New opera has soprano scaling the heights — literally

By MIKE SILVERMAN
For The Associated Press

Lauren Pearl is giving new meaning to the term high-flying soprano. Sure, her latest venture calls for her to sing up to a high C, but plenty of operatic heroines do that. What’s different is that Pearl will be singing while scaling a 60-foot brick wall. She is performing the role of Louise in “Gould’s Wall.” The work has its world premiere at Toronto’s adventuresome Tapestry Opera beginning Aug. 4. The opera is the brainchild of composer Brian Current. He passes the wall on his way to work at the Glenn Gould School, which is housed in Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music. Current thought the vertical space was crying out for something artistic to happen there.