Category Archives: Toronto opera news and views

Music at the AGO

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London National Gallery Top 20 13 JMW Turner - The fighting TemeraireThe Art Gallery of Ontario is starting a new Friday night music initiative.  Each Friday night in November (6th, 13th, 20th, 27th), the inaugural month of AGO Friday Nights, will celebrate the opening of J.M.W. Turner: Painting Set Free, a major exhibition featuring the works of Joseph Mallord William Turner. The AGO is partnering with Tapestry to present Music Set Free, a special performance featuring pianist/composer Adam Sherkin and mezzo-soprano Marion Newman.  Capturing a selection of music from Turner’s time in addition to pieces inspired by his influences, subjects and artistic practice, the concert will feature works ranging from Beethoven to Britten, as well as a special world premiere of an original work by Adam Sherkin, commissioned by Tapestry for the occasion. Music Set Free is curated by Michael Mori, Artistic Director of Tapestry Opera.  The performances will be from 7.30pm to 8.30 pm and are included in the admission price to the exhibition.  There will be a bar and food and stuff too.

First week of November

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1.sevenA few notable events this coming fall week.  Tuesday sees the COC’s annual gala competition for young singers, Centre Stage.  Prizes and possible places in the Ensemble Studio for next year are up for grabs.  The public part of the event starts at 5.30pm at The Four Seasons Centre with a cocktail reception followed by the final round of the competition.  Unusually this competition feature the full COC orchestra, not just piano.

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A quick look at the COC’s 2014/15 financials

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jane_1415accountsI haven’t really done a full analysis of the COC’s recently released financials but what I have done suggests cause for cautious optimism.  As anyone who reads this blog knows I have, for the last three years or so, pointed up the rather stark reality underlying the company’s relentlessly optimistic propaganda.  To whit, a steady decline in seats sold, revenue and realisation (actual revenue dollars per seat sold).  This year doesn’t look so bad.

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Coming up week of October 26th

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NextWaveKelseylg812The first part of the week isn’t too crazy.  Quinn Kelsey, currently singing Germont at the COC, has a noon recital in the RBA on Tuesday.  Rachel Andrist will be at the piano and the program includes Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel and Finzi’s Let Us Garlands Bring.  Enticing I think.

Wednesday sees a premiere and fundraiser for Syrian refugees; David Warrack’s Abraham at Metropolitan United Church.  Then on Thursday there’s Toronto Darknet Market, a fundraiser with an edge, this time for an upcoming production of Charpentier’s Medée.  Both causes worth supporting.

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Upcoming events – mostly November

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AbrahamsOratorio_Poster_v1.4As ever there’s no shortage of announcements of new and interesting stuff in the Toronto area.  Here are a few from the inbox.  Next week, there’s a premiere of David Warrack’s oratorio Abraham.  It’s a multi-faith event in aid of the Syrian Refugee Program at Metropolitan United Church.  It’s on Wednesday, October 28th at 8 p.m. at Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen Street East, Toronto.  Richard Margison stars as Abraham and joining him are five principal vocalists; Ramona Carmelly, Meredith Hall, Hussein Janmohamed, George Krissa and Theresa Tova, three choirs: the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Jarrahi Sufi Choir with Whirling Dervishes,and the Bach Children’s Chorus  David Warrack will be at the piano.  Whirling Dervishes?  Get in!  It’s a good cause.  General admission tickets are $54; $36 for students.  $75 VIP tickets offer reserved seating and an invitation to the post-concert reception.  Tickets and more information at www.abrahamoratorio.ca. Continue reading →

A worthy cause

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p1130277-001_scaleThis just in.  Apparently Dean Burry doesn’t drink enough beer to generate a sufficient supply of bottle caps to make himself an Ugly Stick.  I find this hard to believe and probably puts his Newfoundland citizenship at risk but there you go.  So, he wants your bottle caps and he wants them by November 15th.  Send your bottle caps via post (apparently this still exists) to Toronto Masque Theatre, 383 Huron Street, Toronto  M5S 2G5. For larger donations (Robert Pomakov are you reading this?) and alternative delivery methods, please call TMT on 416 410 4561.

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Coming up

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pandtThere are a couple of opera openings next week.  Pyramus and Thisbe; the Barbara Monk Feldman, Monteverdi, Chris Alden creation, opens at the COC on Tuesday 20th for a run of seven shows and Opera Atelier are opening a run of six shows of Lully’s Armide at the Elgin starting on Thursday evening.  Both shows are very much a case of Canadian talent on display with no big international names.  La Traviata continues at the COC in tandem with Pyramus and Thisbe.

darknetThere’s one interesting new announcement for the following week.  Amanda Smith and Alaina Viau are collaborating on a show called Toronto Darknet Market.  It’s inspired by those parts of the internet that even I don’t know about and will run as a sequence of three performances on the 29th starting at 8pm.  It’s at 8-11 which is at 233 Spadina (south of Dundas).  It’s a PWYC fundraiser for a chamber production of Médée by Marc-Antoine Charpentier next year.  Toronto needs more staged baroque opera that’s not Opera Atelier so this initiative deserves support.  There will be good young singers on display with music by Purcell, Berg and Cage among others.

Line up for Centre Stage announced

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centrestageSo we now know who will be singing at Centre Stage, the COC’s gala competition for aspiring young singers with both cash prizes and places in the Ensemble Studio up for grabs.  There are, I think, only two that I’m at all familiar with; soprano Eliza Johnson who was a finalist last year and baritone Zachary Read who was a rather good Sid in UoT Opera’s Albert Herring a couple of years ago.  The other six are mezzo-sopranos Emily D’Angelo, Lauren Eberwein, Marjorie Maltais and Pascale Spinney, soprano Samantha Pickett and baritone Bruno Roy.  Wow! Four mezzos so the mezzo mafia will likely be ecstatic.  No tenors but with four already in the Ensemble Studio that’s probably a good thing.  Centre Stage is on November 3rd at 5.30pm at the Four Seasons Centre with a cocktails (well wine mostly) and rather good snacks before the competition itself.  Tickets are $100 from the COC box office or coc.ca.

A quiet week ahead

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Well, after a rather hectic start to the fall season, this coming week is remarkably quiet.  La Traviata continues at the COC with performances on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.  Friday is the first chance to see the second cast (El-Khoury, Haji, Westman) but I’m passing on that until later in the run.  Otherwise there’s one lunchtime concert in the RBA on my schedule.  It’s the UoT Opera Division previewing The Art of the Prima Donna and it’s on Thursday.  It’s often a good opportunity to do some talent spotting ahead of Centre Stage.