There are a number of interesting concerts and performances this week. Tuesday sees the graduate students of the UoT Opera Division in cabaret at the Tranzac Club. It’s at 7.30pm and it’s free. The beer at the Tranzac is better than it used to be so should be a decent night out and if you don’t like it the NAGS are performing in the other room, alas without Neil Sorbie. Earlier in the day there’s a noon hour concert in the RBA featuring Bob Pomakov and the Gryphon Trio (also free). The program features works by Mozart and Heather Schmidt.
The Royal Conservatory is the latest to announce its 2016/17 season, or at least the Koerner Hall component. There’s the usual eclectic mix of orchestral, instrumental, chamber, vocal, jazz and world music. The vocal highlights are recitals by Deb Voigt and Nathalie Dessay and the annual Christmas visit by the King’s Singers.
The line up for this year’s 21C is out. It’s a bit difficult for a genre based blog like this to know what to say about a genre busting event like 21C so I will point out the things that look even remotely relevant. I think the vocal highlight is the concert at Koerner Hall on May 25 featuring the Kronos Quartet and the amazing Tanya Tagaq in a fascinating looking program. There’s also the after hours concert at 10.30pm on May 27 which will feature new works by John Oswald for piano, instruments and choir in total darkness. full details on the festival can be found 
Opera Atelier has announced its 2016/17 season. The fall production will be Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. It isn’t clear whether this is a new production or a revival. The company has done the piece before; at the MacMillan Theatre in 1989 and 1994, in 2005 at the Elgin and in sundry tour venues. It’s not paired with anything so it’s either a very short show or there is a lot of interpolated dance. Wallis Giunta and Chris Enns play the lovers with a supporting cast that includes Meghan Lindsay, Laura Pudwell, Ellen McAteer, Karine White and Cory Knight. Nice to see Karine getting a chance on a professional stage. There are six shows at the Elgin between October 20 and 29, 2016.
It’s another pretty busy week. There are two student shows today, both free. At 2.30pm in the MacMillan Theatre there’s a performance of a new opera based on EM Forster’s The Machine Stops. It’s by Patrick McGraw, Robert Taylor and Steven Webb. Sandra Horst conducts and Michael Albano directs. Then at 8pm in Mazzoleni Hall, Christina Campsall is performing Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine with Brahm Goldhammer providing piano accompaniment.
The program for Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s February 21 recital at Koerner Hall has been released. It is:
Next week things get rather busy. There’s all the Hannigan shenanigans at UoT ; lecturing, masterclassing, concerting, walking on water, details 
The COC will add six singers and a pianist to the Ensemble Studio for the 16/17 season. Unsurprisingly the three prize winners from 
operaramblings 