FASHION Magazine

For opera fans and party lovers alike, the Canadian Opera Company’s annual fundraising gala, Operanation, is one of the hottest tickets of the year. Taking place in the crystalline Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, the event is an innovative mix of opera, rock, dance, and, of course, plenty of bubbly that not only delights the crowd but also raises a pretty penny for the company (last year’s gala raised more than $100,000). This year, the COC has sweetened the pot by adding Rufus Wainwright and Montreal-based dance-pop band Austra to the lineup of Operanation 8: A Muse Ball.

The Canadian Opera Company announced yesterday that mezzo-soprano Beth Clayton, who was to play the title role in the company’s upcoming production of Bizet’s Carmen, has withdrawn due to “health reasons.” In the February issue of FASHION, the Arkansas-born singer told writer Olivia Stren, “It has all this tumult in it, but at the same time, it has so much joy and sauciness. And the more physical, the better for me; I love getting down and dirty. When I’m playing Carmen, I can honestly say ‘Yes! I am Carmen. ”

The COC has named Israeli mezzo Rinat Shaham as Clayton’s replacement for the first six performances

Ten things FASHION loves about Shakespeare’s Tytania, as played by Laura Claycomb in the Canadian Opera Company’s ethereal singing-to-life of A Midsummer Night’s Dream:

1. Her titian hair’s so hotly hued, it would make Coca Rocha cry. If you weren’t already tempted by scarlet tresses—the recessionista’s so-2009 way of going into the red—I promise, you will be after falling under this fairy queen’s spell.

2. She wears sequins in the daytime. So Balmain (balmain.com)…

3. …and her king, Oberon, rocks the Christophe Decarnin/Carine Roitfeld look too. Check out that Michael Jackson jacket! Embellished, majorly shoulder-padded, and boldly paired with man-leggings. Androgny: the new sexy.