The always entertaining Opera 5 have a couple of events coming up.  Firts there’s a fundraiser at Rosemarie Umetsu’s called Equinox: Day vs. Night.  Two teams of singers, Team Day and Team Night, will battle for the greatest prize of all: Ruler of the Sky!  It’s on Tuesday September 9th at 6pm and there will be drinks and food provided by the University Avenue Fionn MacCools 181 University Avenue.  We are promised performances by Claire de Sévigné, Lucia Cesaroni, Peter Bass, Jeremy Ludwig, Beste Kalender, Maika’i Nash and more.  Let’s hope it’s a bit cooler than last year!  Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here: https://be-mused.ca/group/opera5

Then there’s the show postponed from the Spring which will open the new Alliance Française de Toronto – Centre cultural Theatre.  It features performances of Reynaldo Hahn’s L’île du rêve and Jacques Offenbach’s Ba-ta-clan.  Performances are at 7.30 pm on September 19th, 20th and 21st.  The Alliance Française is at 24 Spadina Rd (just north of Bloor) and just happens to be where I learned that the First Gulf War had begun.  Tickets as above.

The University of Toronto Faculty of Music has released its schedule of events for the 2014/15 season.  There’s a lot of interesting stuff for the opera and vocal music fan (and much else besides).  Highlights include:

Opera

The first of two major productions is Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore which will play November 27th-30th.  Michael Albano directs and Sandra Horst and Russell Braun will share conducting duties.  The second, Dominick Argento’s Postcard from Morocco, will run March 12th to March 15th with Michael Cavanagh directing and Les Dala conducting.  Both shows will be in the MacMillan Theatre.

Continue reading →