you see a cucumber?

Don’t deny it.

Well, it’s a good thing for you that Sexual Awareness Week just so happens to be this week! From March 7th – March 10th, U of T’s Sexual Education Centre (SEC) is going to be hosting a series of fun, informative (and sexy!) events.

Set yourself as ‘attending’ on Facebook!

Here’s a quick breakdown of all of the events: (more…)

So Winter Break is sort of half over and so far, all you’ve done is vegetate at home or at your friend’s house. Toronto is a bit quiet during the Winter but this is Canada and apparently skating is in our blood, so there are tons of places to skate! It’s fun and it’s exercise! So rather than grumble about it, take advantage of the cold weather and skate! All of the venues listed here are free, though not all of them will have skate rentals. If you plan on going skating several times a year in your undergrad years, I highly recommend that you make a long-term investment (your feet probably won’t grow anymore anyways) in a pair of skates. Canadian Tire tends to sell skates for a fair price.

City Hall

The experience of living in Toronto is not complete until you’ve skated at least once at Nathan Phillips Square. The lights at City Hall turn on at 6:00PM and it’s absolutely beautiful. I suggest going during a weekday and non-peak hours because the rink can get pretty crowded. As in really, really crowded. Skates can be rented for $10 for 2 hours. You will need a piece of government issued I.D. (such as a driver’s license) so that the skate rentals can ensure that you will return their skates.

Harbourfront Centre

The Natrel Pond at Harbourfront turns into an ice skating rink in the winter. There are skate rentals and adult rentals are $7. A driver’s licence, credit card, passport, birth certificate or citizenship card is required to rent skates and/or helmets.

Toronto Parks

If there’s a park nearby with an outdoor rink, you can skate there for most of the winter! The downside is that there probably aren’t any skate rentals and they’re open for specific hours for free skating (other time is set aside for hockey) but these rinks tend to be less crowded. For their hours of operation, search for your local park at the Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation site.

Evergreen Brick Works

The final renovations for Evergreen Brickworks have been completed and the winter has come, so they have opened their skating trail. This is probably one of the newest outdoor rinks in the city and it sounds absolutely fantastic. There are no skate rentals but the rink is extremely environmentally friendly: heat from the refrigeration system warms the Café building next door! Isn’t that cool!? Click here for hours of operation and more information.

Varsity Arena

Varsity Arena on campus (you might have written an exam here before) is an Olympic-sized rink that will be open to the public once term restarts on January 3rd and it will remain open until April 8th. The rink is open for recreational skating in the times listed here.

Happy skating!

So, you’ve read Going Abroad: Part I, you’ve thought about it and you’ve decided that you want to go abroad. So, how do you go about doing it?

First of all, do research. Think about what kind of courses you want to take abroad. Do the Woodsworth College Summer Abroad program suit your credit needs (you don’t need to be a Woodsworth College student to do their programs)? If so, please take a look at their application process on their website. The advantage of a Woodsworth program is that you travel with a group and there’s little paperwork to be done to get your transfer credits.

None of the courses at the Woodsworth program interest me. Does that mean I can’t go on an exchange?

No, you just have to do a little more research and paperwork but it’s all worth it.

How to proceed:

Step 1: Find a U of T exchange partner institution with programs and courses that interest you. You can do this through the ISXO website. If you’re unsure, try contacting your professors and see if they can suggest a few universities where you could study.

Step 2: Join the StudyAbroad portal group so you can get regular updates on deadlines, funding opportunities and other information.

Step 3: Get a nomination from the ISXO to study abroad. This is absolutely mandatory. You will NOT get credits from the institution if you are not nominated by the ISXO. To get a nomination, you will need 2 letters of reference (1 if you’re doing a summer exchange), a statement of interest, a resume and you will need to fill in a checklist and an online application on the ISXO website.

Just wondering, what do are they looking for in my statement of interest?

The statement of interest is just a way to find out what you want to study, why you want to study abroad and how that would complement your education. You should also show that you’re either a seasoned traveler and/or that you’re responsible and mature enough to go abroad alone. So any other experiences abroad should be mentioned here.

Step 4: Hand in your application to the ISXO. Please check the website to see which deadline applies to you.

Step 5: Wait for your application to process. You may or may not get called to do an interview.

If you’re accepted…

Step 6: You will have to register and participate in 2 mandatory meetings: a pre-departure meeting and a transfer credit info session. The ISXO will also inform you about the bit of paperwork you’re going to have to do to earn your credit during these sessions.

Enjoy studying abroad!

For more information, try going to the study abroad fair on Wednesday, November 10 from noon to 5PM at the Cumberland Room, 33 St. George St.

For people interested in going to East Asia, the East Asian Studies Student Union is holding an information session on studying in Asia on November 30th from 1PM to 4:30PM in the Cumberland Room in the Cumberland House at 33 St. George St. Drop in and out as you please. Light refreshments and snacks will be served.

I am always on the lookout for free and fun events happening around campus. My hunt has led me to join the Facebook group of virtually every Student Union, it’s caused me to mark down every Varsity game and every free commuter pancake breakfast. Recently, however, I have discovered the gem that is the Hart House Orchestra. This past Thursday I went to go see a friend of mine perform; I was told that the event was free and to arrive early as the Grand Hall fills up fast. So, I entered the very formal and beautiful Great Hall about forty minutes early. . . only to find the room pretty much full already! I found a seat, and watched as the men in suit jackets and women dressed in varying degrees of “dressy-ness” funneled in to the room.

It was packed by the time eight o clock rolled around. And by packed, I mean people had pulled in their own chairs, people were crammed against walls—standing—and there were more people hovering in the entrance. The Orchestra finally started up with Tchaikovsky’s Slavonic March, Op. 31. If you don’t know what that is, don’t worry, I’m more into rock music myself. You don’t need to know the song to enjoy it, and enjoy it I did! It was amazing! I felt like I had fallen into some other century, some other time when music meant hours upon hours of preparation to learn how to play something perfectly; it was a huge contrast to a lot of the music on my iPod, which a kindergartner could produce in about half an hour using the right computer.

The Hart House Orchestra really is an amazing, and relatively secretive, jewel of U of T. Alumni, students,  and faculty at U of T all comprise this magnificently talented group of 80-90 musicians that get together and perform.  Speaking as someone who enjoys most music, and loves concerts in general, this was an amazing experience, and my wallet enjoyed it as well.  I discovered a new love for Russian composers, and also for the Hart House Orchestra. If you are interested in having a fun musical night, check out their website for more information, and also for updates on their next concert. Or, just check out their Facebook group (which just so happens to have this amazing tagline: “Rockin’ the House Since 1976“).

U of T is a big university and sometimes, you might feel like a nameless number in a mass of nameless numbers. However, being in the biggest university in Canada has its perks and one of them is the fact that we have the more exchange partners in Canada and abroad than anybody else. Since deadlines for exchanges as well as going abroad info sessions are coming up soon, I thought I would do a two part series on going abroad. The first will explore whether or not going abroad is for you while part II (which will hopefully be written in a week or so) will elaborate on the processes involved with going abroad. I did a course abroad this summer so many of the things I write will be from experience.

So, first things first, why should you go abroad?

• If you’re learning the history of a country or doing area studies, going abroad will add a new dimension to your studies. The person who came to one of my classes to talk about studying abroad studied in France and she said that she never fully understood why the peasants were so angry at the nobility during the period of the French Revolution until she saw the extravagance of the Versailles Palace.
• Learning a language? There is no better way of doing than by going abroad.
• You can learn from famous professors or institutions during your stay abroad! Thinking about a university as a potential grad school? Why not try a course at the institution for a summer or a semester?
• You can immerse yourself in a new academic environment, which can be refreshing if you’re in need of a change.
• All courses done abroad through the ISXO are pass/fail courses on your U of T transcript, so if you want, you can do a relaxing year abroad. However, be warned that if you’re applying to grad school, they will want ALL your transcripts.
• If you do well at the institution abroad, you can get reference letters from professors of other universities for grad school.
• It sounds corny, but you gain lifelong friendships and contacts from all over the world.
• Being able to survive alone in another country is a sign that you’re mature and responsible. As a result, it looks good on a resume.
• The ISXO (International Student Exchange Office) is super nice and very helpful so planning an exchange by yourself isn’t as hard as you think it would be! (more…)

A delightful ensemble, wonderful banter, and comedic brilliance are just a few things I can say to describe how impressed I was with this year’s production of Leonce and Lena presented to you by the Trinity College Drama Society. Translated, adapted and directed by 4th year student Chris Pugh, Leonce and Lena is truly an impressive piece of work.  Though as sophisticated as the dialogue was, the performance had just so many silly fun moments. If there is only one word to this describe this play, I would say: FUN!

I particularly loved the character “the king” portrayed by the wonderfully talented Duncan Derry. Though still a young man, he managed to pull off playing what I believed to be at least a fifty or sixty year old man. It was all in his demeanor and oh who can forgot that low, obnoxious voice?!? Derry has a wonderful sense of comedic timing and poise for such a young age.

Though, all actors did a tremendous job.  Leonce, portrayed by the also wonderfully talented Kashtin Fitzsimons, had so many funny one liners too:

1) “I’m bored because I love you”

2) “Kisses equal voluptuous yawning”

3) “Time does not kill love, Our love kills time.”

4) “Dying love is more beautiful than growing love.”

5) “We’re all so old and I feel so young”

6) “Women have a pronounced tendency to fall in love with men they have met than men they have not.”

Leonce and Lena is still playing October 22nd and 23rd at 8PM. Don’t miss it! Buy at the door or reserve your tickets before they are sold out at trinity.dramatic.society@gmail.com. It’s located at George Ignatieff Theatre (15 Devonshire Place)

**Image from the Trinity College Drama Society