… plus a late March addition…

March 29th and 30th Tapestry are doing the Songbook thing again.  This is the show where an established singer; Jacqueline Woodley this time, works with emerging artists and a pianist (Andrea Grant) plus director Michael Mori to create a show based on Tapestry’s back catalogue.  There are three shows at the Ernest Balmer Studio in the Distillery; Friday at 8pm and Saturday at 4pm and again at 8pm.

So onto April.  On the 4th Against the Grain open a run of Vivier’s Kopernikus at Theatre Passe Muraille.  The shows are at 8pm on April 4th, 5th, 6th, 11th, 12th and 13th.  It’s a terrific cast including Alain Coulombe and Krisztina Szabó.  Joel Ivany directs and Topher Mokrzewski conducts.

On the 5th and 6th there are the latest concerts in the Confluence series. ‘Tis Nature’s Voice: Henry Purcell Reimagined features Anna Atkinson, Larry Beckwith, Andrew Downing, Drew Jarecki, Patricia O’Callaghan, Suba Sankaran and others sing and play Henry Purcell as you’ve never heard him before!  That’s 8pm at Heliconian Hall.

On the 14th at 2pm at Mazzoleni Hall there will be a Songmasters recital featuring soprano Monica Whicher and harpist Judy Loman.

On the 17th, 18th and 20th at 8pm the TSO are performing Mahler’s monumental second symphony.  Juanjo Mena conducts with soloists Joélle Harvey and Marie-Nicole Lemieux. Roy Thomson Hall of course.

On the 24th, 26th and 27th at 8pm and the 28th at 3pm Toronto Operetta Theatre are doing Lehar’s The Merry Widow.  Lucia Cesaroni is the Widow and Larry Beckwith conducts.  St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

And on the 30th at 8pm at Koerner Hall, Thomas Hampson and son-in-law Luca Pisaroni can be seen in recital.

The COC season kicks off its final performances of the season on the 17th at 7.30pm with Puccini’s La Bohème; a revival of the show seen five seasons ago.  There are two casts and ten performances up to May 22nd. Angel Blue and Atalla Ayan head up the first cast.  Full details here.  Verdi’s Otello opens on the 27th, also at 7.30pm.  There are eight performances closing on May 21st.  Headliners include Russell Thomas and Gerald Finley.  Full details here.

And so to the free stuff.  Opera Pub is in its usual slot at 9pm on the 4th at the Amsterdam Bicycle Club which is perhaps a bit odd since Kopernikus opens that night but there you go.  RBA noon hour concerts of note include Samuel Chan’s rescheduled Schubert on the 11th, the annual Montreal collab concert on the 18th, Angel Blue on the 23rd and Andriana Chuchman on the 30th.