The string sextet is an unusual combination of instruments and there aren’t that many works for it. But one, Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4, has almost cult status and is performed fairly often. It does though need a companion to make up a concert programme. On Friday night at Toronto Summer Music in Walter Hall the chosen accompanying piece was Brahms’ Sextet No.2 in G Major, Op. 36.
William Christie and Les Arts Florissants kicked off Toronto Summer Music on Thursday evening at Koerner Hall with a version of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen which is currently on a sort of world tour. This production, conceived by Christie and Paul Agnew is quite radical. Let’s look at what they have done.
Serial killers are truly awful people. They write some of the most excruciating prose, poetry and plays you will ever experience. They deserve no mercy. They also kill people. In Cabaret of Murder; currently touring Canada with a stop at the Toronto Fringe, we are introduced to the lives and works of some of the most evil and excruciating.
Monks is a two woman clown show. It’s that one day, every five years, when the abbot isn’t around and the brothers can take a day off from praying and counting lentils. Unfortunately they have lost their donkey which is a perfect excuse for every possible permutation of ass jokes.
It’s hugely physical and highly interactive with water sprayers, lentils (yes more lentils), musical instruments and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, not to mention writhing on the floor and hiding in lentil barrels. If you don’t want to engage in the antics sit right at the back and, above all, do not come late. The full wrath of the Catholic Church awaits the Satanic evil of the tardy. Continue reading
Koli Kari by Ganesh Thava opened at the fringe on Saturday evening. It’s presented by Pink Banana Theatre and directed by Sungwon Cho. It’s built around Ravi’s (Thava) attempt to use his mother’s secret Koli Kari (chicken curry) recipe to revitalise his flagging TV cooking show. The broadcast is invaded by figures from Ravi’s past; girlfriends (more or less), his present (his mother) and a mysterious magical chicken. At times it’s quite weird and disturbing but too much of the time it turns on the obvious cringeworthy humour in the interaction between a young gay Indian man (from Scarborough natch) and his immigrant mother who is disappointed he hasn’t become a lawyer or a doctor, married a nice Indian girl and produced grandchildren.
I saw Stiff and Sons by Aidan Gouveia for Bare Theatre Collective directed by Daniel Reale at the Al Green Theatre on Saturday evening. I haven’t laughed so much for all the wrong reasons since I saw Death of Stalin. The background is a failing family owned funeral parlour. Darren Stiff is having an affair with his brother David’s wife Pam; an aspiring Hollywood actress. There is much shagging; mostly in coffins.
I started my exploration of the Fringe on Thursday night at East End United Church with You, Hamlet from DopoLavoro Teatrale directed by Daniele Bartolini. It’s an interactive show in which the three performers take the “Hamlets” (i.e. us, about 20 people) around different spaces in the church in each of which a “scene” takes place. It gets steadily more interactive as time goes by.
Robert Carsen’s production of Verdi’s Aida seen at Covent Garden in 2022 is a very good example of what Carsen can do. In this case it’s to strip out elements he considers non-essential and focus on the essentials of the drama. In the rather good “extra” feature on the video recording Carsen summarises it as focussing “on the story not the place”.
I understand that the mission of outfits like the Teatro Donizetti is to “rescue” forgotten operas but, frankly, some of them ought to remain forgotten. I would put Donizetti’s Alfredo il Grande in that category. It premiered in Naples on 2nd July 1823 and closed after one disastrous performance not to be seen again until a run in Bergamo in November 2023 which was recorded for video.
When I look at my calendar for July it’s all about two festivals, both of which include far more events than I could possibly cope with.
The first is the Toronto Fringe which runs July 2nd to 14th and features 77 shows in 16 venues. There really is something for everyone from clowns and comics to mass murderers and funeral directors. There’s even a musical. Most shows are $18 but that drops to $14 if one buys a ten ticket pass. I think I’ll be able to get to maybe half a dozen shows given an overlap with… Continue reading
