JH: The difficult thing about writing reviews of operatic productions mounted by a world-class company like the Canadian Opera Company is that when it comes to the 'technical' aspects such as vocal and musical performances, there is often much to praise and little to complain about. Or in other words, a lack of stinkers can sometimes make for a dull and frothy article - which is not necessarily a negative, as the purpose of a review by no means to be 'interesting' or pithy but rather informative and hopefully insightful.

Thankfully, the COC has also proven to be a...