As expected the COC’s fall season, announced today, is all virtual. Even the RBA concerts will be 5 minute on-line nuggets. The stuff on the main stage is pretty interesting though. Here’s the line up (note all dates are “supporter opening night”. General streaming starts 24 hours later. All shows are at 7.30pm).:
- 24th October: Russell Braun and tamara Wilson in concert with the COC Orchestra and Johannes Debus. Details here.
- 29th October: Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Amy Lane directs. Roland Wood sings the man. More details.
- 12th November: Juno award winning jazz/folk fusion group Okan perform songs from their latest album. Details.
- 26th November: Mozart’s Requiem with Midori Marsh, Marion Newman, Andrew Hadji and Vartan Gabrielan plus the COC orchestra and chorus and Johannes Debus. More.
- 17th December: In Winter. A concert featuring winter themed music including a new piece for solo, chorus and orchestra by Ian Cusson. Performers include Melody Courage past and present members of the Ensemble Studio and the COC opera and chorus with Johannes Debus. Details.
I’m a bit disappointed that there’s nothing concrete about a return to live with an audience performance but I’m not surprised. I just hope the Village Idiot in Chief can get his mind around something like a vaccination passport in time for a post Christmas return.
At least all this content is free and that’s a big plus.
It’s almost time for the Toronto Summer Music Festival 2021. This year it runs July 15th to August 1st. The bad news is that, like last year, it’s virtual. The good news is that it’s all free and, as always, there’s some excellent stuff. The full line up and details of how to access the streams are 
First the bad news. Calgary Opera have cancelled their fall production of Fidelio citing uncertainty over rehearsal, performance and audience management issues. I’m not surprised and I expect we will hear something similar from the COC next week. The performing arts really don’t seem to figure at all on the Ontario government’s priorities or plans which isn’t a surprise but is a bit depressing. 
The Canadian Art Song Project (CASP) has announced that Laurence Jobidon (right) and Jesse Plessis (left) are the inaugural mentees in the Chung-Wai Chow and John Wright Art Song Mentorship Programme for Composers; a new CASP initiative designed to support emerging composers working in the field of Canadian Art Song. They will be working with mentors Luna Pearl Woolf and Jocelyn Morlock, respectively.
Over the course of the next year, Laurence Jobidon will be working with Luna Pearl Woolf on her project that sets the poetry of Blanche Lamontagne; the first French-Canadian woman poet to publish under her own name, while Jesse Plessis will be working with Jocelyn Morlock on a project entitled Time’s Kiss that will interweave texts by Rabindranath Tagore, Anne Carson, and Geneviève Plessis.
I think last night’s virtual conference with Michael Mori and Jaime Martino of Tapestry marks the first real announcement of intention for the 2021/22 season by any Canadian company and it offers insight into what may and may not be possible in the next year to eighteen months. Tapestry adapted quickly and creatively to COVID conditions and so I think their read on the future is important. So here’s my take on what was said.
operaramblings 