So May Day greetings and hello again.  And here are some things you might care to see this month during your eight hours for “what you will”. It’s a bit belated for reasons previously announced but it’s here and I’m back.

Tonight at Lula Lounge at 7pm Tongue in Cheek productions have Democracy in Action.  Several noted singers (Krisztina Szabo, Julie Nesrallah, Natalya Gennadi, Teiya Kasahara, Asitha Tennekoon, Romulo Delgado, Alexander Hajek and Stephen Hegedus) will perform pieces based on audience voting.

May 4th and 5th at Trinity College Chapel, OperaQTO are presenting Dido and Belinda; a gender bending take on Purcell’s classic.  On the 16th Dean Burry’s Shanawdithit; the story of the last of the Beothuck people, opens at the Imperial Oil Theatre under the auspices of Tapestry Opera.  I was at a workshop of an “in progress” version a few months ago.  Recommended most strongly!  Also on the 16th, Jani Lauzon’s new show Prophecy Fog opens at the Theatre Centre.  It’s a bit weird that two significant Indigenous themed shows open on the same night but there are multiple performances of both.

The 23rd sees FAWN Chamber Creative’s new ballet opera Pandora open at Geary Lane.  Music by three different composers, choreography by Jenn Nichols and some fine singers and dancers.  New ballet operas are pretty rare too.

There are several good concerts to round out the free noon hour concert series in the RBA too.

• May 7th: Liz Upchurch and friends celebrate her 20 years with the COC.
• May 14th: The lovely and talented Miriam Khalil is joined by the equally talented Topher Mokrzewski for a middle eastern themed recital.
• May 21st: Stéphane Mayer performs a program of piano and spoken word.
• May 22nd:  The annual CASP commission concert. Michael Colvin and Stephen Philcox perform the world premiere of a new song cycle by Dean Burry entitled Sea Variations with text by E. J. Pratt.

And La Bohème and Otello continue in performance at the Four Seasons Centre.