It’s all about the Fringe and TSM

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July in Toronto is pretty much about the Fringe and TSM.

The Fringe runs June 30th to July 12th and there are 123 shows across 27 venues plus free events. Obviously for a critic that’s overwhelming. Right now I have ten shows booked, including anything that looks vaguely opera related. So:

  • Minimum at Factory Theatre… the Premier of Ontario living in Hamilton on minimum wage.
  • You Choose at Tarragon… an improvised murder mystery from the Howland company
  • God Save the Sodomites at Native Earth… is anyone in Sodom worth saving?
  • Sinner at Theatre Passe Muraille… breaking up with white Jesus
  • Songs for Moby Dick at Theatre Passe Muraille… operatic epic about a whale
  • Night Journey at the Arts and letter Club…studying The Odyssey
  • Brava at Soulpepper… Yannick Gosselin celebrates divas
  • Potato Potato Saves the World at Soulpepper… can a sketch comedy troupe save the world?
  • Ooga Chaka at Soulpepper… two prehistoric cave painters invent art
  • Catching a Cheese Pervert at Soulpepper… Canada’s most prominent anti-vegan influencer searches for the cheese pervert in her hometown
There’s tons more of course and I may add some shows based on word of mouth later but interests and logistics (no-one wants to do shows at Tarragon and Soulpepper on the same day!) came up with this as a starting point.

Toronto Summer Music runs July 9th to August 1st. There’s a mix of vocal music, chamber music and much more. Besides main stage concerts there are community oriented programmes and free concerts at the Heliconian Club. My top, vocally biased, picks are:

  • July 7th: Opening Night… Les Arts Florissants present a concert version of Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers; at Koerner Hall
  • July 13th: Of Thee I sing… Sasha Cooke and Warren Jones in recital at Walter Hall
  • Noon hour on July 14th: Vocal recital… Art of Song fellows at Heliconian Hall
  • July 15th at 5pm: Vocal recital by CASP… Colin Ainsworth and Elisabeth Cojocaru perform songs by Britten, Jeffrey Ryan, and Derek Holman at Heliconian Hall
  • July 16th: Golden Age… Erin Morley and Lawrence Brownlee with Malcolm Martineau sing opera arias and duets at Koerner Hall
  • July 27th: Council… Finnish musician Pekka Kuusisto and American singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane together at Walter hall
  • July 29th at noon: Academy noon hour concert featuring Beethoven String Quartet Op. 132 and the Shostakovich String Trio No. 2 at Heliconian Hall

Walter Hall and Koerner concerts are ticketed and start at 7.30pm. Heliconian Hall concerts are free; first come, first served.

Finally, CanStage’s Dream in High Park this year is Twelth Night which strikes me as a better bet than trying to condense one of the tragedies to 90 minutes. Previews are the 12th, 14th and 15th with opening on the 16th and running to July 31st. All shows at 8pm.

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