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as Jay had, in the last years of her life, been working on the Masonicbackground of the opera. The bass voice is rare; it is even more rareto hear it fully developed in as young a singer as Blostein; he is still astudent (he studies with Adi Braun) and can probably be called preprofessional.We shall hear more of him.One of the best things in a Toronto summer is the Summer OperaLyric Theatre and Research Centre. Each year the company performsthree operas with young talented singers who are given extensivecoaching. This year, all three Figaro operas based on the plays byBeaumarchais were performed: The Barber of Seville (Rossini), TheMarriage of Figaro (Mozart) and La Mère Coupable (Milhaud). Thelast-named is very rarely done and is, as far as I know, only availablein an unofficial recording. In 60 years of opera-going I had not comeacross it. The standards were very high with an especially outstandingperformance by the soprano Elisabeth Hetherington as CountessAlmaviva. The pianist, Nicole Bellamy, was also brilliant.Hans de Groot is a concert-goer and active listenerwho also sings and plays the recorder.He can be contacted at artofsong@thewholenote.com.30 thewholenote.com September 1 – October 7, 2012